Rackspace Technology, Inc. (RXT)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7370 Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc.
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1810019. Latest filing source: 0001810019-26-000015.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read RXT's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read RXT's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,685,700,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-06 |
| Net income | -225,800,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-06 |
| Assets | 2,799,800,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-06 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-06. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001810019.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,452,800,000 | 2,438,100,000 | 2,707,100,000 | 3,009,500,000 | 3,122,300,000 | 2,957,100,000 | 2,737,100,000 | 2,685,700,000 | |
| Net income | -470,600,000 | -102,300,000 | -245,800,000 | -218,300,000 | -804,800,000 | -837,800,000 | -858,200,000 | -225,800,000 | |
| Operating income | -237,200,000 | 101,600,000 | 24,700,000 | -2,500,000 | -679,000,000 | -899,400,000 | -909,100,000 | -100,700,000 | |
| Gross profit | 1,007,100,000 | 1,011,200,000 | 984,400,000 | 936,800,000 | 856,900,000 | 628,800,000 | 533,400,000 | 506,400,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -0.62 | -1.37 | -1.05 | -3.81 | -3.89 | -3.82 | -0.95 | ||
| Operating cash flow | 429,800,000 | 292,900,000 | 116,700,000 | 370,800,000 | 246,700,000 | 374,900,000 | 39,900,000 | 151,400,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 294,300,000 | 198,000,000 | 116,500,000 | 108,400,000 | 80,400,000 | 96,900,000 | 111,100,000 | 60,800,000 | |
| Share buybacks | 0.00 | 2,200,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 31,000,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Assets | 6,272,400,000 | 6,377,800,000 | 6,328,700,000 | 5,456,700,000 | 4,096,200,000 | 3,054,100,000 | 2,799,800,000 | ||
| Liabilities | 5,373,600,000 | 4,994,100,000 | 5,001,300,000 | 4,827,200,000 | 4,250,700,000 | 4,058,300,000 | 4,019,300,000 | ||
| Stockholders' equity | 1,373,000,000 | 907,800,000 | 898,800,000 | 1,383,700,000 | 1,327,400,000 | 629,500,000 | -154,500,000 | -1,004,200,000 | -1,219,500,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 254,300,000 | 83,800,000 | 104,700,000 | 272,800,000 | 228,400,000 | 196,800,000 | 144,000,000 | 105,800,000 | |
| Free cash flow | 135,500,000 | 94,900,000 | 200,000 | 262,400,000 | 166,300,000 | 278,000,000 | -71,200,000 | 90,600,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -19.19% | -4.20% | -9.08% | -7.25% | -25.78% | -28.33% | -31.35% | -8.41% | |
| Operating margin | -9.67% | 4.17% | 0.91% | -0.08% | -21.75% | -30.41% | -33.21% | -3.75% | |
| Return on assets | -1.63% | -3.85% | -3.45% | -14.75% | -20.45% | -28.10% | -8.06% | ||
| Current ratio | 0.81 | 1.02 | 1.18 | 1.25 | 0.92 | 0.81 | 0.68 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001810019-26-000015; concept RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax; source concepts us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | Gross profit: accession 0001810019-26-000015; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001810019-26-000015; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001810019-26-000015; 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 0001810019-26-000015; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001810019-26-000015; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001810019-26-000015; 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 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2024 ended 2024-12-31; accession 0001810019-25-000043; filed 2025-03-21. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001810019-26-000015; filed 2026-03-06. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-08. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001810019.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -2.43 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | -2.87 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 746,300,000 | -27,200,000 | -0.13 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 732,400,000 | -226,600,000 | -1.05 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 719,700,000 | 28,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 690,800,000 | -640,600,000 | -2.91 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 684,900,000 | 25,000,000 | 0.11 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 675,800,000 | -186,600,000 | -0.82 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 685,600,000 | -56,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 665,400,000 | -71,500,000 | -0.31 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 666,300,000 | -54,500,000 | -0.23 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 671,200,000 | -67,100,000 | -0.28 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 682,800,000 | -32,700,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 678,100,000 | 8,300,000 | 0.03 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001810019-26-000044; filed 2026-05-08. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001810019-26-000044; filed 2026-05-08. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001810019-26-000044; filed 2026-05-08. 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: 0001810019-26-000044.
ITEM 2 - 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 help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this "Quarterly Report") and with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in our Annual Report. References to "Rackspace Technology," "we," "our company," "the company," "us," or "our" refer to Rackspace Technology, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. See "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report.
Overview
We are a leading end-to-end hybrid cloud and AI solutions company. We design, build and operate our customers' cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products, and adopt innovative technologies.
We operate our business and report our results through two reportable segments: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Our Public Cloud segment is a services-centric, capital-light model providing value-added cloud solutions through managed services, Elastic Engineering and professional services offerings for customer environments hosted on the AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud public cloud platforms. Our Private Cloud segment is a technology-forward, capital-intensive model providing managed service offerings for customer environments hosted in one of our data centers as well as in those owned by customers or by third parties such as colocation providers. See Item 1 of Part I, Financial Statements - Note 13, "Segment Reporting," for additional information about our segments.
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Table of Contents
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. We and our customers face a variety of challenges, including evolving technologies (including AI and GenAI) and an uncertain regulatory landscape, including international trade policies and tariffs, as well as other macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. These factors have and will continue to affect demand for our products and services. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to respond to these and other challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to continue to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware by Broadcom. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue has shifted in recent years, from our Private Cloud offerings to infrastructure resale and services within Public Cloud. Private Cloud offerings are generally hosted on our own infrastructure and deliver higher segment operating margins, but also require a higher level of capital expenditures. Conversely, Public Cloud segment operating margins are lower, driven by high volumes of infrastructure resale revenue which come at significantly lower margins. However, Public Cloud requires significantly less capital expenditures. Going forward, we will continue to take a workload-centric approach and both Public and Private Cloud will be the net recipients of the workloads. The focus in Private Cloud will be to defend and expand our revenue with new solutions. The focus in Public Cloud is on expanding segment operating margins by driving cost efficiencies and growing higher-margin services revenue.
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Table of Contents
Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Most of our services within our Public Cloud segment generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A)
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes research and development costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods.
Income taxes
Our income tax benefit (provision) and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management's best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. To date, we recorded consolidated tax expense, despite our net losses, due to the recording of valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets. Certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries continue to incur corporate tax expense or benefit according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 1 of Part I, Financial Statements - Note 10, "Taxes."
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Table of Contents
Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2026
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","Three Months Ended March 31,","","Year-Over-Year Comparison"],["","2025","","2026"],["(In millions, except %)","Amount","","% Revenue","","Amount","","% Revenue","","Amount","","% Change"],["Revenue","$","665.4","","","100.0","%","","$","678.1","","","100.0","%","","$","12.7","","","1.9","%"],["Cost of revenue","(538.5)","","","(80.9)","%","","(559.0)","","","(82.4)","%","","(20.5)","","","3.8","%"],["Gross profit","126.9","","","19.1","%","","119.1","","","17.6","%","","(7.8)","","","(6.1)","%"],["Selling, general and administrative expenses","(165.3)","","","(24.8)","%","","(136.9)","","","(20.2)","%","","28.4","","","(17.2)","%"],["Loss from operations","(38.4)","","","(5.8)","%","","(17.8)","","","(2.6)","%","","20.6","","","(53.6)","%"],["Other income (expense):"],["Interest expense","(19.4)","","","(2.9)","%","","(26.2)","","","(3.9)","%","","(6.8)","","","35.1","%"],["Loss on investments, net","(0.1)","",""
[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 MD&A is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. References to “Rackspace Technology,” “we,” “our company,” “the company,” “us,” or “our” refer to Rackspace Technology and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Table of Contents
Overview
We are a leading end-to-end hybrid cloud and AI solutions company. We serve as a trusted operator of the full technology stack, from governed private cloud infrastructure to AI deployed in production environments. From edge to core to cloud, we design, integrate and operate the infrastructure, data foundations and software platforms required to deliver business outcomes with predictable cost, resilience, security and compliance. Our solutions are purpose-built for regulated and mission-critical environments where uptime, data sovereignty and operational accountability are essential. We serve our customers with a unique combination of proprietary technology resulting from over $1 billion of investment and services expertise from a team of highly skilled consultants and engineers. We also provide our customers with unbiased expertise and technology solutions, delivered over the world’s leading cloud services, all wrapped in Fanatical Experience.
We aim to be our customers’ most trusted advisor and services partner in their path to cloud transformation and to accelerate the value of their cloud investments. We give customers the ability to make fluid decisions when choosing the right technologies, and we recommend solutions based on customers’ unique objectives. In this way, we empower our customers to harness the full benefits of cloud adoption.
Our team of 5,000 highly skilled Rackers, including consultants and engineers, partners with companies at every stage of their cloud transformation journey.
We deliver our services to a global customer base through an integrated service delivery model. We have a presence in more than 60 cities around the world. This footprint allows us to better serve customers based in various countries, especially multinational companies requiring cross-border solutions. We have a strong presence with customers of all sizes, including enterprise businesses (revenue in excess of $3 billion), mid-market businesses (revenue of $300 million to $3 billion) and commercial customers (revenue less than $300 million).
We operate our business and report our results through two reportable segments: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Our Public Cloud segment is a services-centric, capital-light model providing value-added cloud solutions through managed services, Elastic Engineering and professional services offerings for customer environments hosted on the AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud public cloud platforms. Our Private Cloud segment is a technology-forward, capital-intensive model providing managed service offerings for customer environments hosted in one of our data centers as well as in those owned by customers or by third parties such as colocation providers. Private Cloud also includes our legacy OpenStack Public Cloud business that we ceased to actively market to customers in 2017. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting" for additional information about our segments.
We generate revenue primarily through the sale of consumption-based contracts for our services offerings, which are recurring in nature. We also generate revenue from the sale of professional services related to designing and building customer solutions, which are non-recurring in nature. Arrangements within our Private Cloud segment generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources provided to and utilized by the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our other primary source of revenue is for services within our Public Cloud segment. Contracts for these arrangements typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We sell our services through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners and via online orders. Our sales model is based on both distributed and centralized sales teams with leads generated from technology partners, customer referrals, channel partners and corporate marketing efforts. We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments.
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Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. We and our customers face a variety of challenges, including evolving technologies (including AI and GenAI) and an uncertain regulatory landscape, including international trade policies and tariffs, as well as other macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. These factors have and will continue to affect demand for our products and services. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to respond to these and other challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to continue to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware by Broadcom. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue has shifted in recent years, from our Private Cloud offerings to infrastructure resale and services within Public Cloud. Private Cloud offerings are generally hosted on our own infrastructure and deliver higher segment operating margins, but also require a higher level of capital expenditures. Conversely, Public Cloud segment operating margins are lower, driven by high volumes of infrastructure resale revenue which come at significantly lower margins. However, Public Cloud requires significantly less capital expenditures. Going forward, we will continue to take a workload-centric approach and both Public and Private Cloud will be the net recipients of the workloads. The focus in Private Cloud will be to defend and expand our revenue with new solutions. The focus in Public Cloud is on expanding segment operating margins by driving cost efficiencies and growing higher-margin services revenue.
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Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Most of our services within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes R&D costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods.
Income taxes
Our income tax benefit (provision) and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. During 2025 we recorded consolidated tax expense, despite our net losses, due to the recording of valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets. Certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries continue to incur corporate tax expense or benefit according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2025
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,737.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,685.7 | 100.0 | % | $ | (51.4) | (1.9) | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,203.7) | (80.5) | % | (2,179.3) | (81.1) | % | 24.4 | (1.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 533.4 | 19.5 | % | 506.4 | 18.9 | % | (27.0) | (5.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (707.6) | (25.9) | % | (607.1) | (22.6) | % | 100.5 | (14.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (714.9) | (26.1) | % | — | — | % | 714.9 | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | (20.0) | (0.7) | % | — | — | % | 20.0 | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (909.1) | (33.2) | % | (100.7) | (3.8) | % | 808.4 | (88.9) | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (98.0) | (3.6) | % | (82.7) | (3.1) | % | 15.3 | (15.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on investments, net | 0.1 | 0.0 | % | 0.3 | 0.0 | % | 0.2 | 200.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | 147.2 | 5.4 | % | — | — | % | (147.2) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (21.7) | (0.8) | % | (18.7) | (0.7) | % | 3.0 | (13.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | 27.6 | 1.0 | % | (101.1) | (3.8) | % | (128.7) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (881.5) | (32.2) | % | (201.8) | (7.5) | % | 679.7 | (77.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit (provision) for income taxes | 23.3 | 0.8 | % | (24.0) | (0.9) | % | (47.3) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (858.2) | (31.4) | % | $ | (225.8) | (8.4) | % | $ | 632.4 | (73.7) | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue decreased $51 million, or 1.9%, to $2,686 million in 2025 from $2,737 million in 2024. Revenue declined primarily due to a decrease in Private Cloud revenue, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 2.1%. The following table presents revenue by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2024 | 2025 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,682.6 | $ | 1,696.0 | 0.8 | % | 0.7 | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,054.5 | 989.7 | (6.1) | % | (6.7) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,737.1 | $ | 2,685.7 | (1.9) | % | (2.1) | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2025 increased 0.8% on an actual basis and 0.7% on a constant currency basis, from 2024. The increase was driven by higher services revenue, partially offset by a reduction in infrastructure volumes.
Private Cloud revenue in 2025 decreased 6.1% on an actual basis and 6.7% on a constant currency basis, from 2024, reflecting customer transitions off legacy platforms, partially offset by revenue from new bookings, including revenue related to certain customer contracts that include embedded sales-type lease arrangements for hardware.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue decreased $24 million, or 1%, to $2,179 million in 2025 from $2,204 million in 2024. The largest drivers of the decrease were a reduction in license expense, due to decreased usage between periods, and a reduction in data center expense as a result of continued optimization initiatives. Also contributing to the overall decrease in cost of revenue was a decline in personnel costs, driven by a reduction in headcount and severance expense between periods. These decreases were partially offset by higher expense for hardware mainly related to certain customer contracts that include embedded sales-type lease arrangements and an increase in depreciation expense.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 60 basis points in 2025 to 81.1% from 80.5% in 2024, as the decline in revenue outpaced the decrease in cost of revenue.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $506 million in 2025, a decrease of $27 million from $533 million in 2024. Our gross margin was 18.9% in 2025, a decrease of 60 basis points from 19.5% in 2024.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $101 million, or 14%, to $607 million in 2025 from $708 million in 2024, primarily due to a reduction in personnel costs. The decrease in personnel costs was largely due to a decline in headcount between periods and a reduction in share-based compensation and non-equity incentive compensation, partially offset by an increase in severance expense driven by the departure of our former chief executive officer. Also driving the overall decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses was a $9 million early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in the first quarter of 2024 and a decrease in other business optimization related expenses between periods. Insurance recovery proceeds related to the Hosted Exchange incident received in the prior period partially offset the overall reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses year-over-year.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 330 basis points in 2025 to 22.6% from 25.9% in 2024 for the reasons discussed above.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $101 million in 2025 compared to $909 million in 2024. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $126 million in 2025, an increase of $21 million from $106 million in 2024. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (909.1) | $ | (100.7) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 63.4 | 45.1 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 5.2 | 2.5 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 58.5 | 32.3 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | (1.4) | — | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 714.9 | — | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 20.0 | — | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (c) | 154.1 | 146.9 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 105.6 | $ | 126.1 |
| (a) | Includes purchase accounting adjustments, exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs, and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2024 also includes a $9.0 million MEIA early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in March 2024. |
| (c) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 44.2 | 2.6 | % | $ | 67.6 | 4.0 | % | $ | 23.4 | 52.9 | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 294.4 | 27.9 | % | 252.4 | 25.5 | % | (42.0) | (14.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (233.0) | (193.9) | 39.1 | (16.8) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 105.6 | $ | 126.1 | $ | 20.5 | 19.4 | % |
Public Cloud operating profit increased 53% in 2025 from 2024. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue increased by 140 basis points, reflecting a 1% increase in segment revenue and a 1% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in expenses was mainly driven by operational improvements and cost optimization initiatives.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 14% in 2025 from 2024. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 240 basis points, due to a 6% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 3% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in expenses was mainly driven by cost optimization activities.
Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense decreased 17% in 2025 due to our continued focus on cost management.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting."
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Impairment of Goodwill
We recorded a total of $715 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges in 2024.
In connection with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions that were completed in March and April 2024, as further described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt", we updated our internal forecasts. As of February 29, 2024, we assessed our Board approved 2024 internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of February 29, 2024. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $385 million and $188 million, respectively, recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2024 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $69 million and $73 million, respectively, recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
There was no such impairment in 2025.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of February 29, 2024. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $20 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the first quarter of 2024.
There was no such impairment in 2025.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $15 million, or 16%, to $83 million in 2025 from $98 million in 2024, primarily due to the accounting for contractual interest payments on debt instruments entered into as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, portions of which are recorded as a reduction of related premiums and not as interest expense, which reduces interest expense relative to contractual interest cost.
Gain on Debt Extinguishment, Net of Debt Modification Costs
We recorded an $80 million gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs in 2024 related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions. In addition, we recorded $67 million total gain on debt extinguishment related to repurchases of an aggregate $92 million principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, FLSO Term Loan Facility, and 5.375% Senior Notes in 2024.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
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Other Expense, Net
Other expense, net decreased $3 million, or 14%, to $19 million in 2025 from $22 million in 2024, primarily due to foreign currency transactions gains between periods and upfront transaction costs incurred in 2024 related to the Receivables Purchase Facility.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for further discussion regarding the Receivables Purchase Facility.
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes
Our income tax expense was $24 million in 2025 compared to $23 million income tax benefit in 2024. Our effective tax rate decreased from 2.6% in 2024 to (11.9)% in 2025. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with changes in the valuation allowance, geographic distribution of profits, the tax impact associated with goodwill impairments recorded in both the first and third quarters of 2024, the majority of which were nondeductible for income tax purposes, and the income tax benefit related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions. The difference between the effective tax rate and the statutory rate in 2025 is primarily due to the tax impact associated with changes in valuation allowance, executive compensation that is non-deductible under IRC Section 162(m), the net impact of the geographic distribution of our earnings, and tax effects from non-deductible share-based compensation.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our income tax expense, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,957.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,737.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | (220.0) | (7.4) | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,328.3) | (78.7) | % | (2,203.7) | (80.5) | % | 124.6 | (5.4) | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 628.8 | 21.3 | % | 533.4 | 19.5 | % | (95.4) | (15.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (767.2) | (25.9) | % | (707.6) | (25.9) | % | 59.6 | (7.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (708.8) | (24.0) | % | (714.9) | (26.1) | % | (6.1) | 0.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | (52.2) | (1.8) | % | (20.0) | (0.7) | % | 32.2 | (61.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (899.4) | (30.4) | % | (909.1) | (33.2) | % | (9.7) | 1.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (221.6) | (7.5) | % | (98.0) | (3.6) | % | 123.6 | (55.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on investments, net | 0.3 | 0.0 | % | 0.1 | 0.0 | % | (0.2) | (66.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | 271.3 | 9.2 | % | 147.2 | 5.4 | % | (124.1) | (45.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (5.0) | (0.2) | % | (21.7) | (0.8) | % | (16.7) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | 45.0 | 1.5 | % | 27.6 | 1.0 | % | (17.4) | (38.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (854.4) | (28.9) | % | (881.5) | (32.2) | % | (27.1) | 3.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 16.6 | 0.6 | % | 23.3 | 0.8 | % | 6.7 | 40.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (837.8) | (28.3) | % | $ | (858.2) | (31.4) | % | $ | (20.4) | 2.4 | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue decreased $220 million, or 7.4%, to $2,737 million in 2024 from $2,957 million in 2023. Revenue declined due to decreases in both Private Cloud and Public Cloud revenue, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 7.7%. The following table presents revenue by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2023 | 2024 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,742.7 | $ | 1,682.6 | (3.4) | % | (3.5) | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,214.4 | 1,054.5 | (13.2) | % | (13.6) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | 2,737.1 | (7.4) | % | (7.7) | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2024 decreased 3.4% on an actual basis and 3.5% on a constant currency basis, from 2023. The decline was due to weaker demand for services in the earlier part of the year.
Private Cloud revenue in 2024 decreased 13.2% on an actual basis and 13.6% on a constant currency basis, from 2023, reflecting customer transitions off legacy platforms.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue decreased $125 million, or 5%, to $2,204 million in 2024 from $2,328 million in 2023. The decrease in cost of revenue was primarily due to an increase in the useful life of certain customer gear assets which resulted in a decline in depreciation expense between periods. Additionally, a reduction in headcount drove a decrease in personnel costs. Also contributing to the reduction in cost of revenue was license expense due to decreased usage between periods.
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As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 180 basis points in 2024 to 80.5% from 78.7% in 2023, as the decline in revenue outpaced the decrease in cost of revenue. Usage charges for third-party infrastructure drove a 370 basis point increase. The decrease in other expenses, discussed above, partially offset the increase.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $533 million in 2024, a decrease of $95 million from $629 million in 2023. Our gross margin was 19.5% in 2024, a decrease of 180 basis points from 21.3% in 2023.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $60 million, or 8%, to $708 million in 2024 from $767 million in 2023. 2023 includes $12 million of expense recognized for a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023, prior to the lease end date. Further contributing to the decrease year-over-year was additional insurance recovery proceeds related to the Hosted Exchange incident received in 2024. In addition, personnel costs decreased due to a reduction in salaries driven by lower headcount and decreases in severance and commissions expense, partially offset by an increase in non-equity incentive compensation. Other non-personnel cost fluctuations included lower professional fees, a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense, and business optimization related expenses between periods. We also had an increase in the gain on sale of certain assets which further contributed to the reduction in SG&A expenses.
SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue was 25.9% for 2024 and 2023.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $909 million in 2024 compared to $899 million in 2023. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $106 million in 2024, a decrease of $52 million from $157 million in 2023. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (899.4) | $ | (909.1) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 65.4 | 63.4 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 5.2 | 5.2 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 56.7 | 58.5 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | (4.8) | (1.4) | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 708.8 | 714.9 | ||||
| UK office closure (c) | 12.1 | — | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 52.2 | 20.0 | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (d) | 161.0 | 154.1 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 157.2 | $ | 105.6 |
| (a) | Includes purchase accounting adjustments, exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs, and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2024 also includes a $9.0 million MEIA early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in March 2024. |
| (c) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (d) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
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Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 81.8 | 4.7 | % | $ | 44.2 | 2.6 | % | $ | (37.6) | (46.0) | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 343.0 | 28.2 | % | 294.4 | 27.9 | % | (48.6) | (14.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (267.6) | (233.0) | 34.6 | (12.9) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 157.2 | $ | 105.6 | $ | (51.6) | (32.8) | % |
Public Cloud operating profit decreased 46% in 2024 from 2023. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 210 basis points, reflecting a 3% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 1% decrease in segment operating expenses.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 14% in 2024 from 2023. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 30 basis points, due to a 13% decrease in segment revenue; inline with a 13% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in operating expenses was largely driven by a reduction in depreciation expense due to an increase in the useful life of certain customer gear assets, as discussed in “Cost of Revenue” above. Also contributing to the reduction in Private Cloud operating expenses was a decrease in license expense and personnel costs between periods.
Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense decreased 13% in 2024 due to a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense driven by certain assets reaching the end of their useful life. Additionally, our continued focus on cost management further contributed to the cost reduction.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting."
Impairment of Goodwill
We recorded a total of $715 million and $709 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
In connection with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions that were completed in March and April 2024, as further described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt", we updated our internal forecasts. As of February 29, 2024, we assessed our Board approved 2024 internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of February 29, 2024. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $385 million and $188 million, respectively, recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2024 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $69 million and $73 million, respectively, recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
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Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023. The results of this quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded an additional non-cash impairment charge of $272 million in the first quarter of 2023.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2023 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, market capitalization and earnings quality and sustainability. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a non-cash impairment of goodwill of $166 million in the third quarter of 2023.
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting units and combined our Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units into a new Private Cloud reporting unit. We completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated no impairment to goodwill.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We recorded a total of $20 million and $52 million in net asset impairment charges in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
We evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of February 29, 2024. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $20 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the first quarter of 2024.
We also performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as September 30, 2024, which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
Similarly, we evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of September 30, 2023. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $57 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the third quarter of 2023.
In addition, during 2023, we recorded a $5 million net increase in the estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of our corporate headquarters which was classified as held for sale under GAAP as of December 31, 2022.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $124 million, or 56%, to $98 million in 2024 from $222 million in 2023, primarily due to the accounting for contractual interest payments on debt instruments entered into as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, portions of which are recorded as a reduction of related premiums and not as interest expense, which reduces interest expense relative to contractual interest cost.
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Gain on Debt Extinguishment, Net of Debt Modification Costs
We recorded $80 million gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs in 2024 related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions. In addition, we recorded $67 million total gain on debt extinguishment related to repurchases of an aggregate $92 million principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, FLSO Term Loan Facility, and 5.375% Senior Notes in 2024.
We recorded a $228 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2023 related to repurchases of $352 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes. In addition, we repurchased $36 million principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and $56 million principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, which resulted in an $18 million and $26 million gain on debt extinguishment, respectively.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
Other Expense, Net
The increase in other expense, net to $22 million in 2024 from $5 million in 2023 is primarily due to a full year of costs incurred in 2024 related to the Receivables Purchase Facility entered into in September 2023.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for further discussion regarding the Receivables Purchase Facility.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit increased by $7 million to $23 million in 2024 from $17 million in 2023. Our effective tax rate increased from 1.9% in 2023 to 2.6% in 2024. The increase in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with goodwill impairments recorded in both the first and third quarters of 2024 as well as goodwill impairments recorded in 2023, the majority of which were nondeductible for income tax purposes, and the income tax benefit of $103 million related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions discussed above. The difference between the effective tax rate and the statutory rate in 2024 is primarily due to the tax impact associated with changes in the valuation allowance, the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded in the first and third quarters of 2024, the majority of which were nondeductible for income tax purposes, and the tax impact of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We track several non-GAAP financial measures to monitor and manage our underlying financial performance. The following discussion includes the presentation of constant currency revenue, Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share, which are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of certain costs, losses and gains that are required to be included in our profit and loss measures under GAAP. Although we believe these measures are useful to investors and analysts for the same reasons they are useful to management, as discussed below, these measures are not a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP financial measures or disclosures. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. We have reconciled each of these non-GAAP measures to the applicable most comparable GAAP measure throughout this MD&A.
Constant Currency Revenue
We use constant currency revenue as an additional metric for understanding and assessing our growth excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on our international business operations. Constant currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period and is calculated by translating the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current period to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective period. We also believe this is an important metric to help investors evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods.
The following tables present, by segment, actual and constant currency revenue and constant currency revenue growth rates, for and between the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, 2024 | Year Ended December 31, 2025 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,682.6 | $ | 1,696.0 | $ | (1.5) | $ | 1,694.5 | 0.8 | % | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,054.5 | 989.7 | (5.4) | 984.3 | (6.1) | % | (6.7) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,737.1 | $ | 2,685.7 | $ | (6.9) | $ | 2,678.8 | (1.9) | % | (2.1) | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
| Year Ended December 31, 2023 | Year Ended December 31, 2024 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,742.7 | $ | 1,682.6 | $ | (1.4) | $ | 1,681.2 | (3.4) | % | (3.5) | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,214.4 | 1,054.5 | (5.6) | 1,048.9 | (13.2) | % | (13.6) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | 2,737.1 | $ | (7.0) | $ | 2,730.1 | (7.4) | % | (7.7) | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
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Non-GAAP Gross Profit
We present Non-GAAP Gross Profit in this MD&A because we believe the measure is useful in analyzing trends in our underlying, recurring gross margins. We define Non-GAAP Gross Profit as gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense, purchase accounting-related effects, certain business transformation-related costs, and costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
The table below presents a reconciliation of gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 628.8 | $ | 533.4 | $ | 506.4 | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 9.1 | 7.6 | 5.1 | |||||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (a) | 2.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 17.9 | 19.8 | 8.9 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 0.3 | — | — | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 658.7 | $ | 562.6 | $ | 521.2 |
| (a) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. |
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA
We present Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA because they are a basis upon which management assesses our performance and we believe they are useful to evaluating our financial performance. We believe that excluding items from net income that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our core operating results, and that may vary in frequency or magnitude, enhances the comparability of our results and provides a better baseline for analyzing trends in our business.
The Rackspace Acquisition was structured as a leveraged buyout of Rackspace Technology Global, our predecessor, and resulted in several accounting and capital structure impacts. For example, the revaluation of our assets and liabilities resulted in a significant increase in our amortizable intangible assets and goodwill, the incurrence of a significant amount of debt to partially finance the Rackspace Acquisition resulted in interest payments that reflect our high leverage and cost of debt capital, and the conversion of Rackspace Technology Global’s unvested equity compensation into a cash-settled bonus plan and obligation to pay management fees to our equityholders resulted in new cash commitments. In addition, the change in ownership and management resulting from the Rackspace Acquisition led to a strategic realignment in our operations that had a significant impact on our financial results. Following the Rackspace Acquisition, we acquired several businesses, sold businesses and investments that we deemed to be non-core and launched multiple integration and business transformation initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of people and operations and identify recurring cost savings and new revenue growth opportunities. We believe that these transactions and activities resulted in costs, which have historically been substantial, and that may not be indicative of, or are not related to, our core operating results, including interest related to the incurrence of additional debt to finance acquisitions and third party legal, advisory and consulting fees and severance, retention bonus and other internal costs that we believe would not have been incurred in the absence of these transactions and activities and also may not be indicative of, or related to, our core operating results.
We define Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, the interest expense impact from the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, as well as the tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments.
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We define Non-GAAP Operating Profit as income (loss) from operations adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, costs related to the closure of a UK office, certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, interest expense, expenses for our Receivables Purchase Facility, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and goodwill and asset impairment charges.
Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA are management’s principal metrics for measuring our underlying financial performance. Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA, along with other quantitative and qualitative information, are also the principal financial measures used by management and our Board in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.
These non-GAAP measures are not intended to imply that we would have generated higher income or avoided net losses if the Rackspace Acquisition and the subsequent transactions and initiatives had not occurred. In the future we may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit or Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by these items. Other companies, including our peer companies, may calculate similarly-titled measures in a different manner from us, and therefore, our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-tiled measures of other companies. Investors are cautioned against using these measures to the exclusion of our results in accordance with GAAP.
The following tables present a reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit, see “Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit” in the year-over-year comparisons under "Results of Operations" above.
Net loss reconciliation to Non-GAAP Net Loss
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | $ | (225.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 65.4 | 63.4 | 45.1 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 5.2 | 5.2 | 2.5 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 56.7 | 58.5 | 32.3 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | (4.8) | (1.4) | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 708.8 | 714.9 | — | |||||||
| UK office closure (c) | 12.1 | — | — | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 52.2 | 20.0 | — | |||||||
| Net gain on divestiture and investments (d) | (0.3) | (0.1) | (0.3) | |||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | (271.3) | (147.2) | — | |||||||
| Interest expense impact from the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions (e) | — | (72.9) | (83.0) | |||||||
| Other adjustments (f) | (1.0) | 1.2 | (2.1) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (g) | 161.0 | 154.1 | 146.9 | |||||||
| Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (h) | 1.7 | (1.0) | 39.7 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Net Loss | $ | (52.1) | $ | (63.5) | $ | (44.7) |
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Net loss reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | $ | (225.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 65.4 | 63.4 | 45.1 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 5.2 | 5.2 | 2.5 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 56.7 | 58.5 | 32.3 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | (4.8) | (1.4) | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 708.8 | 714.9 | — | |||||||
| UK office closure (c) | 12.1 | — | — | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 52.2 | 20.0 | — | |||||||
| Net gain on divestiture and investments (d) | (0.3) | (0.1) | (0.3) | |||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | (271.3) | (147.2) | — | |||||||
| Other expense, net (i) | 5.0 | 21.7 | 18.7 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 221.6 | 98.0 | 82.7 | |||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | (16.6) | (23.3) | 24.0 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (j) | 366.4 | 293.3 | 296.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 362.6 | $ | 244.8 | $ | 275.7 |
| (a) | Includes purchase accounting adjustments, exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs, and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2024 includes a $9.0 million MEIA early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in March 2024. |
| (c) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (d) | Includes gains and losses on investment and from dispositions. |
| (e) | Interest expense impact due to the accounting for contractual interest payments on debt instruments entered into as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, which reduced interest expense relative to contractual interest cost. |
| (f) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses. |
| (g) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
| (h) | We utilize an estimated structural long-term non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide consistency across reporting periods, removing the effect of non-recurring tax adjustments, which include but are not limited to tax rate changes, U.S. tax reform, share-based compensation, audit conclusions and changes to valuation allowances. We used a structural non-GAAP tax rate of 26% for all periods which reflects the removal of the tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments and non-recurring tax adjustments on a year-over-year basis. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate our long-term non-GAAP tax rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments facilitates a better evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to prior periods. |
| (i) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses and expense related to our Receivables Purchase Facility. |
| (j) | Excludes accelerated depreciation expense related to facility closures. |
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Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share
We define Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share as Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) divided by our GAAP weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period on a diluted basis and further adjusted for the weighted average number of shares associated with securities which are anti-dilutive to GAAP loss per share. Management uses Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share to evaluate the performance of our business on a comparable basis from period to period, including by adjusting for the impact of the issuance of shares. The following table reconciles Non-GAAP Loss Per Share to our GAAP net loss per share on a diluted basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | $ | (225.8) | ||||
| Non-GAAP Net Loss | $ | (52.1) | $ | (63.5) | $ | (44.7) | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 215.3 | 224.8 | 238.7 | |||||||
| Effect of dilutive securities (a) | 3.1 | 10.7 | 6.2 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 218.4 | 235.5 | 244.9 | |||||||
| Net loss per share - Diluted | $ | (3.89) | $ | (3.82) | $ | (0.95) | ||||
| Per share impacts of adjustments to net loss (b) | 3.65 | 3.54 | 0.76 | |||||||
| Per share impacts of shares after adjustments to net loss (a) | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Loss Per Share | $ | (0.24) | $ | (0.27) | $ | (0.18) |
| (a) | Potential common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, vesting of restricted stock units (including performance-based restricted stock units) or purchases under the ESPP, as well as contingent shares associated with our acquisition of Datapipe. Certain of our potential common share equivalents are contingent on certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo achieving pre-established performance targets based on a MOIC, which are included in the denominator for the entire period if such shares would be issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was the end of the contingency period. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Reflects the aggregate adjustments made to reconcile Non-GAAP Net Loss to our net loss, as noted in the above table, divided by the GAAP diluted number of shares outstanding for the relevant period. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We primarily finance our operations and capital expenditures with internally-generated cash from operations and hardware leases, and if necessary, borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2025, the New Revolving Credit Facility provided for up to $375 million of borrowings, $60 million of which was drawn and outstanding as of December 31, 2025. Our primary uses of cash are working capital requirements, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. Based on our current level of operations and available cash, we believe our sources will provide sufficient liquidity over at least the next twelve months. We cannot provide assurance, however, that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the New Revolving Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. Our ability to do so depends on prevailing economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change of control, we could be required to repay or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar transactions will likely require additional capital, and there can be no assurance that any such capital will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
From time to time, depending upon market and other conditions, as well as upon our cash balances and liquidity, we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may acquire (and have acquired) our outstanding debt securities or our other indebtedness through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, redemption or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may determine (or as may be provided for in the Indentures, if applicable), for cash or other consideration.
On September 29, 2023, indirect subsidiaries of the company entered into a revolving agreement where a bankruptcy-remote SPV can sell accounts receivable, based upon the face amount of eligible receivables in the collateral pool, up to an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to a financial institution on a recurring basis in exchange for cash. On February 12, 2024, the revolving agreement was amended to include certain international subsidiaries of the company as parties to the agreement and Rackspace Receivables Canada Limited, a Canadian indirect subsidiary of the company, was established as an SPV.
At December 31, 2025, we held $106 million in cash and cash equivalents (not including $2 million in restricted cash, which is included in "Other non-current assets"), of which $66 million was held by foreign entities.
We have entered into installment payment arrangements with certain equipment and software vendors, along with sale-leaseback arrangements for equipment and certain property leases that are considered financing obligations. We had $53 million outstanding with respect to these arrangements as of December 31, 2025. We may choose to utilize these various sources of funding in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 9, "Financing Obligations" for more information regarding financing obligations.
We also lease certain equipment and real estate under operating and finance lease agreements. We had $485 million outstanding with respect to operating and finance lease agreements as of December 31, 2025. We may choose to utilize such leasing arrangements in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 8, "Leases" for more information regarding our operating and finance leases.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $2,429 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility, the Term Loan Facility, 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, 5.375% Senior Notes, and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The New Revolving Credit Facility provides for up to $375 million of borrowings, $60 million of which was drawn and outstanding as of December 31, 2025. Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to debt service requirements.
Debt
In March 2024, we initiated a series of debt refinancing transactions that substantially impacted our existing debt instruments: the Senior Facilities, the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and the 5.375% Senior Notes. We also entered into new debt instruments: the New Senior Facilities, which includes the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility, and the New Revolving Credit Facility, and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
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Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, “Debt,” for more information regarding the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions and the related accounting impacts.
New Debt Instruments
New Senior Facilities
On March 12, 2024, Rackspace Finance Holdings, Rackspace Finance, the lenders and issuing banks party thereto and Citi, as the administrative agent and collateral agent, entered into the credit agreement governing the FLSO Term Loan Facility, FLFO Term Loan Facility and New Revolving Credit Facility (together, the “New Senior Facilities”) (the “New First Lien Credit Agreement”).
FLSO Term Loan Facility
Rackspace Finance issued the FLSO Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1,687 million. The FLSO Term Loan Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
As of December 31, 2025, the contractual interest rate on the FLSO Term Loan Facility was 6.61%. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $4 million.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the FLSO Term Loan Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by certain of Rackspace Finance’s subsidiaries (the “Subsidiary Guarantors”). The obligations under the FLSO Term Loan Facility are secured by a pledge of Rackspace Finance’s capital stock directly held by Rackspace Finance Holdings and substantially all of Rackspace Finance’s and the Subsidiary Guarantors’ assets, subject to exceptions.
As of December 31, 2025, $1,610 million in aggregate principal amount of the FLSO Term Loan Facility remained outstanding.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the FLSO Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
FLFO Term Loan Facility
Rackspace Finance issued the FLFO Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount $275 million. The FLFO Term Loan Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
As of December 31, 2025, the contractual interest rate on the FLFO Term Loan Facility was 10.11%. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $0.7 million.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the FLFO Term Loan Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the FLFO Term Loan Facility are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the New Revolving Credit Facility and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
As of December 31, 2025, $270 million aggregate principal amount of the FLFO Term Loan Facility remained outstanding.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the FLFO Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
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New Revolving Credit Facility
Rackspace Finance established the New Revolving Credit Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $375 million of commitments. All revolving lenders under the Prior Revolving Credit Facility exchanged their revolving loan commitments for commitments in respect of the New Revolving Credit Facility, which replaces in full the Prior Revolving Credit Facility. The New Revolving Credit Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
The New Revolving Credit Facility includes a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that is due quarterly. This fee is subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
As of December 31, 2025, we had total commitments of $375 million, $60 million of outstanding borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility, and $24 million of letters of credit issued thereunder. As such, as of December 31, 2025, we had $292 million of available commitments remaining.
3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes due 2028
On March 12, 2024, Rackspace Finance issued $267 million initial aggregate principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes will mature on May 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15.
On April 16, 2024, we completed the Public Note Exchange, pursuant to which (i) $138 million aggregate principal amount of the existing 3.50% Senior Secured Notes were exchanged or purchased for cancellation and (ii) $97 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes were issued by Rackspace Finance.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility and the New Revolving Credit Facility.
As of December 31, 2025, $319 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes were outstanding.
Existing Debt Instruments
Senior Facilities
On February 9, 2021, we amended and restated the First Lien Credit Agreement, which included a new seven-year $2,300 million Term Loan Facility and the Prior Revolving Credit Facility, which we refer to together as the Senior Facilities. The Term Loan Facility will mature on February 15, 2028 and the Prior Revolving Credit Facility was set to mature on August 7, 2025.
On April 26, 2023, we executed an amendment to our First Lien Credit Agreement to establish Term SOFR as the benchmark rate for determining the applicable interest rate, replacing LIBOR.
