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    Matthew Niknam • Deutsche Bank

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked for the key drivers behind the raised top-line outlook and questioned the source of the strong cash flow from operations, specifically regarding working capital.

    Answer

    CEO Satish Dhanasekaran attributed the guidance raise to first-half outperformance and a strong backlog and pipeline, noting the market is on the slow, gradual recovery trajectory they expected. CFO Neil Dougherty explained the strong cash flow was due to a ~$60 million gain on a hedge for the Spirent acquisition, working capital improvements including lower inventory and DSO, and lower tax payments.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked for the sources of incremental improvement that led to the raised revenue outlook and questioned the drivers behind the significantly stronger cash flow from operations.

    Answer

    CEO Satish Dhanasekaran attributed the raised outlook to strong first-half performance and a robust pipeline, aligning with their expectation of a gradual market recovery. CFO Neil Dougherty explained that the strong cash flow was boosted by a ~$60 million gain on a hedge related to the Spirent acquisition, working capital improvements including lower inventory and DSO, and reduced tax payments.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam requested a framework for thinking about fiscal Q2 orders sequentially, considering ESI's seasonality. He also asked about the potential risk to the aerospace and defense business from continuing resolutions and the new administration.

    Answer

    CFO Neil Dougherty explained that Q2 orders would see a typical mid-single-digit sequential increase for the core business, offset by a seasonal pullback from ESI, which books about half its orders in Q1. CEO Satish Dhanasekaran noted that A&D risk is mitigated by record-level prime contractor backlogs and rising global defense spending, though the direct government RDT&E budget is being monitored.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank asked for commentary on the evolving macro backdrop, noting strength in some areas versus softness in others like automotive. He also inquired about what drove the strong Q4 close in Aerospace & Defense and if that momentum continued into Q1.

    Answer

    Executive Neil Dougherty confirmed a mixed macro environment, identifying automotive as facing the most pressure from reduced EV development spending. Executive Mark Wallace attributed the strong ADG finish to a year-end government spending catch-up after earlier budget delays. He added that long-term drivers like defense modernization, space, and quantum research continue to present ongoing opportunities.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam from Deutsche Bank asked about the key factors driving Cisco's sustained success with web-scale customers and the pace of the market's transition from InfiniBand to Ethernet.

    Answer

    CEO Chuck Robbins explained that the transition to Ethernet was always the customers' intent, pending technological readiness. He credited Cisco's initial entry to the demand for silicon diversity and identified the company's proprietary Silicon One platform as the crucial long-term differentiator for winning in the competitive web-scale market.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank inquired about the key drivers for Cisco's sustained success in the web-scale market, the pace of the industry's transition from InfiniBand to Ethernet, and Cisco's primary differentiators.

    Answer

    CEO Chuck Robbins explained that the transition to Ethernet was always the customers' intent, and the technology is now mature enough for AI training models. He identified silicon diversity via Cisco's Silicon One as the crucial long-term differentiator, which was the key to gaining initial entry and is now vital as customers deploy their own operating systems.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank asked for an update on the macroeconomic environment's evolution over the past three months and whether the U.S. election was causing any hesitation or changes in customer buying behavior.

    Answer

    CEO Chuck Robbins stated that the primary macro challenge was in the U.S. Federal sector, impacted by continuing resolution discussions and the Fiscal Responsibility Act. He noted these deals are considered delayed, not lost. Excluding the U.S. Federal impact, organic product order growth was strong in the mid-to-high teens, with balanced strength across geographies and a strong recovery in the enterprise segment. The executives reported no other significant election-related impacts.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Ingram Micro Holding Corp (INGM) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Ingram Micro Holding Corp (INGM) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked if the Q1 strength in client and endpoint solutions was primarily driven by the PC refresh cycle and whether this trend continued into April, particularly among large enterprises. He also requested an update on the competitive environment in India.

    Answer

    CEO Paul Bay confirmed the strength was largely due to the desktop and notebook refresh, which grew even faster than the overall client endpoint solutions category. He stated these trends continued into early Q2 and were concentrated among customers serving the large enterprise market. Regarding India, Bay and CFO Mike Zilis described the market as still competitive, primarily from local distributors, but stabilizing. They reiterated their focus on 'quality of earnings' and noted the negative EPS impact from India is tracking as expected and should normalize in the second half of the year.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Ingram Micro Holding Corp (INGM) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank asked if the softness in the public sector was a transitory, U.S.-specific issue. He also inquired about the outlook for working capital and operating cash flow in Q1.

