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    Benjamin Bollin • Cleveland Research Company

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin requested more detail on the commentary regarding variability in customer acceptance clauses for product deferred revenue, particularly in the context of tariffs.

    Answer

    CFO Chantelle Breithaupt explained the comment was to provide transparency on tariff uncertainty, as customer pull-ins for new use cases could impact deferred revenue. CEO Jayshree Ullal provided an example of a customer needing to quickly deploy an AI cluster before a tariff deadline, illustrating how such scenarios can affect revenue recognition timing.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin inquired about the evolution of Arista's enterprise strategy within the Global 2000, especially as network refresh opportunities appear to be intensifying.

    Answer

    CEO Jayshree Ullal described the enterprise segment as a significant area of investment with a strong product portfolio that benefits from technology trickling down from the data center. She identified go-to-market execution as the primary focus, noting that customer count and project invitations within the G2000 have never been stronger. She also highlighted international expansion as a key area for improvement, with new leadership being put in place.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin asked for an update on state budget cycles and federal grant awards, and also requested a comparison between the current funding environment (like ARPA) and the narrowbanding mandate from the early 2010s.

    Answer

    EVP and COO Jack Molloy reported that public safety remains a priority, with state and local budgets looking 'very good' due to strong tax receipts. Chairman and CEO Gregory Brown described the current environment as more 'steady state' compared to past stimulus events. Molloy emphasized a key difference: narrowbanding was a federal mandate forcing upgrades, whereas ARPA funds were complementary and a small fraction of orders.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin of Cleveland Research Company asked for an early outlook on 2025, seeking details on overall revenue growth, segment performance, and the mix of recurring revenue.

    Answer

    Gregory Brown, Chairman and CEO, provided a preliminary 2025 revenue growth forecast of 5-6%, noting that Software and Services (S&S) is expected to grow at approximately twice the rate of the Products and SI segment. He highlighted that the total backlog is now expected to be up year-over-year. Jason Winkler, EVP and CFO, added that the company anticipates operating margin expansion in 2025, with S&S having a clean year-over-year comparison after the Airwave price control impact.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Garmin Ltd (GRMN) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Garmin Ltd (GRMN) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin asked for color on the differing performance across geographies, particularly the deceleration in the Americas versus strong growth in EMEA. He also questioned the drivers behind the raised guidance for the Fitness segment, given its Q1 run rate.

    Answer

    CEO Cliff Pemble explained that regional performance reflects the geographic concentration of certain segments. The Americas was influenced by slower growth in Marine and Aviation, which are large markets there. Conversely, EMEA's strength was driven by strong growth in advanced wearables and Auto OEM deliveries. For the Fitness segment, Pemble stated the guidance increase is due to a larger expected benefit from favorable foreign exchange and anticipated revenue from new product releases later in the year.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Garmin Ltd (GRMN) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin from Cleveland Research Company asked for clarification on the flat gross margin guidance for 2025, given the favorable revenue mix shift towards higher-margin segments. He also inquired about the drivers of strong EMEA performance and the long-term margin profile for the Auto OEM business.

    Answer

    CFO Douglas Boessen stated that while mix is a factor, variables like component costs and overhead lead to a projection of relatively consistent segment gross margins. CEO Clifton Pemble attributed EMEA's strength to a stronger market position for wearables (#2 in Europe vs. #3 in the Americas). For Auto OEM, he reaffirmed the long-term targets of mid-teens gross margin and mid-single-digit operating margin, supported by future program wins.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Garmin Ltd (GRMN) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin of Robert W. Baird & Co. inquired about the underlying growth drivers for Garmin's wearables, specifically the mix between new users and existing customer upgrades. He also asked for color on the factors behind improved gross margins and sought insight into retailer inventory commitments for the holiday season.

    Answer

    President and CEO Clifton Pemble responded that wearables growth is broad-based across many use cases and that registration data shows a majority of users are new to the Garmin ecosystem. He attributed stronger gross margins to lower material costs, favorable currency effects from the Taiwan dollar, and improved factory efficiencies. Pemble also confirmed that retailers are eager for Garmin's products and that channel inventory appears clean, setting up a good position for the holidays.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Nutanix Inc (NTNX) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Nutanix Inc (NTNX) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin from Cleveland Research Company asked about the flexibility of incentives, such as discounts and billing terms, for large competitive takeout projects and whether customers are showing a greater willingness to migrate from 3-tier to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI).

    Answer

    CFO Rukmini Sivaraman confirmed the use of thoughtful, onetime incentives for migrations and flexibility on billing terms, noting these are factored into guidance. CEO Rajiv Ramaswami explained that the competitive landscape is prompting customers to re-evaluate their entire IT stack, which is increasing interest in modern, hybrid multi-cloud platforms and driving a greater willingness to adopt HCI.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Nutanix Inc (NTNX) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin from Cleveland Research Company asked for a perspective on enterprise refresh behavior, specifically the 3-tier versus HCI trend, and the pace of on-premise AI deployments. He also requested an update on the pipeline growth for deals over $1 million.

    Answer

    CEO Rajiv Ramaswami stated that the value proposition of HCI over 3-tier architecture remains strong, tied to hardware refresh cycles. He characterized enterprise AI adoption as being in early stages, focused on inferencing on smaller clusters. CFO Rukmini Sivaraman added that the pipeline for large deals over $1 million continues to see nice growth, but did not provide a specific metric update.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Apple Inc (AAPL) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Apple Inc (AAPL) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Ben Bollin asked about the average useful life of Apple devices and whether the large volume of sales from fiscal 2021 could create an accelerated refresh opportunity.

    Answer

    CEO Tim Cook agreed that the large number of devices sold during the COVID period represents a 'huge opportunity' for the company to drive upgrades across multiple product categories in the future.

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    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (CHKP) leadership

    Benjamin Bollin's questions to Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (CHKP) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Benjamin Bollin of Cleveland Research Company asked how the Q4 guidance accounts for a potential budget flush compared to prior years and how the competitive landscape is influencing sales cycle duration and close rates.

    Answer

    CFO Roei Golan stated that the Q4 guidance does not assume a significant budget flush, though some is expected. He also confirmed that the company has not seen any significant changes in close rates or sales cycle duration this quarter, noting that while large, complex Infinity deals can naturally take longer, there is no unique trend to report.

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