Borrowings under the Senior Facilities bear interest at an annual rate equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (a) Term SOFR equal to the forward-looking term rate, based on the secured overnight financing rate as administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.11% for an interest period of one-month's duration, 0.26% for an interest period of three-months' duration, and 0.43% for an interest period of six-months' duration, subject to a 0.75% floor, in the case of the Term Loan Facility, and a 1.00% floor, in the case of the Prior Revolving Credit Facility, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate last quoted by The Wall Street Journal and (iii) adjusted Term SOFR for a one-month tenor plus 1.00%.
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The applicable margin for the Term Loan Facility is 2.75% for SOFR loans and 1.75% for base rate loans and the applicable margin for the Prior Revolving Credit Facility was 3.00% for SOFR loans and 2.00% for base rate loans. Interest is due at the end of each interest period elected, not exceeding 90 days, for SOFR loans and at the end of every calendar quarter for base rate loans.
The Prior Revolving Credit Facility also included a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that was due quarterly. This fee was subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
In addition to the quarterly amortization payments discussed above, our Senior Facilities require us to make certain mandatory prepayments, including using (i) a portion of annual excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, to prepay the Term Loan Facility, (ii) net cash proceeds of certain non-ordinary assets sales or dispositions of property to prepay the Term Loan Facility and (iii) net cash proceeds of any issuance or incurrence of debt not permitted under the Senior Facilities to prepay the Term Loan Facility. We can make voluntary prepayments at any time without penalty.
Rackspace Technology Global, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is the borrower under the Senior Facilities, and all obligations under the Senior Facilities are (i) guaranteed by Inception Parent, Rackspace Technology Global’s immediate parent company, on a limited recourse basis and secured by the equity interests of Rackspace Technology Global held by Inception Parent and (ii) guaranteed by Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries and secured by substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interests held by each, in each case subject to certain exceptions.
As of December 31, 2025, the interest rate on the Term Loan Facility was 6.60% and the outstanding principal balance was $61 million. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $0.2 million, with the balance due at maturity on February 15, 2028.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
In conjunction with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, the Prior Revolving Credit Facility was replaced in full by the New Revolving Credit Facility.
3.50% Senior Secured Notes
On February 9, 2021, Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes will mature on February 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are not subject to registration rights.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and obligations under the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interest held by each, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Rackspace Technology Global may redeem during each twelve-month period, commencing with February 9, 2021, up to 10.0% of the original aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a redemption price of 103.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.
As of December 31, 2025, $44 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.
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5.375% Senior Notes
Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes on December 1, 2020. The 5.375% Senior Notes will mature on December 1, 2028 and bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.375% per year, payable semi-annually on each June 1 and December 1. The 5.375% Senior Notes are not subject to registration rights.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 5.375% Senior Notes, and obligations under the 5.375% Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 5.375% Senior Notes are effectively junior to the indebtedness under the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, to the extent of the collateral securing the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 5.375% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 5.375% Senior Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, from December 1, 2025 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date.
As of December 31, 2025, $125 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes remained outstanding.
Debt covenants
The FLSO Term Loan Facility, FLFO Term Loan Facility, and Term Loan Facility are not subject to a financial maintenance covenant. The New Revolving Credit Facility includes a financial maintenance covenant that limits the super-priority net senior secured leverage ratio to a maximum of 5.00 to 1.00. The super-priority net senior secured leverage ratio is calculated as the ratio of (x) the total amount of consolidated super-priority senior secured debt for borrowed money, less unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, to (y) consolidated EBITDA (as defined under the New First Lien Credit Agreement governing the New Senior Facilities). However, this financial maintenance covenant will only be applicable and tested if the aggregate amount of outstanding borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility and letters of credit issued thereunder (excluding $25 million of undrawn letters of credit and cash collateralized letters of credit) as of the last day of a fiscal quarter is greater than 35% of the New Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the last day of such fiscal quarter. Additional covenants in the New Senior Facilities and Senior Facilities limit our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt and liens, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The Indentures contain covenants that, among other things, limit our subsidiaries' ability to incur certain additional debt, incur certain liens securing debt, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, limitations, and qualifications as set forth in the Indentures. Additionally, upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the Indentures), we will be required to make an offer to repurchase all of the outstanding 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, 5.375% Senior Notes and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, respectively, at a price in cash equal to 101.000% of the aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including the purchase date.
Our “consolidated EBITDA,” as defined under our debt instruments, is calculated in the same manner as our Adjusted EBITDA, presented elsewhere in this report, except that our debt instruments allow us to adjust for additional items, including certain start-up costs, and to give pro forma effect to acquisitions, including resulting synergies, and internal cost savings initiatives. In addition, under the Indentures, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA does not take into account any changes in GAAP subsequent to the date of issuance, whereas under the New Senior Facilities and Senior Facilities, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA takes into account the impact of certain changes in GAAP subsequent to December 1, 2020 other than with respect to capital leases.
As of December 31, 2025, we were in compliance with all covenants under the New Senior Facilities, the Senior Facilities and the Indentures.
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Supplemental Financial Information
In accordance with the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes Indenture, Rackspace Finance Holdings, Rackspace Finance and certain subsidiaries of Rackspace Finance (together with their restricted subsidiaries, the “New Credit Group”) are obligors under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes. The following presents summarized financial information for the New Credit Group after eliminating intercompany transactions and balances among the New Credit Group.
As of December 31, 2025, the New Credit Group had total assets of $2,796 million and total liabilities of $3,779 million, which included total debt of $2,517 million. The financial information for the New Credit Group differs from the financial information for the company and its consolidated subsidiaries primarily because Rackspace Technology Global has (i) debt that is not guaranteed by the New Credit Group, which debt was $229 million as of December 31, 2025, and (ii) Rackspace Technology Global is the party to the interest rate swap which had a net asset value of $1 million as of December 31, 2025.
Capital Expenditures
The following table sets forth a summary of our total capital expenditures for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Customer gear (1) | $ | 115.3 | $ | 88.8 | $ | 94.3 | ||||
| Data center build outs (2) | 2.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | |||||||
| Office build outs (3) | 1.8 | 0.3 | — | |||||||
| Capitalized software and other projects (4) | 61.3 | 46.1 | 44.1 | |||||||
| Total capital expenditures | $ | 181.3 | $ | 136.4 | $ | 139.4 |
(1) Includes servers, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, backup libraries, storage arrays and drives and certain software that is essential to the functionality of customer gear, which we provide.
(2) Includes generators, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, mechanical and electrical plants, chillers, raised floor, network cabling, other infrastructure gear and other data center building improvements.
(3) Includes building improvements, raised floor, furniture and equipment.
(4) Includes salaries and payroll-related costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects, purchased software licenses and other projects that meet the criteria for capitalization.
Total capital expenditures were relatively flat from 2024 to 2025 as increased purchases of customer gear were partially offset by a reduction in capitalized software and other projects between periods.
The $45 million decrease from 2023 to 2024 was primarily driven by purchases of customer gear originally intended to support a specific new customer during the first quarter of 2023. This new customer did not materialize as expected; however, the gear is fungible and has been redeployed to support other business requirements. This gear was acquired through a finance lease.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of certain cash flow information for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 374.9 | $ | 39.9 | $ | 151.4 | ||||
| Cash used in investing activities | $ | (96.0) | $ | (86.6) | $ | (58.4) | ||||
| Cash used in financing activities | $ | (312.8) | $ | (3.0) | $ | (134.6) |
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities results primarily from cash received from customers, offset by cash payments made for employee and consultant compensation (less amounts capitalized related to internal-use software that are reflected as cash used in investing activities), data center costs, license costs, third-party infrastructure costs, marketing programs, interest, taxes, and other general corporate expenditures.
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Net cash provided by operating activities for 2025 increased $112 million from 2024. The increase in operating cash between periods was primarily driven by a decrease of $25 million of cash paid for operating expenses in 2025 compared to 2024. Additionally, there was an increase in cash proceeds related to accounts receivable sold of $35 million in 2025 compared to a decrease of $5 million in 2024. Lastly, in 2024, $32 million in third party fees were paid in connection with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions and a $9 million early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters was paid. There were no similar one time fees paid in 2025.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2024 decreased $335 million, or 89%, from 2023. The reduction in operating cash between periods was primarily driven by $209 million of cash proceeds received during 2023 related to the sale of our receivables, an increase of $98 million of operating expenses between periods, $32 million in third party fees paid in connection with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, and a $9 million early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in the first quarter of 2024.
Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily consists of capital expenditures to meet the demands of our customer base and our strategic initiatives. The largest outlays of cash are for purchases of customer gear, data center and office build-outs, and capitalized payroll costs related to internal-use software development.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2025 decreased $28 million, or 33%, from 2024 primarily due to a $50 million reduction in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software between periods, partially offset by $17 million of net proceeds received in 2024 from the March 2024 sale of our corporate headquarters facility.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2024 decreased $9 million, or 10%, from 2023 primarily due to $17 million of net proceeds received in the current year from the March 2024 sale of our corporate headquarters facility. In addition, there was a $7 million increase in cash from other investing activities largely due to the sale of property and equipment between periods. These cash inflows were partially offset by a $14 million increase in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software from 2023 to 2024.
Cash Used in Financing Activities
Financing activities generally include cash activity related to debt and other long-term financing arrangements (for example, finance lease obligations and financing obligations), including proceeds from and repayments of borrowings, and cash activity related to the issuance and repurchase of equity.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2025 increased $132 million from 2024. The change was primarily driven by $275 million of proceeds received in 2024 from the FLFO Term Loan Facility as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions compared to just $155 million of debt proceeds in the current period from borrowings on the New Revolving Credit Facility. An increase in debt repayments of $35 million between periods further contributed to the increase in cash used in financing activities. This activity was partially offset by $22 million of payments in 2024 related to debt extinguishment costs.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2024 decreased $310 million, or 99%, from 2023. The change was primarily driven by an increase in proceeds of $275 million from the new FLFO Term Loan Facility as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions compared to $50 million of debt proceeds in 2023, a reduction in debt repayments of $79 million, and a $23 million decrease in principal payments of finance lease liabilities between periods. This activity was partially offset by $22 million of payments related to debt extinguishment costs.
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
On September 29, 2023, Rackspace US and Rackspace Receivables II, LLC, a bankruptcy-remote SPV, each an indirect subsidiary of the company, entered into the Receivables Purchase Facility with PNC. The Receivables Purchase Facility allows the SPV to sell and/or contribute accounts receivable up an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to PNC on a revolving basis. On February 12, 2024, the Receivables Purchase Facility was amended to include certain international subsidiaries of the company as parties to the agreement and Rackspace Receivables Canada Limited, a Canadian indirect subsidiary of the company, was established as an SPV.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for more information regarding this off-balance sheet transaction.
We have entered into various indemnification arrangements with third parties, including vendors, customers, landlords, our officers and directors, stockholders of acquired companies and third parties to whom and from whom we license technology. Generally, these indemnification agreements require us to reimburse losses suffered by third parties due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement or our negligence. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions by us, our employees, agents or representatives. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements. To date, we have not incurred material costs as a result of such obligations and have not accrued any material liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in our consolidated financial statements. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "Commitments and Contingencies" for more information related to these indemnification arrangements.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We consider accounting estimates that require significant management judgment to be critical accounting estimates. We review our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for credit losses, property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, contingencies, share-based compensation and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to determine the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
Revenue Recognition
We provide cloud computing to customers, which is broadly defined as the delivery of computing, storage and applications over the Internet. Cloud computing is a service transaction under which the services we provide vary on a daily basis. The totality of services provided represent a single integrated solution tailored to the customer’s specific needs. As such, our performance obligations to our customers consist of a single integrated solution delivered as a series of distinct daily services delivered over the same period of time. We recognize revenue on a daily basis as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for the services.
Our usage-based arrangements generally include variable consideration components consisting of monthly utility fees with a defined price and undefined quantity. Additionally, our contracts contain service level guarantees that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and certain products may include volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for this consideration as services are provided and earned.
A substantial amount of revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, relates to fees associated with offerings that generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Contracts for our service offerings falling within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We also provide customers with professional services for the design and implementation of application, security and data services. Professional service contracts are either fixed-fee or time-and-materials based. We typically consider our professional services to be a separate performance obligation from other integrated solutions being provided to the same customer. Our performance obligations under these arrangements are typically to provide the services on a daily basis over a period of time and we recognize revenue as the services are performed.
We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments. Judgment is required in assessing whether a service is distinct, including determination of whether the customer could benefit from the service on its own or in conjunction with other readily available resources and whether certain services are highly integrated into a bundle of services that represent the combined output specified by the customer. Arrangements can contain multiple performance obligations that are distinct, which are accounted for separately. Each performance obligation is recognized as services are provided based on their SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each of our distinct performance obligations. We utilize a range of prices when developing our estimates of SSP. We determine the range of prices for estimating SSP for all our performance obligations using observable inputs, such as standalone sales and historical contract pricing. Our estimates of SSP are updated quarterly.
In addition, our customer agreements provide that we will achieve certain service levels related primarily to network uptime, critical infrastructure availability and hardware replacement. We may be obligated to provide service credits for a portion of the service fees paid by our customers to the extent that such service levels are not achieved or are otherwise disputed. Credit memos are recognized in the period of service to which they relate.
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Revenue recognition for revenue generated from arrangements in which we resell third-party infrastructure bundled with our managed services, requires judgment to determine whether revenue can be recorded at the gross sales price or net of third-party fees. Typically, revenue is recognized on a gross basis when it is determined that we are the principal in the relationship. We are considered the principal in the relationship when we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the contract and obtain control of the third-party infrastructure before transferring it as an integral part of our performance obligation to provide services to the customer. Revenue is recognized net of third-party fees when we determine that our obligation is only to facilitate the customers’ purchase of third-party infrastructure.
Valuation of Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses
We record an allowance for credit losses on trade accounts receivable for estimated losses resulting from uncollectible receivables. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowance, we consider historical bad debt write-offs and all known facts and circumstances such as current economic conditions and trends, customer creditworthiness and specifically identified customer risks. If actual collections of customer receivables differ from our estimates, additional allowances may be required which could have an impact on our results of operations.
Property, Equipment and Software and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
In providing services to our customers, we utilize significant amounts of property, equipment and software, which we depreciate on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite-lived intangible assets are primarily comprised of customer relationships and are stated at their acquisition-date fair value less accumulated amortization. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Property and equipment under operating and finance leases are included within “Operating right-of-use assets” and “Property, equipment and software, net,” respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term whereas finance lease assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term. We routinely review the estimated useful lives of our property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets (“long-lived assets”). A change in the useful life of a long-lived asset is treated as a change in accounting estimate in the period of change and future periods.
Long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets and finance lease assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured at the asset group level and if the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
We also performed recoverability tests of our long-lived assets in conjunction with the goodwill impairment analyses discussed below which did not result in any impairment charges.
We capitalize the salaries and related compensation costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects. Judgment is required in determining whether an enhancement to previously developed software is significant and creates additional functionality to the software, thus resulting in capitalization. All other software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the software, which is generally three years; however, we evaluate the nature and utility of each project which can result in a useful life ranging between one and five years on certain projects.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Our indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of our Rackspace trade name, which was recorded at fair value on our balance sheet at the date of the Rackspace Acquisition.
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Application of the goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. We test goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Rackspace trade name, for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1st or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, regulatory environment, established business plans, operating performance indicators or competition. Potential impairment indicators may also include, but are not limited to, (i) the results of our most recent annual or interim impairment testing, (ii) downward revisions to internal forecasts, and the magnitude thereof, if any, (iii) declines in our market capitalization below our book value, and the magnitude and duration of those declines, if any, (iv) a reorganization resulting in a change to our operating segments, and (v) other macroeconomic factors, such as increases in interest rates that may affect the weighted average cost of capital, volatility in the equity and debt markets, or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component). We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Assets and liabilities are assigned to each of our reporting units if they are employed by a reporting unit and are considered in the determination of the reporting unit fair value. Certain assets and liabilities are shared by multiple reporting units, and thus, are allocated to each reporting unit based on the relative size of a reporting unit, primarily based on revenue. Subsequent to the January 1, 2023 business reorganization, we have two reporting units with goodwill: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Goodwill allocated to our third reporting unit, OpenStack Public Cloud, was fully impaired during the fourth quarter of 2021. As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting unit structure and aggregated the OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit into our Private Cloud reporting unit. We currently have two reporting units: Public Cloud and Private Cloud.
We estimate the fair values of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name using the discounted cash flow method and relief-from-royalty method, respectively. These calculations require the use of significant estimates and assumptions, such as: (i) the royalty rate; (ii) the estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, and projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts; (iii) estimation of the terminal growth rates; and (iv) determination of the risk-adjusted discount rates. The discount rates used are based on our weighted average cost of capital and are adjusted for risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and in our estimation of future cash flows. As part of the goodwill impairment test, we also consider our market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the combined fair values estimated for our reporting units. The estimates and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name from year to year are based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could produce materially different results.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units. The income approach utilizes a discounted cash flow method which is based on the present value of projected cash flows. The discounted cash flow models reflect our assumptions and considerations regarding revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, projected capital expenditures, risk-adjusted discount rates, terminal period growth rates, and economic market trends. The terminal period growth rate is selected based on economic conditions and consideration of growth rates used in the forecast period and historical performance of the reporting unit.
October 1, 2025 Assessment
In connection with our annual impairment analysis as of October 1, 2025, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2025 indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
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February 29, 2024 Assessment
In connection with the debt refinancing transactions that were completed in March and April 2024, as further described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, “Debt”, we updated our internal forecasts. Our updated internal forecasts considered our year-to-date operating performance, current customer bookings and revised expectations based on current performance, revisions to our expected growth and timing of such growth based on current and expected performance, current customer retention rates, revisions to the timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives and overall related risks, including macroeconomic factors, to achieving our forecasts. Our Board reviewed and approved our internal budget for fiscal year 2024 on February 28, 2024. As of February 29, 2024, we assessed our Board approved 2024 internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of February 29, 2024.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of February 29, 2024, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 13.0% to 14.0% as our base rate, which was then subsequently risk-adjusted to determine the discount rate used for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of February 29, 2024. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units exceeded their fair value. We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $385 million and $188 million for Public Cloud and Private Cloud, respectively, during the first quarter of 2024, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the first quarter of 2024 to reflect current market conditions and expected business performance, including strategic business shifts and the timing when the benefits of such shifts will be realized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase or decrease in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases or increases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $101 million and $14 million, respectively.
September 30, 2024 Assessment
During the third quarter of 2024, as part our routine budget-to-actual assessment, we updated our internal forecasts to consider our year-to-date operating performance, current customer bookings and revised expectations based on actualization, current customer retention rates, revisions to the timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives and overall related risks, including macroeconomic factors, to achieving our forecasts. As of September 30, 2024, we assessed our internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of September 30, 2024.
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For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 30, 2024, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 12.0% to 13.0% as our base rate, which was then subsequently risk-adjusted to determine the discount rate used for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 30, 2024. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units exceeded their fair value. We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $69 million and $73 million for Public Cloud and Private Cloud, respectively, during the third quarter of 2024, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the third quarter of 2024 to reflect expected realization of business performance, including strategic business shifts and the timing when the benefits of such shifts will be realized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $108 million and $14 million, respectively, whereas a 50 basis point decrease in the discount rate assumption would result in increases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $121 million and $15 million, respectively.
October 1, 2024 Assessment
In connection with our annual impairment analysis as of October 1, 2024, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2024 indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
January 1, 2023 Assessment
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. We reassigned goodwill to the updated reporting units using a relative fair value approach. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of January 1, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $271 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment primarily resulted from the reallocation of certain costs between the three reporting units to reflect the going-forward operating model following the business reorganization. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 20% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $175 million and $67 million, respectively.
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March 31, 2023 Assessment
As of March 31, 2023, we evaluated several goodwill impairment indicators following a sustained decline in our stock price during the first quarter of 2023 that resulted in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. This evaluation included the assessment of several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of March 31, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 11.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of March 31, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $272 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's most recent cash flow projections as revised in the first quarter of 2023 which reflected current market conditions and current trends in business performance, including slower than anticipated actualization of bookings. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 14% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $80 million and $65 million, respectively.
September 30, 2023 Assessment
As of September 30, 2023, we evaluated several goodwill impairment indicators following a sustained decline in our stock price during the third quarter of 2023 that resulted in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. This evaluation included the assessment of several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first nine months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of September 30, 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 30, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 30, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $166 million during the third quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the third quarter of 2023 to reflect current market conditions and business mix shifts. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 17% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $65 million and $52 million, respectively.
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October 1, 2023 Assessment
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting unit structure and aggregated the OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit into our Private Cloud reporting unit. We currently have two reporting units: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Due to the change in our reporting units as of October 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. As the Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units are being combined into the new Private Cloud reporting unit, the goodwill of the reporting units has been combined rather than reassigned based on the relative fair values of the reporting units. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2023. The Private and Public Cloud reporting units were determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 3% and 17%, respectively and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $67 million and $52 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2025, the carrying amount of goodwill was $740.1 million.
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Year Ended December 31, 2025
We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of October 1, 2025 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
Year Ended December 31, 2024
As of February 29, 2024 and September 30, 2024, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for both periods and a discount rate of 13.7% as of February 29, 2024 and 12.4% as of September 30, 2024. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of September 30, 2024, which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
The quantitative test as of February 29, 2024 indicated that the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $20 million non-cash impairment charge during the first quarter of 2024 which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
Year Ended December 31, 2023
As of January 1, 2023, March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for all periods and a discount rate of 11.0% as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023, and a discount rate of 11.9% as of September 30, 2023. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
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The quantitative test as of September 30, 2023 indicated that the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $57 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2023 which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of October 1, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
The fair value determination of our reporting units and our indefinite-lived intangible asset is judgmental in nature and requires the use of estimates and assumptions that are sensitive to changes. Assumptions include estimation of the royalty rate for the trade name, estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts, estimation of the terminal growth rates and determination of risk-adjusted discount rates. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the quantitative goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment tests will prove to be an accurate prediction of future results. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units may include such items as: (i) volatility in the equity and debt markets or other macroeconomic factors, (ii) an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital due to further increases in interest rates, (iii) decrease in future cash flows due to lower than expected sales, or (iv) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations. Accordingly, if our current cash flow assumptions are not realized, we experience further sustained declines in our stock price or market capitalization, or increases in costs of capital, it is possible that an additional impairment charge may be recorded in the future, which could be material.
Contingencies
We accrue for contingent obligations when the obligation is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. As facts concerning contingencies become known, we reassess our position and make appropriate adjustments to the recorded accrual. Estimates that are particularly sensitive to future changes include those related to tax, legal and other regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of international laws, and the impact of local economic conditions and practices, which are all subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation process. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Share-Based Compensation
We account for share-based awards under the recognition and measurement provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the underlying common stock and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of awards with vesting conditions dependent upon market performance is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Determining the grant date fair value of share-based awards with performance vesting conditions and the probability of such awards vesting requires judgment.
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
Our effective tax rates may differ from the statutory rate for various reasons, including differences due to the tax impact of foreign operations, state taxes, contingency reserves for uncertain tax positions, certain benefits realized related to share-based compensation, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, goodwill impairments, or from changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof. In addition, we are periodically subject to examination of our income tax returns in the U.S., U.K., India, and other countries. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.
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Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
In December 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) issued model rules for a new global minimum tax framework (Pillar Two). Governments in many of the countries where we operate have issued, or are in the process of issuing, legislation on this rule. As of December 31, 2025, our company is subject to Pillar Two legislation in certain jurisdictions where we operate. We have evaluated the potential impact of Pillar Two and it did not have a material impact on the company’s results of operations in 2025. Although we do not currently expect that Pillar Two will have a material impact on our future results of operations, we will continue to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the “Pillar Two” framework as additional guidance is released and additional countries may adopt this legislation.
For a description of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and issued, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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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: 0001810019-25-000043.
ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following MD&A is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. References to “Rackspace Technology,” “we,” “our company,” “the company,” “us,” or “our” refer to Rackspace Technology and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Overview
We are a leading end-to-end, hybrid cloud and AI solutions company. We design, build and operate our customers’ cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products and adopt innovative technologies. We serve our customers with a unique combination of proprietary technology resulting from over $1 billion of investment and services expertise from a team of highly skilled consultants and engineers. And we provide our customers with unbiased expertise and technology solutions, delivered over the world’s leading cloud services, all wrapped in Fanatical Experience.
We aim to be our customers’ most trusted advisor and services partner in their path to cloud transformation and to accelerate the value of their cloud investments. We give customers the ability to make fluid decisions when choosing the right technologies, and we recommend solutions based on customers’ unique objectives. In this way, we empower our customers to harness the full benefits of cloud adoption.
Our team of 5,100 highly skilled Rackers, including consultants and engineers, partners with companies at every stage of their cloud transformation journey
We deliver our services to a global customer base through an integrated service delivery model. We have a presence in more than 60 cities around the world. This footprint allows us to better serve customers based in various countries, especially multinational companies requiring cross-border solutions. We have a strong presence with customers of all sizes, including enterprise businesses (revenue in excess of $3 billion), mid-market businesses (revenue of $300 million to $3 billion) and commercial customers (revenue less than $300 million).
Effective on January 1, 2023, we reorganized around a two-business unit operating model, Public Cloud and Private Cloud. This two-business unit operating model ensures increased focus, delivery, and service quality for our customers. Beginning in 2023, we changed our segment reporting to reflect this reorganization under two reportable segments: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. We have reflected this change in all historical comparative periods presented within this MD&A.
Our Public Cloud segment is a services-centric, capital-light model providing value-added cloud solutions through managed services, Elastic Engineering and professional services offerings for customer environments hosted on the AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud public cloud platforms. Our Private Cloud segment is a technology-forward, capital-intensive model providing managed service offerings for customer environments hosted in one of our data centers as well as in those owned by customers or by third parties such as colocation providers. Private Cloud also includes our legacy OpenStack Public Cloud business that we ceased to actively market to customers in 2017. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting" for additional information about our segments.
We generate revenue primarily through the sale of consumption-based contracts for our services offerings, which are recurring in nature. We also generate revenue from the sale of professional services related to designing and building customer solutions, which are non-recurring in nature. Arrangements within our Private Cloud segment generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources provided to and utilized by the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our other primary sources of revenue are for services within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business. Contracts for these arrangements typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We sell our services through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners and via online orders. Our sales model is based on both distributed and centralized sales teams with leads generated from technology partners, customer referrals, channel partners and corporate marketing efforts. We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments.
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Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to meet the challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to continue to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware by Broadcom. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue has shifted in recent years, from our Private Cloud offerings to infrastructure resale and services within Public Cloud. Private Cloud offerings are generally hosted on our own infrastructure and deliver higher segment operating margins, but also require a higher level of capital expenditures. Conversely, Public Cloud segment operating margins are lower, driven by high volumes of infrastructure resale revenue which come at significantly lower margins. However, Public Cloud requires significantly less capital expenditures. Going forward, we will continue to take a workload-centric approach and both Public and Private Cloud will be the net recipients of the workloads. The focus in Private Cloud will be to defend and expand our revenue with new solutions. The focus in Public Cloud is on expanding segment operating margins by driving cost efficiencies and growing higher-margin services revenue.
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Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Most of our services within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes R&D costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods.
Income taxes
Our income tax benefit and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. To date, we have recorded consolidated tax benefits, reflecting our net losses, though certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries have incurred corporate tax expense according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,957.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,737.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | (220.0) | (7.4) | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,328.3) | (78.7) | % | (2,203.7) | (80.5) | % | 124.6 | (5.4) | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 628.8 | 21.3 | % | 533.4 | 19.5 | % | (95.4) | (15.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (767.2) | (25.9) | % | (707.6) | (25.9) | % | 59.6 | (7.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (708.8) | (24.0) | % | (714.9) | (26.1) | % | (6.1) | 0.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | (52.2) | (1.8) | % | (20.0) | (0.7) | % | 32.2 | (61.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (899.4) | (30.4) | % | (909.1) | (33.2) | % | (9.7) | 1.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (221.6) | (7.5) | % | (98.0) | (3.6) | % | 123.6 | (55.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on investments, net | 0.3 | 0.0 | % | 0.1 | 0.0 | % | (0.2) | (66.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | 271.3 | 9.2 | % | 147.2 | 5.4 | % | (124.1) | (45.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (5.0) | (0.2) | % | (21.7) | (0.8) | % | (16.7) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | 45.0 | 1.5 | % | 27.6 | 1.0 | % | (17.4) | (38.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (854.4) | (28.9) | % | (881.5) | (32.2) | % | (27.1) | 3.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 16.6 | 0.6 | % | 23.3 | 0.8 | % | 6.7 | 40.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (837.8) | (28.3) | % | $ | (858.2) | (31.4) | % | $ | (20.4) | 2.4 | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue decreased $220 million, or 7.4%, to $2,737 million in 2024 from $2,957 million in 2023. Revenue declined due to decreases in both Private Cloud and Public Cloud revenue, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 7.7%. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2023 | 2024 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,742.7 | $ | 1,682.6 | (3.4) | % | (3.5) | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,214.4 | 1,054.5 | (13.2) | % | (13.6) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | 2,737.1 | (7.4) | % | (7.7) | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2024 decreased 3.4% on an actual basis and 3.5% on a constant currency basis, from 2023. The decline was due to weaker demand for services in the earlier part of the year.
Private Cloud revenue in 2024 decreased 13.2% on an actual basis and 13.6% on a constant currency basis, from 2023, due to customers rolling off legacy private cloud offerings.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue decreased $125 million, or 5%, to $2,204 million in 2024 from $2,328 million in 2023. The decrease in cost of revenue was primarily due to an increase in the useful life of certain customer gear assets, as discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies", which resulted in a decline in depreciation expense between periods. Additionally, a reduction in headcount drove a decrease in personnel costs. Also contributing to the reduction in cost of revenue was license expense due to decreased usage between periods.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 180 basis points in 2024 to 80.5% from 78.7% in 2023, as the decline in revenue outpaced the decrease in cost of revenue. Usage charges for third-party infrastructure drove a 370 basis point increase. The decrease in other expenses, discussed above, partially offset the increase.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $533 million in 2024, a decrease of $95 million from $629 million in 2023. Our gross margin was 19.5% in 2024, a decrease of 180 basis points from 21.3% in 2023.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $60 million, or 8%, to $708 million in 2024 from $767 million in 2023. 2023 includes $12 million of expense recognized for a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023, prior to the lease end date. Further contributing to the decrease year-over-year was additional insurance recovery proceeds related to the Hosted Exchange incident received in the current period. In addition, personnel costs decreased due to a reduction in salaries driven by lower headcount and decreases in severance and commissions expense, partially offset by an increase in non-equity incentive compensation. Other non-personnel cost fluctuations included lower professional fees, a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense, and business optimization related expenses between periods. We also had an increase in the gain on sale of certain assets which further contributed to the reduction in SG&A expenses.
SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue was 25.9% for 2024 and 2023.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $909 million in 2024 compared to $899 million in 2023. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $106 million in 2024, a decrease of $52 million from $157 million in 2023. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (899.4) | $ | (909.1) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 65.4 | 63.4 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 5.2 | 5.2 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 56.7 | 58.5 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | (4.8) | (1.4) | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 708.8 | 714.9 | ||||
| UK office closure (c) | 12.1 | — | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 52.2 | 20.0 | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (d) | 161.0 | 154.1 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 157.2 | $ | 105.6 |
| (a) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2024 also includes a $9.0 million MEIA early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in March 2024. |
| (c) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (d) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 81.8 | 4.7 | % | $ | 44.2 | 2.6 | % | $ | (37.6) | (46.0) | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 343.0 | 28.2 | % | 294.4 | 27.9 | % | (48.6) | (14.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (267.6) | (233.0) | 34.6 | (12.9) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 157.2 | $ | 105.6 | $ | (51.6) | (32.8) | % |
Public Cloud operating profit decreased 46% in 2024 from 2023. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 210 basis points, reflecting a 3% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 1% decrease in segment operating expenses.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 14% in 2024 from 2023. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment `revenue decreased by 30 basis points, due to a 13% decrease in segment revenue; inline with a 13% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in operating expenses was largely driven by a reduction in depreciation expense due to an increase in the useful life of certain customer gear assets, as discussed in “Cost of Revenue” above. Also contributing to the reduction in Private Cloud operating expenses was a decrease in license expense and personnel costs between periods.
Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense decreased 13% in 2024 due to a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense driven by certain assets reaching the end of their useful life. Additionally, our continued focus on cost management further contributed to the cost reduction.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting."
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Impairment of Goodwill
We recorded a total of $715 million and $709 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
In connection with the preparation of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions that were completed in March and April 2024, as further described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt", we updated our internal forecasts. As of February 29, 2024, we assessed our Board approved 2024 internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of February 29, 2024. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $385 million and $188 million, respectively, recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2024 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. The results of this goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill within our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units of $69 million and $73 million, respectively, recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023. The results of this quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded an additional non-cash impairment charge of $272 million in the first quarter of 2023.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2023 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, market capitalization and earnings quality and sustainability. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a non-cash impairment of goodwill of $166 million in the third quarter of 2023.
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting units and combined our Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units into a new Private Cloud reporting unit. We completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated no impairment to goodwill.
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See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We recorded a total of $20 million and $52 million in net asset impairment charges in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
We evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of February 29, 2024. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $20 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the first quarter of 2024.
We also performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as September 30, 2024, which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
Similarly, we evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of September 30, 2023. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $57 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the third quarter of 2023.
In addition, during 2023, we recorded a $5 million net increase in the estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of our corporate headquarters which was classified as held for sale under GAAP as of December 31, 2022.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $124 million, or 56%, to $98 million in 2024 from $222 million in 2023, primarily due to the accounting for contractual interest payments on debt instruments entered into as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, portions of which are recorded as a reduction of related premiums and not as interest expense, which reduces interest expense relative to contractual interest cost.
Gain on Debt Extinguishment, Net of Debt Modification Costs
We recorded $80 million gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs in 2024 related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions. In addition, we recorded $67 million total gain on debt extinguishment related to repurchases of an aggregate $92 million principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, FLSO Term Loan Facility, and 5.375% Senior Notes in 2024.
We recorded a $228 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2023 related to repurchases of $352 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes. In addition, we repurchased $36 million principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and $56 million principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, which resulted in an $18 million and $26 million gain on debt extinguishment, respectively.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
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Other Expense, Net
The increase in other expense, net to $22 million in 2024 from $5 million in 2023 is primarily due to a full year of costs incurred in 2024 related to the Receivables Purchase Facility entered into in September 2023.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for further discussion regarding the Receivables Purchase Facility.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit increased by $7 million to $23 million in 2024 from $17 million in 2023. Our effective tax rate increased from 1.9% in 2023 to 2.6% in 2024. The increase in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with goodwill impairments recorded in both the first and third quarters of 2024 as well as goodwill impairments recorded in 2023, the majority of which were nondeductible for income tax purposes, and the income tax benefit of $103 million related to the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions discussed above. The difference between the effective tax rate and the statutory rate in 2024 is primarily due to the tax impact associated with changes in the valuation allowance, the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded in the first and third quarters of 2024, the majority of which were nondeductible for income tax purposes, and the tax impact of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,122.3 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,957.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | (165.2) | (5.3) | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,265.4) | (72.6) | % | (2,328.3) | (78.7) | % | (62.9) | 2.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 856.9 | 27.4 | % | 628.8 | 21.3 | % | (228.1) | (26.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (855.3) | (27.4) | % | (767.2) | (25.9) | % | 88.1 | (10.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (534.5) | (17.1) | % | (708.8) | (24.0) | % | (174.3) | 32.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | (146.1) | (4.7) | % | (52.2) | (1.8) | % | 93.9 | (64.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (679.0) | (21.7) | % | (899.4) | (30.4) | % | (220.4) | 32.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (208.5) | (6.7) | % | (221.6) | (7.5) | % | (13.1) | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on investments, net | (0.2) | (0.0) | % | 0.3 | 0.0 | % | 0.5 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | — | — | % | 271.3 | 9.2 | % | 271.3 | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (10.0) | (0.3) | % | (5.0) | (0.2) | % | 5.0 | (50.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (218.7) | (7.0) | % | 45.0 | 1.5 | % | 263.7 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (897.7) | (28.8) | % | (854.4) | (28.9) | % | 43.3 | (4.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 92.9 | 3.0 | % | 16.6 | 0.6 | % | (76.3) | (82.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (804.8) | (25.8) | % | $ | (837.8) | (28.3) | % | $ | (33.0) | 4.1 | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue decreased $165 million, or 5.3%, to $2,957 million in 2023 from $3,122 million in 2022. Revenue declined primarily due to Private Cloud, partially offset by growth in Public Cloud, as discussed below.
Revenue was not materially impacted by foreign currency fluctuations as revenue on a constant currency basis also declined 5.3%. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2022 | 2023 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,738.5 | $ | 1,742.7 | 0.2 | % | 0.3 | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,383.8 | 1,214.4 | (12.2) | % | (12.3) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 2,957.1 | (5.3) | % | (5.3) | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2023 increased 0.2% on an actual basis and 0.3% on a constant currency basis, from 2022. Underlying growth was driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Offerings in this segment with the strongest growth include infrastructure resale on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Private Cloud revenue in 2023 decreased 12.2% on an actual basis and 12.3% on a constant currency basis, from 2022, due to customers rolling off old generation private cloud offerings, expected decline in legacy OpenStack offerings, and the impact from the December 2022 Hosted Exchange ransomware incident.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $63 million, or 3%, to $2,328 million in 2023 from $2,265 million in 2022, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings. Consulting professional fees and data center costs increased primarily to support growth for certain large customers. Personnel costs declined between periods due to lower headcount and a decrease in non-equity incentive compensation, partially offset by higher severance expense in 2023.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 610 basis points in 2023 to 78.7% from 72.6% in 2022, primarily driven by a 440 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure. Higher data center and professional fees also contributed to the increase in basis points between periods.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $629 million in 2023, a decrease of $228 million from $857 million in 2022. Our gross margin was 21.3% in 2023, a decrease of 610 basis points from 27.4% in 2022.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $88 million, or 10%, to $767 million in 2023 from $855 million in 2022. Contributing to the reduction in expense was a wind down of certain business optimization initiatives between periods. In addition, personnel costs declined between periods due to lower headcount and decreases in non-equity incentive compensation and commissions, partially offset by higher severance expense. Other non-personnel costs fluctuations include lower marketing spend, professional fees, and depreciation and amortization expense, offset by higher office rent. The increase in office rent includes $12 million of expense recognized for a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023, prior to the lease end date.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 150 basis points, to 25.9% in 2023 from 27.4% in 2022, for the reasons discussed above.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $899 million in 2023 compared to $679 million in 2022. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $157 million in 2023, a decrease of $162 million from $319 million in 2022. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (679.0) | $ | (899.4) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 69.5 | 65.4 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 11.0 | 5.2 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 64.6 | 56.7 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 5.9 | (4.8) | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 534.5 | 708.8 | ||||
| UK office closure (c) | — | 12.1 | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 146.1 | 52.2 | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (d) | 166.8 | 161.0 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 319.4 | $ | 157.2 |
| (a) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, certain one-time compliance costs related to being a public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. This amount also includes total charges of $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (c) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (d) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 120.7 | 6.9 | % | $ | 81.8 | 4.7 | % | $ | (38.9) | (32.2) | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 496.2 | 35.9 | % | 343.0 | 28.2 | % | (153.2) | (30.9) | % | |||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (297.5) | (267.6) | 29.9 | (10.1) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 319.4 | $ | 157.2 | $ | (162.2) | (50.8) | % |
Public Cloud operating profit decreased 32% in 2023 from 2022. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 220 basis points, reflecting a 3% increase in segment operating expenses as segment revenue growth remained relatively flat. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue, partially offset by a decrease in personnel costs.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 31% in 2023 from 2022. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 770 basis points, due to a 12% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 2% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in costs was mainly driven by a reduction in personnel costs.
Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense decreased 10% in 2023 primarily due to a decline in depreciation expense as certain property, equipment, and software reached the end of its useful life.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Segment Reporting."
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Impairment of Goodwill
We recorded a total of $709 million and $535 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023. The results of this quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded an additional non-cash impairment charge of $272 million in the first quarter of 2023.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2023 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, market capitalization and earnings quality and sustainability. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a non-cash impairment of goodwill of $166 million in the third quarter of 2023.
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting units and combined our Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units into a new Private Cloud reporting unit. We completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated no impairment to goodwill.
During the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 1, 2022 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance from prior year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. In addition, as of September 1, 2022, we lowered our projected operating results primarily due to product mix shifts and market concerns related to inflation and other macroeconomic factors. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022.
The results of our annual goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022 did not indicate any impairments of goodwill.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced a decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business. We therefore determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022.