    Answer

    CEO Paul Bay stated the public sector weakness was a global phenomenon, with double-digit declines in Q4, but he expects it to start recovering. CFO Michael Zilis explained that Q1 is a seasonal collection period for cash flow and reiterated the long-term goal of converting over 30% of EBITDA to free cash flow annually, while balancing investments for growth.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked for an update on the macroeconomic environment and its effect on customer spending plans and sales cycles across cloud, enterprise, and service provider segments.

    Answer

    CEO Jayshree Ullal stated that despite negative headlines, Arista is not seeing any signs of a recession and is instead experiencing strong demand. CFO Chantelle Breithaupt corroborated this, noting strong momentum across campus, enterprise new logo wins, and providers, with no recessionary trends appearing in customer conversations.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Arista Networks Inc (ANET) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked for an update on capital allocation priorities for 2025, given Arista's balance sheet now holds over $8 billion in cash and equivalents.

    Answer

    CFO Chantelle Breithaupt stated that the capital allocation strategy remains unchanged for FY25. The priorities, in order, are: investing cash for a respectable return, share repurchases, and organic investments to scale the company (R&D, sales). She noted that sizable M&A activity remains the lowest priority.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked for an update on the M&A environment, including opportunities and valuations, and inquired if increased defense spending in Europe could create incremental opportunities for the company.

    Answer

    Chairman and CEO Gregory Brown stated that M&A discussions are active with more realistic valuations, highlighting the recent acquisitions of RapidDeploy and Theatro. On Europe, Brown agreed that increased defense spending is a favorable trend. EVP and COO Jack Molloy elaborated on their work with Germany's Ministry of Defence and noted strong interest in border security solutions leveraging their thermal video technology.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to CommScope Holding Company Inc (COMM) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to CommScope Holding Company Inc (COMM) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank questioned whether the strong revenue inflection in the Ruckus business was primarily cyclical due to channel inventory normalization or if it reflected market share gains from competitor uncertainty. He also asked for the expected trajectory of free cash flow following the Q1 cash burn to meet the full-year breakeven target.

    Answer

    CEO Chuck Treadway attributed the Ruckus growth to a combination of factors: channel inventories normalizing, traction from new products like Ruckus One, a vertical go-to-market strategy, and potential benefits from uncertainty surrounding a competitor's merger. CFO Kyle Lorentzen stated that the free cash flow trajectory would be similar to past years, with cash generation weighted heavily to the second half of the year, particularly Q4.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to CommScope Holding Company Inc (COMM) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam inquired about the company's confidence in its 2025 core adjusted EBITDA guidance, given the expected ramp-up after Q1, and asked about potential tariff impacts on its manufacturing operations.

    Answer

    President and CEO Chuck Treadway expressed high confidence in the guidance, citing strong 2024 exit rates, positive customer conversations, and key growth drivers in the data center and FDX product launches. Regarding tariffs, he stated they are not baked into the outlook, noted the primary exposure is Mexico (similar to competitors), and mentioned the company is evaluating price increases and potential manufacturing moves as countermeasures.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to American Tower Corp (AMT) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to American Tower Corp (AMT) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked about American Tower's strategic focus, questioning whether the company is shifting from portfolio optimization to a globalization and cost-cutting strategy, and inquired about the expected cadence of U.S. colocation and amendment revenue for the upcoming year.

    Answer

    CEO Steven Vondran clarified that portfolio optimization is an ongoing process and that globalization is a separate, major focus to unlock cost synergies. CFO Rod Smith confirmed the full-year U.S. new business target of $165 million, noting strong services revenue is expected to continue in Q2 before potentially moderating, while new leasing revenue will likely see an acceleration in the second half of the year.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to SBA Communications Corp (SBAC) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to SBA Communications Corp (SBAC) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam inquired whether a choppy macro backdrop was lengthening sales cycles or causing U.S. carriers to reevaluate spending plans. He also asked for color on the mix of new lease colocations versus amendments signed in the first quarter.