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See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We recorded a total of $52 million and $146 million in net asset impairment charges in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
We evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of September 30, 2023. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $57 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the third quarter of 2023.
Similarly, we evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset and long-lived assets for impairment as of September 1, 2022. As a result of these evaluations, we recorded total impairment charges of $59 million in the third quarter of 2022, consisting of a $21 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset and a $38 million impairment of OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets.
As of December 31, 2022, we recorded an additional $12 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset.
Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, our corporate headquarters property was classified as held for sale. The property's previous carrying amount of $83 million was written down to its estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of $12 million, resulting in a $71 million impairment charge recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022. We also wrote-off the remaining $5 million net book value of the related property tax abatement asset in connection with the held for sale classification.
During 2023, we recorded a $5 million net increase in the estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of our corporate headquarters.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased $13 million, or 6%, to $222 million in 2023 from $209 million in 2022, due primarily to rising interest rates and the impact on our variable-rate Term Loan Facility, partially offset by debt repurchases during 2023, as discussed below.
Gain on Debt Extinguishment
We recorded a $228 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2023 related to repurchases of $352 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes. In addition, we repurchased $36 million principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and $56 million principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, which resulted in an $18 million and $26 million gain on debt extinguishment, respectively.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
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Other Expense, Net
The decrease in other expense, net to $5 million in 2023 from $10 million in 2022 is primarily related to foreign currency transaction gains, partially offset by costs incurred in 2023 related to the Receivables Purchase Facility entered into in September 2023.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for further discussion regarding the Receivables Purchase Facility.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit decreased by $76 million to $17 million in 2023 from $93 million in 2022. Our effective tax rate decreased from 10.3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded in 2023 as well as changes in the valuation allowance. The majority of the goodwill impairments recorded in 2023 were nondeductible for income tax purposes. The difference between the effective tax rate and the statutory rate in 2023 is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded during the year, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), the geographic distribution of profits, tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation as well as changes in the valuation allowance.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We track several non-GAAP financial measures to monitor and manage our underlying financial performance. The following discussion includes the presentation of constant currency revenue, Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share, which are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of certain costs, losses and gains that are required to be included in our profit and loss measures under GAAP. Although we believe these measures are useful to investors and analysts for the same reasons they are useful to management, as discussed below, these measures are not a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP financial measures or disclosures. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. We have reconciled each of these non-GAAP measures to the applicable most comparable GAAP measure throughout this MD&A.
Update to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024, we have updated the presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures to no longer exclude certain cash compensation paid to employees who remain employed with Rackspace which were previously included in “special bonuses and other compensation expenses” and “restructuring and transformation expenses” line items of our reconciliations. Additionally, we have removed “special bonuses and other compensation expenses” line item and the remaining adjustments are now presented within “restructuring and transformation expenses” line item. All prior period Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share financial measures have been recasted to reflect current period presentation.
Constant Currency Revenue
We use constant currency revenue as an additional metric for understanding and assessing our growth excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on our international business operations. Constant currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period and is calculated by translating the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current period to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective period. We also believe this is an important metric to help investors evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods.
The following tables present, by segment, actual and constant currency revenue and constant currency revenue growth rates, for and between the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, 2023 | Year Ended December 31, 2024 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,742.7 | $ | 1,682.6 | $ | (1.4) | $ | 1,681.2 | (3.4) | % | (3.5) | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,214.4 | 1,054.5 | (5.6) | 1,048.9 | (13.2) | % | (13.6) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | 2,737.1 | $ | (7.0) | $ | 2,730.1 | (7.4) | % | (7.7) | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
| Year Ended December 31, 2022 | Year Ended December 31, 2023 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,738.5 | $ | 1,742.7 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 1,743.1 | 0.2 | % | 0.3 | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,383.8 | 1,214.4 | (1.2) | 1,213.2 | (12.2) | % | (12.3) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | (0.8) | $ | 2,956.3 | (5.3) | % | (5.3) | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
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Non-GAAP Gross Profit
We present Non-GAAP Gross Profit in this MD&A because we believe the measure is useful in analyzing trends in our underlying, recurring gross margins. We define Non-GAAP Gross Profit as gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense, purchase accounting-related effects, certain business transformation-related costs, and costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
The table below presents a reconciliation of gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 856.9 | $ | 628.8 | $ | 533.4 | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 11.6 | 9.1 | 7.6 | |||||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (a) | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.8 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 8.7 | 17.9 | 19.8 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 0.2 | 0.3 | — | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 880.1 | $ | 658.7 | $ | 562.6 |
| (a) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2022 also includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA
We present Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA because they are a basis upon which management assesses our performance and we believe they are useful to evaluating our financial performance. We believe that excluding items from net income that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our core operating results, and that may vary in frequency or magnitude, enhances the comparability of our results and provides a better baseline for analyzing trends in our business.
The Rackspace Acquisition was structured as a leveraged buyout of Rackspace Technology Global, our predecessor, and resulted in several accounting and capital structure impacts. For example, the revaluation of our assets and liabilities resulted in a significant increase in our amortizable intangible assets and goodwill, the incurrence of a significant amount of debt to partially finance the Rackspace Acquisition resulted in interest payments that reflect our high leverage and cost of debt capital, and the conversion of Rackspace Technology Global’s unvested equity compensation into a cash-settled bonus plan and obligation to pay management fees to our equityholders resulted in new cash commitments. In addition, the change in ownership and management resulting from the Rackspace Acquisition led to a strategic realignment in our operations that had a significant impact on our financial results. Following the Rackspace Acquisition, we acquired several businesses, sold businesses and investments that we deemed to be non-core and launched multiple integration and business transformation initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of people and operations and identify recurring cost savings and new revenue growth opportunities. We believe that these transactions and activities resulted in costs, which have historically been substantial, and that may not be indicative of, or are not related to, our core operating results, including interest related to the incurrence of additional debt to finance acquisitions and third party legal, advisory and consulting fees and severance, retention bonus and other internal costs that we believe would not have been incurred in the absence of these transactions and activities and also may not be indicative of, or related to, our core operating results.
We define Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, the interest expense impact from the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, as well as the tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments.
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We define Non-GAAP Operating Profit as income (loss) from operations adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, costs related to the closure of a UK office, certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, interest expense, expenses for our Receivables Purchase Facility, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and goodwill and asset impairment charges.
Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA are management’s principal metrics for measuring our underlying financial performance. Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA, along with other quantitative and qualitative information, are also the principal financial measures used by management and our Board in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.
These non-GAAP measures are not intended to imply that we would have generated higher income or avoided net losses if the Rackspace Acquisition and the subsequent transactions and initiatives had not occurred. In the future we may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit or Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by these items. Other companies, including our peer companies, may calculate similarly-titled measures in a different manner from us, and therefore, our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-tiled measures of other companies. Investors are cautioned against using these measures to the exclusion of our results in accordance with GAAP.
The following tables present a reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of income (loss) from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit, see “Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit” in the year-over-year comparisons under "Results of Operations" above.
Net loss reconciliation to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss)
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 69.5 | 65.4 | 63.4 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 11.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 64.6 | 56.7 | 58.5 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 5.9 | (4.8) | (1.4) | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 534.5 | 708.8 | 714.9 | |||||||
| UK office closure (c) | — | 12.1 | — | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 146.1 | 52.2 | 20.0 | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (d) | 0.2 | (0.3) | (0.1) | |||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | — | (271.3) | (147.2) | |||||||
| Interest expense impact from the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions (e) | — | — | (72.9) | |||||||
| Other adjustments (f) | 10.0 | (1.0) | 1.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (g) | 166.8 | 161.0 | 154.1 | |||||||
| Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (h) | (121.7) | 1.7 | (1.0) | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) | $ | 82.1 | $ | (52.1) | $ | (63.5) |
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Net loss reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 69.5 | 65.4 | 63.4 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (a) | 11.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (b) | 64.6 | 56.7 | 58.5 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 5.9 | (4.8) | (1.4) | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 534.5 | 708.8 | 714.9 | |||||||
| UK office closure (c) | — | 12.1 | — | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 146.1 | 52.2 | 20.0 | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (d) | 0.2 | (0.3) | (0.1) | |||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment, net of debt modification costs | — | (271.3) | (147.2) | |||||||
| Other expense, net (i) | 10.0 | 5.0 | 21.7 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 208.5 | 221.6 | 98.0 | |||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | (92.9) | (16.6) | (23.3) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (j) | 387.5 | 366.4 | 293.3 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 540.1 | $ | 362.6 | $ | 244.8 |
| (a) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, certain one-time compliance costs related to being a public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. Also includes payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2022 includes charges of $5.2 million related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. In addition, the year ended December 31, 2024 includes a $9.0 million MEIA early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in March 2024. |
| (c) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (d) | Includes gains and losses on investment and from dispositions. |
| (e) | Interest expense impact due to the accounting for contractual interest payments on debt instruments entered into as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, which reduced interest expense relative to contractual interest cost. |
| (f) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses. |
| (g) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
| (h) | We utilize an estimated structural long-term non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide consistency across reporting periods, removing the effect of non-recurring tax adjustments, which include but are not limited to tax rate changes, U.S. tax reform, share-based compensation, audit conclusions and changes to valuation allowances. We used a structural non-GAAP tax rate of 26% for all periods which reflects the removal of the tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments and non-recurring tax adjustments on a year-over-year basis. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate our long-term non-GAAP tax rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments facilitates a better evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to prior periods. |
| (i) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses and expense related to our Receivables Purchase Facility. |
| (j) | Excludes accelerated depreciation expense related to facility closures. |
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Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share
We define Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share as Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) divided by our GAAP weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period on a diluted basis and further adjusted for the weighted average number of shares associated with securities which are anti-dilutive to GAAP loss per share but dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share. Management uses Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share to evaluate the performance of our business on a comparable basis from period to period, including by adjusting for the impact of the issuance of shares that would be dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share. The following table reconciles Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share to our GAAP net loss per share on a diluted basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | $ | (858.2) | ||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) | $ | 82.1 | $ | (52.1) | $ | (63.5) | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 211.2 | 215.3 | 224.8 | |||||||
| Effect of dilutive securities (a) | 1.3 | 3.1 | 10.7 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 212.5 | 218.4 | 235.5 | |||||||
| Net loss per share - Diluted | $ | (3.81) | $ | (3.89) | $ | (3.82) | ||||
| Per share impacts of adjustments to net loss (b) | 4.20 | 3.65 | 3.54 | |||||||
| Per share impacts of shares dilutive after adjustments to net loss (a) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share | $ | 0.39 | $ | (0.24) | $ | (0.27) |
| (a) | Reflects impact of awards that would have been anti-dilutive to net loss per share, and therefore not included in the calculation, but would be dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share and are therefore included in the share count for purposes of this non-GAAP measure. Potential common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, vesting of restricted stock units (including performance-based restricted stock units) or purchases under the ESPP, as well as contingent shares associated with our acquisition of Datapipe. Certain of our potential common share equivalents are contingent on certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo achieving pre-established performance targets based on a MOIC, which are included in the denominator for the entire period if such shares would be issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was the end of the contingency period. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Reflects the aggregate adjustments made to reconcile Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) to our net loss, as noted in the above table, divided by the GAAP diluted number of shares outstanding for the relevant period. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We primarily finance our operations and capital expenditures with internally-generated cash from operations and hardware leases, and if necessary, borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2024, the New Revolving Credit Facility provided for up to $375 million of borrowings, none of which was drawn and outstanding as of December 31, 2024. Our primary uses of cash are working capital requirements, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. Based on our current level of operations and available cash, we believe our sources will provide sufficient liquidity over at least the next twelve months. We cannot provide assurance, however, that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the New Revolving Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. Our ability to do so depends on prevailing economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change of control, we could be required to repay or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar transactions will likely require additional capital, and there can be no assurance that any such capital will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
From time to time, depending upon market and other conditions, as well as upon our cash balances and liquidity, we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may acquire (and have acquired) our outstanding debt securities or our other indebtedness through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, redemption or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may determine (or as may be provided for in the Indentures, if applicable), for cash or other consideration.
On February 2, 2021, we issued 2,665,935 shares of common stock to DPH 123, LLC, an ABRY affiliate, for no additional consideration pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 6, 2017, (the "Datapipe Merger Agreement") in connection with our November 15, 2017 acquisition of Datapipe. We will be required to issue additional shares of our common stock to DPH 123, LLC based on the MOIC exceeding certain thresholds as defined in the Datapipe Merger Agreement. If the MOIC exceeds 3.0x, which is indicated by a volume weighted average trading price of our common stock over 30 consecutive trading days of more than $25.00, we will be required to issue an additional 2,665,935 shares.
On March 3, 2022, our Board authorized a program to repurchase up to $75 million of shares of our common stock from time to time through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchases and other transactions in accordance with applicable security laws. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we repurchased $31 million, or 3.1 million shares, of our common stock on the open market under this program. No shares were repurchased during the year ended December 31, 2023 and the program authorization expired on September 30, 2023.
On September 29, 2023, indirect subsidiaries of the company entered into a revolving agreement where a bankruptcy-remote SPV can sell accounts receivable, based upon the face amount of eligible receivables in the collateral pool, up to an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to a financial institution on a recurring basis in exchange for cash. On February 12, 2024, the revolving agreement was amended to include certain international subsidiaries of the company as parties to the agreement and Rackspace Receivables Canada Limited, a Canadian indirect subsidiary of the company, was established as an SPV.
At December 31, 2024, we held $144 million in cash and cash equivalents (not including $3 million in restricted cash, which is included in "Other non-current assets"), of which $92 million was held by foreign entities.
We have entered into installment payment arrangements with certain equipment and software vendors, along with sale-leaseback arrangements for equipment and certain property leases that are considered financing obligations. We had $56 million outstanding with respect to these arrangements as of December 31, 2024. We may choose to utilize these various sources of funding in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 9, "Financing Obligations" for more information regarding financing obligations.
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We also lease certain equipment and real estate under operating and finance lease agreements. We had $480 million outstanding with respect to operating and finance lease agreements as of December 31, 2024. We may choose to utilize such leasing arrangements in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 8, "Leases" for more information regarding our operating and finance leases.
As of December 31, 2024, we had $2,449 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility, the Term Loan Facility, 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, 5.375% Senior Notes, and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, with $375 million of borrowing capacity available under the New Revolving Credit Facility. Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to debt service requirements.
Debt
In March 2024, we initiated a series of debt refinancing transactions that substantially impacted our existing debt instruments: the Senior Facilities, the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and the 5.375% Senior Notes. We also entered into new debt instruments: the New Senior Facilities, which includes the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility, and the New Revolving Credit Facility, and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, “Debt,” for more information regarding the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions and the related accounting impacts.
New Debt Instruments
New Senior Facilities
On March 12, 2024, Rackspace Finance Holdings, Rackspace Finance, the lenders and issuing banks party thereto and Citi, as the administrative agent and collateral agent, entered into the credit agreement governing the FLSO Term Loan Facility, FLFO Term Loan Facility and New Revolving Credit Facility (together, the “New Senior Facilities”) (the “New First Lien Credit Agreement”).
FLSO Term Loan Facility
Rackspace Finance issued the FLSO Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1,687 million. The FLSO Term Loan Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
As of December 31, 2024, the contractual interest rate on the FLSO Term Loan Facility was 7.35%. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $4 million, which began on March 31, 2024.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the FLSO Term Loan Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by certain of Rackspace Finance’s subsidiaries (the “Subsidiary Guarantors”). The obligations under the FLSO Term Loan Facility are secured by a pledge of Rackspace Finance’s capital stock directly held by Rackspace Finance Holdings and substantially all of Rackspace Finance’s and the Subsidiary Guarantors’ assets, subject to exceptions.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, Rackspace Finance repurchased and surrendered for cancellation an aggregate $43 million principal amount of the FLSO Term Loan Facility for $21 million.
As of December 31, 2024, $1,627 million in aggregate principal amount of the FLSO Term Loan Facility remained outstanding.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the FLSO Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
FLFO Term Loan Facility
Rackspace Finance issued the FLFO Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount $275 million. The FLFO Term Loan Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
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As of December 31, 2024, the contractual interest rate on the FLFO Term Loan Facility was 10.85%. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $0.7 million, which began on June 30, 2024.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the FLFO Term Loan Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the FLFO Term Loan Facility are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the New Revolving Credit Facility and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
As of December 31, 2024, $273 million aggregate principal amount of the FLFO Term Loan Facility remained outstanding.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the FLFO Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
New Revolving Credit Facility
Rackspace Finance established the New Revolving Credit Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $375 million of commitments. All revolving lenders under the prior Revolving Credit Facility exchanged their revolving loan commitments for commitments in respect of the New Revolving Credit Facility, which replaces in full the prior Revolving Credit Facility. The New Revolving Credit Facility matures on May 15, 2028.
The New Revolving Credit Facility includes a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that is due quarterly. This fee is subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility and the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes.
As of December 31, 2024, we had total commitments of $375 million, no outstanding borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility, and $24 million of letters of credit issued thereunder. As such, as of December 31, 2024, we had $375 million of available commitments remaining.
3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes due 2028
On March 12, 2024, Rackspace Finance issued $267 million initial aggregate principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes will mature on May 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15, commencing on August 15, 2024.
On April 16, 2024, we completed the Public Note Exchange, pursuant to which (i) $138 million aggregate principal amount of the existing 3.50% Senior Secured Notes were exchanged or purchased for cancellation and (ii) $97 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes were issued by Rackspace Finance.
Rackspace Finance is the borrower and all obligations under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by Rackspace Finance Holdings on a limited-recourse basis and by the Subsidiary Guarantors. The obligations under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes are secured by the same collateral that secures the FLSO Term Loan Facility, the FLFO Term Loan Facility and the New Revolving Credit Facility.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, Rackspace Finance repurchased and surrendered for cancellation $46 million principal amount of the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes for $19 million, including accrued interest of $0.4 million.
As of December 31, 2024, $319 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes were outstanding.
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Existing Debt Instruments
Senior Facilities
On February 9, 2021, we amended and restated the First Lien Credit Agreement, which included a new seven-year $2,300 million Term Loan Facility and the prior Revolving Credit Facility, which we refer to together as the Senior Facilities. The Term Loan Facility will mature on February 15, 2028 and the prior Revolving Credit Facility was set to mature on August 7, 2025.
On April 26, 2023, we executed an amendment to our First Lien Credit Agreement to establish Term SOFR as the benchmark rate for determining the applicable interest rate, replacing LIBOR.
Borrowings under the Senior Facilities bear interest at an annual rate equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (a) Term SOFR equal to the forward-looking term rate, based on the secured overnight financing rate as administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.11% for an interest period of one-month's duration, 0.26% for an interest period of three-months' duration, and 0.43% for an interest period of six-months' duration, subject to a 0.75% floor, in the case of the Term Loan Facility, and a 1.00% floor, in the case of the prior Revolving Credit Facility, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate last quoted by The Wall Street Journal and (iii) adjusted Term SOFR for a one-month tenor plus 1.00%.
The applicable margin for the Term Loan Facility is 2.75% for SOFR loans and 1.75% for base rate loans and the applicable margin for the Revolving Credit Facility was 3.00% for SOFR loans and 2.00% for base rate loans. Interest is due at the end of each interest period elected, not exceeding 90 days, for SOFR loans and at the end of every calendar quarter for base rate loans.
The Revolving Credit Facility also included a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that was due quarterly. This fee was subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
In addition to the quarterly amortization payments discussed above, our Senior Facilities require us to make certain mandatory prepayments, including using (i) a portion of annual excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, to prepay the Term Loan Facility, (ii) net cash proceeds of certain non-ordinary assets sales or dispositions of property to prepay the Term Loan Facility and (iii) net cash proceeds of any issuance or incurrence of debt not permitted under the Senior Facilities to prepay the Term Loan Facility. We can make voluntary prepayments at any time without penalty.
Rackspace Technology Global, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is the borrower under the Senior Facilities, and all obligations under the Senior Facilities are (i) guaranteed by Inception Parent, Rackspace Technology Global’s immediate parent company, on a limited recourse basis and secured by the equity interests of Rackspace Technology Global held by Inception Parent and (ii) guaranteed by Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries and secured by substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interests held by each, in each case subject to certain exceptions.
As a result of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, discussed above, over 97% of the $2,181 million aggregate principal amount of the Term Loan Facility outstanding as of December 31, 2023 was exchanged or purchased for cancellation.
As of December 31, 2024, the interest rate on the Term Loan Facility was 7.35% and the outstanding principal balance was $62 million. We are required to make quarterly principal payments of $0.2 million, with the balance due at maturity on February 15, 2028.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
In conjunction with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, the prior Revolving Credit Facility was replaced in full by the New Revolving Credit Facility.
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3.50% Senior Secured Notes
On February 9, 2021, Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes will mature on February 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15, commencing on August 15, 2021. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are not subject to registration rights.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and obligations under the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interest held by each, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: from February 15, 2024 to February 14, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.750% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2025 to February 14, 2026, at a redemption price equal to 100.875% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from February 15, 2026 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Rackspace Technology Global may redeem during each twelve-month period, commencing with February 9, 2021, up to 10.0% of the original aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a redemption price of 103.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.
As a result of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, over 91% of the $514 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes outstanding as of December 31, 2023 was exchanged or purchased for cancellation.
As of December 31, 2024, $44 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.
5.375% Senior Notes
Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes on December 1, 2020. The 5.375% Senior Notes will mature on December 1, 2028 and bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.375% per year, payable semi-annually on each June 1 and December 1, commencing on June 1, 2021. The 5.375% Senior Notes are not subject to registration rights.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 5.375% Senior Notes, and obligations under the 5.375% Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 5.375% Senior Notes are effectively junior to the indebtedness under the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, to the extent of the collateral securing the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 5.375% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 5.375% Senior Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.344% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from December 1, 2025 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date.
As part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, we repurchased and cancelled $69 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes during the year ended December 31, 2024.
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In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2024, Rackspace Technology Global repurchased and surrendered for cancellation $3 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes for $1 million.
As of December 31, 2024, $125 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes remained outstanding.
Debt covenants
The FLSO Term Loan Facility, FLFO Term Loan Facility, and Term Loan Facility are not subject to a financial maintenance covenant. The New Revolving Credit Facility includes a financial maintenance covenant that limits the super-priority net senior secured leverage ratio to a maximum of 5.00 to 1.00. The super-priority net senior secured leverage ratio is calculated as the ratio of (x) the total amount of consolidated super-priority senior secured debt for borrowed money, less unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, to (y) consolidated EBITDA (as defined under the New First Lien Credit Agreement governing the New Senior Facilities). However, this financial maintenance covenant will only be applicable and tested if the aggregate amount of outstanding borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility and letters of credit issued thereunder (excluding $25 million of undrawn letters of credit and cash collateralized letters of credit) as of the last day of a fiscal quarter is greater than 35% of the New Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the last day of such fiscal quarter. Additional covenants in the New Senior Facilities and Senior Facilities limit our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt and liens, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The Indentures contain covenants that, among other things, limit our subsidiaries' ability to incur certain additional debt, incur certain liens securing debt, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, limitations, and qualifications as set forth in the Indentures. Additionally, upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the Indentures), we will be required to make an offer to repurchase all of the outstanding 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes, 5.375% Senior Notes and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a price in cash equal to 101.000% of the aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including the purchase date.
Our “consolidated EBITDA,” as defined under our debt instruments, is calculated in the same manner as our Adjusted EBITDA, presented elsewhere in this report, except that our debt instruments allow us to adjust for additional items, including certain start-up costs, and to give pro forma effect to acquisitions, including resulting synergies, and internal cost savings initiatives. In addition, under the Indentures, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA does not take into account substantially any changes in GAAP subsequent to the date of issuance, whereas under the New Senior Facilities and Senior Facilities, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA takes into account the impact of certain changes in GAAP subsequent to December 1, 2020 other than with respect to capital leases.
As of December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with all covenants under the New Senior Facilities, the Senior Facilities and the Indentures.
Supplemental Financial Information
In accordance with the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes Indenture, Rackspace Finance Holdings, Rackspace Finance and certain subsidiaries of Rackspace Finance (together with their restricted subsidiaries, the “New Credit Group”) are obligors under the 3.50% FLSO Senior Secured Notes. The following presents summarized financial information for the New Credit Group after eliminating intercompany transactions and balances among the New Credit Group.
As of December 31, 2024, the New Credit Group had total assets of $3,008 million and total liabilities of $3,809 million, which included total debt of $2,556 million. The financial information for the New Credit Group differs from the financial information for the company and its consolidated subsidiaries primarily because Rackspace Technology Global has (i) debt that is not guaranteed by the New Credit Group, which debt was $229 million as of December 31, 2024, and (ii) Rackspace Technology Global is the party to the interest rate swap which had a net asset value of $26 million as of December 31, 2024.
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Capital Expenditures
The following table sets forth a summary of our total capital expenditures for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Customer gear (1) | $ | 83.7 | $ | 115.3 | $ | 88.8 | ||||
| Data center build outs (2) | 4.2 | 2.9 | 1.2 | |||||||
| Office build outs (3) | 0.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | |||||||
| Capitalized software and other projects (4) | 53.8 | 61.3 | 46.1 | |||||||
| Total capital expenditures | $ | 141.8 | $ | 181.3 | $ | 136.4 |
(1) Includes servers, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, backup libraries, storage arrays and drives and certain software that is essential to the functionality of customer gear, which we provide.
(2) Includes generators, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, mechanical and electrical plants, chillers, raised floor, network cabling, other infrastructure gear and other data center building improvements.
(3) Includes building improvements, raised floor, furniture and equipment.
(4) Includes salaries and payroll-related costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects, purchased software licenses and other projects that meet the criteria for capitalization.
The $40 million increase and $45 million decrease in capital expenditures from 2022 to 2023 and from 2023 to 2024, respectively, was primarily driven by purchases of customer gear originally intended to support a specific new customer during the first quarter of 2023. This new customer did not materialize as expected; however, the gear is fungible and has been redeployed to support other business requirements. This gear was acquired through a finance lease.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of certain cash flow information for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 246.7 | $ | 374.9 | $ | 39.9 | ||||
| Cash used in investing activities | $ | (97.9) | $ | (96.0) | $ | (86.6) | ||||
| Cash used in financing activities | $ | (187.0) | $ | (312.8) | $ | (3.0) |
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities results primarily from cash received from customers, offset by cash payments made for employee and consultant compensation (less amounts capitalized related to internal-use software that are reflected as cash used in investing activities), data center costs, license costs, third-party infrastructure costs, marketing programs, interest, taxes, and other general corporate expenditures.
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Net cash provided by operating activities for 2024 decreased $335 million, or 89%, from 2023. The reduction in operating cash between periods was primarily driven by $209 million of cash proceeds received during 2023 related to the sale of our receivables, an increase of $98 million of operating expenses between periods, $32 million in third party fees paid in connection with the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions, and a $9 million early termination fee associated with the sale of our corporate headquarters in the first quarter of 2024.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2023 increased $128 million, or 52%, from 2022. The increase in operating cash was primarily driven by $209 million of cash proceeds related to the initial sale of a portion of our receivables upon execution of the Receivables Purchase Facility in September 2023 and a $58 million decrease in payroll and payroll taxes due to lower levels of severance payouts in 2023 compared to 2022. Partially offsetting this increase in cash was a $103 million increase in operating expense payments, largely for third-party infrastructure costs, and a $38 million increase in interest payments on debt.
Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily consists of capital expenditures to meet the demands of our customer base and our strategic initiatives. The largest outlays of cash are for purchases of customer gear, data center and office build-outs, and capitalized payroll costs related to internal-use software development.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2024 decreased $9 million, or 10%, from 2023, primarily due to $17 million of net proceeds received in the current year from the March 2024 sale of our corporate headquarters facility. In addition, there was a $7 million increase in cash from other investing activities largely due to the sale of property and equipment between periods. These cash inflows were partially offset by a $14 million increase in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software from 2023 to 2024.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2023 decreased $2 million, or 2%, from 2022. During 2022, we made an $8 million cash payment in connection with the acquisition of Just Analytics and a $15 million payment for the purchase of a convertible promissory note. These cash outflows were partially offset by a $17 million increase in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software year-over-year. Other investing activities comprised the remainder of the variance in cash used between periods.
Cash Used in Financing Activities
Financing activities generally include cash activity related to debt and other long-term financing arrangements (for example, finance lease obligations and financing obligations), including proceeds from and repayments of borrowings, and cash activity related to the issuance and repurchase of equity.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2024 decreased $310 million, or 99%, from 2023. The change was primarily driven by an increase in proceeds of $275 million from the new FLFO Term Loan Facility as part of the March 2024 Refinancing Transactions compared to $50 million of debt proceeds in 2023, a reduction in debt repayments of $79 million, and a $23 million decrease in principal payments of finance lease liabilities between periods. This activity was partially offset by $22 million of payments related to debt extinguishment costs.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2023 increased $126 million, or 67% from 2022. The change was driven by a $169 million increase in net payments related to long-term debt between periods as 2023 includes $121 million of 5.375% Senior Note repurchases, $18 million of 3.50% Senior Secured Note repurchases, and $30 million of Term Loan Facility repurchases, while 2022 only includes quarterly principal payments on our Term Loan Facility. In addition, there was a $13 million increase in finance lease principal payments between periods. Partially offsetting these drivers was $31 million in common stock share repurchases during 2022 as part of the program authorized in March 2022 and a $26 million reduction in principal payments of financing obligations.
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
On September 29, 2023, Rackspace US and Rackspace Receivables II, LLC, a bankruptcy-remote SPV, each an indirect subsidiary of the company, entered into the Receivables Purchase Facility with PNC. The Receivables Purchase Facility allows the SPV to sell and/or contribute accounts receivable up an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to PNC on a revolving basis. On February 12, 2024, the Receivables Purchase Facility was amended to include certain international subsidiaries of the company as parties to the agreement and Rackspace Receivables Canada Limited, a Canadian indirect subsidiary of the company, was established as an SPV.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for more information regarding this off-balance sheet transaction.
We have entered into various indemnification arrangements with third parties, including vendors, customers, landlords, our officers and directors, stockholders of acquired companies and third parties to whom and from whom we license technology. Generally, these indemnification agreements require us to reimburse losses suffered by third parties due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement or our negligence. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions by us, our employees, agents or representatives. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements. To date, we have not incurred material costs as a result of such obligations and have not accrued any material liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in our consolidated financial statements. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "Commitments and Contingencies" for more information related to these indemnification arrangements.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We consider accounting estimates that require significant management judgment to be critical accounting estimates. We review our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for credit losses, property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, contingencies, share-based compensation and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to determine the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
Revenue Recognition
We provide cloud computing to customers, which is broadly defined as the delivery of computing, storage and applications over the Internet. Cloud computing is a service transaction under which the services we provide vary on a daily basis. The totality of services provided represent a single integrated solution tailored to the customer’s specific needs. As such, our performance obligations to our customers consist of a single integrated solution delivered as a series of distinct daily services delivered over the same period of time. We recognize revenue on a daily basis as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for the services.
Our usage-based arrangements generally include variable consideration components consisting of monthly utility fees with a defined price and undefined quantity. Additionally, our contracts contain service level guarantees that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and certain products may include volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for this consideration as services are provided and earned.
A substantial amount of revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, relates to fees associated with offerings that generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Contracts for our service offerings falling within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We also provide customers with professional services for the design and implementation of application, security and data services. Professional service contracts are either fixed-fee or time-and-materials based. We typically consider our professional services to be a separate performance obligation from other integrated solutions being provided to the same customer. Our performance obligations under these arrangements are typically to provide the services on a daily basis over a period of time and we recognize revenue as the services are performed.
We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments. Judgment is required in assessing whether a service is distinct, including determination of whether the customer could benefit from the service on its own or in conjunction with other readily available resources and whether certain services are highly integrated into a bundle of services that represent the combined output specified by the customer. Arrangements can contain multiple performance obligations that are distinct, which are accounted for separately. Each performance obligation is recognized as services are provided based on their SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each of our distinct performance obligations. We utilize a range of prices when developing our estimates of SSP. We determine the range of prices for estimating SSP for all our performance obligations using observable inputs, such as standalone sales and historical contract pricing. Our estimates of SSP are updated quarterly.
In addition, our customer agreements provide that we will achieve certain service levels related primarily to network uptime, critical infrastructure availability and hardware replacement. We may be obligated to provide service credits for a portion of the service fees paid by our customers to the extent that such service levels are not achieved or are otherwise disputed. Credit memos are recognized in the period of service to which they relate.
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Revenue recognition for revenue generated from arrangements in which we resell third-party infrastructure bundled with our managed services, requires judgment to determine whether revenue can be recorded at the gross sales price or net of third-party fees. Typically, revenue is recognized on a gross basis when it is determined that we are the principal in the relationship. We are considered the principal in the relationship when we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the contract and obtain control of the third-party infrastructure before transferring it as an integral part of our performance obligation to provide services to the customer. Revenue is recognized net of third-party fees when we determine that our obligation is only to facilitate the customers’ purchase of third-party infrastructure.
Valuation of Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses
We record an allowance for credit losses on trade accounts receivable for estimated losses resulting from uncollectible receivables. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowance, we consider historical bad debt write-offs and all known facts and circumstances such as current economic conditions and trends, customer creditworthiness and specifically identified customer risks. If actual collections of customer receivables differ from our estimates, additional allowances may be required which could have an impact on our results of operations.
Property, Equipment and Software and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
In providing services to our customers, we utilize significant amounts of property, equipment and software, which we depreciate on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite-lived intangible assets are primarily comprised of customer relationships and are stated at their acquisition-date fair value less accumulated amortization. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Property and equipment under operating and finance leases are included within “Operating right-of-use assets” and “Property, equipment and software, net,” respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term whereas finance lease assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term. We routinely review the estimated useful lives of our property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets (“long-lived assets”). A change in the useful life of a long-lived asset is treated as a change in accounting estimate in the period of change and future periods.
Long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets and finance lease assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured at the asset group level and if the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
As of September 1, 2022, due to the factors discussed below, we performed an interim impairment review of the recoverability of our long-lived assets by asset group. Based on the results of the recoverability test, we determined that, as of September 1, 2022, the carrying amount of the OpenStack Public Cloud asset group’s long-lived assets exceeded the sum of the undiscounted cash flows. Fair values of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets were determined using a combination of the income approach and the cost approach. The income approach utilized assumptions including management’s best estimates of the expected future cash flows, risk-adjusted discount rate, and the estimated useful life of the asset group. The cost approach utilized assumptions for the current replacement costs of similar assets adjusted for estimated depreciation and deterioration of the existing equipment and economic obsolescence. Estimates of floor values for the property, equipment and software, net, were considered relative to potential economic support for the assets such that the concluded value did not fall below the estimated floor value of these assets. We concluded that the carrying value of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets, including customer relationship intangibles and property, equipment and software, net, were impaired and recorded non-cash impairment charges of $38 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We also performed recoverability tests of our long-lived assets in conjunction with the goodwill impairment analyses performed subsequent to September 1, 2022 which did not result in any impairment charges.
We capitalize the salaries and related compensation costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects. Judgment is required in determining whether an enhancement to previously developed software is significant and creates additional functionality to the software, thus resulting in capitalization. All other software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the software, which is generally three years; however, we evaluate the nature and utility of each project which can result in a useful life ranging between one and five years on certain projects.
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Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Our indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of our Rackspace trade name, which was recorded at fair value on our balance sheet at the date of the Rackspace Acquisition.
Application of the goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. We test goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Rackspace trade name, for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1st or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, regulatory environment, established business plans, operating performance indicators or competition. Potential impairment indicators may also include, but are not limited to, (i) the results of our most recent annual or interim impairment testing, (ii) downward revisions to internal forecasts, and the magnitude thereof, if any, (iii) declines in our market capitalization below our book value, and the magnitude and duration of those declines, if any, (iv) a reorganization resulting in a change to our operating segments, and (v) other macroeconomic factors, such as increases in interest rates that may affect the weighted average cost of capital, volatility in the equity and debt markets, or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component). We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Assets and liabilities are assigned to each of our reporting units if they are employed by a reporting unit and are considered in the determination of the reporting unit fair value. Certain assets and liabilities are shared by multiple reporting units, and thus, are allocated to each reporting unit based on the relative size of a reporting unit, primarily based on revenue. Subsequent to the January 1, 2023 business reorganization, we have two reporting units with goodwill: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Goodwill allocated to our third reporting unit, OpenStack Public Cloud, was fully impaired during the fourth quarter of 2021. As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting unit structure and aggregated the OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit into our Private Cloud reporting unit. We currently have two reporting units: Public Cloud and Private Cloud.
We estimate the fair values of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name using the discounted cash flow method and relief-from-royalty method, respectively. These calculations require the use of significant estimates and assumptions, such as: (i) the royalty rate; (ii) the estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, and projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts; (iii) estimation of the terminal growth rates; and (iv) determination of the risk-adjusted discount rates. The discount rates used are based on our weighted average cost of capital and are adjusted for risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and in our estimation of future cash flows. As part of the goodwill impairment test, we also consider our market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the combined fair values estimated for our reporting units, including OpenStack Public Cloud. The estimates and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name from year to year are based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could produce materially different results.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units. The income approach utilizes a discounted cash flow method which is based on the present value of projected cash flows. The discounted cash flow models reflect our assumptions and considerations regarding revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, projected capital expenditures, risk-adjusted discount rates, terminal period growth rates, and economic market trends. The terminal period growth rate is selected based on economic conditions and consideration of growth rates used in the forecast period and historical performance of the reporting unit.
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February 29, 2024 Assessment
In connection with the preparation of the debt refinancing transactions that were completed in March and April 2024, as further described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, “Debt”, we updated our internal forecasts. Our updated internal forecasts considered our year-to-date operating performance, current customer bookings and revised expectations based on current performance, revisions to our expected growth and timing of such growth based on current and expected performance, current customer retention rates, revisions to the timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives and overall related risks, including macroeconomic factors, to achieving our forecasts. Our Board reviewed and approved our internal budget for fiscal year 2024 on February 28, 2024. As of February 29, 2024, we assessed our Board approved 2024 internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of February 29, 2024.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of February 29, 2024, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 13.0% to 14.0% as our base rate, which was then subsequently risk-adjusted to determine the discount rate used for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of February 29, 2024. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units exceeded their fair value. We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $385 million and $188 million for Public Cloud and Private Cloud, respectively, during the first quarter of 2024, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the first quarter of 2024 to reflect current market conditions and expected business performance, including strategic business shifts and the timing when the benefits of such shifts will be realized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase or decrease in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases or increases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $101 million and $14 million, respectively.
September 30, 2024 Assessment
During the third quarter of 2024, as part our routine budget-to-actual assessment, we updated our internal forecasts to consider our year-to-date operating performance, current customer bookings and revised expectations based on actualization, current customer retention rates, revisions to the timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives and overall related risks, including macroeconomic factors, to achieving our forecasts. As of September 30, 2024, we assessed our internal budget along with several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of our current and forecasted operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, timing of the expected effects of our strategic initiatives, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, changes to our risk-adjusted discount rates and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of September 30, 2024.
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For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 30, 2024, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 12.0% to 13.0% as our base rate, which was then subsequently risk-adjusted to determine the discount rate used for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 30, 2024. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Public Cloud and Private Cloud reporting units exceeded their fair value. We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $69 million and $73 million for Public Cloud and Private Cloud, respectively, during the third quarter of 2024, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the third quarter of 2024 to reflect expected realization of business performance, including strategic business shifts and the timing when the benefits of such shifts will be realized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $108 million and $14 million, respectively, whereas a 50 basis point decrease in the discount rate assumption would result in increases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $121 million and $15 million, respectively.
October 1, 2024 Assessment
In connection with our annual impairment analysis as of October 1, 2024, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2024 indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
January 1, 2023 Assessment
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. We reassigned goodwill to the updated reporting units using a relative fair value approach. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of January 1, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $271 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment primarily resulted from the reallocation of certain costs between the three reporting units to reflect the going-forward operating model following the business reorganization. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 20% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $175 million and $67 million, respectively.
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March 31, 2023 Assessment
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of March 31, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 11.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of March 31, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $272 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's most recent cash flow projections as revised in the first quarter of 2023 which reflected current market conditions and current trends in business performance, including slower than anticipated actualization of bookings. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 14% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $80 million and $65 million, respectively.
September 30, 2023 Assessment
During the third quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of September 30, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first nine months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of September 30, 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 30, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 30, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $166 million during the third quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the third quarter of 2023 to reflect current market conditions and business mix shifts. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 17% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $65 million and $52 million, respectively.
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October 1, 2023 Assessment
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting unit structure and aggregated the OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit into our Private Cloud reporting unit. We currently have two reporting units: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Due to the change in our reporting units as of October 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. As the Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units are being combined into the new Private Cloud reporting unit, the goodwill of the reporting units has been combined rather than reassigned based on the relative fair values of the reporting units. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2023. The Private and Public Cloud reporting units were determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 3% and 17%, respectively and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $67 million and $52 million, respectively.
September 1, 2022 Assessment
As of September 1, 2022, after considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting unit as of September 1, 2022.
For the interim quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 1, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 1, 2022. As a result of our interim goodwill impairment test performed as of September 1, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our former Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within this reporting unit primarily due to slower than anticipated product mix shifts. Our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 15% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $235 million and $33 million, respectively.
October 1, 2022 Assessment
We performed our annual quantitative goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022. For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of October 1, 2022, we determined that the fair value exceeded the carrying amounts for each of our reporting units. The fair value exceeded the carrying value for the former Multicloud Services reporting unit by 1% and the former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit by 15%. Therefore no impairment was recognized.
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We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $236 million and $38 million, respectively.
December 31, 2022 Assessment
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business which was included in our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, including our lowered projected operating results within this reporting unit, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of December 31, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of December 31, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of December 31, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by a decrease in forecasted revenues, margins, and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to the Hosted Exchange incident and other macroeconomic factors. The former Multicloud Services reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 1% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $218 million and $22 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2024, the carrying amount of goodwill was $735.7 million.
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Year Ended December 31, 2024
As of February 29, 2024 and September 30, 2024, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for both periods and a discount rate of 13.7% as of February 29, 2024 and 12.4% as of September 30, 2024. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of September 30, 2024, which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
The quantitative test as of February 29, 2024 indicated that the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $20 million non-cash impairment charge during the first quarter of 2024 which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
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Year Ended December 31, 2023
As of January 1, 2023, March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for all periods and a discount rate of 11.0% as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023, and a discount rate of 11.9% as of September 30, 2023. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
The quantitative test as of September 30, 2023 indicated that the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $57 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2023 which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of October 1, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
Year Ended December 31, 2022
As of September 1, 2022, October 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for all periods and a discount rate of 10.7% as of September 1, 2022 and October 1, 2022, and a discount rate of 11.0% as of December 31, 2022. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment.
As of September 1, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $21 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
As of October 1, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was greater than its carrying value, and therefore no impairment was recognized.
As of December 31, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $12 million non-cash impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
The fair value determination of our reporting units and our indefinite-lived intangible asset is judgmental in nature and requires the use of estimates and assumptions that are sensitive to changes. Assumptions include estimation of the royalty rate for the trade name, estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected EBITDA margins, projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts, estimation of the terminal growth rates and determination of risk-adjusted discount rates. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the quantitative goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment tests will prove to be an accurate prediction of future results. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units may include such items as: (i) volatility in the equity and debt markets or other macroeconomic factors, (ii) an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital due to further increases in interest rates, (iii) decrease in future cash flows due to lower than expected sales, or (iv) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations. Accordingly, if our current cash flow assumptions are not realized, we experience further sustained declines in our stock price or market capitalization, or increases in costs of capital, it is possible that an additional impairment charge may be recorded in the future, which could be material.
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Contingencies
We accrue for contingent obligations when the obligation is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. As facts concerning contingencies become known, we reassess our position and make appropriate adjustments to the recorded accrual. Estimates that are particularly sensitive to future changes include those related to tax, legal and other regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of international laws, and the impact of local economic conditions and practices, which are all subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation process. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Share-Based Compensation
We account for share-based awards under the recognition and measurement provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the underlying common stock and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options with vesting conditions dependent upon market performance is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Determining the grant date fair value of share-based awards with performance vesting conditions and the probability of such awards vesting requires judgment.
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
Our effective tax rates may differ from the statutory rate for various reasons, including differences due to the tax impact of foreign operations, state taxes, contingency reserves for uncertain tax positions, certain benefits realized related to share-based compensation, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, goodwill impairments, or from changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof. In addition, we are periodically subject to examination of our income tax returns in the U.S., U.K., India, and other countries. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
In December 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) issued model rules for a new global minimum tax framework (Pillar Two). Governments in many of the countries where we operate have issued, or are in the process of issuing, legislation on this rule. As of December 31, 2024, our company is subject to Pillar Two legislation in certain jurisdictions where we operate. We have evaluated the potential impact of Pillar Two and it did not have a material impact on the company’s results of operations in 2024. Although we do not currently expect that Pillar Two will have a material impact on our future results of operations, we will continue to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the “Pillar Two” framework as additional guidance is released and additional countries may adopt this legislation.
For a description of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and issued, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001810019-24-000042.
ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following MD&A is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. References to “Rackspace Technology,” “we,” “our company,” “the company,” “us,” or “our” refer to Rackspace Technology and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Overview
We are a leading end-to-end, hybrid, multicloud, and AI solutions company. We design, build and operate our customers’ cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products and adopt innovative technologies. We serve our customers with a unique combination of proprietary technology resulting from over $1 billion of investment and services expertise from a team of highly skilled consultants and engineers. And we provide our customers with unbiased expertise and technology solutions, delivered over the world’s leading cloud services, all wrapped in Fanatical Experience.
We aim to be our customers’ most trusted advisor and services partner in their path to cloud transformation and to accelerate the value of their cloud investments. We give customers the ability to make fluid decisions when choosing the right technologies, and we recommend solutions based on customers’ unique objectives. In this way, we empower our customers to harness the full benefits of cloud adoption.
Our team of 5,800 highly skilled Rackers, including consultants and engineers, partners with companies at every stage of their cloud transformation journey
We deliver our services to a global customer base through an integrated service delivery model. We have a presence in more than 60 cities around the world. This footprint allows us to better serve customers based in various countries, especially multinational companies requiring cross-border solutions. We have a strong presence with customers of all sizes, including enterprise businesses (revenue in excess of $3 billion), mid-market businesses (revenue of $300 million to $3 billion) and commercial customers (revenue less than $300 million).
Effective on January 1, 2023, we reorganized around a two-business unit operating model, Public Cloud and Private Cloud. This two-business unit operating model ensures increased focus, delivery, and service quality for our customers. Beginning in 2023, we changed our segment reporting to reflect this reorganization under two reportable segments: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. We have reflected this change in all historical comparative periods presented within this MD&A.
Our Public Cloud segment is a services-centric, capital-light model providing value-added cloud solutions through managed services, Elastic Engineering and professional services offerings for customer environments hosted on the AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud public cloud platforms. Our Private Cloud segment is a technology-forward, capital-intensive model providing managed service offerings for customer environments hosted in one of our data centers as well as in those owned by customers or by third parties such as colocation providers. Private Cloud also includes our legacy OpenStack Public Cloud business that we ceased to actively market to customers in 2017. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 18, "Segment Reporting" for additional information about our segments.
We generate revenue primarily through the sale of consumption-based contracts for our services offerings, which are recurring in nature. We also generate revenue from the sale of professional services related to designing and building customer solutions, which are non-recurring in nature. Arrangements within our Private Cloud segment generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources provided to and utilized by the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our other primary sources of revenue are for services within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business. Contracts for these arrangements typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We sell our services through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners and via online orders. Our sales model is based on both distributed and centralized sales teams with leads generated from technology partners, customer referrals, channel partners and corporate marketing efforts. We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments.
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On July 21, 2021, we committed to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan to drive a change in the type and location of certain positions that was expected to result in the termination of approximately 10% of our workforce. We recorded total charges of $50.5 million and $5.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, respectively, related to this restructuring plan. The 2021 charges included $25.4 million for employee related costs and other costs accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420 as described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 11, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan." Employee related costs consisted of one-time termination benefits and certain contractual termination benefits with executives. Other costs consisted of professional fees and non-cash charges related to a contract termination with a third-party. The remaining $25.1 million of 2021 charges and total 2022 charges consisted primarily of one-time offshore build out costs which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420.
In December 2022, we experienced a ransomware incident which caused service disruptions for our Hosted Exchange customers. The Hosted Exchange email business, reported in our Private Cloud segment, is a managed email solution provided to small and medium businesses and represented approximately 1% of our total annual revenue. Following discovery of the incident, we engaged an industry-leading global cybersecurity firm to help investigate the incident and remediate as necessary. The firm confirmed that the incident was quickly contained and limited solely to the Hosted Exchange email business. We have sunset the on-premises Hosted Exchange platform and have transitioned many customers from the Hosted Exchange platform to Microsoft 365 through our reseller agreement with Microsoft. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, we recorded $5.9 million and $5.2 million, respectively, of expenses related to the Hosted Exchange incident, including costs to investigate and remediate, legal and other professional services, and supplemental staff resources that were deployed to provide support to customers. We maintain cybersecurity insurance commensurate with the size of our business, and a significant portion of the incremental costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident have been covered by insurance. However, the timing of insurance reimbursements have differed from the timing of recognition of the related expenses. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded $10.0 million of loss recovery insurance proceeds received or expected to be received related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
Subsequent Events
For a description of subsequent events, see "Subsequent Events" in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to meet the challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to continue to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware by Broadcom. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue has shifted in recent years, from our Private Cloud offerings to infrastructure resale and services within Public Cloud. Private Cloud offerings are generally hosted on our own infrastructure and deliver higher segment operating margins, but also require a higher level of capital expenditures. Conversely, Public Cloud segment operating margins are lower, driven by high volumes of infrastructure resale revenue which come at significantly lower margins. However, Public Cloud requires significantly less capital expenditures. Going forward, we will continue to take a workload-centric approach and both Public and Private Cloud will be the net recipients of the workloads. The focus in Private Cloud will be to defend and expand our revenue with new solutions. The focus in Public Cloud is on expanding segment operating margins by driving cost efficiencies and growing higher-margin services revenue.
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Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Most of our services within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes R&D costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods. Employee related costs and other costs incurred, as discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 11, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan," are also included within SG&A.
Income taxes
Our income tax benefit and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. To date, we have recorded consolidated tax benefits, reflecting our net losses, though certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries have incurred corporate tax expense according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,122.3 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,957.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | (165.2) | (5.3) | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,265.4) | (72.6) | % | (2,328.3) | (78.7) | % | (62.9) | 2.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 856.9 | 27.4 | % | 628.8 | 21.3 | % | (228.1) | (26.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (855.3) | (27.4) | % | (767.2) | (25.9) | % | 88.1 | (10.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (534.5) | (17.1) | % | (708.8) | (24.0) | % | (174.3) | 32.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | (146.1) | (4.7) | % | (52.2) | (1.8) | % | 93.9 | (64.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (679.0) | (21.7) | % | (899.4) | (30.4) | % | (220.4) | 32.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (208.5) | (6.7) | % | (221.6) | (7.5) | % | (13.1) | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on investments, net | (0.2) | (0.0) | % | 0.3 | 0.0 | % | 0.5 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | — | — | % | 271.3 | 9.2 | % | 271.3 | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (10.0) | (0.3) | % | (5.0) | (0.2) | % | 5.0 | (50.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (218.7) | (7.0) | % | 45.0 | 1.5 | % | 263.7 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (897.7) | (28.8) | % | (854.4) | (28.9) | % | 43.3 | (4.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 92.9 | 3.0 | % | 16.6 | 0.6 | % | (76.3) | (82.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (804.8) | (25.8) | % | $ | (837.8) | (28.3) | % | $ | (33.0) | 4.1 | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue decreased $165 million, or 5.3%, to $2,957 million in 2023 from $3,122 million in 2022. Revenue declined primarily due to Private Cloud, partially offset by growth in Public Cloud, as discussed below.
Revenue was not materially impacted by foreign currency fluctuations as revenue on a constant currency basis also declined 5.3%. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2022 | 2023 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,740.8 | $ | 1,747.4 | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,381.5 | 1,209.7 | (12.4) | % | (12.5) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 2,957.1 | (5.3) | % | (5.3) | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2023 increased 0.4% on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2022. Underlying growth was driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Offerings in this segment with the strongest growth include infrastructure resale on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Private Cloud revenue in 2023 decreased 12.4% on an actual basis, and 12.5% on a constant currency basis, from 2022, due to customers rolling off old generation private cloud offerings, expected decline in legacy OpenStack offerings, and the impact from the December 2022 Hosted Exchange ransomware incident.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $63 million, or 3%, to $2,328 million in 2023 from $2,265 million in 2022, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings. Consulting professional fees and data center costs increased primarily to support growth for certain large customers. Personnel costs declined between periods due to lower headcount and a decrease in non-equity incentive compensation, partially offset by higher severance expense in 2023.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 610 basis points in 2023 to 78.7% from 72.6% in 2022, primarily driven by a 440 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure. Higher data center and professional fees also contributed to the increase in basis points between periods.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $629 million in 2023, a decrease of $228 million from $857 million in 2022. Our gross margin was 21.3% in 2023, a decrease of 610 basis points from 27.4% in 2022.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $88 million, or 10%, to $767 million in 2023 from $855 million in 2022. Contributing to the reduction in expense was a wind down of certain business optimization initiatives between periods. In addition, personnel costs declined between periods due to lower headcount and decreases in non-equity incentive compensation and commissions, partially offset by higher severance expense. Other non-personnel costs fluctuations include lower marketing spend, professional fees, and depreciation and amortization expense, offset by higher office rent. The increase in office rent includes $12 million of expense recognized for a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023, prior to the lease end date.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 150 basis points, to 25.9% in 2023 from 27.4% in 2022, for the reasons discussed above.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $899 million in 2023 compared to $679 million in 2022. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $183 million in 2023, a decrease of $180 million from $364 million in 2022. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2022 | 2023 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (679.0) | $ | (899.4) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 69.5 | 65.4 | ||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 10.0 | 12.1 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 11.0 | 5.2 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 99.0 | 70.8 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | 5.9 | (4.8) | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 534.5 | 708.8 | ||||
| UK office closure (d) | — | 12.1 | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | 146.1 | 52.2 | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (e) | 166.8 | 161.0 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 363.8 | $ | 183.4 |
| (a) | Includes expense related to retention bonuses, mainly relating to restructuring and integration projects, and the related payroll tax, senior executive signing bonuses and relocation costs, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. Beginning in the second quarter of 2023, includes expense related to the one-time grant of long-term incentive bonuses as a component of our annual compensation award process. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, certain one-time compliance costs related to being a public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to supporting these projects and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
| (c) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to these projects, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes total charges of $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (d) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (e) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 124.9 | 7.2 | % | $ | 90.4 | 5.2 | % | $ | (34.5) | (27.6) | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 493.9 | 35.8 | % | 340.8 | 28.2 | % | (153.1) | (31.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Total consolidated segment operating profit | 618.8 | 431.2 | (187.6) | (30.3) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (255.0) | (247.8) | 7.2 | (2.8) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 363.8 | $ | 183.4 | $ | (180.4) | (49.6) | % |
Public Cloud operating profit decreased 28% in 2023 from 2022. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 200 basis points, reflecting a 3% increase in segment operating expenses as segment revenue growth remained relatively flat. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue, partially offset by a decrease in personnel costs.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 31% in 2023 from 2022. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 760 basis points, due to a 12% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 2% decrease in segment operating expenses. The decrease in costs was mainly driven by a reduction in personnel costs.
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Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense decreased 3% in 2023 primarily due to a decline in depreciation expense as certain property, equipment, and software reached the end of its useful life.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 18, "Segment Reporting."
Impairment of Goodwill
We recorded a total of $709 million and $535 million in non-cash goodwill impairment charges in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023. The results of this quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded an additional non-cash impairment charge of $272 million in the first quarter of 2023.
We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2023 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, market capitalization and earnings quality and sustainability. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a non-cash impairment of goodwill of $166 million in the third quarter of 2023.
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting units and combined our Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units into a new Private Cloud reporting unit. We completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the aforementioned change. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis indicated no impairment to goodwill.
During the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 1, 2022 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance from prior year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. In addition, as of September 1, 2022, we lowered our projected operating results primarily due to product mix shifts and market concerns related to inflation and other macroeconomic factors. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022.
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The results of our annual goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022 did not indicate any impairments of goodwill.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced a decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business. We therefore determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We recorded a total of $52 million and $146 million in net asset impairment charges in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
We evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment as of September 30, 2023. As a result of this evaluation, we recorded a $57 million impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset in the third quarter of 2023.
Similarly, we evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset and long-lived assets for impairment as of September 1, 2022. As a result of these evaluations, we recorded total impairment charges of $59 million in the third quarter of 2022, consisting of a $21 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset and a $38 million impairment of OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets.
As of December 31, 2022, we recorded an additional $12 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset.
Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, our corporate headquarters property was classified as held for sale. The property's previous carrying amount of $83 million was written down to its estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of $12 million, resulting in a $71 million impairment charge recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022. We also wrote-off the remaining $5 million net book value of the related property tax abatement asset in connection with the held for sale classification.
During 2023, we recorded a $5 million net increase in the estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of our corporate headquarters.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased $13 million, or 6%, to $222 million in 2023 from $209 million in 2022, due primarily to rising interest rates and the impact on our variable-rate Term Loan Facility, partially offset by debt repurchases during 2023, as discussed below.
Gain on Debt Extinguishment
We recorded a $228 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2023 related to repurchases of $352 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes. In addition, we repurchased $36 million principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and $56 million principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, which resulted in an $18 million and $26 million gain on debt extinguishment, respectively.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
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Other Expense, Net
The decrease in other expense, net to $5 million in 2023 from $10 million in 2022 is primarily related to foreign currency transaction gains, partially offset by costs incurred in 2023 related to the Receivables Purchase Facility entered into in September 2023.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for further discussion regarding the Receivables Purchase Facility.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit decreased by $76 million to $17 million in 2023 from $93 million in 2022. Our effective tax rate decreased from 10.3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded in 2023 as well as changes in the valuation allowance. The majority of the goodwill impairments recorded in 2023 were nondeductible for income tax purposes. The difference between the effective tax rate and the statutory rate in 2023 is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments recorded during the year, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), the geographic distribution of profits, tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation as well as changes in the valuation allowance.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,009.5 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,122.3 | 100.0 | % | $ | 112.8 | 3.7 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,072.7) | (68.9) | % | (2,265.4) | (72.6) | % | (192.7) | 9.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 936.8 | 31.1 | % | 856.9 | 27.4 | % | (79.9) | (8.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (906.8) | (30.1) | % | (855.3) | (27.4) | % | 51.5 | (5.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (52.4) | (1.7) | % | (534.5) | (17.1) | % | (482.1) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | — | — | % | (146.1) | (4.7) | % | (146.1) | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on sale of land | 19.9 | 0.7 | % | — | — | % | (19.9) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (2.5) | (0.1) | % | (679.0) | (21.7) | % | (676.5) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (205.1) | (6.8) | % | (208.5) | (6.7) | % | (3.4) | 1.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Loss on investments, net | (3.0) | (0.1) | % | (0.2) | (0.0) | % | 2.8 | (93.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Debt modification costs and loss on debt extinguishment | (37.5) | (1.2) | % | — | — | % | 37.5 | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (1.0) | (0.0) | % | (10.0) | (0.3) | % | (9.0) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (246.6) | (8.2) | % | (218.7) | (7.0) | % | 27.9 | (11.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (249.1) | (8.3) | % | (897.7) | (28.8) | % | (648.6) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 30.8 | 1.0 | % | 92.9 | 3.0 | % | 62.1 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (218.3) | (7.3) | % | $ | (804.8) | (25.8) | % | $ | (586.5) | NM |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased $113 million, or 3.7%, to $3,122 million in 2022 from $3,010 million in 2021 primarily due to growth in Public Cloud, partially offset by a decline in Private Cloud, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue increased 5.2% year-over-year. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2021 | 2022 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,471.3 | $ | 1,740.8 | 18.3 | % | 19.2 | % | |||||
| Private Cloud | 1,538.2 | 1,381.5 | (10.2) | % | (8.2) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | 3,122.3 | 3.7 | % | 5.2 | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
Public Cloud revenue in 2022 increased 18% on an actual basis and 19% on a constant currency basis, from 2021. Underlying growth was driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Offerings in this segment with the strongest growth include infrastructure resale on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Private Cloud revenue in 2022 decreased 10% on an actual basis and 8% on a constant currency basis, from 2021, due to customers rolling off old generation private cloud offerings and expected decline in legacy OpenStack offerings.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $193 million, or 9%, to $2,265 million in 2022 from $2,073 million in 2021, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings. The increase in expense was partially offset by a decline in personnel costs primarily due to cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives, including the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. We also had higher severance in the prior period. In addition, there were year-over-year data center expense reductions as a result of initiatives to lower our cost structure, which included the consolidation of data center facilities. Depreciation expense also decreased between periods primarily due to certain property, equipment and software reaching the end of its useful life for depreciation purposes as we shift towards faster-growing, value-added service offerings which have significantly lower capital requirements than our legacy capital-intensive revenue streams.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 370 basis points in 2022 to 72.6% from 68.9% in 2021, primarily driven by a 640 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure, partially offset by a decrease related to personnel costs, data center, and depreciation expense.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $857 million in 2022, a decrease of $80 million from $937 million in 2021. Our gross margin was 27.4% in 2022, a decrease of 370 basis points from 31.1% in 2021.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $52 million, or 6%, to $855 million in 2022 from $907 million in 2021, due to a decline in personnel costs from cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives. We also had lower severance expense between periods. The prior period included $25 million of restructuring charges related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, of which $14 million were personnel related costs. There were also reductions in costs related to other business optimization and integration initiatives compared to the prior period, as well as lower amortization expense related to certain intangible assets reaching the end of their useful life. These reductions in expense were partially offset by an increase in travel expense as a result of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and costs incurred in 2022 related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 270 basis points, to 27.4% in 2022 from 30.1% in 2021, for the reasons discussed above.
Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit
Our loss from operations was $679 million in 2022 compared to $3 million in 2021. Our Non-GAAP Operating Profit was $364 million in 2022, a decrease of $120 million from $484 million in 2021. Non-GAAP Operating Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of loss from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (2.5) | $ | (679.0) | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 75.4 | 69.5 | ||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 11.8 | 10.0 | ||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 25.7 | 11.0 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 161.5 | 99.0 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | — | 5.9 | ||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 52.4 | 534.5 | ||||
| Impairment of assets, net | — | 146.1 | ||||
| Gain on sale of land | (19.9) | — | ||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (d) | 179.7 | 166.8 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 484.1 | $ | 363.8 |
| (a) | Includes expense related to retention bonuses, mainly relating to restructuring and integration projects, and the related payroll tax, senior executive signing bonuses and relocation costs, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, certain one-time compliance costs related to being a public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to supporting these projects and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
| (c) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to these projects, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes employee related costs and other costs related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan of $25.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. In addition, it includes total charges of $25.1 million and $5.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, respectively, related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (d) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
Our segment operating profit and segment operating margin for the periods indicated, and the change between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 120.1 | 8.2 | % | $ | 124.9 | 7.2 | % | $ | 4.8 | 4.0 | % | ||||||||
| Private Cloud | 604.3 | 39.3 | % | 493.9 | 35.8 | % | (110.4) | (18.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Total consolidated segment operating profit | 724.4 | 618.8 | (105.6) | (14.6) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Corporate functions | (240.3) | (255.0) | (14.7) | 6.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 484.1 | $ | 363.8 | $ | (120.3) | (24.9) | % |
Public Cloud operating profit increased by 4% in 2022 from 2021. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 100 basis points, reflecting a 20% increase in segment operating expenses, partially offset by an 18% increase in segment revenue. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue.
Private Cloud operating profit decreased 18% in 2022 from 2021. Segment operating profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 350 basis points, due to a 10% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 5% reduction in segment operating expenses. The decrease in costs was mainly driven by declines in personnel costs from cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives.
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Centralized corporate functions that provide services to the segments in areas such as accounting, information technology, marketing, legal and human resources are not allocated to the segments and are included in "corporate functions" in the table above. This expense increased 6% in 2022 primarily due to costs incurred in 2022 related to the Hosted Exchange incident and an increase in travel expense as a result of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
For more information about our segment operating profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 18, "Segment Reporting."
Impairment of Goodwill
During the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 1, 2022 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance from prior year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. In addition, as of September 1, 2022, we lowered our projected operating results primarily due to product mix shifts and market concerns related to inflation and other macroeconomic factors. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022.
The results of our annual goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022 did not indicate any impairments of goodwill.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced a decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business. We therefore determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022.
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and fully impaired its goodwill by recording a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets, Net
We also evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset and long-lived assets for impairment as of September 1, 2022. As a result of these evaluations, we recorded total impairment charges of $59 million during the third quarter of 2022, consisting of a $21 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset and a $38 million impairment of OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets.
As of December 31, 2022, we recorded an additional $12 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset.
In addition, as of December 31, 2022, our corporate headquarters property was classified as held for sale. The property's previous carrying amount of $83 million was written down to its estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of $12 million, resulting in a $71 million impairment charge. We also wrote-off the remaining $5 million net book value of the related property tax abatement asset in connection with the held for sale classification.
There were no such impairments in 2021.
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See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 6, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Gain on Sale of Land
In January 2021, we recorded a $20 million gain related to the sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Property, Equipment and Software, net."
Debt Modification Costs and Loss on Debt Extinguishment
In 2021, we recorded $37 million and $0.5 million of debt modification costs and loss on debt extinguishment related to the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility, respectively. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
Other Expense, Net
The increase in other expense, net to $10 million in 2022 from $1 million in 2021 is primarily related to foreign currency transaction losses.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit increased by $62 million to $93 million in 2022 from $31 million in 2021. Our effective tax rate decreased from 12.4% in 2021 to 10.3% in 2022. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments, the geographic distribution of profits and tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation. The difference between the effective tax rate for 2022 and the statutory tax rate is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments, the geographic distribution of profits, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m) and tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We track several non-GAAP financial measures to monitor and manage our underlying financial performance. The following discussion includes the presentation of constant currency revenue, Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share, which are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of certain costs, losses and gains that are required to be included in our profit and loss measures under GAAP. Although we believe these measures are useful to investors and analysts for the same reasons they are useful to management, as discussed below, these measures are not a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP financial measures or disclosures. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. We have reconciled each of these non-GAAP measures to the applicable most comparable GAAP measure throughout this MD&A.
Constant Currency Revenue
We use constant currency revenue as an additional metric for understanding and assessing our growth excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on our international business operations. Constant currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period and is calculated by translating the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current period to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective period. We also believe this is an important metric to help investors evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods.
The following tables present, by segment, actual and constant currency revenue and constant currency revenue growth rates, for and between the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, 2022 | Year Ended December 31, 2023 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,740.8 | $ | 1,747.4 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 1,747.8 | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,381.5 | 1,209.7 | (1.2) | 1,208.5 | (12.4) | % | (12.5) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 2,957.1 | $ | (0.8) | $ | 2,956.3 | (5.3) | % | (5.3) | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
| Year Ended December 31, 2021 | Year Ended December 31, 2022 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Public Cloud | $ | 1,471.3 | $ | 1,740.8 | $ | 13.0 | $ | 1,753.8 | 18.3 | % | 19.2 | % | |||||||||
| Private Cloud | 1,538.2 | 1,381.5 | 30.6 | 1,412.1 | (10.2) | % | (8.2) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 43.6 | $ | 3,165.9 | 3.7 | % | 5.2 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
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Non-GAAP Gross Profit
We present Non-GAAP Gross Profit in this MD&A because we believe the measure is useful in analyzing trends in our underlying, recurring gross margins. We define Non-GAAP Gross Profit as gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense and other non-recurring or unusual compensation items, purchase accounting-related effects, certain business transformation-related costs, and costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
The table below presents a reconciliation of gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 936.8 | $ | 856.9 | $ | 628.8 | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 16.7 | 11.6 | 9.1 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 2.7 | 1.9 | 4.0 | |||||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (b) | 4.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 35.5 | 10.9 | 16.9 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | — | 0.2 | 0.3 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 996.4 | $ | 884.2 | $ | 661.7 |
| (a) | Adjustments for retention bonuses, mainly in connection with restructuring and transformation projects, and the related payroll tax, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. Beginning in the second quarter of 2023, includes expense related to the one-time grant of long-term incentive bonuses as a component of our annual compensation award process. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
| (c) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA
We present Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA because they are a basis upon which management assesses our performance and we believe they are useful to evaluating our financial performance. We believe that excluding items from net income that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our core operating results, and that may vary in frequency or magnitude, enhances the comparability of our results and provides a better baseline for analyzing trends in our business.
The Rackspace Acquisition was structured as a leveraged buyout of Rackspace Technology Global, our predecessor, and resulted in several accounting and capital structure impacts. For example, the revaluation of our assets and liabilities resulted in a significant increase in our amortizable intangible assets and goodwill, the incurrence of a significant amount of debt to partially finance the Rackspace Acquisition resulted in interest payments that reflect our high leverage and cost of debt capital, and the conversion of Rackspace Technology Global’s unvested equity compensation into a cash-settled bonus plan and obligation to pay management fees to our equityholders resulted in new cash commitments. In addition, the change in ownership and management resulting from the Rackspace Acquisition led to a strategic realignment in our operations that had a significant impact on our financial results. Following the Rackspace Acquisition, we acquired several businesses, sold businesses and investments that we deemed to be non-core and launched multiple integration and business transformation initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of people and operations and identify recurring cost savings and new revenue growth opportunities. We believe that these transactions and activities resulted in costs, which have historically been substantial, and that may not be indicative of, or are not related to, our core operating results, including interest related to the incurrence of additional debt to finance acquisitions and third party legal, advisory and consulting fees and severance, retention bonus and other internal costs that we believe would not have been incurred in the absence of these transactions and activities and also may not be indicative of, or related to, our core operating results.
We define Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, as well as the tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments.
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We define Non-GAAP Operating Profit as income (loss) from operations adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, costs related to the closure of a UK office, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, costs related to the closure of a UK office, certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, interest expense, expenses for our Receivables Purchase Facility, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and goodwill and asset impairment charges.
Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA are management’s principal metrics for measuring our underlying financial performance. Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA, along with other quantitative and qualitative information, are also the principal financial measures used by management and our board of directors in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.
These non-GAAP measures are not intended to imply that we would have generated higher income or avoided net losses if the Rackspace Acquisition and the subsequent transactions and initiatives had not occurred. In the future we may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit or Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by these items. Other companies, including our peer companies, may calculate similarly-titled measures in a different manner from us, and therefore, our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-tiled measures of other companies. Investors are cautioned against using these measures to the exclusion of our results in accordance with GAAP.
The following tables present a reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of income (loss) from operations to Non-GAAP Operating Profit, see “Loss from Operations, Segment Operating Profit, and Non-GAAP Operating Profit” in the year-over-year comparisons under "Results of Operations" above.
Net loss reconciliation to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss)
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 75.4 | 69.5 | 65.4 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 11.8 | 10.0 | 12.1 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 25.7 | 11.0 | 5.2 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 161.5 | 99.0 | 70.8 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | — | 5.9 | (4.8) | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 52.4 | 534.5 | 708.8 | |||||||
| UK office closure (d) | — | — | 12.1 | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | — | 146.1 | 52.2 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | (19.9) | — | — | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | 3.0 | 0.2 | (0.3) | |||||||
| Debt modification costs and (gain) loss on debt extinguishment (f) | 37.5 | — | (271.3) | |||||||
| Other adjustments (g) | 1.0 | 10.0 | (1.0) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (h) | 179.7 | 166.8 | 161.0 | |||||||
| Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (i) | (103.3) | (133.3) | (5.1) | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) | $ | 206.5 | $ | 114.9 | $ | (32.7) |
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Net loss reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 75.4 | 69.5 | 65.4 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 11.8 | 10.0 | 12.1 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 25.7 | 11.0 | 5.2 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 161.5 | 99.0 | 70.8 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses, net of proceeds received or expected to be received under our insurance coverage | — | 5.9 | (4.8) | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 52.4 | 534.5 | 708.8 | |||||||
| UK office closure (d) | — | — | 12.1 | |||||||
| Impairment of assets, net | — | 146.1 | 52.2 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | (19.9) | — | — | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | 3.0 | 0.2 | (0.3) | |||||||
| Debt modification costs and (gain) loss on debt extinguishment (f) | 37.5 | — | (271.3) | |||||||
| Other expense, net (j) | 1.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 205.1 | 208.5 | 221.6 | |||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | (30.8) | (92.9) | (16.6) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (k) | 421.4 | 387.5 | 366.4 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 725.8 | $ | 584.5 | $ | 388.8 |
| (a) | Includes expense related to retention bonuses, mainly relating to restructuring and integration projects, and the related payroll tax, senior executive signing bonuses and relocation costs, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. Beginning in the second quarter of 2023, includes expense related to the one-time grant of long-term incentive bonuses as a component of our annual compensation award process. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions, certain one-time compliance costs related to being a public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to supporting these projects and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
| (c) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to these projects, as well as associated severance, certain facility closure costs, and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes employee related costs and other costs related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan of $25.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. In addition, it includes total charges of $25.1 million and $5.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, respectively, related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (d) | Expense recognized related to the closure of a UK office that we exited in the second quarter of 2023 prior to the lease end date. |
| (e) | Includes gains and losses on investment and from dispositions. |
| (f) | Includes gains and losses related to repurchases of 5.375% Senior Notes, 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the Term Loan Facility, the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility. |
| (g) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses. |
| (h) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
| (i) | We utilize an estimated structural long-term non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide consistency across reporting periods, removing the effect of non-recurring tax adjustments, which include but are not limited to tax rate changes, U.S. tax reform, share-based compensation, audit conclusions and changes to valuation allowances. We used a structural non-GAAP tax rate of 26% for all periods which reflects the removal of the tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments and non-recurring tax adjustments on a year-over-year basis. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate our long-term non-GAAP tax rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments facilitates a better evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to prior periods. |
| (j) | Primarily consists of foreign currency gains and losses and expense related to our Receivables Purchase Facility. |
| (k) | Excludes accelerated depreciation expense related to facility closures. |
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Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share
We define Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share as Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) divided by our GAAP weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period on a diluted basis and further adjusted for the weighted average number of shares associated with securities which are anti-dilutive to GAAP loss per share but dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share. Management uses Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share to evaluate the performance of our business on a comparable basis from period to period, including by adjusting for the impact of the issuance of shares that would be dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share. The following table reconciles Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) per Share to our GAAP net loss per share on a diluted basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | $ | (837.8) | ||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) | $ | 206.5 | $ | 114.9 | $ | (32.7) | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 208.0 | 211.2 | 215.3 | |||||||
| Effect of dilutive securities (a) | 4.2 | 1.3 | 3.1 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 212.2 | 212.5 | 218.4 | |||||||
| Net loss per share - Diluted | $ | (1.05) | $ | (3.81) | $ | (3.89) | ||||
| Per share impacts of adjustments to net loss (b) | 2.04 | 4.35 | 3.74 | |||||||
| Per share impacts of shares dilutive after adjustments to net loss (a) | (0.02) | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share | $ | 0.97 | $ | 0.54 | $ | (0.15) |
| (a) | Reflects impact of awards that would have been anti-dilutive to net loss per share, and therefore not included in the calculation, but would be dilutive to Non-GAAP Earnings (Loss) Per Share and are therefore included in the share count for purposes of this non-GAAP measure. Potential common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, vesting of restricted stock units (including performance-based restricted stock units) or purchases under the ESPP, as well as contingent shares associated with our acquisition of Datapipe. Certain of our potential common share equivalents are contingent on Apollo achieving pre-established performance targets based on a MOIC, which are included in the denominator for the entire period if such shares would be issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was the end of the contingency period. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Reflects the aggregate adjustments made to reconcile Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) to our net loss, as noted in the above table, divided by the GAAP diluted number of shares outstanding for the relevant period. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We primarily finance our operations and capital expenditures with internally-generated cash from operations and hardware leases, and if necessary, borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2023, the Revolving Credit Facility provided for up to $375 million of borrowings, none of which was drawn and outstanding as of December 31, 2023. Our primary uses of cash are working capital requirements, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. Based on our current level of operations and available cash, we believe our sources will provide sufficient liquidity over at least the next twelve months. We cannot provide assurance, however, that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the Revolving Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. Our ability to do so depends on prevailing economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change of control, we could be required to repay or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness, including the Senior Facilities, the 5.375% Senior Notes and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar transactions will likely require additional capital, and there can be no assurance that any such capital will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
From time to time, depending upon market and other conditions, as well as upon our cash balances and liquidity, we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may acquire (and have acquired) our outstanding debt securities or our other indebtedness through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, redemption or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may determine (or as may be provided for in the Indentures, if applicable), for cash or other consideration.
On February 2, 2021, we issued 2,665,935 shares of common stock to DPH 123, LLC, an ABRY affiliate, for no additional consideration pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 6, 2017, (the "Datapipe Merger Agreement") in connection with our November 15, 2017 acquisition of Datapipe. We will be required to issue additional shares of our common stock to DPH 123, LLC based on the MOIC exceeding certain thresholds as defined in the Datapipe Merger Agreement. If the MOIC exceeds 3.0x, which is indicated by a volume weighted average trading price of our common stock over 30 consecutive trading days of more than $25.00, we will be required to issue an additional 2,665,935 shares.
On March 3, 2022, our board of directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $75 million of shares of our common stock from time to time through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchases and other transactions in accordance with applicable security laws. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we repurchased $31 million, or 3.1 million shares, of our common stock on the open market under this program. No shares were repurchased during the year ended December 31, 2023 and the program authorization expired on September 30, 2023.
On September 29, 2023, indirect subsidiaries of the company entered into a revolving agreement where a bankruptcy-remote SPV can sell accounts receivable, based upon the face amount of eligible receivables in the collateral pool, up to an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to a financial institution on a recurring basis in exchange for cash.
At December 31, 2023, we held $197 million in cash and cash equivalents (not including $3 million in restricted cash, which is included in "Other non-current assets"), of which $117 million was held by foreign entities.
We have entered into installment payment arrangements with certain equipment and software vendors, along with sale-leaseback arrangements for equipment and certain property leases that are considered financing obligations. We had $66 million outstanding with respect to these arrangements as of December 31, 2023. We may choose to utilize these various sources of funding in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 9, "Financing Obligations" for more information regarding financing obligations.
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We also lease certain equipment and real estate under operating and finance lease agreements. We had $504 million outstanding with respect to operating and finance lease agreements as of December 31, 2023. We may choose to utilize such leasing arrangements in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 8, "Leases" for more information regarding our operating and finance leases.
As of December 31, 2023, we had $2,893 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under our Term Loan Facility, 5.375% Senior Notes, and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, with $375 million of borrowing capacity available under the Revolving Credit Facility. Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to debt service requirements.
Debt
Senior Facilities
On February 9, 2021, we amended and restated the First Lien Credit Agreement, which included a new seven-year $2,300 million senior secured first lien term loan facility (the Term Loan Facility) and our existing Revolving Credit Facility, which we refer to together as the Senior Facilities. We used the borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, together with the proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes described below, to repay all borrowings under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes. The Term Loan Facility will mature on February 15, 2028 and the Revolving Credit Facility will mature on August 7, 2025. We may request one or more incremental term loan facilities, one or more incremental revolving credit facilities and/or increase the commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility in an amount equal to the greater of $860 million and 1.0x Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the amended First Lien Credit Agreement), plus additional amounts, subject to compliance with applicable leverage ratios and certain terms and conditions.
On April 26, 2023, we executed an amendment to our First Lien Credit Agreement to establish Term SOFR as the benchmark rate for determining the applicable interest rate, replacing LIBOR.
As a result of the amendment, borrowings under the Senior Facilities bear interest at an annual rate equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (a) Term SOFR equal to the forward-looking term rate, based on the secured overnight financing rate as administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.11% for an interest period of one-month's duration, 0.26% for an interest period of three-months' duration, and 0.43% for an interest period of six-months' duration, subject to a 0.75% floor, in the case of the Term Loan Facility, and a 1.00% floor, in the case of the Revolving Credit Facility, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate of Citi and (iii) adjusted Term SOFR for a one-month tenor plus 1.00%.
The applicable margin for the Term Loan Facility is 2.75% for SOFR loans and 1.75% for base rate loans and the applicable margin for the Revolving Credit Facility is 3.00% for SOFR loans and 2.00% for base rate loans. Interest is due at the end of each interest period elected, not exceeding 90 days, for SOFR loans and at the end of every calendar quarter for base rate loans.
The Revolving Credit Facility also includes a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that is due quarterly. This fee is subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased and surrendered for cancellation $56 million aggregate principal amount of the Term Loan Facility for $30 million, excluding related fees and expenses.