    Answer

    President and CEO Brendan Cavanagh stated that SBA has not seen any impact on leasing discussions from the macro environment, though he acknowledged the situation is fresh. He noted that carrier network needs and competitive dynamics remain strong. He later clarified that new lease colocations represented approximately 75% of the new U.S. leasing revenue signed in Q1, a significant shift from prior periods.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to SBA Communications Corp (SBAC) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam requested commentary on the customer-specific activity baked into the 2025 leasing outlook and questioned why the 2025 services guidance is below the annualized Q4 2024 run rate.

    Answer

    President and CEO Brendan Cavanagh addressed the services outlook by confirming there were no one-time items in Q4 and that full-year guidance reflects some conservatism for the second half due to shorter contract cycles. On the leasing outlook, he declined to provide customer-specific details but confirmed that all three major national carriers are increasing activity, with DISH's contribution being much lower than in the past.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to SBA Communications Corp (SBAC) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam inquired about the drivers of the Q3 uptick in U.S. leasing activity, seeking an update on DISH's network activity, and asked for the current revenue mix between new co-locations and amendments.

    Answer

    President and CEO Brendan Cavanagh described the Q3 activity increase as broad-based across carriers. Regarding DISH, he viewed recent developments like regulatory relief and funding as long-term positives but noted the short-term impact on leasing remains uncertain. He specified that new leases accounted for just over 60% of new business revenue in the quarter.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked if the macro environment and tariff uncertainty have impacted customer demand, and whether HPE is factoring in any softness from the U.S. Federal sector due to the DOJ's Juniper lawsuit.

    Answer

    CEO Antonio Neri stated that demand has not been negatively impacted, highlighting double-digit order growth across all business units in Q1. He noted it is too early to see the full market effect of tariffs. Regarding the federal sector, he said demand has not seen a significant slowdown, especially in critical agencies where HPE provides core infrastructure.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked about the constructive outlook for 2025 IT spending, inquiring what has changed in the macro environment recently and whether there has been any shift in customer behavior post-election.

    Answer

    President and CEO Antonio Neri noted that the macro environment has improved from a year ago. He identified key spending drivers as AI, hybrid cloud adoption, and cybersecurity. He also highlighted a server modernization cycle focused on efficiency and sustainability, and a networking catch-up cycle to support AI. He stated that for enterprises, the AI focus is on productivity and time-to-value, positioning HPE's innovation-led strategy to capture this demand.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Dell Technologies Inc (DELL) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Dell Technologies Inc (DELL) leadership • Q4 2025

    Question

    Matthew Niknam asked about Dell's confidence level in the long-awaited PC refresh materializing, especially as guidance implies an acceleration over the year despite a referenced slowdown in January.

    Answer

    COO and Vice Chairman Jeffrey Clarke expressed confidence, citing several catalysts. He noted the large installed base of PCs over four years old, the upcoming Windows 10 end-of-life affecting over 500 million PCs, and strength in the SMB segment as a leading indicator. He also highlighted that customer reticence is partly driven by the desire to wait for the newest AI PCs from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm, which will future-proof their investment, suggesting a delayed but definite refresh cycle.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Corning Inc (GLW) leadership

    Matthew Niknam's questions to Corning Inc (GLW) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam of Deutsche Bank questioned whether the prospect of new U.S. tariffs has pulled forward any customer demand and asked about the outlook for dividend growth, given the company's healthy balance sheet and share buybacks.

    Answer

    EVP and CFO Ed Schlesinger stated there is no significant direct impact from potential tariffs, as Corning manufactures locally. On the dividend, he noted that while future increases are not off the table, he would prefer to see the payout ratio decrease further first. Chairman and CEO Wendell Weeks added that there might be some indirect effects, such as stronger panel maker utilization in Display.

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    Matthew Niknam's questions to Corning Inc (GLW) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Matthew Niknam requested more context on the Q4 revenue guidance across segments and asked if the Lumen deal contributed to Q3 results or is expected to in Q4.

    Answer

    CFO Ed Schlesinger clarified that the Lumen deal had no impact in Q3 and is expected to have minimal to no impact in Q4, viewing it as a 2025-2026 opportunity. He highlighted that the Q4 guidance is stronger than typical seasonality (up sequentially vs. flat-to-down) due to broad positive momentum, particularly in Optical Communications.

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