As of December 31, 2023, the interest rate on the Term Loan Facility was 8.23% and the outstanding principal balance was $2,181 million. We are required to make quarterly principal payments in the amount equal to 0.25% of the original principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, or $5.8 million, which began on June 30, 2021, with the balance due at maturity on February 15, 2028.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in Term SOFR. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 15, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
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In addition to the quarterly amortization payments discussed above, our Senior Facilities require us to make certain mandatory prepayments, including using (i) a portion of annual excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, to prepay the Term Loan Facility, (ii) net cash proceeds of certain non-ordinary assets sales or dispositions of property to prepay the Term Loan Facility and (iii) net cash proceeds of any issuance or incurrence of debt not permitted under the Senior Facilities to prepay the Term Loan Facility. We can make voluntary prepayments at any time without penalty, except in connection with a repricing event, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement.
Rackspace Technology Global, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is the borrower under the Senior Facilities, and all obligations under the Senior Facilities are (i) guaranteed by Inception Parent, Rackspace Technology Global’s immediate parent company, on a limited recourse basis and secured by the equity interests of Rackspace Technology Global held by Inception Parent and (ii) guaranteed by Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries and secured by substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interests held by each, in each case subject to certain exceptions.
During 2023, we borrowed and fully repaid $50 million under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2023, we had total commitments of $375 million, no outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, and $3.5 million of letters of credit issued thereunder. As such, as of December 31, 2023, we had $375 million of available commitments remaining.
3.50% Senior Secured Notes
On February 9, 2021, Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes will mature on February 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15, commencing on August 15, 2021. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are not subject to registration rights. As noted above, we used the net proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, together with borrowings under the Term Loan Facility described above, to repay all borrowings outstanding under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and obligations under the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interest held by each, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: from February 15, 2024 to February 14, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.750% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2025 to February 14, 2026, at a redemption price equal to 100.875% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from February 15, 2026 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Rackspace Technology Global may redeem during each twelve-month period, commencing with February 9, 2021, up to 10.0% of the original aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a redemption price of 103.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased and surrendered for cancellation $36 million principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes for $18 million, including accrued interest of $0.3 million and excluding related fees and expenses.
As of December 31, 2023, $514 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.
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5.375% Senior Notes
Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes on December 1, 2020. The 5.375% Senior Notes will mature on December 1, 2028 and bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.375% per year, payable semi-annually on each June 1 and December 1, commencing on June 1, 2021 through maturity. The 5.375% Senior Notes are not subject to registration rights.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 5.375% Senior Notes, and obligations under the 5.375% Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 5.375% Senior Notes are effectively junior to the indebtedness under the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, to the extent of the collateral securing the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 5.375% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 5.375% Senior Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, at a redemption price equal to 102.688% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.344% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from December 1, 2025 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased and surrendered for cancellation $352 million principal amount of 5.375% Senior Notes for $124 million, including accrued interest of $3 million and excluding related fees and expenses.
As of December 31, 2023, $198 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes remained outstanding.
Debt covenants
Our Term Loan Facility is not subject to a financial maintenance covenant. The Revolving Credit Facility included a financial maintenance covenant that limits the borrower's net first lien leverage ratio to a maximum of 5.00 to 1.00. The net first lien leverage ratio is calculated as the ratio of (x) the total amount of the borrower’s first lien debt for borrowed money (which is currently identical to the total amount outstanding under the Senior Facilities), less the borrower’s unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, to (y) consolidated EBITDA (as defined under the First Lien Credit Agreement governing the Senior Facilities). However, this financial maintenance covenant will only be applicable and tested if the aggregate amount of outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and letters of credit issued thereunder (excluding $25 million of undrawn letters of credit and cash collateralized letters of credit) as of the last day of a fiscal quarter is equal to or greater than 35% of the Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the last day of such fiscal quarter. Additional covenants in the Senior Facilities limit our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt and liens, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The Indentures contains covenants that, among other things, limit our subsidiaries' ability to incur certain additional debt, incur certain liens securing debt, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, limitations, and qualifications as set forth in the Indentures. Additionally, upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the Indentures), we will be required to make an offer to repurchase all of the outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a price in cash equal to 101.000% of the aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including the purchase date.
Our “consolidated EBITDA,” as defined under our debt instruments, is calculated in the same manner as our Adjusted EBITDA, presented elsewhere in this report, except that our debt instruments allow us to adjust for additional items, including certain start-up costs, and to give pro forma effect to acquisitions, including resulting synergies, and internal cost savings initiatives. In addition, under the Indentures, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA does not take into account substantially any changes in GAAP subsequent to the date of issuance, whereas under the Senior Facilities, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA takes into account the impact of certain changes in GAAP subsequent to the original closing date other than with respect to capital leases.
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As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Facilities and the Indentures.
March 2024 Refinancing Transactions
See "Subsequent Events" in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for a discussion of the public and private debt exchange and related transactions that impacted or are expected to impact the Senior Facilities, the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Capital Expenditures
The following table sets forth a summary of our total capital expenditures for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Customer gear (1) | $ | 116.1 | $ | 83.7 | $ | 115.3 | ||||
| Data center build outs (2) | 12.5 | 4.2 | 2.9 | |||||||
| Office build outs (3) | 2.0 | 0.1 | 1.8 | |||||||
| Capitalized software and other projects (4) | 72.3 | 53.8 | 61.3 | |||||||
| Total capital expenditures | $ | 202.9 | $ | 141.8 | $ | 181.3 |
(1) Includes servers, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, backup libraries, storage arrays and drives and certain software that is essential to the functionality of customer gear, which we provide.
(2) Includes generators, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, mechanical and electrical plants, chillers, raised floor, network cabling, other infrastructure gear and other data center building improvements.
(3) Includes building improvements, raised floor, furniture and equipment.
(4) Includes salaries and payroll-related costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects, purchased software licenses and other projects that meet the criteria for capitalization.
The $40 million increase in capital expenditures from 2022 to 2023 was primarily driven by purchases of customer gear originally intended to support a specific new customer. This new customer did not materialize as expected; however, the gear is fungible and has been redeployed to support other business requirements. This gear was acquired through a finance lease.
The $61 million reduction in capital expenditures from 2021 to 2022 was due to the continued mix shift of our revenues from high capital intensity service offerings to low capital intensity service offerings. Additionally, the shift of internal software development work to lower cost geographies has also contributed to the decrease in capital expenditures between periods.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of certain cash flow information for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 370.8 | $ | 246.7 | $ | 374.9 | ||||
| Cash used in investing activities | $ | (69.0) | $ | (97.9) | $ | (96.0) | ||||
| Cash used in financing activities | $ | (132.2) | $ | (187.0) | $ | (312.8) |
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities results primarily from cash received from customers, offset by cash payments made for employee and consultant compensation (less amounts capitalized related to internal-use software that are reflected as cash used in investing activities), data center costs, license costs, third-party infrastructure costs, marketing programs, interest, taxes, and other general corporate expenditures.
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Net cash provided by operating activities for 2023 increased $128 million, or 52%, from 2022. The increase in operating cash was primarily driven by $209 million of cash proceeds related to the initial sale of a portion of our receivables upon execution of the Receivables Purchase Facility in September 2023 and a $58 million decrease in payroll and payroll taxes due to lower levels of severance payouts in 2023 compared to 2022. Partially offsetting this increase in cash was a $103 million increase in operating expense payments, largely for third-party infrastructure costs, and a $38 million increase in interest payments on debt.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2022 decreased $124 million, or 33%, from 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by an increase in operating expense payments of $317 million, largely for third-party infrastructure costs, partially offset by an increase in cash collections of $115 million and a decrease in employee-related payments of $56 million mainly due to a shift in headcount to our offshore service centers.
Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily consists of capital expenditures to meet the demands of our customer base and our strategic initiatives. The largest outlays of cash are for purchases of customer gear, data center and office build-outs, and capitalized payroll costs related to internal-use software development.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2023 decreased $2 million, or 2%, from 2022. During 2022, we made an $8 million cash payment in connection with the acquisition of Just Analytics and a $15 million payment for the purchase of a convertible promissory note. These cash outflows were partially offset by a $17 million increase in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software year-over-year. Other investing activities comprised the remainder of the variance in cash used between periods.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2022 increased $29 million, or 42%, from 2021. This was mainly due to the receipt of net proceeds of $31 million in the prior year from the January 2021 sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers. During 2022, we made an $8 million cash payment in connection with the acquisition of Just Analytics and a $15 million payment for the purchase of a convertible promissory note that matures in 2027. These outflows in the current year period were offset by a $28 million reduction in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software year-over-year.
Cash Used in Financing Activities
Financing activities generally include cash activity related to debt and other long-term financing arrangements (for example, finance lease obligations and financing obligations), including proceeds from and repayments of borrowings, and cash activity related to the issuance and repurchase of equity.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2023 increased $126 million, or 67% from 2022. The change was driven by a $169 million increase in net payments related to long-term debt between periods as the current period includes $121 million of 5.375% Senior Note repurchases, $18 million of 3.50% Senior Secured Note repurchases, and $30 million of Term Loan Facility repurchases, while the prior period only includes quarterly principal payments on our Term Loan Facility. In addition, there was a $13 million increase in finance lease principal payments between periods. Partially offsetting these drivers was $31 million in common stock share repurchases during 2022 as part of the program authorized in March 2022 and a $26 million reduction in principal payments of financing obligations.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2022 increased $55 million, or 41% from 2021. The change was primarily driven by a $57 million reduction in proceeds from employee stock plans year-over-year. The remaining variance includes $31 million in common stock share repurchases as part of the program authorized in March 2022, a $17 million increase in finance lease principal payments, and a $4 million increase in payments on the financing component of our interest rate swap during 2022. These drivers were partially offset by a $51 million reduction in net payments related to long-term debt activity between periods, including debt issuance costs. The prior year included the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and a $65 million repayment on the now terminated Receivables Financing Facility, while the current period only includes quarterly principal payments on our Term Loan Facility. In addition, there was a $7 million decrease in principal payments for financing obligations between period
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
On September 29, 2023, Rackspace US and Rackspace Receivables II, LLC, a bankruptcy-remote SPV, each an indirect subsidiary of the company, entered into the Receivables Purchase Facility with PNC. The Receivables Purchase Facility allows the SPV to sell and/or contribute accounts receivable up an aggregate maximum limit of $300 million to PNC on a revolving basis.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 3, "Sale of Receivables" for more information regarding this off-balance sheet transaction.
We have entered into various indemnification arrangements with third parties, including vendors, customers, landlords, our officers and directors, stockholders of acquired companies and third parties to whom and from whom we license technology. Generally, these indemnification agreements require us to reimburse losses suffered by third parties due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement or our negligence. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions by us, our employees, agents or representatives. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements. To date, we have not incurred material costs as a result of such obligations and have not accrued any material liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in our consolidated financial statements. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "Commitments and Contingencies" for more information related to these indemnification arrangements.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We consider accounting estimates that require significant management judgment to be critical accounting estimates. We review our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for credit losses, property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, contingencies, share-based compensation and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to determine the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
Revenue Recognition
We provide cloud computing to customers, which is broadly defined as the delivery of computing, storage and applications over the Internet. Cloud computing is a service transaction under which the services we provide vary on a daily basis. The totality of services provided represent a single integrated solution tailored to the customer’s specific needs. As such, our performance obligations to our customers consist of a single integrated solution delivered as a series of distinct daily services delivered over the same period of time. We recognize revenue on a daily basis as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for the services.
Our usage-based arrangements generally include variable consideration components consisting of monthly utility fees with a defined price and undefined quantity. Additionally, our contracts contain service level guarantees that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and certain products may include volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for this consideration as services are provided and earned.
A substantial amount of revenue, particularly within our Private Cloud segment, relates to fees associated with offerings that generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Contracts for our service offerings falling within our Public Cloud segment and legacy OpenStack business typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We also provide customers with professional services for the design and implementation of application, security and data services. Professional service contracts are either fixed-fee or time-and-materials based. We typically consider our professional services to be a separate performance obligation from other integrated solutions being provided to the same customer. Our performance obligations under these arrangements are typically to provide the services on a daily basis over a period of time and we recognize revenue as the services are performed.
We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments. Judgment is required in assessing whether a service is distinct, including determination of whether the customer could benefit from the service on its own or in conjunction with other readily available resources and whether certain services are highly integrated into a bundle of services that represent the combined output specified by the customer. Arrangements can contain multiple performance obligations that are distinct, which are accounted for separately. Each performance obligation is recognized as services are provided based on their SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each of our distinct performance obligations. We utilize a range of prices when developing our estimates of SSP. We determine the range of prices for estimating SSP for all our performance obligations using observable inputs, such as standalone sales and historical contract pricing. Our estimates of SSP are updated quarterly.
In addition, our customer agreements provide that we will achieve certain service levels related primarily to network uptime, critical infrastructure availability and hardware replacement. We may be obligated to provide service credits for a portion of the service fees paid by our customers to the extent that such service levels are not achieved or are otherwise disputed. Credit memos are recognized in the period of service to which they relate.
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Revenue recognition for revenue generated from arrangements in which we resell third-party infrastructure bundled with our managed services, requires judgment to determine whether revenue can be recorded at the gross sales price or net of third-party fees. Typically, revenue is recognized on a gross basis when it is determined that we are the principal in the relationship. We are considered the principal in the relationship when we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the contract and obtain control of the third-party infrastructure before transferring it as an integral part of our performance obligation to provide services to the customer. Revenue is recognized net of third-party fees when we determine that our obligation is only to facilitate the customers’ purchase of third-party infrastructure.
Valuation of Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses
We record an allowance for credit losses on trade accounts receivable for estimated losses resulting from uncollectible receivables. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowance, we consider historical bad debt write-offs and all known facts and circumstances such as current economic conditions and trends, customer creditworthiness and specifically identified customer risks. If actual collections of customer receivables differ from our estimates, additional allowances may be required which could have an impact on our results of operations.
Property, Equipment and Software and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
In providing services to our customers, we utilize significant amounts of property, equipment and software, which we depreciate on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite-lived intangible assets are primarily comprised of customer relationships and are stated at their acquisition-date fair value less accumulated amortization. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Property and equipment under operating and finance leases are included within “Operating right-of-use assets” and “Property, equipment and software, net,” respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term whereas finance lease assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term. We routinely review the estimated useful lives of our property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets (“long-lived assets”). A change in the useful life of a long-lived asset is treated as a change in accounting estimate in the period of change and future periods.
Long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets and finance lease assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured at the asset group level and if the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
As of September 1, 2022, due to the factors discussed below, we performed an interim impairment review of the recoverability of our long-lived assets by asset group. Based on the results of the recoverability test, we determined that, as of September 1, 2022, the carrying amount of the OpenStack Public Cloud asset group’s long-lived assets exceeded the sum of the undiscounted cash flows. Fair values of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets were determined using a combination of the income approach and the cost approach. The income approach utilized assumptions including management’s best estimates of the expected future cash flows, risk-adjusted discount rate, and the estimated useful life of the asset group. The cost approach utilized assumptions for the current replacement costs of similar assets adjusted for estimated depreciation and deterioration of the existing equipment and economic obsolescence. Estimates of floor values for the property, equipment and software, net, were considered relative to potential economic support for the assets such that the concluded value did not fall below the estimated floor value of these assets. We concluded that the carrying value of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets, including customer relationship intangibles and property, equipment and software, net, were impaired and recorded non-cash impairment charges of $38 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We also performed recoverability tests of our long-lived assets in conjunction with the goodwill impairment analyses performed subsequent to September 1, 2022 which did not result in any impairment charges.
We capitalize the salaries and related compensation costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects. Judgment is required in determining whether an enhancement to previously developed software is significant and creates additional functionality to the software, thus resulting in capitalization. All other software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the software, which is generally three years; however, we evaluate the nature and utility of each project which can result in a useful life ranging between one and five years on certain projects.
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Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Our indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of our Rackspace trade name, which was recorded at fair value on our balance sheet at the date of the Rackspace Acquisition.
Application of the goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. We test goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Rackspace trade name, for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1st or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, regulatory environment, established business plans, operating performance indicators or competition. Potential impairment indicators may also include, but are not limited to, (i) the results of our most recent annual or interim impairment testing, (ii) downward revisions to internal forecasts, and the magnitude thereof, if any, (iii) declines in our market capitalization below our book value, and the magnitude and duration of those declines, if any, (iv) a reorganization resulting in a change to our operating segments, and (v) other macroeconomic factors, such as increases in interest rates that may affect the weighted average cost of capital, volatility in the equity and debt markets, or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component). We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Assets and liabilities are assigned to each of our reporting units if they are employed by a reporting unit and are considered in the determination of the reporting unit fair value. Certain assets and liabilities are shared by multiple reporting units, and thus, are allocated to each reporting unit based on the relative size of a reporting unit, primarily based on revenue. Subsequent to the January 1, 2023 business reorganization, we have two reporting units with goodwill: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Goodwill allocated to our third reporting unit, OpenStack Public Cloud, was fully impaired during the fourth quarter of 2021.
We estimate the fair values of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name using the discounted cash flow method and relief-from-royalty method, respectively. These calculations require the use of significant estimates and assumptions, such as: (i) the royalty rate; (ii) the estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, and projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts; (iii) estimation of the terminal growth rates; and (iv) determination of the risk-adjusted discount rates. The discount rates used are based on our weighted average cost of capital and are adjusted for risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and in our estimation of future cash flows. As part of the goodwill impairment test, we also consider our market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the combined fair values estimated for our reporting units, including OpenStack Public Cloud. The estimates and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name from year to year are based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could produce materially different results.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units. The income approach utilizes a discounted cash flow method which is based on the present value of projected cash flows. The discounted cash flow models reflect our assumptions and considerations regarding revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected capital expenditures, risk-adjusted discount rates, terminal period growth rates, and economic market trends. The terminal period growth rate is selected based on economic conditions and consideration of growth rates used in the forecast period and historical performance of the reporting unit.
Due to the change in our segment reporting as a result of the business reorganization as of January 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis both prior and subsequent to the aforementioned change. We reassigned goodwill to the updated reporting units using a relative fair value approach. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated an impairment within our Private Cloud reporting unit, and we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $271 million in the first quarter of 2023.
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For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of January 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of January 1, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $271 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment primarily resulted from the reallocation of certain costs between the three reporting units to reflect the going-forward operating model following the business reorganization. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 20% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $175 million and $67 million, respectively.
During the first quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of March 31, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first three months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of March 31, 2023.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of March 31, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 11.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of March 31, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $272 million during the first quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's most recent cash flow projections as revised in the first quarter of 2023 which reflected current market conditions and current trends in business performance, including slower than anticipated actualization of bookings. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 14% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $80 million and $65 million, respectively.
During the third quarter of 2023, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. As of September 30, 2023, we assessed several events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount, if any, of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance for the first nine months of the year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of September 30, 2023.
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For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 30, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 30, 2023. As a result, we determined that the carrying amount of our Private Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $166 million during the third quarter of 2023, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by the company's cash flow projections as revised in the third quarter of 2023 to reflect current market conditions and business mix shifts. The Public Cloud reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 17% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $65 million and $52 million, respectively.
As of October 1, 2023, we reassessed our reporting unit structure and aggregated the OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit into our Private Cloud reporting unit. We currently have two reporting units: Public Cloud and Private Cloud. Due to the change in our reporting units as of October 1, 2023, we completed a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis. As the Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud reporting units are being combined into the new Private Cloud reporting unit, the goodwill of the reporting units has been combined rather than reassigned based on the relative fair values of the reporting units. The results of the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, subsequent to the change, indicated no impairment charges to our Private Cloud or Public Cloud reporting units.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2023, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 11.0% to 12.5% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2023. The Private and Public Cloud reporting units were determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 3% and 17%, respectively and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Private Cloud and Public Cloud reporting units of approximately $67 million and $52 million, respectively.
As of September 1, 2022, after considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting unit as of September 1, 2022.
For the interim quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 1, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 1, 2022. As a result of our interim goodwill impairment test performed as of September 1, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our former Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within this reporting unit primarily due to slower than anticipated product mix shifts. Our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 15% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
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We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $235 million and $33 million, respectively.
We performed our annual quantitative goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022. For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of October 1, 2022, we determined that the fair value exceeded the carrying amounts for each of our reporting units. The fair value exceeded the carrying value for the former Multicloud Services reporting unit by 1% and the former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit by 15%. Therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $236 million and $38 million, respectively.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business which was included in our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, including our lowered projected operating results within this reporting unit, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of December 31, 2022, we utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of December 31, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of December 31, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our former Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by a decrease in forecasted revenues, margins, and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to the Hosted Exchange incident and other macroeconomic factors. The former Multicloud Services reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 1% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our former Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $218 million and $22 million, respectively.
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and fully impaired its goodwill by recording a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan.
As of December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of goodwill was $1,452.4 million.
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Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
As of January 1, 2023, March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for all periods and a discount rate of 11.0% as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023, and a discount rate of 11.9% as of September 30, 2023. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
The quantitative test as of September 30, 2023 indicated that the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $57 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2023 which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment as of October 1, 2023 which did not indicate any impairment of the Rackspace trade name.
As of September 1, 2022, October 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, due to the factors discussed above, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% for all periods and a discount rate of 10.7% as of September 1, 2022 and October 1, 2022, and a discount rate of 11.0% as of December 31, 2022. We completed the quantitative assessments of our indefinite-lived intangible asset prior to testing our goodwill for impairment.
As of September 1, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $21 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
As of October 1, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was greater than its carrying value, and therefore no impairment was recognized.
As of December 31, 2022, we determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $12 million non-cash impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
The fair value determination of our reporting units and our indefinite-lived intangible asset is judgmental in nature and requires the use of estimates and assumptions that are sensitive to changes. Assumptions include estimation of the royalty rate for the trade name, estimation of future revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, projected operating costs, projected capital expenditures, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts, estimation of the terminal growth rates and determination of risk-adjusted discount rates. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the quantitative goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment tests will prove to be an accurate prediction of future results. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units may include such items as: (i) volatility in the equity and debt markets or other macroeconomic factors, (ii) an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital due to further increases in interest rates, (iii) decrease in future cash flows due to lower than expected sales, or (iv) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations. Accordingly, if our current cash flow assumptions are not realized, we experience further sustained declines in our stock price or market capitalization, or increases in costs of capital, it is possible that an additional impairment charge may be recorded in the future, which could be material.
We are currently evaluating the impact of the subsequent events described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" and the company’s most recently approved internal forecasts on the significant estimates and assumptions used in our most recent annual impairment testing. After considering all available evidence in evaluating potential impairment indicators, we may determine it is appropriate to perform an interim quantitative goodwill impairment analysis during the first quarter of 2024. It is possible that impairment charges may be recorded, which could be material.
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Contingencies
We accrue for contingent obligations when the obligation is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. As facts concerning contingencies become known, we reassess our position and make appropriate adjustments to the recorded accrual. Estimates that are particularly sensitive to future changes include those related to tax, legal and other regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of international laws, and the impact of local economic conditions and practices, which are all subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation process. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Share-Based Compensation
We account for share-based awards under the recognition and measurement provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the underlying common stock and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options with vesting conditions dependent upon market performance is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Determining the grant date fair value of share-based awards with performance vesting conditions and the probability of such awards vesting requires judgment.
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
Our effective tax rates may differ from the statutory rate for various reasons, including differences due to the tax impact of foreign operations, R&D tax credits, state taxes, contingency reserves for uncertain tax positions, certain benefits realized related to share-based compensation, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, goodwill impairments, or from changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof. In addition, we are periodically subject to examination of our income tax returns in the U.S., U.K., India, and other countries. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
In December 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) issued model rules for a new global minimum tax framework (Pillar Two). Governments in many of the countries where we operate have issued, or are in the process of issuing, legislation on this rule. We are currently evaluating, but do not expect this rule to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
For a description of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and issued, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001810019-23-000034.
ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following MD&A is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. References to “Rackspace Technology,” “we,” “our company,” “the company,” “us,” or “our” refer to Rackspace Technology and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Overview
We are a leading end-to-end multicloud technology services company. We design, build and operate our customers’ cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products and adopt innovative technologies. We serve our customers with a unique combination of proprietary technology resulting from over $1 billion of investment and services expertise from a team of highly skilled consultants and engineers. And we provide our customers with unbiased expertise and technology solutions, delivered over the world’s leading cloud services, all wrapped in Fanatical Experience.
We aim to be our customers’ most trusted advisor and services partner in their path to cloud transformation and to accelerate the value of their cloud investments. We give customers the ability to make fluid decisions when choosing the right technologies, and we recommend solutions based on customers’ unique objectives. In this way, we empower our customers to harness the full benefits of cloud adoption.
Our team of 6,800 highly skilled Rackers, including consultants and engineers, partners with companies at every stage of their cloud transformation journey
We deliver our services to a global customer base through an integrated service delivery model. We have a presence in more than 60 cities around the world. This footprint allows us to better serve customers based in various countries, especially multinational companies requiring cross-border solutions. We have a strong presence with customers of all sizes, including enterprise businesses (revenue in excess of $3 billion), mid-market businesses (revenue of $300 million to $3 billion) and commercial customers (revenue less than $300 million).
On November 3, 2016, Rackspace Hosting (now named Rackspace Technology Global) was acquired by Inception Parent, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Pursuant to the merger agreement, dated as of August 26, 2016, Rackspace Technology Global merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inception Parent, with Rackspace Technology Global surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inception Parent.
We operate our business and report our results through three reportable segments: (1) Multicloud Services, (2) Apps & Cross Platform and (3) OpenStack Public Cloud. Our Multicloud Services segment includes our multicloud services offerings, as well as professional services related to designing and building multicloud solutions and cloud-native applications. Our Apps & Cross Platform segment includes managed applications, managed security and data services, as well as professional services related to designing and implementing application, security and data services. In early 2017, we determined that our OpenStack Public Cloud offering was not core to our go-forward operations and we ceased to incentivize our sales team to promote and sell the product by the end of that year. We continue to serve our existing OpenStack Public Cloud customer base while we focus our growth strategy and investments on our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform offerings. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 17, "Segment Reporting" for additional information about our segments. We refer to certain supplementary Core financial measures, which reflect the results or otherwise pertain to the performance of our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, in the aggregate. Our Core financial measures exclude the results and performance of our OpenStack Public Cloud segment.
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We generate revenue primarily through the sale of consumption-based contracts for our services offerings, which are recurring in nature. We also generate revenue from the sale of professional services related to designing and building customer solutions, which are non-recurring in nature. Arrangements within our Multicloud Services offerings generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources provided to and utilized by the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our other primary sources of revenue are for public cloud services within our Multicloud Services, our Apps & Cross Platform and our OpenStack Public Cloud offerings. Contracts for these arrangements typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We sell our services through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners and via online orders. Our sales model is based on both distributed and centralized sales teams with leads generated from technology partners, customer referrals, channel partners and corporate marketing efforts. We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments.
On August 7, 2020, we completed the IPO, in which we issued and sold 33,500,000 shares of our common stock at a public offering price of $21.00 per share.
On July 21, 2021, we committed to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan to drive a change in the type and location of certain positions that was expected to result in the termination of approximately 10% of our workforce. We recorded total charges of $50.5 million and $5.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022, respectively, related to this restructuring plan. The 2021 charges included $25.4 million for employee related costs and other costs accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420 as described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan." Employee related costs consisted of one-time termination benefits and certain contractual termination benefits with executives. Other costs consisted of professional fees and non-cash charges related to a contract termination with a third-party. The remaining $25.1 million of 2021 charges and total 2022 charges consisted primarily of one-time offshore build out costs which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. We do not expect to incur any further expenses related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan.
In December 2022, we experienced a ransomware incident which caused service disruptions for our Hosted Exchange customers. The Hosted Exchange email business, reported in our Apps & Cross Platform segment, is a managed email solution provided to small and medium businesses and represented approximately 1% of our total annual revenue. Following discovery of the incident, we engaged an industry-leading global cybersecurity firm to help investigate the incident and remediate as necessary. The firm confirmed that the incident was quickly contained and limited solely to the Hosted Exchange email business. We have sunset the on-premises Hosted Exchange platform and have transitioned many customers from the Hosted Exchange platform to Microsoft 365 through our reseller agreement with Microsoft. As of December 31, 2022, we recorded $5.9 million of expenses related to the Hosted Exchange incident, including costs to investigate and remediate, legal and other professional services, and supplemental staff resources that were deployed to provide support to customers. We expect to continue to incur legal and other professional services costs in future periods and will expense those costs as incurred. We maintain cybersecurity insurance commensurate with the size of our business, and expect that a significant portion of the incremental costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident will be covered by insurance. However, the timing of insurance reimbursements may differ from the timing of recognition of the related expenses.
Effective on January 1, 2023, we reorganized around a two-business unit operating model, Public Cloud and Private Cloud. This two-business unit operating model ensures increased focus, delivery, and service quality for our customers. Beginning in 2023, we will change our segment reporting to reflect this reorganization under three reporting segments: Public Cloud, Private Cloud and OpenStack Public Cloud.
Subsequent Events
For a description of subsequent events, see "Subsequent Events" in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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Impact of COVID-19
The effects of COVID-19 and its variants continue to evolve, and the full impact and duration of the virus are unknown. To date, COVID-19 and its variants have not adversely affected our results of operations or financial condition in any material respect. However, there are remaining uncertainties as a result of COVID-19, particularly the possibility of new variant strain(s) of the virus, the potential resurgence in the spread of the virus and the pace of economic recovery. The full extent to which COVID-19 and its variants may impact our financial condition or results of operations over the medium to long term, therefore, remains uncertain. We will continue to actively monitor the situation and may take further actions that alter our business operations as may be required by federal, state or local authorities, or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers and stockholders.
Russia and Ukraine Conflict
Political and economic uncertainty surrounding the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine could have a material adverse effect on our business. Currently, the conflict has not had a significant impact on our operations or financial performance. However, our overall performance depends in part on worldwide economic and geopolitical conditions. We are monitoring the situation and the potential for the conflict to spread to other countries which could adversely impact our customers and operations, and we may take actions that modify our business operations as may be required by federal, state or local authorities, or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers and stockholders.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to meet the challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
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Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue within our Multicloud Services segment has shifted in recent years, from mature offerings such as managed hosting and colocation to managed public cloud services. Since the mature offerings are hosted on our own infrastructure, these offerings carry a higher gross margin, but also a higher burden on the company for operating expenses and capital expenditures. Conversely, as managed public cloud services are hosted on third-party infrastructure, these services carry a lower gross margin, but also a correspondingly lower operating expense and capital expenditure burdens. As a result, despite the difference in gross margins between the mature offerings and the growth offerings, the operating margins for the different classes of offerings is relatively similar.
Shift in Capital Intensity
In recent years, the mix of our consolidated revenues has shifted from high capital intensity service offerings to low capital intensity service offerings and we expect this mix shift to continue. Historically, we primarily offered managed hosting and OpenStack Public Cloud services to our customers, which required us to deploy servers and equipment to ensure adequate capacity for new customers and, in certain cases, on behalf of customers at the start or during the performance of a contract, resulting in a high level of anticipatory and success-based capital expenditures. Today, the vast majority of our revenue is derived from service offerings, such as managed public cloud services, application services and professional services, which have significantly lower success-based capital requirements because they allow us to leverage our partners’ infrastructure or technology to make our capital expenditures more efficient. As a result, we have recently experienced and expect to continue to experience changes in our capital expenditures requirements.
Our capital expenditures equaled 8%, 7% and 5% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. While there is some variability in capital expenditures from quarter to quarter due to timing of purchases, we expect to maintain current capital intensity levels over the longer term.
Human Capital
Our ability to be successful and to execute on our strategies depends on our ability to hire and retain qualified employees. Like others in our industry, we are realizing higher than historical levels of voluntary attrition. As a result, we are accelerating our best shoring efforts and expanding the geographic reach of our recruiting pool. The company continues to enhance and develop programs to attract, retain and develop top talent.
Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly from our private cloud services within our Multicloud Services segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our public cloud services within the Multicloud Services segment and most of our Apps & Cross Platform and OpenStack Public Cloud services generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
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Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes R&D costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods. Employee related costs and other costs incurred, as discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan," are also included within SG&A.
Income taxes
Our income tax benefit and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. To date, we have recorded consolidated tax benefits, reflecting our net losses, though certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries have incurred corporate tax expense according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,009.5 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,122.3 | 100.0 | % | $ | 112.8 | 3.7 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,072.7) | (68.9) | % | (2,265.4) | (72.6) | % | (192.7) | 9.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 936.8 | 31.1 | % | 856.9 | 27.4 | % | (79.9) | (8.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (906.8) | (30.1) | % | (855.3) | (27.4) | % | 51.5 | (5.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | (52.4) | (1.7) | % | (534.5) | (17.1) | % | (482.1) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of assets | — | — | % | (146.1) | (4.7) | % | (146.1) | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on sale of land | 19.9 | 0.7 | % | — | — | % | (19.9) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (2.5) | (0.1) | % | (679.0) | (21.7) | % | (676.5) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (205.1) | (6.8) | % | (208.5) | (6.7) | % | (3.4) | 1.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Loss on investments, net | (3.0) | (0.1) | % | (0.2) | (0.0) | % | 2.8 | (93.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Debt modification and extinguishment costs | (37.5) | (1.2) | % | — | — | % | 37.5 | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (1.0) | (0.0) | % | (10.0) | (0.3) | % | (9.0) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (246.6) | (8.2) | % | (218.7) | (7.0) | % | 27.9 | (11.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (249.1) | (8.3) | % | (897.7) | (28.8) | % | (648.6) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 30.8 | 1.0 | % | 92.9 | 3.0 | % | 62.1 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (218.3) | (7.3) | % | $ | (804.8) | (25.8) | % | $ | (586.5) | NM |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased $113 million, or 3.7%, to $3,122 million in 2022 from $3,010 million in 2021. Revenue was positively impacted by new customer acquisition and growing customer spend in our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue increased 5.2% year-over-year. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2021 | 2022 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,449.1 | $ | 2,574.9 | 5.1 | % | 6.7 | % | |||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 377.6 | 396.9 | 5.1 | % | 5.9 | % | |||||||
| Core Revenue | 2,826.7 | 2,971.8 | 5.1 | % | 6.6 | % | |||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 182.8 | 150.5 | (17.7) | % | (16.1) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | 3,122.3 | 3.7 | % | 5.2 | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
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Multicloud Services revenue in 2022 increased 5% on an actual basis, and 7% on a constant currency basis, from 2021. Underlying growth was driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Offerings in this segment with the strongest growth include managed public cloud services on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Apps & Cross Platform revenue in 2022 increased 5% on an actual basis, and 6% on a constant currency basis, from 2021, driven by growth in professional services across our SaaS applications and data services offerings, partially offset by the discontinuation of a non-core line of business in 2021.
OpenStack Public Cloud revenue in 2022 decreased 18% on an actual basis, and 16% on a constant currency basis, from 2021 due to customer churn.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $193 million, or 9%, to $2,265 million in 2022 from $2,073 million in 2021, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings. The increase in expense was partially offset by a decline in personnel costs primarily due to cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives, including the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. We also had higher severance in the prior period. In addition, there were year-over-year data center expense reductions as a result of initiatives to lower our cost structure, which included the consolidation of data center facilities. Depreciation expense also decreased between periods primarily due to certain property, equipment and software reaching the end of its useful life for depreciation purposes as we shift towards faster-growing, value-added service offerings which have significantly lower capital requirements than our legacy capital-intensive revenue streams.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 370 basis points in 2022 to 72.6% from 68.9% in 2021, primarily driven by a 640 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure, partially offset by a decrease related to personnel costs, data center, and depreciation expense.
Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit
Our consolidated gross profit was $857 million in 2022, a decrease of $80 million from $937 million in 2021. Our Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $884 million in 2022, a decrease of $112 million from $996 million in 2021. Non-GAAP Gross Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information. Our consolidated gross margin was 27.4% in 2022, a decrease of 370 basis points from 31.1% in 2021.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2021 | 2022 | ||||
| Total consolidated gross profit | $ | 936.8 | $ | 856.9 | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 16.7 | 11.6 | ||||
| Other compensation expense (1) | 2.7 | 1.9 | ||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (2) | 4.7 | 2.7 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (3) | 35.5 | 10.9 | ||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses | — | 0.2 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 996.4 | $ | 884.2 |
| (1) | Adjustments for retention bonuses, mainly in connection with restructuring and transformation projects, and the related payroll tax, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. |
|---|---|
| (2) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
| (3) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
Our segment gross profit and gross margin for the periods indicated, and the change in gross profit between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment gross profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 793.4 | 32.4 | % | $ | 701.7 | 27.3 | % | $ | (91.7) | (11.6) | % | ||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 135.9 | 36.0 | % | 139.2 | 35.1 | % | 3.3 | 2.4 | % | |||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 67.1 | 36.7 | % | 43.3 | 28.8 | % | (23.8) | (35.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 996.4 | $ | 884.2 | $ | (112.2) | (11.3) | % |
Multicloud Services gross profit decreased by 12% in 2022 from 2021. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 510 basis points, reflecting a 13% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 5% increase in segment revenue. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue in our growth offerings resulting in a larger proportion of these services within this segment, partially offset by lower personnel, data center, and depreciation expense.
Apps & Cross Platform gross profit increased 2% in 2022 from 2021. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 90 basis points, reflecting a 7% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 5% increase in segment revenue.
OpenStack Public Cloud gross profit decreased 35% in 2022 from 2021 due to customer churn. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 790 basis points, reflecting an 18% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 7% decrease in segment cost of revenue.
The aggregate amount of costs reflected in consolidated gross profit but excluded from Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $27.3 million in 2022, a decrease of $32.3 million from $59.6 million in 2021, primarily driven by lower restructuring and transformation expenses and share-based compensation.
For more information about our segment gross profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 17, "Segment Reporting."
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $52 million, or 6%, to $855 million in 2022 from $907 million in 2021, due to a decline in personnel costs from cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives. We also had lower severance expense between periods. The prior period included $25 million of restructuring charges related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, of which $14 million were personnel related costs. There were also reductions in costs related to other business optimization and integration initiatives compared to the prior period, as well as lower amortization expense related to certain intangible assets reaching the end of their useful life. These reductions in expense were partially offset by an increase in travel expense as a result of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and costs incurred in 2022 related to the Hosted Exchange incident.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 270 basis points, to 27.4% in 2022 from 30.1% in 2021, for the reasons discussed above.
Impairment of Goodwill
During the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a sustained decline in our stock price resulting in our market capitalization being less than the carrying value of our combined reporting units. We performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis as of September 1, 2022 based on our assessment of several events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of our reporting units, including the significance of the amount of excess carrying value over fair value, consistency of operating margins and cash flows, budgeted-to-actual performance from prior year, overall change in economic climate, changes in the industry and competitive environment, and earnings quality and sustainability. In addition, as of September 1, 2022, we lowered our projected operating results primarily due to product mix shifts and market concerns related to inflation and other macroeconomic factors. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022.
The results of our annual goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022 did not indicate any impairments of goodwill.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced a decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business. We therefore determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022. As a result, we determined that the carrying value of our Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded an impairment of goodwill of $129 million during the fourth quarter of 2022.
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and fully impaired its goodwill by recording a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Impairment of Assets
We also evaluated our indefinite-lived intangible asset and long-lived assets for impairment as of September 1, 2022. As a result of these evaluations, we recorded total impairment charges of $59 million during the third quarter of 2022, consisting of a $21 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset and a $38 million impairment of OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets.
As of December 31, 2022, we recorded an additional $12 million impairment of our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset.
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In addition, as of December 31, 2022, our corporate headquarters property was classified as held for sale. The property's previous carrying amount of $83 million was written down to its estimated fair value, less estimated cost to sell, of $12 million, resulting in a $71 million impairment charge. We also wrote-off the remaining $5 million net book value of the related property tax abatement asset in connection with the held for sale classification.
There were no such impairments in 2021.
See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 4, "Property, Equipment and Software, net" and Note 5, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Gain on Sale of Land
In January 2021, we recorded a $20 million gain related to the sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 4, "Property, Equipment and Software, net."
Debt Modification and Extinguishment Costs
In 2021, we recorded $37 million and $0.5 million of debt modification and extinguishment costs related to the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility, respectively. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Debt" for further discussion.
Other Expense, Net
The increase in other expense, net to $10 million in 2022 from $1 million in 2021 is primarily related to foreign currency transaction losses.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit increased by $62 million to $93 million in 2022 from $31 million in 2021. Our effective tax rate decreased from 12.4% in 2021 to 10.3% in 2022. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments, the geographic distribution of profits and tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation. The difference between the effective tax rate for 2022 and the statutory tax rate is primarily due to the tax impact associated with the goodwill impairments, the geographic distribution of profits, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m) and tax effects from nondeductible share-based compensation.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,707.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,009.5 | 100.0 | % | $ | 302.4 | 11.2 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (1,722.7) | (63.6) | % | (2,072.7) | (68.9) | % | (350.0) | 20.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 984.4 | 36.4 | % | 936.8 | 31.1 | % | (47.6) | (4.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (959.7) | (35.4) | % | (906.8) | (30.1) | % | 52.9 | (5.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | (52.4) | (1.7) | % | (52.4) | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | — | % | 19.9 | 0.7 | % | 19.9 | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 24.7 | 0.9 | % | (2.5) | (0.1) | % | (27.2) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (268.4) | (9.9) | % | (205.1) | (6.8) | % | 63.3 | (23.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on investments, net | 0.7 | 0.0 | % | (3.0) | (0.1) | % | (3.7) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Debt modification and extinguishment costs | (71.5) | (2.6) | % | (37.5) | (1.2) | % | 34.0 | (47.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 2.5 | 0.1 | % | (1.0) | (0.0) | % | (3.5) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (336.7) | (12.4) | % | (246.6) | (8.2) | % | 90.1 | (26.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (312.0) | (11.5) | % | (249.1) | (8.3) | % | 62.9 | (20.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 66.2 | 2.4 | % | 30.8 | 1.0 | % | (35.4) | (53.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245.8) | (9.1) | % | $ | (218.3) | (7.3) | % | $ | 27.5 | (11.2) | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased $302 million, or 11.2%, to $3,010 million in 2021 from $2,707 million in 2020. Revenue was positively impacted by new customer acquisition and growing customer spend in our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue increased 10.1% year-over-year. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2020 | 2021 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,141.5 | $ | 2,449.1 | 14.4 | % | 13.2 | % | |||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 336.6 | 377.6 | 12.2 | % | 11.6 | % | |||||||
| Core Revenue | 2,478.1 | 2,826.7 | 14.1 | % | 13.0 | % | |||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 229.0 | 182.8 | (20.2) | % | (21.3) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,707.1 | $ | 3,009.5 | 11.2 | % | 10.1 | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
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Multicloud Services revenue in 2021 increased 14% on an actual basis, and 13% on a constant currency basis, from 2020. Underlying growth was primarily driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Growth offerings such as managed public cloud services and Rackspace Services for VMware Cloud represented approximately 75% of the Multicloud Services segment in 2021, and revenue from these growth offerings increased 30% in 2021 compared to 2020. This growth was partially offset by a decrease in revenue from mature offerings such as managed hosting and colocation services.
Apps & Cross Platform revenue in 2021 increased 12%, on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2020, due to growth in our offerings for managed security and management of productivity and collaboration applications, partially offset by a decrease in professional services revenue.
OpenStack Public Cloud revenue in 2021 decreased 20% on an actual basis, and 21% on a constant currency basis, from 2020 due to customer churn.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $350 million, or 20%, to $2,073 million in 2021 from $1,723 million in 2020, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings and the impact of an increased volume of larger, multi-year customer contracts which typically have a larger infrastructure component and lower margins. The increase in third-party infrastructure was partially offset by a decline in personnel costs primarily due to cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives, including the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. Depreciation expense also decreased between periods primarily related to certain property, equipment and software reaching the end of its useful life for depreciation purposes as we shift towards faster-growing, value-added service offerings which have significantly lower capital requirements than our legacy capital-intensive revenue streams. Additionally, in March 2021, we completed an assessment of the useful lives of certain customer gear equipment, which resulted in a revision of certain useful lives within our policy ranges, further contributing to the reduction in depreciation expense. We also had year-over-year expense reductions in data center and license expenses as a result of initiatives to lower our cost structure, which included the consolidation of data center facilities and optimizing our vendor license spending.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 530 basis points in 2021 to 68.9% from 63.6% in 2020, primarily driven by a 1,270 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure, partially offset by a decrease related to personnel costs, depreciation, data center, and license expense.
Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit
Our consolidated gross profit was $937 million in 2021, a decrease of $48 million from $984 million in 2020. Our Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $996 million in 2021, a decrease of $30 million from $1,026 million in 2020. Non-GAAP Gross Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information. Our consolidated gross margin was 31.1% in 2021, a decrease of 530 basis points from 36.4% in 2020.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | ||||
| Total consolidated gross profit | $ | 984.4 | $ | 936.8 | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 14.5 | 16.7 | ||||
| Other compensation expense (1) | 5.9 | 2.7 | ||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (2) | 5.9 | 4.7 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (3) | 15.3 | 35.5 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,026.0 | $ | 996.4 |
| (1) | Adjustments for retention bonuses, mainly in connection with restructuring and transformation projects, and the related payroll tax, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. |
|---|---|
| (2) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
| (3) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
Our segment gross profit and gross margin for the periods indicated, and the change in gross profit between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment gross profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 810.2 | 37.8 | % | $ | 793.4 | 32.4 | % | $ | (16.8) | (2.1) | % | ||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 115.5 | 34.3 | % | 135.9 | 36.0 | % | 20.4 | 17.7 | % | |||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 100.3 | 43.8 | % | 67.1 | 36.7 | % | (33.2) | (33.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,026.0 | $ | 996.4 | $ | (29.6) | (2.9) | % |
Multicloud Services gross profit decreased by 2% in 2021 from 2020. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 540 basis points, reflecting a 24% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 14% increase in segment revenue. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue in our growth offerings resulting in a larger proportion of these services within this segment, partially offset by lower personnel, depreciation, data center and license expense.
Apps & Cross Platform gross profit increased 18% in 2021 from 2020. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue increased by 170 basis points, reflecting a 9% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 12% increase in segment revenue. The increase in cost of revenue was primarily driven by the segment’s higher business volume as well as higher third-party infrastructure costs.
OpenStack Public Cloud gross profit decreased 33% in 2021 from 2020 due to customer churn. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 710 basis points, reflecting a 20% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 10% decrease in segment cost of revenue.
The aggregate amount of costs reflected in consolidated gross profit but excluded from Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $59.6 million in 2021, an increase of $18.0 million from $41.6 million in 2020, reflecting higher restructuring and transformation expenses and share-based compensation, partially offset by lower purchase accounting adjustments and other compensation expense.
For more information about our segment gross profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 17, "Segment Reporting."
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $53 million, or 6%, to $907 million in 2021 from $960 million in 2020. The reduction was driven by costs incurred in the prior year related to Onica Holdings LLC integration, IPO related expenses, and management consulting fees as the agreements were terminated in connection with the IPO. This reduction was partially offset by costs incurred in 2021 related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan including $25 million of restructuring charges accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. Other cost increases between periods include costs related to other business transformation initiatives and incremental costs to operate as a public company. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan" for additional information regarding the current period restructuring charges.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 530 basis points, to 30.1% in 2021 from 35.4% in 2020, for the reasons discussed above.
Impairment of Goodwill
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and fully impaired its goodwill by recording a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. There was no such impairment in 2020. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Gain on Sale of Land
In January 2021, we recorded a $20 million gain related to the sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 4, "Property, Equipment and Software, net."
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $63 million to $205 million in 2021 from $268 million in 2020, primarily driven by a reduction in total debt outstanding and lower interest rates as a result of significant debt refinancing transactions between periods.
Debt Modification and Extinguishment Costs
In 2021, we recorded $37 million and $0.5 million of debt modification and extinguishment costs related to the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility, respectively. In 2020, we recorded $72 million of debt modification and extinguishment costs related to the repayment of $1,120 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Debt" for further discussion.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit decreased by $35 million to $31 million in 2021 from $66 million in 2020. Our effective tax rate decreased from 21.2% in 2020 to 12.4% in 2021. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the geographic distribution of profits, the tax impact associated with goodwill impairment and changes in income tax reserves. The difference between the effective rate for 2021 and the statutory rate is primarily due to the geographic distribution of profits, the tax impact associated with goodwill impairment and executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m) as a result of the IPO.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 13, "Taxes."
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We track several non-GAAP financial measures to monitor and manage our underlying financial performance. The following discussion includes the presentation of constant currency revenue, Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of certain costs, losses and gains that are required to be included in our profit and loss measures under GAAP. Although we believe these measures are useful to investors and analysts for the same reasons they are useful to management, as discussed below, these measures are not a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP financial measures or disclosures. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. We have reconciled each of these non-GAAP measures to the applicable most comparable GAAP measure throughout this MD&A.
Constant Currency Revenue
We use constant currency revenue as an additional metric for understanding and assessing our growth excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on our international business operations. Constant currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period and is calculated by translating the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current period to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective period. We also believe this is an important metric to help investors evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods.
The following tables present, by segment, actual and constant currency revenue and constant currency revenue growth rates, for and between the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, 2021 | Year Ended December 31, 2022 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,449.1 | $ | 2,574.9 | $ | 37.6 | $ | 2,612.5 | 5.1 | % | 6.7 | % | |||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 377.6 | 396.9 | 3.1 | 400.0 | 5.1 | % | 5.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 182.8 | 150.5 | 2.9 | 153.4 | (17.7) | % | (16.1) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | 3,122.3 | $ | 43.6 | $ | 3,165.9 | 3.7 | % | 5.2 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
| Year Ended December 31, 2020 | Year Ended December 31, 2021 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,141.5 | $ | 2,449.1 | $ | (23.9) | $ | 2,425.2 | 14.4 | % | 13.2 | % | |||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 336.6 | 377.6 | (2.1) | 375.5 | 12.2 | % | 11.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 229.0 | 182.8 | (2.6) | 180.2 | (20.2) | % | (21.3) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,707.1 | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | (28.6) | $ | 2,980.9 | 11.2 | % | 10.1 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
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Non-GAAP Gross Profit
We present Non-GAAP Gross Profit in this MD&A, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures, because we believe the measure is useful in analyzing trends in our underlying, recurring gross margins. We define Non-GAAP Gross Profit as our consolidated gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense and other non-recurring or unusual compensation items, purchase accounting-related effects, certain business transformation-related costs, and costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident. For a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, see “Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit” in the year-over-year comparisons under "Results of Operations" above.
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA
We present Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA because they are a basis upon which management assesses our performance and we believe they are useful to evaluating our financial performance. We believe that excluding items from net income that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our core operating results, and that may vary in frequency or magnitude, enhances the comparability of our results and provides a better baseline for analyzing trends in our business.
The Rackspace Acquisition was structured as a leveraged buyout of Rackspace Technology Global, our predecessor, and resulted in several accounting and capital structure impacts. For example, the revaluation of our assets and liabilities resulted in a significant increase in our amortizable intangible assets and goodwill, the incurrence of a significant amount of debt to partially finance the Rackspace Acquisition resulted in interest payments that reflect our high leverage and cost of debt capital, and the conversion of Rackspace Technology Global’s unvested equity compensation into a cash-settled bonus plan and obligation to pay management fees to our equityholders resulted in new cash commitments. In addition, the change in ownership and management resulting from the Rackspace Acquisition led to a strategic realignment in our operations that had a significant impact on our financial results. Following the Rackspace Acquisition, we acquired several businesses, sold businesses and investments that we deemed to be non-core and launched multiple integration and business transformation initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of people and operations and identify recurring cost savings and new revenue growth opportunities. We believe that these transactions and activities resulted in costs, which have historically been substantial, and that may not be indicative of, or are not related to, our core operating results, including interest related to the incurrence of additional debt to finance acquisitions and third party legal, advisory and consulting fees and severance, retention bonus and other internal costs that we believe would not have been incurred in the absence of these transactions and activities and also may not be indicative of, or related to, our core operating results.
We define Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, management fees, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, as well as the tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments.
We define Non-GAAP Operating Profit as income (loss) from operations adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, management fees, the amortization of acquired intangible assets, goodwill and asset impairment charges, and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, costs related to the Hosted Exchange incident, management fees, certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and goodwill and asset impairment charges.
Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA are management’s principal metrics for measuring our underlying financial performance. Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA, along with other quantitative and qualitative information, are also the principal financial measures used by management and our board of directors in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.
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These non-GAAP measures are not intended to imply that we would have generated higher income or avoided net losses if the Rackspace Acquisition and the subsequent transactions and initiatives had not occurred. In the future we may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit or Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by these items. Other companies, including our peer companies, may calculate similarly-titled measures in a different manner from us, and therefore, our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-tiled measures of other companies. Investors are cautioned against using these measures to the exclusion of our results in accordance with GAAP.
The following tables present a reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income, Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures:
Net loss reconciliation to Non-GAAP Net Income
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 74.5 | 75.4 | 69.5 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 37.5 | 11.8 | 10.0 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 46.7 | 25.7 | 11.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 104.8 | 161.5 | 99.0 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses | — | — | 5.9 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 8.4 | — | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | 52.4 | 534.5 | |||||||
| Impairment of assets | — | — | 146.1 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | (19.9) | — | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | (0.7) | 3.0 | 0.2 | |||||||
| Debt modification and extinguishment costs (f) | 71.5 | 37.5 | — | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net (g) | (2.5) | 1.0 | 10.0 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (h) | 176.3 | 179.7 | 166.8 | |||||||
| Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (i) | (119.4) | (103.3) | (133.3) | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income | $ | 151.3 | $ | 206.5 | $ | 114.9 |
Income (loss) from operations reconciliation to Non-GAAP Operating Profit
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | $ | 24.7 | $ | (2.5) | $ | (679.0) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 74.5 | 75.4 | 69.5 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 37.5 | 11.8 | 10.0 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 46.7 | 25.7 | 11.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 104.8 | 161.5 | 99.0 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses | — | — | 5.9 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 8.4 | — | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | 52.4 | 534.5 | |||||||
| Impairment of assets | — | — | 146.1 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | (19.9) | — | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (h) | 176.3 | 179.7 | 166.8 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 472.9 | $ | 484.1 | $ | 363.8 |
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Net loss reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 74.5 | 75.4 | 69.5 | |||||||
| Special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 37.5 | 11.8 | 10.0 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 46.7 | 25.7 | 11.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 104.8 | 161.5 | 99.0 | |||||||
| Hosted Exchange incident expenses | — | — | 5.9 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 8.4 | — | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | 52.4 | 534.5 | |||||||
| Impairment of assets | — | — | 146.1 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | (19.9) | — | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | (0.7) | 3.0 | 0.2 | |||||||
| Debt modification and extinguishment costs (f) | 71.5 | 37.5 | — | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net (g) | (2.5) | 1.0 | 10.0 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 268.4 | 205.1 | 208.5 | |||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | (66.2) | (30.8) | (92.9) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (j) | 466.2 | 421.4 | 387.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 762.8 | $ | 725.8 | $ | 584.5 |
| (a) | Includes expense related to retention bonuses, mainly relating to restructuring and integration projects, and the related payroll tax, senior executive signing bonuses and relocation costs, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2020 also includes $13 million for one-time cash bonuses related to successful completion of the IPO. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to acquisitions and the IPO, certain one-time costs related to being a first year public company, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments (including deferred revenue fair value discount), payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to supporting these projects and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
| (c) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to these projects, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes employee related costs and other costs related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan of $25.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. In addition, it includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (d) | Represents historical management fees pursuant to management consulting agreements. The management consulting agreements were terminated effective August 4, 2020, and therefore no management fees have accrued or will be payable for periods after August 4, 2020. |
| (e) | Includes gains and losses on investment and from dispositions. |
| (f) | Includes expenses related to repurchases of 8.625% Senior Notes, the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility. |
| (g) | Reflects changes in the fair value of foreign currency derivatives and other foreign currency gains and losses. |
| (h) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
| (i) | We utilize an estimated structural long-term non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide consistency across reporting periods, removing the effect of non-recurring tax adjustments, which include but are not limited to tax rate changes, U.S. tax reform, share-based compensation, audit conclusions and changes to valuation allowances. We used a structural non-GAAP tax rate of 26% for all periods which reflects the removal of the tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments and non-recurring tax adjustments on a year-over-year basis. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate our long-term non-GAAP tax rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments facilitates a better evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to prior periods. |
| (j) | Excludes accelerated depreciation expense related to facility closures. |
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Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share
We define Non-GAAP EPS as Non-GAAP Net Income divided by our GAAP weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period on a diluted basis, after giving effect to the twelve-for-one stock split that was approved and effected by our board of directors on July 20, 2020, and further adjusted for the weighted average number of shares associated with securities which are anti-dilutive to GAAP EPS but dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS. Management uses Non-GAAP EPS to evaluate the performance of our business on a comparable basis from period to period, including by adjusting for the impact of the issuance of shares that would be dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS. The following table reconciles Non-GAAP EPS to our GAAP net loss per share on a diluted basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | $ | (804.8) | ||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income | $ | 151.3 | $ | 206.5 | $ | 114.9 | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 179.6 | 208.0 | 211.2 | |||||||
| Effect of dilutive securities (a) | 3.7 | 4.2 | 1.3 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 183.3 | 212.2 | 212.5 | |||||||
| Net loss per share - Diluted | $ | (1.37) | $ | (1.05) | $ | (3.81) | ||||
| Per share impacts of adjustments to net loss (b) | 2.21 | 2.04 | 4.35 | |||||||
| Per share impacts of shares dilutive after adjustments to net loss (a) | (0.01) | (0.02) | 0.00 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP EPS | $ | 0.83 | $ | 0.97 | $ | 0.54 |
| (a) | Reflects impact of awards that would have been anti-dilutive to net loss per share, and therefore not included in the calculation, but would be dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS and are therefore included in the share count for purposes of this non-GAAP measure. Potential common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, vesting of restricted stock units (including performance-based restricted stock units) or purchases under the ESPP, as well as contingent shares associated with our acquisition of Datapipe. Certain of our potential common share equivalents are contingent on Apollo achieving pre-established performance targets based on a MOIC, which are included in the denominator for the entire period if such shares would be issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was the end of the contingency period. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Reflects the aggregate adjustments made to reconcile Non-GAAP Net Income to our net loss, as noted in the above table, divided by the GAAP diluted number of shares outstanding for the relevant period. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We primarily finance our operations and capital expenditures with internally-generated cash from operations and hardware leases, and if necessary, borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2022, the Revolving Credit Facility provided for up to $375 million of borrowings, none of which was drawn as of December 31, 2022. Our primary uses of cash are working capital requirements, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. Based on our current level of operations and available cash, we believe our sources will provide sufficient liquidity over at least the next twelve months. We cannot provide assurance, however, that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the Revolving Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. Our ability to do so depends on prevailing economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change of control, we could be required to repay or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness, including the Senior Facilities, the 5.375% Senior Notes and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar transactions will likely require additional capital, and there can be no assurance that any such capital will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
From time to time, depending upon market and other conditions, as well as upon our cash balances and liquidity, we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may acquire (and have acquired) our outstanding debt securities or our other indebtedness through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, redemption or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may determine (or as may be provided for in the Indentures, if applicable), for cash or other consideration.
On August 7, 2020, we completed the IPO, in which we issued and sold 33,500,000 shares of our common stock at a public offering price of $21.00 per share. We received net proceeds of $667 million from sales of shares in the IPO, after deducting underwriters' discounts and commissions of $37 million, but before deducting offering expenses of $9 million. We used a portion of the net proceeds from the IPO to repurchase $601 million aggregate principal amount of the 8.625% Senior Notes for aggregate cash of $647 million, including related premiums, fees and expenses. The remaining amount of net proceeds were used for general corporate purposes.
On February 2, 2021, we issued 2,665,935 shares of common stock to DPH 123, LLC, an ABRY affiliate, for no additional consideration pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 6, 2017, (the "Datapipe Merger Agreement") in connection with our November 15, 2017 acquisition of Datapipe. We will be required to issue additional shares of our common stock to DPH 123, LLC based on the MOIC exceeding certain thresholds as defined in the Datapipe Merger Agreement. If the MOIC exceeds 3.0x, which is indicated by a volume weighted average trading price of our common stock over 30 consecutive trading days of more than $25.00, we will be required to issue an additional 2,665,935 shares.
On March 3, 2022, our board of directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $75 million of shares of our common stock from time to time through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchases and other transactions in accordance with applicable security laws. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we repurchased $31 million, or 3.1 million shares, of our common stock on the open market under this program. As of December 31, 2022, approximately $44 million of the amount authorized by the board under the current program remained available for additional purchases.
At December 31, 2022, we held $228 million in cash and cash equivalents (not including $3 million in restricted cash, which is included in "Other non-current assets"), of which $147 million was held by foreign entities.
We have entered into installment payment arrangements with certain equipment and software vendors, along with sale-leaseback arrangements for equipment and certain property leases that are considered financing obligations. We had $64 million outstanding with respect to these arrangements as of December 31, 2022. We may choose to utilize these various sources of funding in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 8, "Financing Obligations" for more information regarding financing obligations.
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We also lease certain equipment and real estate under operating and finance lease agreements. We had $517 million outstanding with respect to operating and finance lease agreements as of December 31, 2022. We may choose to utilize such leasing arrangements in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Leases" for more information regarding our operating and finance leases.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $3,360 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under our Term Loan Facility, 5.375% Senior Notes, and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, with $375 million of borrowing capacity available under the Revolving Credit Facility. Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to debt service requirements.
Debt
Senior Facilities
On February 9, 2021, we amended and restated the First Lien Credit Agreement, which included a new seven-year $2,300 million senior secured first lien term loan facility (the Term Loan Facility) and our existing Revolving Credit Facility, which we refer to together as the Senior Facilities. We used the borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, together with the proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes described below, to repay all borrowings under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes. The Term Loan Facility will mature on February 15, 2028 and the Revolving Credit Facility will mature on August 7, 2025. We may request one or more incremental term loan facilities, one or more incremental revolving credit facilities and/or increase the commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility in an amount equal to the greater of $860 million and 1.0x Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the amended First Lien Credit Agreement), plus additional amounts, subject to compliance with applicable leverage ratios and certain terms and conditions.
Borrowings under the Senior Facilities bear interest at an annual rate equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (a) a LIBOR rate determined by reference to the costs of funds for Eurodollar deposits for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, adjusted for certain additional costs, subject to a 0.75% floor, in the case of the Term Loan Facility and a 1.00% floor, in the case of the Revolving Credit Facility, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate of Citi and (iii) the one-month adjusted LIBOR plus 1.00%. The applicable margin for the Term Loan Facility is 2.75% for LIBOR loans and 1.75% for base rate loans and the applicable margin for the Revolving Credit Facility is 3.00% for LIBOR loans and 2.00% for base rate loans. Interest is due at the end of each interest period elected, not exceeding 90 days, for LIBOR loans and at the end of every calendar quarter for base rate loans.
The Revolving Credit Facility also includes a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that is due quarterly. This fee is subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
As of December 31, 2022, the interest rate on the Term Loan Facility was 7.38% and the outstanding principal balance was $2,260 million. We are required to make quarterly principal payments in the amount equal to 0.25% of the original principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, or $5.8 million, which began on June 30, 2021, with the balance due at maturity on February 15, 2028.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in the LIBOR rate. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
In addition to the quarterly amortization payments discussed above, our Senior Facilities require us to make certain mandatory prepayments, including using (i) a portion of annual excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, to prepay the Term Loan Facility, (ii) net cash proceeds of certain non-ordinary assets sales or dispositions of property to prepay the Term Loan Facility and (iii) net cash proceeds of any issuance or incurrence of debt not permitted under the Senior Facilities to prepay the Term Loan Facility. We can make voluntary prepayments at any time without penalty, except in connection with a repricing event, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement.
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Rackspace Technology Global, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is the borrower under the Senior Facilities, and all obligations under the Senior Facilities are (i) guaranteed by Inception Parent, Rackspace Technology Global’s immediate parent company, on a limited recourse basis and secured by the equity interests of Rackspace Technology Global held by Inception Parent and (ii) guaranteed by Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries and secured by substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interests held by each, in each case subject to certain exceptions.
During 2022, there were no borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and we had no outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility or letters of credit issued thereunder as of December 31, 2022.
3.50% Senior Secured Notes
On February 9, 2021, Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes will mature on February 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15, commencing on August 15, 2021. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are not subject to registration rights. As noted above, we used the net proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, together with borrowings under the Term Loan Facility described above, to repay all borrowings outstanding under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and obligations under the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interest held by each, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: prior to February 15, 2024, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus the applicable premium described in the 3.50% Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2024 to February 14, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.750% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2025 to February 14, 2026, at a redemption price equal to 100.875% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from February 15, 2026 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Rackspace Technology Global may also redeem prior to February 15, 2024 up to 40.0% of the aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not to exceed the net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 103.500% of the principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Rackspace Technology Global may redeem during each twelve-month period, commencing with February 9, 2021, up to 10.0% of the original aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a redemption price of 103.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.
As of December 31, 2022, $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.
5.375% Senior Notes
Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes on December 1, 2020. The 5.375% Senior Notes will mature on December 1, 2028 and bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.375% per year, payable semi-annually on each June 1 and December 1, commencing on June 1, 2021 through maturity. The proceeds of the 5.375% Senior Notes were used to fund the repurchase or redemption of all of our outstanding 8.625% Senior Notes and to pay related fees and expenses. The 5.375% Senior Notes are not subject to registration rights.
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Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 5.375% Senior Notes, and obligations under the 5.375% Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 5.375% Senior Notes are effectively junior to the indebtedness under the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, to the extent of the collateral securing the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 5.375% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 5.375% Senior Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: prior to December 1, 2023, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus the applicable premium described in the 5.375% Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, at a redemption price equal to 102.688% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.344% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from December 1, 2025 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Rackspace Technology Global may also redeem prior to December 1, 2023 up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not to exceed the net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 105.375% of the principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date.
As of December 31, 2022, $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes remained outstanding.
Debt covenants
Our Term Loan Facility is not subject to a financial maintenance covenant. The Revolving Credit Facility included a financial maintenance covenant that limits the borrower's net first lien leverage ratio to a maximum of 5.00 to 1.00. The net first lien leverage ratio is calculated as the ratio of (x) the total amount of the borrower’s first lien debt for borrowed money (which is currently identical to the total amount outstanding under the Senior Facilities), less the borrower’s unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, to (y) consolidated EBITDA (as defined under the First Lien Credit Agreement governing the Senior Facilities). However, this financial maintenance covenant will only be applicable and tested if the aggregate amount of outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and letters of credit issued thereunder (excluding $25 million of undrawn letters of credit and cash collateralized letters of credit) as of the last day of a fiscal quarter is equal to or greater than 35% of the Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the last day of such fiscal quarter. Additional covenants in the Senior Facilities limit our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt and liens, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The Indentures contains covenants that, among other things, limit our subsidiaries' ability to incur certain additional debt, incur certain liens securing debt, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, limitations, and qualifications as set forth in the Indentures. Additionally, upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the Indentures), we will be required to make an offer to repurchase all of the outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a price in cash equal to 101.000% of the aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including the purchase date.
Our “consolidated EBITDA,” as defined under our debt instruments, is calculated in the same manner as our Adjusted EBITDA, presented elsewhere in this report, except that our debt instruments allow us to adjust for additional items, including certain start-up costs, and to give pro forma effect to acquisitions, including resulting synergies, and internal cost savings initiatives. In addition, under the Indentures, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA does not take into account substantially any changes in GAAP subsequent to the date of issuance, whereas under the Senior Facilities, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA takes into account the impact of certain changes in GAAP subsequent to the original closing date other than with respect to capital leases.
As of December 31, 2022, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Facilities and the Indentures.
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Capital Expenditures
The following table sets forth a summary of our capital expenditures for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Customer gear (1) | $ | 127.2 | $ | 116.1 | $ | 83.7 | ||||
| Data center build outs (2) | 15.3 | 12.5 | 4.2 | |||||||
| Office build outs (3) | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.1 | |||||||
| Capitalized software and other projects (4) | 79.4 | 72.3 | 53.8 | |||||||
| Total capital expenditures | $ | 224.6 | $ | 202.9 | $ | 141.8 |
(1) Includes servers, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, backup libraries, storage arrays and drives and certain software that is essential to the functionality of customer gear, which we provide.
(2) Includes generators, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, mechanical and electrical plants, chillers, raised floor, network cabling, other infrastructure gear and other data center building improvements.
(3) Includes building improvements, raised floor, furniture and equipment.
(4) Includes salaries and payroll-related costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects, purchased software licenses and other projects that meet the criteria for capitalization.
The reduction in capital expenditures from 2020 to 2021 and again from 2021 to 2022 is due to the continued mix shift of our revenues from high capital intensity service offerings to low capital intensity service offerings. Additionally, the shift of internal software development work to lower cost geographies has also contributed to the decrease in capital expenditures between periods.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of certain cash flow information for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 116.7 | $ | 370.8 | $ | 246.7 | ||||
| Cash used in investing activities | $ | (128.4) | $ | (69.0) | $ | (97.9) | ||||
| Cash provided by (used in) financing activities | $ | 29.9 | $ | (132.2) | $ | (187.0) |
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities results primarily from cash received from customers, offset by cash payments made for employee and consultant compensation (less amounts capitalized related to internal-use software that are reflected as cash used in investing activities), data center costs, license costs, third-party infrastructure costs, marketing programs, interest, taxes, and other general corporate expenditures.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2022 decreased $124 million, or 33%, from 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by an increase in operating expense payments of $317 million, largely for third-party infrastructure costs, partially offset by an increase in cash collections of $115 million and a decrease in employee-related payments of $56 million mainly due to a shift in headcount to our offshore service centers.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2021 increased $254 million, or 218%, from 2020. This increase was primarily driven by a $413 million increase in cash collections, primarily reflecting higher revenue levels and an increased focus on collection efforts with multiple large customers, and to a lesser extent, receiving prepayments. In addition, there was an $88 million decrease in debt interest payments due to lower interest rates on our long-term debt following various debt repurchase and refinancing transactions during the second half of 2020 and early 2021, and a $66 million decrease in employee-related payments due to a shift in headcount to our offshore service centers. These operating cash flow increases were partially offset by a $298 million increase in operating expense payments, largely for third-party infrastructure costs.
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Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily consists of capital expenditures to meet the demands of our customer base and our strategic initiatives. The largest outlays of cash are for purchases of customer gear, data center and office build-outs, and capitalized payroll costs related to internal-use software development.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2022 increased $29 million, or 42%, from 2021. This was mainly due to the receipt of net proceeds of $31 million in the prior year from the January 2021 sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers. During 2022, we made an $8 million cash payment in connection with the acquisition of Just Analytics and a $15 million payment for the purchase of a convertible promissory note that matures in 2027. These outflows in the current year period were offset by a $28 million reduction in cash purchases of property, equipment, and software year-over-year.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2021 decreased $59 million, or 46%, from 2020. This decrease was mainly due to net proceeds of $31 million from the January 2021 sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers. There was also a $10 million decrease in acquisitions, and an $8 million decrease in purchases of property, equipment, and software.
Cash Provided by or Used in Financing Activities
Financing activities generally include cash activity related to debt and other long-term financing arrangements (for example, finance lease obligations and financing obligations), including proceeds from and repayments of borrowings, and cash activity related to the issuance and repurchase of equity.
Net cash used in financing activities for 2022 increased $55 million, or 41% from 2021. The change was primarily driven by a $57 million reduction in proceeds from employee stock plans year-over-year. The remaining variance includes $31 million in common stock share repurchases as part of the program authorized in March 2022, a $17 million increase in finance lease principal payments, and a $4 million increase in payments on the financing component of our interest rate swap during 2022. These drivers were partially offset by a $51 million reduction in net payments related to long-term debt activity between periods, including debt issuance costs. The prior year included the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and a $65 million repayment on the now terminated Receivables Financing Facility, while the current period only includes quarterly principal payments on our Term Loan Facility. In addition, there was a $7 million decrease in principal payments for financing obligations between periods.
Net cash used in financing activities was $132 million for 2021 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $30 million for 2020. The change was primarily driven by net proceeds of $658 million from the IPO, including $9 million in offering fees paid, for 2020, partially offset by a $526 million decrease in net debt activity. Net payments for long-term debt activity were $599 million during 2020, which included $1,177 million of 8.625% Senior Notes repurchases, $29 million of repayments on our Prior Term Loan Facility, and $9 million in debt issuance costs paid, offset by proceeds from the issuance of our 5.375% Senior Notes, and borrowings of $65 million under the Receivables Financing Facility. Net payments for long-term debt activity were $74 million during 2021, reflecting the refinancing of our Prior Term Loan Facility, a $65 million repayment related to the termination of our Receivables Financing Facility, and $35 million in debt issuance costs paid. In addition, there was a $30 million increase in proceeds from employee stock plans, a $27 million increase in payments for finance leases and the first three payments for the financing component of our interest rate swaps totaling $13 million during 2021, offset by proceeds from financing obligations of $21 million during 2020.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
During the periods presented, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities. These entities are typically established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
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We have entered into various indemnification arrangements with third parties, including vendors, customers, landlords, our officers and directors, stockholders of acquired companies and third parties to whom and from whom we license technology. Generally, these indemnification agreements require us to reimburse losses suffered by third parties due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement or our negligence. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions by us, our employees, agents or representatives. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements. To date, we have not incurred material costs as a result of such obligations and have not accrued any material liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in our consolidated financial statements. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 9, "Commitments and Contingencies" for more information related to these indemnification arrangements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We consider accounting estimates that require significant management judgment to be critical accounting estimates. We review our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to business combinations, revenue recognition, allowance for credit losses, property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, contingencies, share-based compensation and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to determine the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
Business Combinations
Mergers and acquisitions are accounted for using the acquisition method, in accordance with accounting guidance for business combinations. Under the acquisition method, we allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the tangible and intangible assets acquired (“identifiable assets”) and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. When determining the fair values of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, including contingent consideration when applicable, management makes significant estimates and assumptions.
Critical estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include but are not limited to discount rates and future expected cash flows from customer relationships and developed technology. The fair value of equity and contingent consideration includes estimates and judgments related to the discount rates and future discounted cash flows based on management’s internal forecasts, timing of achievement of milestones and probability-weighted scenarios. Management’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable, but which are inherently uncertain and unpredictable and, as a result, may differ from estimates.
Other estimates associated with the accounting for acquisitions may change as additional information becomes available regarding the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed.
Revenue Recognition
We provide cloud computing to customers, which is broadly defined as the delivery of computing, storage and applications over the Internet. Cloud computing is a service transaction under which the services we provide vary on a daily basis. The totality of services provided represent a single integrated solution tailored to the customer’s specific needs. As such, our performance obligations to our customers consist of a single integrated solution delivered as a series of distinct daily services. We recognize revenue on a daily basis as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for the services.
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Our usage-based arrangements generally include variable consideration components consisting of monthly utility fees with a defined price and undefined quantity. Additionally, our contracts contain service level guarantees that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and certain products may include volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for this consideration as services are provided and earned.
A substantial amount of revenue relates to fees associated with our private cloud services within the Multicloud Services offerings that generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Contracts for our service offerings falling within our Apps & Cross Platform and OpenStack Public Cloud segments and public cloud service offerings within our Multicloud Services segment typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We also provide customers with professional services for the design and implementation of application, security and data services. Professional service contracts are either fixed-fee or time-and-materials based. We typically consider our professional services to be a separate performance obligation from other integrated solutions being provided to the same customer. Our performance obligations under these arrangements are typically to provide the services on a daily basis over a period of time and we recognize revenue as the services are performed.
We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments. Judgment is required in assessing whether a service is distinct, including determination of whether the customer could benefit from the service on its own or in conjunction with other readily available resources and whether certain services are highly integrated into a bundle of services that represent the combined output specified by the customer. Arrangements can contain multiple performance obligations that are distinct, which are accounted for separately. Each performance obligation is recognized as services are provided based on their SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each of our distinct performance obligations. We utilize a range of prices when developing our estimates of SSP. We determine the range of prices for estimating SSP for all our performance obligations using observable inputs, such as standalone sales and historical contract pricing. Our estimates of SSP are updated quarterly.
In addition, our customer agreements provide that we will achieve certain service levels related primarily to network uptime, critical infrastructure availability and hardware replacement. We may be obligated to provide service credits for a portion of the service fees paid by our customers to the extent that such service levels are not achieved or are otherwise disputed. Credit memos are recognized in the period of service to which they relate.
Revenue recognition for revenue generated from arrangements in which we resell third-party infrastructure bundled with our managed services, requires judgment to determine whether revenue can be recorded at the gross sales price or net of third-party fees. Typically, revenue is recognized on a gross basis when it is determined that we are the principal in the relationship. We are considered the principal in the relationship when we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the contract and obtain control of the third-party infrastructure before transferring it as an integral part of our performance obligation to provide services to the customer. Revenue is recognized net of third-party fees when we determine that our obligation is only to facilitate the customers’ purchase of third-party infrastructure.
Valuation of Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses
We record an allowance for credit losses on trade accounts receivable for estimated losses resulting from uncollectible receivables. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowance, we consider historical bad debt write-offs and all known facts and circumstances such as current economic conditions and trends, customer creditworthiness and specifically identified customer risks. If actual collections of customer receivables differ from our estimates, additional allowances may be required which could have an impact on our results of operations.
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Property, Equipment and Software and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
In providing services to our customers, we utilize significant amounts of property, equipment and software, which we depreciate on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite-lived intangible assets are primarily comprised of customer relationships and are stated at their acquisition-date fair value less accumulated amortization. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Property and equipment under operating and finance leases are included within “Operating right-of-use assets” and “Property, equipment and software, net,” respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term whereas finance lease assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term. We routinely review the estimated useful lives of our property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets (“long-lived assets”). A change in the useful life of a long-lived asset is treated as a change in accounting estimate in the period of change and future periods.
Long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets and finance lease assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured at the asset group level and if the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
As of September 1, 2022, due to the factors discussed below, we performed an interim impairment review of the recoverability of our long-lived assets by asset group. Based on the results of the recoverability test, we determined that, as of September 1, 2022, the carrying amount of the OpenStack Public Cloud asset group’s long-lived assets exceeded the sum of the undiscounted cash flows. Fair values of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets were determined using a combination of the income approach and the cost approach. The income approach utilized assumptions including management’s best estimates of the expected future cash flows, risk-adjusted discount rate, and the estimated useful life of the asset group. The cost approach utilized assumptions for the current replacement costs of similar assets adjusted for estimated depreciation and deterioration of the existing equipment and economic obsolescence. Estimates of floor values for the property, equipment and software, net, were considered relative to potential economic support for the assets such that the concluded value did not fall below the estimated floor value of these assets. We concluded that the carrying value of the OpenStack Public Cloud long-lived assets, including customer relationship intangibles and property, equipment and software, net, were impaired and recorded non-cash impairment charges of $38 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
The results of our impairment reviews of the recoverability of our long-lived assets as of October 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 did not indicate any impairments.
We capitalize the salaries and related compensation costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects. Judgment is required in determining whether an enhancement to previously developed software is significant and creates additional functionality to the software, thus resulting in capitalization. All other software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the software, which is generally three years; however, we evaluate the nature and utility of each project which can result in a useful life ranging between one and five years on certain projects.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Our indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of our Rackspace trade name, which was recorded at fair value on our balance sheet at the date of the Rackspace Acquisition.
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Application of the goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. We test goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Rackspace trade name, for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1st or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, regulatory environment, established business plans, operating performance indicators or competition. Potential impairment indicators may also include, but are not limited to, (i) the results of our most recent annual or interim impairment testing, (ii) downward revisions to internal forecasts, and the magnitude thereof, if any, (iii) declines in our market capitalization below our book value, and the magnitude and duration of those declines, if any, and (iv) other macroeconomic factors, such as increases in interest rates that may affect the weighted average cost of capital, volatility in the equity and debt markets, or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component). We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Assets and liabilities are assigned to each of our reporting units if they are employed by a reporting unit and are considered in the determination of the reporting unit fair value. Certain assets and liabilities are shared by multiple reporting units, and thus, are allocated to each reporting unit based on the relative size of a reporting unit, primarily based on revenue. We have two reporting units with goodwill: Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform. Goodwill allocated to our third reporting unit, OpenStack Public Cloud, was fully impaired during the fourth quarter of 2021.
We estimate the fair values of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name using the discounted cash flow method and relief-from-royalty method, respectively. These calculations require the use of significant estimates and assumptions, such as: (i) the royalty rate; (ii) the estimation of future revenue and projected margins, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts; (iii) estimation of the terminal growth rates and capital spending; and (iv) determination of discount rates. The discount rates used are based on our weighted average cost of capital and are adjusted for risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and in our estimation of future cash flows. As part of the goodwill impairment test, we also consider our market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the combined fair values estimated for our reporting units, including OpenStack Public Cloud. The estimates and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name from year to year are based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could produce materially different results.
As of September 1, 2022, after considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting unit as of September 1, 2022.
For the interim quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of September 1, 2022, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units. The income approach utilizes a discounted cash flow method which is based on the present value of projected cash flows. The discounted cash flow models reflect our assumptions regarding revenue growth rates, projected gross profit margins, risk-adjusted discount rates, terminal period growth rate, economic and market trends and other expectations about the anticipated operating results of our reporting units. The terminal period growth rate is selected based on economic conditions and consideration of growth rates used in the forecast period and historical performance of the reporting unit. We utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of September 1, 2022. As a result of our interim goodwill impairment test performed as of September 1, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our Multicloud Services reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $405 million during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within this reporting unit primarily due to slower than anticipated product mix shifts. The Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 15% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $235 million and $33 million, respectively.
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As of September 1, 2022, due to the factors discussed above and prior to testing our goodwill for impairment, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method. Significant estimates and assumptions included in the relief from royalty method are expectations of revenue growth rates, and selection of royalty rate and discount rate. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% and a discount rate of 10.7%. We determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $21 million non-cash impairment charge during the third quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We performed our annual quantitative goodwill impairment test as of October 1, 2022. For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of October 1, 2022, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units, as discussed above. We utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.0% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of October 1, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of October 1, 2022, we determined that the fair value exceeded the carrying amounts for each of our reporting units. The fair value exceeded the carrying value for the Multicloud Services reporting unit by 1% and the Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit by 15%. Therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $236 million and $38 million, respectively.
As of October 1, 2022, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method, as discussed above. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% and a discount rate of 10.7%. We determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was greater than its carrying value, and therefore no impairment was recognized.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we experienced decline in our market capitalization following a ransomware incident in early December which caused service disruptions on our Hosted Exchange email business which is included in our Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit. After considering all available evidence in our evaluation of goodwill impairment indicators, including our lowered projected operating results within this reporting unit, we determined it appropriate to perform an interim quantitative assessment of our reporting units as of December 31, 2022.
For the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis performed as of December 31, 2022, we utilized the income approach to determine the fair value of our reporting units, as discussed above. We utilized a range of our weighted-average cost of capital of 10.5% to 12.0% as our discount rate, which was risk-adjusted for each reporting unit. After determining the fair value of our reporting units, we reconciled the combined fair value of the reporting units to the company's market capitalization as of December 31, 2022. As a result of our goodwill impairment test performed as of December 31, 2022, we determined that the carrying amount of our Apps & Cross Platform reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $129 million, which is included in "Impairment of goodwill" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. The impairment was driven by a decrease in forecasted revenues, margins, and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to the Hosted Exchange incident and other macroeconomic factors. The Multicloud Services reporting unit was determined to have a fair value that exceeded its carrying value by approximately 1% and therefore no impairment was recognized.
We performed sensitivity analyses on the key inputs and assumptions used in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting unit by utilizing changes in assumptions that reflect reasonably likely future changes in the discount rate used in the weighted-average cost of capital calculation and the terminal growth rate. Assuming all other assumptions and inputs used in the discounted cash flow analysis are held constant, a 50 basis point increase in the discount rate assumption would result in decreases in fair value of our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform reporting units of approximately $218 million and $22 million, respectively.
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As of December 31, 2022, due to the factors discussed above and prior to testing our goodwill for impairment, we performed a quantitative assessment of our indefinite-lived intangible asset utilizing a relief from royalty method, as discussed above. We utilized a royalty rate of 0.5% and a discount rate of 11.0%. We determined the estimated fair value of the Rackspace trade name was less than its carrying value. As a result, we recorded a $12 million non-cash impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2022, which is included in "Impairment of assets" in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
The fair value determination of our reporting units and our indefinite-lived intangible asset is judgmental in nature and requires the use of estimates and assumptions that are sensitive to changes. Assumptions include estimation of the royalty rate, estimation of future revenue and projected margins, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts, estimation of the terminal growth rates and capital spending, and determination of discount rates. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the quantitative goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment tests will prove to be an accurate prediction of future results. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units may include such items as: (i) volatility in the equity and debt markets or other macroeconomic factors, (ii) an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital due to further increases in interest rates, (iii) decrease in future cash flows due to lower than expected sales, or (iv) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may negatively impact our reported results of operations. Accordingly, if our current cash flow assumptions are not realized, we experience further sustained declines in our stock price or market capitalization, or increases in costs of capital, it is possible that an additional impairment charge may be recorded in the future, which could be material.
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and fully impaired its goodwill by recording a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan.
As of December 31, 2022, the carrying amount of goodwill was $2,155.1 million.
Contingencies
We accrue for contingent obligations when the obligation is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. As facts concerning contingencies become known, we reassess our position and make appropriate adjustments to the recorded accrual. Estimates that are particularly sensitive to future changes include those related to tax, legal and other regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of international laws, and the impact of local economic conditions and practices, which are all subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation process. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Share-Based Compensation
We account for share-based awards under the recognition and measurement provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the underlying common stock and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options with vesting conditions dependent upon market performance is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Determining the grant date fair value of share-based awards with performance vesting conditions and the probability of such awards vesting requires judgment.
Prior to the completion of the IPO on August 7, 2020, there had been no public market for our common stock since the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. The estimated fair value of our common stock was determined by our board of directors as of the grant date of each option grant, with input from management, including consideration of our most recent third-party valuations of our common stock, which were completed periodically throughout the fiscal year.
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We used the Income Approach to estimate the value of our equity. Within the Income Approach, we rely upon the Discounted Cash Flow (“DCF”) method, which focused on our estimated expected cash flow available for distribution to the equityholders. The DCF calculation was prepared based on detailed revenue and expense projections prepared by management as part of its annual budgeting process and reflected the financial and operational facts and circumstances specific to our company. Significant assumptions impacting the DCF calculation also included expected future capital expenditures, our long-term growth rate, and the applicable discount rate. For purposes of capturing the dilution from outstanding options, the valuation utilized the Option-Pricing Method. The Option-Pricing Method depended on key assumptions regarding the volatility and time to a liquidity event but did not require explicit estimates of the possible future outcomes. The input and assumptions used in this calculation were total equity value, time to liquidity, expected volatility and dividends, which were all determined by management. A discount for lack of marketability was not applied as its impact was already reflected in the equity value through the discount rate, given that there were no differential rights attributable to different shareholders (as we have only one class of shares). These estimates were complex, involved a number of variables, uncertainties and assumptions and the application of management’s judgment, as they were inherently subjective.
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
Our effective tax rates may differ from the statutory rate for various reasons, including differences due to the tax impact of foreign operations, R&D tax credits, state taxes, contingency reserves for uncertain tax positions, certain benefits realized related to share-based compensation, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, goodwill impairments, or from changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof. In addition, we are periodically subject to examination of our income tax returns in the U.S., U.K., India, and other countries. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
For a description of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and issued, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001810019-22-000036.
ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following MD&A is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. References to “Rackspace Technology,” “we,” “our company,” “the company,” “us,” or “our” refer to Rackspace Technology and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Overview
We are a leading end-to-end multicloud technology services company. We design, build and operate our customers’ cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products and adopt innovative technologies. We serve our customers with a unique combination of proprietary technology resulting from over $1 billion of investment and services expertise from a team of highly skilled consultants and engineers. And we provide our customers with unbiased expertise and technology solutions, delivered over the world’s leading cloud services, all wrapped in Fanatical Customer Experience.
We aim to be our customers’ most trusted advisor and services partner in their path to cloud transformation and to accelerate the value of their cloud investments. We give customers the ability to make fluid decisions when choosing the right technologies, and we recommend solutions based on customers’ unique objectives. In this way, we empower our customers to harness the full benefits of cloud adoption.
Our team of 6,600 highly skilled Rackers, including consultants and engineers, partners with companies at every stage of their cloud transformation journey
We deliver our services to a global customer base through an integrated service delivery model. We have a presence in more than 60 cities around the world. This footprint allows us to better serve customers based in various countries, especially multinational companies requiring cross-border solutions. We have a strong presence with customers of all sizes, including enterprise businesses (revenue in excess of $3 billion), mid-market businesses (revenue of $300 million to $3 billion) and commercial customers (revenue less than $300 million).
On November 3, 2016, Rackspace Hosting (now named Rackspace Technology Global) was acquired by Inception Parent, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Pursuant to the merger agreement, dated as of August 26, 2016, Rackspace Technology Global merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inception Parent, with Rackspace Technology Global surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inception Parent.
We operate our business and report our results through three reportable segments: (1) Multicloud Services, (2) Apps & Cross Platform and (3) OpenStack Public Cloud. Our Multicloud Services segment includes our multicloud services offerings, as well as professional services related to designing and building multicloud solutions and cloud-native applications. Our Apps & Cross Platform segment includes managed applications, managed security and data services, as well as professional services related to designing and implementing application, security and data services. In early 2017, we determined that our OpenStack Public Cloud offering was not core to our go-forward operations and we ceased to incentivize our sales team to promote and sell the product by the end of that year. We continue to serve our existing OpenStack Public Cloud customer base while we focus our growth strategy and investments on our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform offerings. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 20, "Segment Reporting" for additional information about our segments. We refer to certain supplementary Core financial measures, which reflect the results or otherwise pertain to the performance of our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, in the aggregate. Our Core financial measures exclude the results and performance of our OpenStack Public Cloud segment.
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We generate revenue primarily through the sale of consumption-based contracts for our services offerings, which are recurring in nature. We also generate revenue from the sale of professional services related to designing and building customer solutions, which are non-recurring in nature. Arrangements within our Multicloud Services offerings generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months, with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources provided to and utilized by the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our other primary sources of revenue are for public cloud services within our Multicloud Services, our Apps & Cross Platform and our OpenStack Public Cloud offerings. Contracts for these arrangements typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We sell our services through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners and via online orders. Our sales model is based on both distributed and centralized sales teams with leads generated from technology partners, customer referrals, channel partners and corporate marketing efforts. We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments.
On November 15, 2019, we acquired 100% of Onica, an AWS managed service provider of cloud-native consulting and managed services, including strategic advisory, architecture and engineering and application development services, for net cash consideration of $316 million, of which $62 million was allocated to amortizable intangible assets. Onica was integrated into our Multicloud Services segment and contributed $21 million in revenue to our results in 2019 for the month and a half following its acquisition. Onica’s results of operations subsequent to the November 15, 2019 acquisition date are included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Acquisitions" for more detail on this acquisition.
On August 7, 2020, we completed the IPO, in which we issued and sold 33,500,000 shares of our common stock at a public offering price of $21.00 per share.
On July 21, 2021, we committed to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which will drive a change in the type and location of certain positions and is expected to result in the termination of approximately 10% of our workforce. We recorded total charges of $50.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 related to this restructuring plan. This included $25.4 million for employee related costs and other costs accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420 as described in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 11, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan." Employee related costs consisted primarily of one-time termination benefits and certain contractual termination benefits with executives. Other costs consisted of professional fees, asset write-offs and the impact of a contract termination with a third-party. The remaining $25.1 million of expenses consisted primarily of one-time offshore build out costs. We expect to incur additional expenses of approximately $15 million over the next 12 months. After the July 2021 Restructuring Plan is implemented, we expect to realize approximately $95 to $100 million in gross annual savings compared to expense levels prior to the commencement of the plan.
Impact of COVID-19
The outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus, referred to as COVID-19, has spread globally, including within the U.S. and resulted in the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak a "pandemic" in March 2020, with variant strains of the virus continuing to be identified globally. The effects of COVID-19 and its variants continue to evolve, and the full impact and duration of the virus are unknown. Managing COVID-19 has severely impacted healthcare systems and businesses worldwide. The effects of COVID-19 and its variants and the response to the virus have negatively impacted overall economic conditions. To date, COVID-19 and its variants have not adversely affected our results of operations or financial condition in any material respect; however, the ultimate extent of the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on our operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the duration and severity of the outbreak, the pace of economic recovery, the possible resurgence in the spread of the virus or any variant strain(s) of the virus, advances in testing, treatment, and prevention, including the efficacy and availability of vaccines, its impact on our customers, vendors and employees and its impact on our sales cycles as well as industry events, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the pandemic worsens or the global economic recovery slows, we could experience service disruption, loss of customers or higher levels of doubtful trade accounts receivable, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. We continue to focus on the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners and, among other things, have implemented a work-from-home policy and are limiting contact between our employees and customers while continuing to deliver Fanatical Customer Experience. To date, the impact on our business has been limited
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as most of our services were, even before the pandemic, being delivered remotely or capable of being delivered remotely and we have a diverse customer base. The full extent to which COVID-19 and its variants may impact our financial condition or results of operations over the medium to long term, however, remains uncertain. Due to our recurring revenue business model, the effect of COVID-19 and its variants may not be fully reflected in our results of operations until future periods, if at all. We will continue to actively monitor the situation and may take further actions that alter our business operations as may be required by federal, state or local authorities, or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers and stockholders, including developing a plan to return our workforce back to the office when it is safe to do so.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our combination of proprietary technology, automation capabilities and technical expertise creates a value proposition for our customers that is hard to replicate for both competitors and in-house IT departments. Our continued success depends to a significant extent on our ability to meet the challenges presented by our highly competitive and dynamic market, including the following key factors:
Differentiating Our Service Offerings in a Competitive Market Environment
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to differentiate, expand and upgrade our service offerings in line with developing customer needs, while deepening our relationships with leading public cloud service providers and establishing new relationships, including with sales partners. We are a certified premier consulting and managed services partner to some of the largest cloud computing platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, SAP and VMware. We believe we are unique in our ability to serve customers across major technology stacks and deployment options, all while delivering Fanatical Customer Experience. Our existing and prospective customers are also under increasing pressure to move from on-premise or self-managed IT to the cloud to compete effectively in a digital economy and maximize the value of their cloud investments, which we believe presents an opportunity for professional services projects as well as new recurring business.
ARR, which we believe is an important indicator of our market differentiation and future revenue opportunity from recurring customer contracts, was $2,411.6 million, $2,711.1 million and $2,984.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. See “Key Operating Metrics.” We also believe that many of our prospective customers will need external support for their cloud transformations, which are non-recurring projects excluded from ARR provided through our professional services, and that our hybrid, platform-neutral approach, and ability to deliver Fanatical Customer Experience to customers, will continue to be key to our success in attracting and retaining customers over time.
Customer Relationships and Retention
Our success greatly depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with our existing customers and to attract new customers. We operate in a growing but competitive and evolving market environment, requiring innovation to differentiate us from our competitors. We believe that our integrated cloud service portfolio and our differentiated customer experience and technology are keys to retaining and growing revenue from existing customers as well as acquiring new customers. For example, we believe that the Rackspace Fabric provides customers a unified experience across their entire cloud and security footprint, and that our Rackspace Elastic Engineering model, announced in April 2021, helps customers embrace a cloud native approach with on-demand access to a dedicated team of highly skilled cloud architects and engineers. These offerings differentiate us from legacy IT service providers that operate under long-term fixed and project-based fee structures often tethered to their existing technologies with less automation.
Business Mix Shift
The mix of revenue within our Multicloud Services segment has shifted in recent years, from mature offerings such as managed hosting and colocation to managed public cloud services. Since the mature offerings are hosted on our own infrastructure, these offerings carry a higher gross margin, but also a higher burden on the company for operating expenses and capital expenditures. Conversely, as managed public cloud services are hosted on third-party infrastructure, these services carry a lower gross margin, but also a correspondingly lower operating expense and capital expenditure burdens. As a result, despite the difference in gross margins between the mature offerings and the growth offerings, the operating margins for the different classes of offerings is relatively similar.
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Shift in Capital Intensity
In recent years, the mix of our consolidated revenues has shifted from high capital intensity service offerings to low capital intensity service offerings and we expect this mix shift to continue. Historically, we primarily offered managed hosting and OpenStack Public Cloud services to our customers, which required us to deploy servers and equipment to ensure adequate capacity for new customers and, in certain cases, on behalf of customers at the start or during the performance of a contract, resulting in a high level of anticipatory and success-based capital expenditures. Today, the vast majority of our revenue is derived from service offerings, such as managed public cloud services, application services and professional services, which have significantly lower success-based capital requirements because they allow us to leverage our partners’ infrastructure or technology to make our capital expenditures more efficient. As a result, we have recently experienced and expect to continue to experience changes in our capital expenditures requirements.
Our capital expenditures equaled 9%, 8% and 7% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2019 2020 and 2021, respectively. While there is some variability in capital expenditures from quarter to quarter due to timing of purchases, we expect to maintain or lower current capital intensity levels over the longer term.
Mergers and Acquisitions
We have completed and substantially integrated five acquisitions since 2017, including Onica, an AWS cloud services company that we acquired in the fourth quarter of 2019. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 16, "Acquisitions." We routinely evaluate potential acquisitions that align with our growth strategy. Our acquisitions in any period may impact the comparability of our results with prior and subsequent periods. The integration of acquisitions also requires dedication of substantial time and resources, and we may never fully realize synergies and other benefits that we expect. Acquisition purchase price accounting, which may require significant judgment, and amortization and depreciation of acquired assets, may result in our recording post-acquisition costs that are higher or lower than the underlying, steady state operating costs of the acquired business. Additionally, the terms of any such acquisition, particularly with respect to the treatment of deferred revenue, may adversely impact our post-acquisition recognition of revenue from the acquired business. Additionally, our acquired businesses or assets may not perform as we expect, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
Human Capital
Our ability to be successful and to execute on our strategies depends on our ability to hire and retain qualified employees. Like others in our industry, we are realizing higher than historical levels of voluntary attrition. As a result, we are accelerating our best shoring efforts and expanding the geographic reach of our recruiting pool. The company continues to enhance and develop programs to attract, retain and develop top talent.
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Key Operating Metrics
The following table and discussion present and summarize our key operating performance indicators, which management uses as measures of our current and future business and financial performance:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Bookings | $ | 700.7 | $ | 1,126.1 | $ | 1,030.5 | ||||
| Annualized Recurring Revenue | $ | 2,411.6 | $ | 2,711.1 | $ | 2,984.9 |
Bookings
We calculate Bookings for a given period as the annualized monthly value of our recurring customer contracts entered into during the period from (i) new customers and (ii) net upgrades by existing customers within the same workload, plus the actual (not annualized) estimated value of professional services consulting, advisory or project-based orders received during the period. “Recurring customer contracts” are any contracts entered into on a multi-year or month-to-month basis, but excluding any professional services contracts for consulting, advisory or project-based work.
Bookings for any period may reflect orders that we perform in the same period, orders that remain outstanding as of the end of the period and the annualized value of recurring month-to-month contracts entered into during the period, even if the terms of such contracts do not require the contract to be renewed. Bookings include net upgrades by existing customers within the same workload, but exclude net downgrades by such customers within that workload. Any customer that contracts for a new workload is considered a new customer and the entire value of the contract or upgrade is recorded in Bookings, irrespective of whether the same customer canceled or downgraded other workloads. Bookings also do not include the impact of any known contract non-renewals or service cancellations by our customers, except for positive net upgrades by existing customers. In cases where a new or upgrading customer enters into a multi-year contract, Bookings include only the annualized contract value. Bookings do not include usage-based fees in excess of contracted minimum commitments until actually incurred.
We use Bookings to measure the amount of new business generated in a period, which we believe is an important indicator of new customer acquisition and our ability to cross-sell new services to existing customers. Bookings are also used by management as a factor in determining performance-based compensation for our sales force. While we believe Bookings, in combination with other metrics, is an indicator of our near-term future revenue opportunity, it is not intended to be used as a projection of future revenue. Our calculation of Bookings may differ from similarly titled metrics presented by other companies.
Our Bookings were $700.7 million, $1,126.1 million and $1,030.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in Bookings from 2020 to 2021 is the result of the company’s focus in 2021 on growing revenue and profitability with the new customers onboarded in 2019 and 2020. Sales activities were previously heavily weighted towards new customer acquisition, and in particular infrastructure sales, which drives higher dollar bookings. While we continue to acquire new customers, we also aim to deepen relationships with these customers through high-margin services bookings. In addition, we are investing in initiatives to drive sales productivity improvements.
Annualized Recurring Revenue
We calculate ARR by annualizing our actual revenue from existing recurring customer contracts (as defined under “Bookings” above) for the most recently completed fiscal quarter. ARR is not adjusted for the impact of any known or projected future customer cancellations, service upgrades or downgrades or price increases or decreases.
We use ARR as a measure of our revenue trend and an indicator of our future revenue opportunity from existing recurring customer contracts, assuming zero cancellations. The amount of actual revenue that we recognize over any 12-month period is likely to differ from ARR at the beginning of that period, sometimes significantly. This may occur due to new Bookings, higher or lower professional services revenue, subsequent changes in our pricing, service cancellations, upgrades or downgrades and acquisitions or divestitures. For the avoidance of doubt, ARR for any period ending December 31 is calculated by annualizing our actual revenue from existing recurring customer contracts for the fourth quarter in that year. Our calculation of ARR may differ from similarly titled metrics presented by other companies.
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Our ARR was $2,411.6 million, $2,711.1 million and $2,984.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Key Components of Statement of Operations
Revenue
A substantial amount of our revenue, particularly within our Multicloud Services segment, is generated pursuant to contracts that typically have a fixed term (typically from 12 to 36 months). Our customers generally have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written notice prior to the end of the fixed term, though most of our contracts provide for termination fees in the event of cancellation prior to the end of their term, typically amounting to the outstanding value of the contract. These contracts include a monthly recurring fee, which is determined based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Our public cloud services within the Multicloud Services segment and most of our Apps & Cross Platform and OpenStack Public Cloud services generate usage-based revenue invoiced on a monthly basis and can be canceled at any time without penalty. We also generate revenue from usage-based fees and fees from professional services earned from customers using our hosting and other services. We typically recognize revenue on a daily basis, as services are provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for our services. Our usage-based arrangements generally include a variable consideration component, consisting of monthly utility fees, with a defined price and undefined quantity. Our customer contracts also typically contain service level guarantees, including with respect to network uptime requirements, that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and, with respect to certain products, we may offer volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for all of them as services are provided and earned.
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of usage charges for third-party infrastructure and personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation) for engineers, developers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to our customers. Cost of revenue also includes depreciation of servers, software and other systems infrastructure, data center rent and other infrastructure maintenance and support costs, including software license costs and utilities. Cost of revenue is driven mainly by demand for our services, our service mix and the cost of labor in a given geography.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of personnel costs (including salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation) for our sales force, executive team and corporate administrative and support employees, including our human resources, finance, accounting and legal functions. SG&A also includes R&D costs, repair and maintenance of corporate infrastructure, facilities rent, third-party advisory fees (including audit, legal and management consulting costs), marketing and advertising costs and insurance, as well as the amortization of related intangible assets and certain depreciation of fixed assets.
SG&A also includes transaction costs related to acquisitions and financings along with costs related to integration and business transformation initiatives which may impact the comparability of SG&A between periods. Employee related costs and other costs incurred, as discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 11, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan," are also included within SG&A.
Additionally, SG&A has historically included management fees. The management consulting agreements were terminated on August 4, 2020, and therefore no management fees will accrue or be payable for periods subsequent to that date, thereby reducing our SG&A expenses; however, we also expect certain of our other recurring SG&A costs to increase due to the expansion of accounting, legal, investor relations and other functions, incremental insurance coverage and other services needed to operate as a public company.
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Income taxes
Our income tax benefit (provision) and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. To date, we have recorded consolidated tax benefits, reflecting our net losses, though certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries have incurred corporate tax expense according to the relevant taxing jurisdictions. We are under certain domestic and foreign tax audits. Due to the complexity involved with certain tax matters, there is the possibility that the various taxing authorities may disagree with certain tax positions filed on our income tax returns. We believe we have made adequate provision for all uncertain tax positions. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Results of Operations
We discuss our historical results of operations, and the key components of those results, below. Past financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,707.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,009.5 | 100.0 | % | $ | 302.4 | 11.2 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (1,722.7) | (63.6) | % | (2,072.7) | (68.9) | % | (350.0) | 20.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 984.4 | 36.4 | % | 936.8 | 31.1 | % | (47.6) | (4.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (959.7) | (35.4) | % | (906.8) | (30.1) | % | 52.9 | (5.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | (52.4) | (1.7) | % | (52.4) | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | — | % | 19.9 | 0.7 | % | 19.9 | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 24.7 | 0.9 | % | (2.5) | (0.1) | % | (27.2) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (268.4) | (9.9) | % | (205.1) | (6.8) | % | 63.3 | (23.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on investments, net | 0.7 | 0.0 | % | (3.0) | (0.1) | % | (3.7) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Debt modification costs and extinguishment loss | (71.5) | (2.6) | % | (37.5) | (1.2) | % | 34.0 | (47.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 2.5 | 0.1 | % | (1.0) | (0.0) | % | (3.5) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (336.7) | (12.4) | % | (246.6) | (8.2) | % | 90.1 | (26.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (312.0) | (11.5) | % | (249.1) | (8.3) | % | 62.9 | (20.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 66.2 | 2.4 | % | 30.8 | 1.0 | % | (35.4) | (53.5) | % | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245.8) | (9.1) | % | $ | (218.3) | (7.3) | % | $ | 27.5 | (11.2) | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased $302 million, or 11.2%, to $3,010 million in 2021 from $2,707 million in 2020. Revenue was positively impacted by new customer acquisition and growing customer spend in our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue increased 10.1% year-over-year. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2020 | 2021 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,141.5 | $ | 2,449.1 | 14.4 | % | 13.2 | % | |||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 336.6 | 377.6 | 12.2 | % | 11.6 | % | |||||||
| Core Revenue | 2,478.1 | 2,826.7 | 14.1 | % | 13.0 | % | |||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 229.0 | 182.8 | (20.2) | % | (21.3) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,707.1 | $ | 3,009.5 | 11.2 | % | 10.1 | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
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Multicloud Services revenue in 2021 increased 14% on an actual basis, and 13% on a constant currency basis, from 2020. Underlying growth was primarily driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers. Growth offerings such as managed public cloud services and Rackspace Services for VMware Cloud represented approximately 75% of the Multicloud Services segment in 2021, and revenue from these growth offerings increased 30% in 2021 compared to 2020. This growth was partially offset by a decrease in revenue from mature offerings such as managed hosting and colocation services.
Apps & Cross Platform revenue in 2021 increased 12%, on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2020, due to growth in our offerings for managed security and management of productivity and collaboration applications, partially offset by a decrease in professional services revenue.
OpenStack Public Cloud revenue in 2021 decreased 20% on an actual basis, and 21% on a constant currency basis, from 2020 due to customer churn.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $350 million, or 20%, to $2,073 million in 2021 from $1,723 million in 2020, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings and the impact of an increased volume of larger, multi-year customer contracts which typically have a larger infrastructure component and lower margins. The increase in third-party infrastructure was partially offset by a decline in personnel costs primarily due to cost savings as a result of shifting roles to lower-cost locations as part of our continued focus on business optimization initiatives, including the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. Depreciation expense also decreased between periods primarily related to certain property, equipment and software reaching the end of its useful life for depreciation purposes as we shift towards faster-growing, value-added service offerings which have significantly lower capital requirements than our legacy capital-intensive revenue streams. Additionally, in March 2021, we completed an assessment of the useful lives of certain customer gear equipment, which resulted in a revision of certain useful lives within our policy ranges, further contributing to the reduction in depreciation expense. We also had year-over-year expense reductions in data center and license expenses as a result of initiatives to lower our cost structure, which included the consolidation of data center facilities and optimizing our vendor license spending.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 530 basis points in 2021 to 68.9% from 63.6% in 2020, primarily driven by a 1,270 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure, partially offset by a decrease related to personnel costs, depreciation, data center, and license expense.
Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit
Our consolidated gross profit was $937 million in 2021, a decrease of $48 million from $984 million in 2020. Our Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $996 million in 2021, a decrease of $30 million from $1,026 million in 2020. Non-GAAP Gross Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information. Our consolidated gross margin was 31.1% in 2021, a decrease of 530 basis points from 36.4% in 2020.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2020 | 2021 | ||||
| Total consolidated gross profit | $ | 984.4 | $ | 936.8 | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 14.5 | 16.7 | ||||
| Other compensation expense (1) | 5.9 | 2.7 | ||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (2) | 5.9 | 4.7 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (3) | 15.3 | 35.5 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,026.0 | $ | 996.4 |
| (1) | Adjustments for retention bonuses, mainly in connection with restructuring and transformation projects, and the related payroll tax, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. |
|---|---|
| (2) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on expenses. |
| (3) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
Our segment gross profit and gross margin for the periods indicated, and the change in gross profit between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment gross profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 810.2 | 37.8 | % | $ | 793.4 | 32.4 | % | $ | (16.8) | (2.1) | % | ||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 115.5 | 34.3 | % | 135.9 | 36.0 | % | 20.4 | 17.7 | % | |||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 100.3 | 43.8 | % | 67.1 | 36.7 | % | (33.2) | (33.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,026.0 | $ | 996.4 | $ | (29.6) | (2.9) | % |
Multicloud Services gross profit decreased by 2% in 2021 from 2020. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 540 basis points, reflecting a 24% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 14% increase in segment revenue. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs due to the increase in revenue in our growth offerings resulting in a larger proportion of these services within this segment, partially offset by lower personnel, depreciation, data center and license expense.
Apps & Cross Platform gross profit increased 18% in 2021 from 2020. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue increased by 170 basis points, reflecting a 9% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 12% increase in segment revenue. The increase in cost of revenue was primarily driven by the segment’s higher business volume as well as higher third-party infrastructure costs.
OpenStack Public Cloud gross profit decreased 33% in 2021 from 2020 due to customer churn. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 710 basis points, reflecting a 20% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by a 10% decrease in segment cost of revenue.
The aggregate amount of costs reflected in consolidated gross profit but excluded from Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $59.6 million in 2021, an increase of $18.0 million from $41.6 million in 2020, reflecting higher restructuring and transformation expenses and share-based compensation, partially offset by lower purchase accounting adjustments and other compensation expense.
For more information about our segment gross profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 20, "Segment Reporting."
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses decreased $53 million, or 6%, to $907 million in 2021 from $960 million in 2020. The reduction was driven by costs incurred in the prior year related to Onica integration, IPO related expenses, and management consulting fees as the agreements were terminated in connection with the IPO. This reduction was partially offset by costs incurred in 2021 related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan including $25 million of restructuring charges accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. Other cost increases between periods include costs related to other business transformation initiatives and incremental costs to operate as a public company. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 11, "July 2021 Restructuring Plan" for additional information regarding the current period restructuring charges.
As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses decreased 530 basis points, to 30.1% in 2021 from 35.4% in 2020, for the reasons discussed above.
Impairment of Goodwill
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $52 million. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. There was no such impairment in 2020. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 5, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for further discussion.
Gain on Sale of Land
In January 2021, we recorded a $20 million gain related to the sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 4, "Property, Equipment and Software, net."
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $63 million to $205 million in 2021 from $268 million in 2020, primarily driven by a reduction in total debt outstanding and lower interest rates as a result of significant debt refinancing transactions between periods.
Debt Modification Costs and Extinguishment Loss
In 2021, we recorded $37 million and $0.5 million of debt modification costs and extinguishment loss related to the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility, respectively. In 2020, we recorded $72 million of debt modification costs and extinguishment loss related to the repayment of $1,120 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit decreased by $35 million to $31 million in 2021 from $66 million in 2020. Our effective tax rate decreased from 21.2% in 2020 to 12.4% in 2021. The decrease in the effective tax rate year-over-year is primarily due to the geographic distribution of profits, the tax impact associated with goodwill impairment and changes in income tax reserves. The difference between the effective rate for 2021 and the statutory rate is primarily due to the geographic distribution of profits, the tax impact associated with goodwill impairment and executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m) as a result of the IPO.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the specified periods, as well as changes between periods and as a percentage of revenue for those same periods (totals in table may not foot due to rounding):
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (In millions, except %) | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,438.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,707.1 | 100.0 | % | $ | 269.0 | 11.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue | (1,426.9) | (58.5) | % | (1,722.7) | (63.6) | % | (295.8) | 20.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 1,011.2 | 41.5 | % | 984.4 | 36.4 | % | (26.8) | (2.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | (911.7) | (37.4) | % | (959.7) | (35.4) | % | (48.0) | 5.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on divestiture | 2.1 | 0.1 | % | — | — | % | (2.1) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 101.6 | 4.2 | % | 24.7 | 0.9 | % | (76.9) | (75.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (329.9) | (13.5) | % | (268.4) | (9.9) | % | 61.5 | (18.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on investments, net | 99.5 | 4.1 | % | 0.7 | 0.0 | % | (98.8) | (99.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Debt modification costs and extinguishment gain (loss) | 9.8 | 0.4 | % | (71.5) | (2.6) | % | (81.3) | NM | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | (3.3) | (0.1) | % | 2.5 | 0.1 | % | 5.8 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (223.9) | (9.2) | % | (336.7) | (12.4) | % | (112.8) | 50.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (122.3) | (5.0) | % | (312.0) | (11.5) | % | (189.7) | 155.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | 20.0 | 0.8 | % | 66.2 | 2.4 | % | 46.2 | NM | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (102.3) | (4.2) | % | $ | (245.8) | (9.1) | % | $ | (143.5) | 140.3 | % |
NM = not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased $269 million, or 11.0%, to $2,707 million in 2020 from $2,438 million in 2019. Revenue was positively impacted by the acquisition of Onica in November 2019 as well as new customer acquisition and growing customer spend in our Multicloud Services and Apps & Cross Platform segments, as discussed below.
After removing the impact from foreign currency fluctuations, on a constant currency basis, revenue increased 10.9% year-over-year. On a constant currency basis, assuming the Onica acquisition was consummated on January 1, 2019, we estimate that our constant currency revenue would have increased by 6.0% year-over-year. Although such estimate of constant currency revenue is based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable, it is not necessarily indicative of the constant currency revenue that would have been achieved had such acquisition occurred on January 1, 2019. The following table presents revenue growth by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2019 | 2020 | Actual | Constant Currency (1) | |||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 1,832.6 | $ | 2,141.5 | 16.9 | % | 16.7 | % | |||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 319.2 | 336.6 | 5.4 | % | 5.4 | % | |||||||
| Core Revenue | 2,151.8 | 2,478.1 | 15.2 | % | 15.1 | % | |||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 286.3 | 229.0 | (20.0) | % | (20.1) | % | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,438.1 | $ | 2,707.1 | 11.0 | % | 10.9 | % |
(1) Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this section for further explanation and reconciliation.
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Multicloud Services revenue in 2020 increased 17%, on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2019, reflecting the positive impact of the November 2019 acquisition of Onica. Underlying growth was driven by both the acquisition of new customers and increased spend by existing customers, partially offset by cancellations by existing customers.
Apps & Cross Platform revenue in 2020 increased 5%, on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2019, due to growth in our offerings for management of productivity and collaboration applications, partially offset by a decrease in professional services revenue.
OpenStack Public Cloud revenue in 2020 decreased 20%, on an actual and constant currency basis, from 2019 due to customer churn.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $296 million, or 21%, to $1,723 million in 2020 from $1,427 million in 2019, primarily due to an increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure associated with growth in these offerings and the impact of an increased volume of larger, multi-year customer contracts which typically have a larger infrastructure component and lower margins. Personnel costs also increased, primarily due to the addition of former Onica employees and an increase in share-based compensation expense related to restricted stock granted to all eligible employees upon completion of the IPO, partially offset by a reduction in non-equity incentive bonus expense. The increase in third-party infrastructure and personnel costs was partially offset by a decrease in depreciation expense primarily related to certain property, equipment and software reaching the end of its useful life for depreciation purposes as we shift towards faster-growing, value-added service offerings which have significantly lower capital requirements than our legacy capital-intensive revenue streams. We also had year-over-year expense reductions in data center and license expenses as a result of initiatives to lower our cost structure, which included the consolidation of data center facilities and optimizing our vendor license spending.
As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased 510 basis points in 2020 to 63.6% from 58.5% in 2019, driven by a 1,030 basis point increase in usage charges for third-party infrastructure, partially offset by a 270 basis point decrease related to data center and license expenses and a 240 basis point reduction in depreciation expense.
Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit
Our consolidated gross profit was $984 million in 2020, a decrease of $27 million from $1,011 million in 2019. Our Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $1,026 million in 2020, a decrease of $13 million from $1,039 million in 2019. Non-GAAP Gross Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information. Our consolidated gross margin was 36.4% in 2020, a decrease of 510 basis points from 41.5% in 2019.
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The table below presents a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | ||||
| Total consolidated gross profit | $ | 1,011.2 | $ | 984.4 | ||
| Share-based compensation expense | 5.7 | 14.5 | ||||
| Other compensation expense (1) | 2.8 | 5.9 | ||||
| Purchase accounting impact on revenue (2) | (0.2) | — | ||||
| Purchase accounting impact on expense (2) | 9.6 | 5.9 | ||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (3) | 10.3 | 15.3 | ||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,039.4 | $ | 1,026.0 |
| (1) | Adjustments for retention bonuses, mainly in connection with restructuring and transformation projects, and the related payroll tax. |
|---|---|
| (2) | Adjustment for the impact of purchase accounting from the Rackspace Acquisition on revenue and expenses. |
| (3) | Adjustment for the impact of business transformation and optimization activities, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. |
Our segment gross profit and gross margin for the periods indicated, and the change in gross profit between periods is shown in the table below:
| Year Ended December 31, | Year-Over-Year Comparison | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | 2019 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment gross profit: | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % of Segment Revenue | Amount | % Change | ||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 774.7 | 42.3 | % | $ | 810.2 | 37.8 | % | $ | 35.5 | 4.6 | % | ||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 118.7 | 37.2 | % | 115.5 | 34.3 | % | (3.2) | (2.7) | % | |||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 146.0 | 51.0 | % | 100.3 | 43.8 | % | (45.7) | (31.3) | % | |||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ | 1,039.4 | $ | 1,026.0 | $ | (13.4) | (1.3) | % |
Multicloud Services gross profit increased by 5% in 2020 from 2019. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 450 basis points, reflecting a 26% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 17% increase in segment revenue. The increase in costs was mainly driven by higher third-party infrastructure costs and the addition of former Onica employees’ personnel costs. Partially offsetting the increase was lower depreciation and data center costs.
Apps & Cross Platform gross profit decreased by 3% in 2020 from 2019. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 290 basis points, reflecting a 10% increase in segment cost of revenue and a 5% increase in segment revenue. The increase in cost of revenue was driven by the segment’s higher business volume as well as investments to support more service-oriented offerings and higher third-party infrastructure costs.
OpenStack Public Cloud gross profit decreased 31% in 2020 from 2019 due to customer churn. Segment gross profit as a percentage of segment revenue decreased by 720 basis points, reflecting a 20% decrease in segment revenue, partially offset by an 8% decrease in segment cost of revenue.
The aggregate amount of costs reflected in consolidated gross profit but excluded from Non-GAAP Gross Profit was $41.6 million in 2020, an increase of $13.4 million from $28.2 million in 2019, reflecting higher restructuring and transformation expenses, share-based compensation and other compensation expense, partially offset by lower purchase accounting adjustments.
For more information about our segment gross profit, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 20, "Segment Reporting."
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $48 million, or 5%, to $960 million in 2020 from $912 million in 2019, due to costs related to business transformation initiatives, integrating Onica, and costs incurred related to the IPO, including incremental costs to operate as a public company, partially offset by a reduction in management consulting fees as the agreements were terminated in connection with the IPO. Personnel costs increased due to higher commissions expense, driven by Bookings growth, and share-based compensation expense, partially offset by lower severance expense and non-equity incentive bonus expense in 2020. Additionally, travel costs declined as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
As a percentage of revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 200 basis points, to 35.4% in 2020 from 37.4% in 2019, for the reasons discussed above, including a 150 basis points reduction in personnel costs, and further impacted by our revenue growth while other SG&A expenses decreased.
Gain on Divestiture
In March 2019, we recorded a $2 million gain related to the payment of a promissory note receivable that was issued in conjunction with the divestiture of our Mailgun business in 2017. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 15, "Divestitures," included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information on this transaction.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased $62 million to $268 million in 2020 from $330 million in 2019 primarily due to the January 2020 designation of certain of our interest rate swap agreements as cash flow hedges, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 17, "Derivatives." In 2019, we recorded $52 million of interest expense related to the change in the fair value of interest rate swaps compared to $14 million recorded to interest expense in 2020. Also contributing to the decrease in interest expense was the reduction in our total debt balance largely due to the repayment of $1,120 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes during 2020.
Gain on Investments, Net
Gain on investments was $1 million in 2020 compared to $100 million in 2019, driven by the realized gain on our investment in CrowdStrike of $97 million, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 6, "Investments."
Debt Modification Costs and Extinguishment Gain (Loss)
In 2020 we recorded $72 million of debt modification costs and extinguishment loss related to the repayment of $1,120 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes. We recorded a $10 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2019 related to repurchases of $77 million principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 7, "Debt" for further discussion.
Other Income (Expense), Net
We had $3 million of other income in 2020 compared to $3 million of other expense in 2019 primarily related to foreign currency transaction gains, partially offset by changes in the fair value of foreign currency derivatives, as further discussed in Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data- Note 17, "Derivatives."
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Benefit for Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit increased by $46 million to $66 million in 2020 from $20 million in 2019. Our effective tax rate increased from 16.4% in 2019 to 21.2% in 2020. The increase in the effective tax rate year-over-year and the difference between the effective tax rate for 2020 and the statutory rate are primarily due to the geographic distribution of profits and changes in income tax reserves, as well as executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m) as a result of the IPO.
For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory rate and further explanation of our benefit for income taxes, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 14, "Taxes."
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We track several non-GAAP financial measures to monitor and manage our underlying financial performance. The following discussion includes the presentation of constant currency revenue, Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of certain costs, losses and gains that are required to be included in our profit and loss measures under GAAP. Although we believe these measures are useful to investors and analysts for the same reasons they are useful to management, as discussed below, these measures are not a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP financial measures or disclosures. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. We have reconciled each of these non-GAAP measures to the applicable most comparable GAAP measure throughout this MD&A.
Constant Currency Revenue
We use constant currency revenue as an additional metric for understanding and assessing our growth excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on our international business operations. Constant currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period and is calculated by translating the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current period to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective period. We also believe this is an important metric to help investors evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods.
The following tables present, by segment, actual and constant currency revenue and constant currency revenue growth rates, for and between the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, 2020 | Year Ended December 31, 2021 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 2,141.5 | $ | 2,449.1 | $ | (23.9) | $ | 2,425.2 | 14.4 | % | 13.2 | % | |||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 336.6 | 377.6 | (2.1) | 375.5 | 12.2 | % | 11.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 229.0 | 182.8 | (2.6) | 180.2 | (20.2) | % | (21.3) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,707.1 | $ | 3,009.5 | $ | (28.6) | $ | 2,980.9 | 11.2 | % | 10.1 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, 2019 | Year Ended December 31, 2020 | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except %) | Revenue | Revenue | Foreign Currency Translation (a) | Revenue in Constant Currency | Actual | Constant Currency | |||||||||||||||
| Multicloud Services | $ | 1,832.6 | $ | 2,141.5 | $ | (1.8) | $ | 2,139.7 | 16.9 | % | 16.7 | % | |||||||||
| Apps & Cross Platform | 319.2 | 336.6 | (0.1) | 336.5 | 5.4 | % | 5.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| OpenStack Public Cloud | 286.3 | 229.0 | (0.2) | 228.8 | (20.0) | % | (20.1) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,438.1 | $ | 2,707.1 | $ | (2.1) | $ | 2,705.0 | 11.0 | % | 10.9 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (a) | The effect of foreign currency is calculated by translating current period results using the average exchange rate from the prior comparative period. |
Non-GAAP Gross Profit
We present Non-GAAP Gross Profit in this MD&A, which represents the total of our individual segment gross profit measures, because we believe the measure is useful in analyzing trends in our underlying, recurring gross margins. We define Non-GAAP Gross Profit as our consolidated gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense and other non-recurring or unusual compensation items, purchase accounting-related effects, and certain business transformation-related costs. For a reconciliation of total consolidated gross profit to Non-GAAP Gross Profit, see “Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Profit” in the year-over-year comparisons under "Results of Operations" above.
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Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA
We present Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA because they are a basis upon which management assesses our performance and we believe they are useful to evaluating our financial performance. We believe that excluding items from net income that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our core operating results, and that may vary in frequency or magnitude, enhances the comparability of our results and provides a better baseline for analyzing trends in our business.
The Rackspace Acquisition was structured as a leveraged buyout of Rackspace Technology Global, our predecessor, and resulted in several accounting and capital structure impacts. For example, the revaluation of our assets and liabilities resulted in a significant increase in our amortizable intangible assets and goodwill, the incurrence of a significant amount of debt to partially finance the Rackspace Acquisition resulted in interest payments that reflect our high leverage and cost of debt capital, and the conversion of Rackspace Technology Global’s unvested equity compensation into a cash-settled bonus plan and obligation to pay management fees to our equityholders resulted in new cash commitments. In addition, the change in ownership and management resulting from the Rackspace Acquisition led to a strategic realignment in our operations that had a significant impact on our financial results. Following the Rackspace Acquisition, we acquired several businesses, sold businesses and investments that we deemed to be non-core and launched multiple integration and business transformation initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of people and operations and identify recurring cost savings and new revenue growth opportunities. We believe that these transactions and activities resulted in costs, which have historically been substantial, and that may not be indicative of, or are not related to, our core operating results, including interest related to the incurrence of additional debt to finance acquisitions and third party legal, advisory and consulting fees and severance, retention bonus and other internal costs that we believe would not have been incurred in the absence of these transactions and activities and are also may not be indicative of, or related to, our core operating results.
We define Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation and cash charges related to the settlement of our predecessor’s equity plan, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, management fees, the amortization of acquired intangible assets and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, as well as the tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments.
We define Non-GAAP Operating Profit as income (loss) from operations, adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation and cash charges related to the settlement of our predecessor’s equity plan, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, management fees, the amortization of acquired intangible assets and certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash charges for share-based compensation and cash charges related to the settlement of our predecessor’s equity plan, special bonuses and other compensation expense, transaction-related costs and adjustments, restructuring and transformation charges, management fees, certain other non-operating, non-recurring or non-core gains and losses, interest expense, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization.
Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA are management’s principal metrics for measuring our underlying financial performance. Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA, along with other quantitative and qualitative information, are also the principal financial measures used by management and our board of directors in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.
These non-GAAP measures are not intended to imply that we would have generated higher income or avoided net losses if the Rackspace Acquisition and the subsequent transactions and initiatives had not occurred. In the future we may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit or Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss), Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by these items. Other companies, including our peer companies, may calculate similarly-titled measures in a different manner from us, and therefore, our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-tiled measures of other companies. Investors are cautioned against using these measures to the exclusion of our results in accordance with GAAP.
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The following tables present a reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income, Non-GAAP Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures:
Net loss reconciliation to Non-GAAP Net Income
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (102.3) | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 30.2 | 74.5 | 75.4 | |||||||
| Cash settled equity, special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 24.1 | 37.5 | 11.8 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 22.5 | 46.7 | 25.7 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 54.3 | 104.8 | 161.5 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 16.2 | 8.4 | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | 52.4 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | — | (19.9) | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | (101.6) | (0.7) | 3.0 | |||||||
| Debt modification costs and extinguishment (gain) loss (f) | (9.8) | 71.5 | 37.5 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net (g) | 3.3 | (2.5) | 1.0 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (h) | 167.5 | 176.3 | 179.7 | |||||||
| Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (i) | (42.0) | (119.4) | (103.3) | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income | $ | 62.4 | $ | 151.3 | $ | 206.5 |
Income (loss) from operations reconciliation to Non-GAAP Operating Profit
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | $ | 101.6 | $ | 24.7 | $ | (2.5) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 30.2 | 74.5 | 75.4 | |||||||
| Cash settled equity, special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 24.1 | 37.5 | 11.8 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 22.5 | 46.7 | 25.7 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 54.3 | 104.8 | 161.5 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 16.2 | 8.4 | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | 52.4 | |||||||
| Gain on divestiture | (2.1) | — | — | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | — | (19.9) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets (h) | 167.5 | 176.3 | 179.7 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP Operating Profit | $ | 414.3 | $ | 472.9 | $ | 484.1 |
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Net loss reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (102.3) | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 30.2 | 74.5 | 75.4 | |||||||
| Cash settled equity, special bonuses and other compensation expense (a) | 24.1 | 37.5 | 11.8 | |||||||
| Transaction-related adjustments, net (b) | 22.5 | 46.7 | 25.7 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transformation expenses (c) | 54.3 | 104.8 | 161.5 | |||||||
| Management fees (d) | 16.2 | 8.4 | — | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | 52.4 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of land | — | — | (19.9) | |||||||
| Net (gain) loss on divestiture and investments (e) | (101.6) | (0.7) | 3.0 | |||||||
| Debt modification costs and extinguishment (gain) loss (f) | (9.8) | 71.5 | 37.5 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net (g) | 3.3 | (2.5) | 1.0 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 329.9 | 268.4 | 205.1 | |||||||
| Benefit for income taxes | (20.0) | (66.2) | (30.8) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (j) | 496.0 | 466.2 | 421.4 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 742.8 | $ | 762.8 | $ | 725.8 |
| (a) | Includes expense related to the cash settlement of unvested equity awards that were outstanding at the consummation of the Rackspace Acquisition (amounting to $3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 and zero for all other periods), retention bonuses, mainly relating to restructuring and integration projects, and the related payroll tax, senior executive signing bonuses and relocation costs, and payroll taxes associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. The year ended December 31, 2020 also includes $13 million for one-time cash bonuses related to successful completion of the IPO. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Includes legal, professional, accounting and other advisory fees related to the acquisition of Onica in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the IPO in the third quarter of 2020, integration costs of acquired businesses, purchase accounting adjustments (including deferred revenue fair value discount), payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to supporting these projects and exploratory acquisition and divestiture costs and expenses related to financing activities. |
| (c) | Includes consulting and advisory fees related to business transformation and optimization activities, payroll costs for employees that dedicate significant time to these projects, as well as associated severance, facility closure costs and lease termination expenses. This amount also includes employee related costs and other costs related to the July 2021 Restructuring Plan of $25.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420. In addition, it includes certain costs associated with the July 2021 Restructuring Plan which are not accounted for as exit and disposal costs under ASC 420, including one-time offshore build out costs. |
| (d) | Represents historical management fees pursuant to management consulting agreements. The management consulting agreements were terminated effective August 4, 2020, and therefore no management fees have accrued or will be payable for periods after August 4, 2020. |
| (e) | Includes gains and losses on investment and from dispositions, including our investment in CrowdStrike realized in 2019. |
| (f) | Includes modification costs and extinguishment gains and losses related to repurchases of 8.625% Senior Notes, the February 2021 Refinancing Transaction and termination of the Receivables Financing Facility. |
| (g) | Reflects mainly changes in the fair value of foreign currency derivatives. |
| (h) | All of our intangible assets are attributable to acquisitions, including the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. |
| (i) | We utilize an estimated structural long-term non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide consistency across reporting periods, removing the effect of non-recurring tax adjustments, which include but are not limited to tax rate changes, U.S. tax reform, share-based compensation, audit conclusions and changes to valuation allowances. We used a structural non-GAAP tax rate of 26% for all periods which reflects the removal of the tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments and non-recurring tax adjustments on a year-over-year basis. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate our long-term non-GAAP tax rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments facilitates a better evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to prior periods. |
| (j) | Excludes accelerated depreciation expense related to facility closures. |
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Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share
We define Non-GAAP EPS as Non-GAAP Net Income divided by our GAAP average number of shares outstanding for the period on a diluted basis, after giving effect to the twelve-for-one stock split that was approved and effected by our board of directors on July 20, 2020, and further adjusted for the average number of shares associated with securities which are anti-dilutive to GAAP EPS but dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS. Management uses Non-GAAP EPS to evaluate the performance of our business on a comparable basis from period to period, including by adjusting for the impact of the issuance of shares that would be dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS. The following table reconciles Non-GAAP EPS to our GAAP net loss per share on a diluted basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (102.3) | $ | (245.8) | $ | (218.3) | ||||
| Non-GAAP Net Income | $ | 62.4 | $ | 151.3 | $ | 206.5 | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 165.3 | 179.6 | 208.0 | |||||||
| Effect of dilutive securities (a) | 0.6 | 3.7 | 4.2 | |||||||
| Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares - Diluted | 165.9 | 183.3 | 212.2 | |||||||
| Net loss per share - Diluted | $ | (0.62) | $ | (1.37) | $ | (1.05) | ||||
| Per share impacts of adjustments to net loss (b) | 1.00 | 2.21 | 2.04 | |||||||
| Per share impacts of shares dilutive after adjustments to net loss (a) | (0.00) | (0.01) | (0.02) | |||||||
| Non-GAAP EPS | $ | 0.38 | $ | 0.83 | $ | 0.97 |
| (a) | Reflects impact of awards that would have been anti-dilutive to Net loss per share, and therefore not included in the calculation, but would be dilutive to Non-GAAP EPS and are therefore included in the share count for purposes of this non-GAAP measure. Potential common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, vesting of restricted stock or purchase under the ESPP, as well as contingent shares associated with our acquisition of Datapipe. Certain of our potential common share equivalents are contingent on Apollo achieving pre-established performance targets based on a MOIC, which are included in the denominator for the entire period if such shares would be issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was the end of the contingency period. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Reflects the aggregate adjustments made to reconcile Non-GAAP Net Income to our net loss, as noted in the above table, divided by the GAAP diluted number of shares outstanding for the relevant period. |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
We primarily finance our operations and capital expenditures with internally-generated cash from operations and hardware leases, and if necessary, borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2021, the Revolving Credit Facility provided for up to $375 million of borrowings, none of which was drawn as of December 31, 2021. On June 29, 2021, as part of our on-going efforts to reduce debt, we entered into an agreement to voluntarily prepay and terminate the Receivables Financing Facility. As of December 31, 2021, we had no remaining outstanding balance under the Receivables Financing Facility. We believe our Revolving Credit Facility will provide sufficient liquidity, if needed, to cover amounts that we may have previously drawn upon under the terminated facility. Our primary uses of cash are working capital requirements, debt service requirements and capital expenditures. Based on our current level of operations and available cash, we believe our sources will provide sufficient liquidity over at least the next twelve months. We cannot provide assurance, however, that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the Revolving Credit Facility or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. Our ability to do so depends on prevailing economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change of control, we could be required to repay or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness, including the Senior Facilities, the 5.375% Senior Notes and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other similar transactions will likely require additional capital, and there can be no assurance that any such capital will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
From time to time, depending upon market and other conditions, as well as upon our cash balances and liquidity, we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may acquire (and have acquired) our outstanding debt securities or our other indebtedness through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, redemption or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as we, our subsidiaries or our affiliates may determine (or as may be provided for in the Indentures, if applicable), for cash or other consideration.
On August 7, 2020, we completed the IPO, in which we issued and sold 33,500,000 shares of our common stock at a public offering price of $21.00 per share. We received net proceeds of $667 million from sales of shares in the IPO, after deducting underwriters' discounts and commissions of $37 million, but before deducting offering expenses of $9 million. We used a portion of the net proceeds from the IPO to repurchase $601 million aggregate principal amount of the 8.625% Senior Notes for aggregate cash of $647 million, including related premiums, fees and expenses. The remaining amount of net proceeds were used for general corporate purposes.
On February 2, 2021, we issued 2,665,935 shares of common stock to DPH 123, LLC, an ABRY affiliate, for no additional consideration pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 6, 2017, (the "Datapipe Merger Agreement") in connection with our November 15, 2017 acquisition of Datapipe. We will be required to issue additional shares of our common stock to DPH 123, LLC based on the MOIC exceeding certain thresholds as defined in the Datapipe Merger Agreement. If the MOIC exceeds 3.0x, which is indicated by a volume weighted average trading price of our common stock over 30 consecutive trading days of more than $25.00, we will be required to issue an additional 2,665,935 shares.
At December 31, 2021, we held $273 million in cash and cash equivalents (not including $3 million in restricted cash, which is included in "Other non-current assets"), of which $137 million was held by foreign entities.
We have entered into installment payment arrangements with certain equipment and software vendors, along with sale-leaseback arrangements for equipment and certain property leases that are considered financing obligations. We had $111 million outstanding with respect to these arrangements as of December 31, 2021. We may choose to utilize these various sources of funding in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 9, "Financing Obligations" for more information regarding financing obligations.
We also lease certain equipment and real estate under operating and finance lease agreements. We had $585 million outstanding with respect to operating and finance lease agreements as of December 31, 2021. We may choose to utilize such leasing arrangements in future periods. Refer to Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 8, "Leases" for more information regarding our operating and finance leases.
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As of December 31, 2021, we had $3,383 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under our Term Loan Facility, 5.375% Senior Notes, and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, with $375 million of borrowing capacity available under the Revolving Credit Facility. Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to debt service requirements.
Debt
Senior Facilities
On November 3, 2016, in conjunction with the Rackspace Acquisition, we entered into the First Lien Credit Agreement with Citi as the administrative agent. The First Lien Credit Agreement included the Prior Term Loan Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2020, the Prior Term Loan Facility had an outstanding principal balance of $2,796 million and was set to mature on November 3, 2023. The Revolving Credit Facility had total commitments of $375 million, with no outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2020, and was set to mature on August 7, 2025.
On February 9, 2021, we amended and restated the First Lien Credit Agreement, which included a new seven-year $2,300 million senior secured first lien term loan facility (the Term Loan Facility) and our existing Revolving Credit Facility, which we refer to together as the Senior Facilities. We used the borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, together with the proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes described below, to repay all borrowings under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes. The Term Loan Facility will mature on February 15, 2028 and the maturity date of our existing Revolving Credit Facility did not change. We may request one or more incremental term loan facilities, one or more incremental revolving credit facilities and/or increase the commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility in an amount equal to the greater of $860 million and 1.0x Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the amended First Lien Credit Agreement), plus additional amounts, subject to compliance with applicable leverage ratios and certain terms and conditions.
Borrowings under the Senior Facilities bear interest at an annual rate equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (a) a LIBOR rate determined by reference to the costs of funds for Eurodollar deposits for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, adjusted for certain additional costs, subject to a 0.75% floor, in the case of the Term Loan Facility and a 1.00% floor, in the case of the Revolving Credit Facility, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate of Citi and (iii) the one-month adjusted LIBOR plus 1.00%. The applicable margin for the Term Loan Facility is 2.75% for LIBOR loans and 1.75% for base rate loans and the applicable margin for the Revolving Credit Facility is 3.00% for LIBOR loans and 2.00% for base rate loans. Interest is due at the end of each interest period elected, not exceeding 90 days, for LIBOR loans and at the end of every calendar quarter for base rate loans.
The Revolving Credit Facility also includes a commitment fee equal to 0.50% per annum in respect of the unused commitments that is due quarterly. This fee is subject to one step-down based on the net first lien leverage ratio.
As of December 31, 2021, the interest rate on the Term Loan Facility was 3.50% and the outstanding principal balance was $2,283 million. We are required to make quarterly principal payments in the amount equal to 0.25% of the original principal amount of the Term Loan Facility, or $5.8 million, which began on June 30, 2021, with the balance due at maturity on February 15, 2028.
We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate risk associated with interest payments on the Term Loan Facility that result from fluctuations in the LIBOR rate. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 17, "Derivatives" for more information on the interest rate swap agreements.
In addition to the quarterly amortization payments discussed above, our Senior Facilities require us to make certain mandatory prepayments, including using (i) a portion of annual excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, to prepay the Term Loan Facility, (ii) net cash proceeds of certain non-ordinary assets sales or dispositions of property to prepay the Term Loan Facility and (iii) net cash proceeds of any issuance or incurrence of debt not permitted under the Senior Facilities to prepay the Term Loan Facility. We can make voluntary prepayments at any time without penalty, except in connection with a repricing event, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement.
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Rackspace Technology Global, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is the borrower under the Senior Facilities, and all obligations under the Senior Facilities are (i) guaranteed by Inception Parent, Rackspace Technology Global’s immediate parent company, on a limited recourse basis and secured by the equity interests of Rackspace Technology Global held by Inception Parent and (ii) guaranteed by Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries and secured by substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interests held by each, in each case subject to certain exceptions.
During 2021, there were no borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and we had no outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility or letters of credit issued thereunder as of December 31, 2021.
3.50% Senior Secured Notes
On February 9, 2021, Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes will mature on February 15, 2028 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 3.50%. Interest is payable semiannually on each February 15 and August 15, commencing on August 15, 2021. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are not subject to registration rights. As noted above, we used the net proceeds from the issuance of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, together with borrowings under the Term Loan Facility described above, to repay all borrowings outstanding under the Prior Term Loan Facility, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.
Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, and obligations under the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 3.50% Senior Secured Notes and the related guarantees are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all material owned assets of Rackspace Technology Global and the subsidiary guarantors, including the equity interest held by each, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Senior Facilities.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: prior to February 15, 2024, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus the applicable premium described in the 3.50% Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2024 to February 14, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.750% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from February 15, 2025 to February 14, 2026, at a redemption price equal to 100.875% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from February 15, 2026 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Rackspace Technology Global may also redeem prior to February 15, 2024 up to 40.0% of the aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not to exceed the net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 103.500% of the principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Rackspace Technology Global may redeem during each twelve-month period, commencing with February 9, 2021, up to 10.0% of the original aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a redemption price of 103.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.
As of December 31, 2021, $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding.
5.375% Senior Notes
Rackspace Technology Global issued $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes on December 1, 2020. The 5.375% Senior Notes will mature on December 1, 2028 and bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.375% per year, payable semi-annually on each June 1 and December 1, commencing on June 1, 2021 through maturity. The proceeds of the 5.375% Senior Notes were used to fund the repurchase or redemption of all of our outstanding 8.625% Senior Notes and to pay related fees and expenses. The 5.375% Senior Notes are not subject to registration rights.
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Rackspace Technology Global is the issuer of the 5.375% Senior Notes, and obligations under the 5.375% Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by all of Rackspace Technology Global’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (as subsidiary guarantors) that guarantee the Senior Facilities. The 5.375% Senior Notes are effectively junior to the indebtedness under the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes, to the extent of the collateral securing the Senior Facilities and the 3.50% Senior Secured Notes. The 5.375% Notes Indenture describes certain terms and conditions under which other current and future domestic subsidiaries are required to become guarantors of the 5.375% Senior Notes.
Rackspace Technology Global may redeem the 5.375% Senior Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices: prior to December 1, 2023, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus the applicable premium described in the 5.375% Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, at a redemption price equal to 102.688% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025, at a redemption price equal to 101.344% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date; and from December 1, 2025 and thereafter, at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but excluding the redemption date. Rackspace Technology Global may also redeem prior to December 1, 2023 up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not to exceed the net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 105.375% of the principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date.
As of December 31, 2021, $550 million aggregate principal amount of the 5.375% Senior Notes remained outstanding.
Debt covenants
Our Term Loan Facility is not subject to a financial maintenance covenant. The Revolving Credit Facility included a financial maintenance covenant that limits the borrower's net first lien leverage ratio to a maximum of 5.00 to 1.00. The net first lien leverage ratio is calculated as the ratio of (x) the total amount of the borrower’s first lien debt for borrowed money (which is currently identical to the total amount outstanding under the Senior Facilities), less the borrower’s unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, to (y) consolidated EBITDA (as defined under the First Lien Credit Agreement governing the Senior Facilities). However, this financial maintenance covenant will only be applicable and tested if the aggregate amount of outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and letters of credit issued thereunder (excluding $25 million of undrawn letters of credit and cash collateralized letters of credit) as of the last day of a fiscal quarter is equal to or greater than 35% of the Revolving Credit Facility commitments as of the last day of such fiscal quarter. Additional covenants in the Senior Facilities limit our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt and liens, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The Indentures contains covenants that, among other things, limit our subsidiaries' ability to incur certain additional debt, incur certain liens securing debt, pay certain dividends or make other restricted payments, make certain investments, make certain asset sales and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, limitations, and qualifications as set forth in the Indentures. Additionally, upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the Indentures), we will be required to make an offer to repurchase all of the outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes and 3.50% Senior Secured Notes at a price in cash equal to 101.000% of the aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including the purchase date.
Our “consolidated EBITDA,” as defined under our debt instruments, is calculated in the same manner as our Adjusted EBITDA, presented elsewhere in this report, except that our debt instruments allow us to adjust for additional items, including certain start-up costs, and to give pro forma effect to acquisitions, including resulting synergies, and internal cost savings initiatives. In addition, under the Indentures, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA does not take into account substantially any changes in GAAP subsequent to the date of issuance, whereas under the Senior Facilities, the calculation of consolidated EBITDA takes into account the impact of certain changes in GAAP subsequent to the original closing date other than with respect to capital leases.
As of December 31, 2021, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Facilities and the Indentures.
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Capital Expenditures
The following table sets forth a summary of our capital expenditures for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Customer gear (1) | $ | 138.1 | $ | 127.2 | $ | 116.1 | ||||
| Data center build outs (2) | 9.0 | 15.3 | 12.5 | |||||||
| Office build outs (3) | 4.6 | 2.7 | 2.0 | |||||||
| Capitalized software and other projects (4) | 58.0 | 79.4 | 72.3 | |||||||
| Total capital expenditures | $ | 209.7 | $ | 224.6 | $ | 202.9 |
(1) Includes servers, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, backup libraries, storage arrays and drives and certain software that is essential to the functionality of customer gear, which we provide.
(2) Includes generators, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, mechanical and electrical plants, chillers, raised floor, network cabling, other infrastructure gear and other data center building improvements.
(3) Includes building improvements, raised floor, furniture and equipment.
(4) Includes salaries and payroll-related costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects, purchased software licenses and other projects that meet the criteria for capitalization.
Capital expenditures were $203 million in 2021, compared to $225 million in 2020, a decrease of $22 million. The decrease is due to the continued mix shift of our revenues from high capital intensity service offerings to low capital intensity service offerings.
Capital expenditures were $225 million in 2020, compared to $210 million in 2019, an increase of $15 million. The majority of the increase is due to the refresh of certain data center equipment within our normal maintenance cycle and multi-year agreements for software and customer licenses.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of certain cash flow information for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 292.9 | $ | 116.7 | $ | 370.8 | ||||
| Cash used in investing activities | $ | (386.5) | $ | (128.4) | $ | (69.0) | ||||
| Cash provided by (used in) financing activities | $ | (79.2) | $ | 29.9 | $ | (132.2) |
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities results primarily from cash received from customers, offset by cash payments made for employee and consultant compensation (less amounts capitalized related to internal-use software that are reflected as cash used in investing activities), data center costs, license costs, third-party infrastructure costs, marketing programs, interest, taxes, and other general corporate expenditures.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2021 increased $254 million, or 218%, from 2020. This increase was primarily driven by a $413 million increase in cash collections, primarily reflecting higher revenue levels and an increased focus on collection efforts with multiple large customers, and to a lesser extent, receiving prepayments. In addition, there was a $88 million decrease in debt interest payments due to lower interest rates on our long-term debt following various debt repurchase and refinancing transactions during the second half of 2020 and early 2021, and a $66 million decrease in employee-related payments due to a shift in headcount to our offshore service centers. These operating cash flow increases were partially offset by a $298 million increase in operating expense payments, largely for third-party infrastructure costs.
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2020 decreased $176 million, or 60%, from 2019. This decrease was due to a $400 million increase in operating expense payments, largely for third-party infrastructure costs, and a $70 million increase in employee-related payments, both reflecting the impact of the Onica acquisition. These variances were partially offset by a $261 million increase in cash collections, primarily reflecting higher revenue levels resulting from the acquisition of Onica, a $20 million decrease in debt interest payments and a $19 million decrease in obligations to settle share-based awards in connection with the Rackspace Acquisition, as the final payment was made during the three months ended March 31, 2019.
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Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities primarily consists of capital expenditures to meet the demands of our customer base and our strategic initiatives. The largest outlays of cash are for purchases of customer gear, data center and office build-outs, and capitalized payroll costs related to internal-use software development.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2021 decreased $59 million, or 46%, from 2020. This decrease was mainly due to net proceeds of $31 million from the January 2021 sale of a parcel of undeveloped land in the United Kingdom adjacent to one of our existing data centers. There was also a $10 million decrease in acquisitions, and a $8 million decrease in purchases of property, equipment, and software.
Net cash used in investing activities for 2020 decreased $258 million, or 67%, from 2019, mainly due to lower cash payments for acquisitions. Cash paid for the acquisition of Onica in 2019 was $316 million compared to $10 million paid for the acquisition of Bright Skies in 2020. In addition, there was an $82 million decrease in cash purchases of property, equipment and software, as we increased our usage of financing arrangements in place of upfront cash payments to procure capital assets. The impact of these decreases was partially offset by the receipt of $110 million in proceeds related to the sale of equity investments in 2019, including $107 million from the sale of our CrowdStrike investment, and the receipt of $17 million in proceeds in 2019 related to the repayment of a promissory note receivable issued in conjunction with the 2017 sale of our Mailgun business.
Cash Provided by or Used in Financing Activities
Financing activities generally include cash activity related to debt and other long-term financing arrangements (for example, finance lease obligations and financing obligations), including proceeds from and repayments of borrowings, and cash activity related to the issuance and repurchase of equity.
Net cash used in financing activities was $132 million for 2021 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $30 million for 2020. The change was primarily driven by net proceeds of $658 million from the IPO, including $9 million in offering fees paid, for 2020, partially offset by a $526 million decrease in net debt activity. Net payments for long-term debt activity were $599 million during 2020, which included $1,177 million of 8.625% Senior Notes repurchases, $29 million of repayments on our Prior Term Loan Facility, and $9 million in debt issuance costs paid, offset by proceeds from the issuance of our 5.375% Senior Notes, and borrowings of $65 million under the Receivables Financing Facility that remained outstanding at year-end. Net payments for long-term debt activity were $74 million during 2021, reflecting the refinancing of our Prior Term Loan Facility, a $65 million repayment related to the termination of our Receivables Financing Facility, and $35 million in debt issuance costs paid. In addition, there was a $30 million increase in proceeds from employee stock plans, a $27 million increase in payments for finance leases and the first three payments for the financing component of our interest rate swaps totaling $13 million during 2021, offset by proceeds from financing obligations of $21 million during 2020.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $30 million for 2020 compared to net cash used in financing activities of $79 million for 2019. The change was primarily driven by net proceeds of $658 million from the IPO, including $9 million in offering fees paid. In addition, we received proceeds of $31 million from employee stock plans and borrowed $65 million under our Receivables Financing Facility in 2020. These net cash inflows were offset by net repayments on senior notes of $627 million, reflecting the repurchase of our 8.625% Senior Notes and issuance of 5.375% Senior Notes, compared to $66 million in 8.625% Senior Notes repurchases in 2019. In addition, there was a $42 million decrease in proceeds from other financing obligations and a $32 million increase in payments for other financing obligations in 2020 from 2019.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
During the periods presented, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities. These entities are typically established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
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We have entered into various indemnification arrangements with third parties, including vendors, customers, landlords, our officers and directors, stockholders of acquired companies and third parties to whom and from whom we license technology. Generally, these indemnification agreements require us to reimburse losses suffered by third parties due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement or our negligence. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions by us, our employees, agents or representatives. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements. To date, we have not incurred material costs as a result of such obligations and have not accrued any material liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in our consolidated financial statements. See Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 10, "Commitments and Contingencies" for more information related to these indemnification arrangements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We consider accounting estimates that require significant management judgment to be critical accounting estimates. We review our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including those related to business combinations, revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, contingencies, share-based compensation and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to determine the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
Business Combinations
Mergers and acquisitions are accounted for using the acquisition method, in accordance with accounting guidance for business combinations. Under the acquisition method, we allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the tangible and intangible assets acquired (“identifiable assets”) and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. When determining the fair values of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, including contingent consideration when applicable, management makes significant estimates and assumptions.
Critical estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include but are not limited to discount rates and future expected cash flows from customer relationships and developed technology. The fair value of equity and contingent consideration includes estimates and judgments related to the discount rates and future discounted cash flows based on management’s internal forecasts, timing of achievement of milestones and probability-weighted scenarios. Management’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable, but which are inherently uncertain and unpredictable and, as a result, may differ from estimates.
Other estimates associated with the accounting for acquisitions may change as additional information becomes available regarding the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed.
Revenue Recognition
We provide cloud computing to customers, which is broadly defined as the delivery of computing, storage and applications over the Internet. Cloud computing is a service transaction under which the services we provide vary on a daily basis. The totality of services provided represent a single integrated solution tailored to the customer’s specific needs. As such, our performance obligations to our customers consist of a single integrated solution delivered as a series of distinct daily services. We recognize revenue on a daily basis as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for the services.
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Our usage-based arrangements generally include variable consideration components consisting of monthly utility fees with a defined price and undefined quantity. Additionally, our contracts contain service level guarantees that provide discounts when we fail to meet specific obligations and certain products may include volume discounts based on usage. As these variable consideration components consist of a single distinct daily service provided on a single performance obligation, we account for this consideration as services are provided and earned.
Our largest source of revenue relates to fees associated with certain arrangements within our Multicloud Services offerings that generally have a fixed term, typically from 12 to 36 months with a monthly recurring fee based on the computing resources utilized and provided to the customer, the complexity of the underlying infrastructure and the level of support we provide. Contracts for our service offerings falling within our Apps & Cross Platform and OpenStack Public Cloud segments and public cloud service offerings within our Multicloud Services segment typically operate on a consumption model and can be canceled at any time without penalty.
We also provide customers with professional services for the design and implementation of application, security and data services. Professional service contracts are either fixed-fee or time-and-materials based. We typically consider our professional services to be a separate performance obligation from other integrated solutions being provided to the same customer. Our performance obligations under these arrangements are typically to provide the services on a daily basis over a period of time and we recognize revenue as the services are performed.
We offer customers the flexibility to select the best combination of resources in order to meet the requirements of their unique applications and provide the technology to seamlessly operate and manage multiple cloud computing environments. Judgment is required in assessing whether a service is distinct, including determination of whether the customer could benefit from the service on its own or in conjunction with other readily available resources and whether certain services are highly integrated into a bundle of services that represent the combined output specified by the customer. Arrangements can contain multiple performance obligations that are distinct, which are accounted for separately. Each performance obligation is recognized as services are provided based on their SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each of our distinct performance obligations. We utilize a range of prices when developing our estimates of SSP. We determine the range of prices for estimating SSP for all our performance obligations using observable inputs, such as standalone sales and historical contract pricing. Our estimates of SSP are updated quarterly.
In addition, our customer agreements provide that we will achieve certain service levels related primarily to network uptime, critical infrastructure availability and hardware replacement. We may be obligated to provide service credits for a portion of the service fees paid by our customers to the extent that such service levels are not achieved or are otherwise disputed. Credit memos are recognized in the period of service to which they relate.
Revenue recognition for revenue generated from arrangements in which we resell third-party infrastructure bundled with our managed services, requires judgment to determine whether revenue can be recorded at the gross sales price or net of third-party fees. Typically, revenue is recognized on a gross basis when it is determined that we are the principal in the relationship. We are considered the principal in the relationship when we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the contract and obtain control of the third-party infrastructure before transferring it as an integral part of our performance obligation to provide services to the customer. Revenue is recognized net of third-party fees when we determine that our obligation is only to facilitate the customers’ purchase of third-party infrastructure.
Valuation of Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
We record an allowance for doubtful accounts on trade accounts receivable for estimated losses resulting from uncollectible receivables. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowance, we consider historical bad debt write-offs and all known facts and circumstances such as current economic conditions and trends, customer creditworthiness and specifically identified customer risks. If actual collections of customer receivables differ from our estimates, additional allowances may be required which could have an impact on our results of operations.
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Property, Equipment and Software and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
In providing services to our customers, we utilize significant amounts of property, equipment and software, which we depreciate on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite-lived intangible assets are primarily comprised of customer relationships and are stated at their acquisition-date fair value less accumulated amortization. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Property and equipment under operating and finance leases are included within “Operating right-of-use assets” and “Property, equipment and software, net,” respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Operating right-of-use assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term whereas finance lease assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term. We routinely review the estimated useful lives of our property, equipment and software and definite-lived intangible assets (“long-lived assets”). A change in the useful life of a long-lived asset is treated as a change in accounting estimate in the period of change and future periods.
Long-lived assets, including operating right-of-use assets and finance lease assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured at the asset group level and if the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
We capitalize the salaries and related compensation costs of employees and consultants who devote time to the development of certain internal-use software projects. Judgment is required in determining whether an enhancement to previously developed software is significant and creates additional functionality to the software, thus resulting in capitalization. All other software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the software, which is generally three years; however, we evaluate the nature and utility of each project which can result in a useful life ranging between one and five years on certain projects.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Our indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of our Rackspace trade name, which was recorded at fair value on our balance sheet at the date of the Rackspace Acquisition.
Application of the goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. We test goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Rackspace trade name, for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1st or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, regulatory environment, established business plans, operating performance indicators or competition. Potential impairment indicators may also include, but are not limited to, (i) the results of our most recent annual or interim impairment testing, (ii) downward revisions to internal forecasts, and the magnitude thereof, if any, and (iii) declines in our market capitalization below our book value, and the magnitude and duration of those declines, if any.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component). We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Assets and liabilities are assigned to each of our reporting units if they are employed by a reporting unit and are considered in the determination of the reporting unit fair value. Certain assets and liabilities are shared by multiple reporting units, and thus, are allocated to each reporting unit based on the relative size of a reporting unit, primarily based on revenue. We have three reporting units: Multicloud Services, Apps & Cross Platform and OpenStack Public Cloud.
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We estimate the fair values of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name using the discounted cash flow method and relief-from-royalty method, respectively. These calculations require the use of significant estimates and assumptions, such as: (i) the forecasted royalty rate; (ii) the estimation of future revenue and projected margins, which are dependent on internal cash flow forecasts; (iii) estimation of the terminal growth rates and capital spending; and (iv) determination of discount rates. The discount rates used are based on our weighted average cost of capital and are adjusted for risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and in our estimation of future cash flows. As part of the goodwill impairment test, we also consider our market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the combined fair values estimated for our reporting units. The estimates and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our reporting units and the Rackspace trade name from year to year are based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could produce materially different results.
As a result of our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the fourth quarter of 2021, we determined that the carrying amount of our OpenStack Public Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $52.4 million. The impairment was driven by deteriorating forecasted margins and cash flows within the reporting unit primarily due to operating costs declining at a slower rate than previously anticipated even after factoring in the long term impacts of the July 2021 Restructuring Plan. The results of our goodwill impairment test for the year ended December 31, 2020 did not indicate any impairments of goodwill. As of December 31, 2021, the carrying amount of goodwill was $2,706.8 million.
Contingencies
We accrue for contingent obligations when the obligation is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. As facts concerning contingencies become known, we reassess our position and make appropriate adjustments to the recorded accrual. Estimates that are particularly sensitive to future changes include those related to tax, legal and other regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation and enforcement of international laws, and the impact of local economic conditions and practices, which are all subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation process. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Share-Based Compensation
We account for share-based awards under the recognition and measurement provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the underlying common stock and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options with vesting conditions dependent upon market performance is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Determining the grant date fair value of share-based awards with performance vesting conditions and the probability of such awards vesting requires judgment.
Prior to the completion of the IPO on August 7, 2020, there had been no public market for our common stock since the Rackspace Acquisition in 2016. The estimated fair value of our common stock was determined by our board of directors as of the grant date of each option grant, with input from management, including consideration of our most recent third-party valuations of our common stock, which were completed periodically throughout the fiscal year.
The third-party valuation specialists used the Income Approach to estimate the value of our equity. Within the Income Approach, the valuation specialists relied upon the Discounted Cash Flow (“DCF”) method, which focused on our estimated expected cash flow available for distribution to the equityholders. The DCF calculation was prepared based on detailed revenue and expense projections prepared by management as part of its annual budgeting process and reflected the financial and operational facts and circumstances specific to our company. Significant assumptions impacting the DCF calculation also included expected future capital expenditures, our long-term growth rate, and the applicable discount rate. For purposes of capturing the dilution from outstanding options, the valuation utilized the Option-Pricing Method. The Option-Pricing Method depended on key assumptions regarding the volatility and time to a liquidity event but did not require explicit estimates of the possible future outcomes. The input and assumptions used in this calculation were total equity value, time to liquidity, expected volatility and dividends, which were all determined by management. A discount for lack of marketability was not applied as its impact was already reflected in the equity value through the discount rate, given that there were no differential rights attributable to different shareholders (as we have only one class of shares). These estimates were complex, involved a number of variables, uncertainties and assumptions and the application of management’s judgment, as they were inherently subjective.
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Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgments and estimates are required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
Our effective tax rates may differ from the statutory rate for various reasons, including differences due to the tax impact of foreign operations, R&D tax credits, state taxes, contingency reserves for uncertain tax positions, certain benefits realized related to share-based compensation, executive compensation that is nondeductible under IRC Section 162(m), changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, or from changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof. In addition, we are frequently subject to examination of our income tax returns by the IRS, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customer and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
For a description of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and issued, see Item 8 of Part II, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1, "Company Overview, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies."
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