Note 4 - Assets

Investments

Short-term investments are generally classified as available-for-sale and reported at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, presented as a separate component of stockholders’ equity under the caption “Accumulated other comprehensive income” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These securities may include U.S. treasuries, government agency securities, corporate debt, and commercial paper, all with maturities of greater than three months when purchased. All realized gains and losses and unrealized losses resulting from declines in fair value that are other than temporary are included in “Other, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Fair value is the price that would be received for an asset or the amount paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Veeco classifies certain assets based on the following fair value hierarchy:

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets that are unadjusted and accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

Level 2: Quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or financial instruments for which significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly; and

Level 3: Prices or valuations that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Veeco has evaluated the estimated fair value of financial instruments using available market information and valuations as provided by third-party sources. The use of different market assumptions or estimation methodologies could have a significant effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

The following table presents the portion of Veeco’s assets that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(in thousands)
March 31, 2018
Cash equivalents
U.S. treasuries	$	6,496	$	—	$	—	$	6,496

Total	$	6,496	$	—	$	—	$	6,496


Short-term investments
U.S. treasuries	$	42,228	$	—	$	—	$	42,228
Corporate debt	—		10,522		—		10,522
Commercial paper	—		12,380		—		12,380

Total	$	42,228	$	22,902	$	—	$	65,130


December 31, 2017
Cash equivalents
U.S. treasuries	$	12,490	$	—	$	—	$	12,490

Total	$	12,490	$	—	$	—	$	12,490

Short-term investments
U.S. treasuries	$	33,895	$	—	$	—	$	33,895
Corporate debt	—		10,886		—		10,886
Commercial paper	—		2,999		—		2,999

Total	$	33,895	$	13,885	$	—	$	47,780

There were no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the three months ended March 31, 2018.

At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the amortized cost and fair value of available-for-sale securities consist of:

			Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized			Estimated
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
	(in thousands)
March 31, 2018
U.S. treasuries	$	42,245	$	—	$	(17	)	$	42,228
Corporate debt	10,540		—		(18		)	10,522
Commercial paper	12,379		1		—			12,380

Total	$	65,164	$	1	$	(35	)	$	65,130


December 31, 2017
U.S. treasuries	$	33,914	$	—	$	(19	)	$	33,895
Corporate debt	10,894		—		(8		)	10,886
Commercial paper	2,999		—		—			2,999

Total	$	47,807	$	—	$	(27	)	$	47,780

Available-for-sale securities in a loss position at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consist of:

	March 31, 2018					December 31, 2017
			Gross					Gross
	Estimated		Unrealized			Estimated		Unrealized
	Fair Value		Losses			Fair Value		Losses
	(in thousands)
U.S. treasuries	$	37,275	$	(17	)	$	33,895	$	(19	)
Corporate debt	10,522		(18		)	10,886		(8		)

Total	$	47,797	$	(35	)	$	44,781	$	(27	)

At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, there were no short-term investments that had been in a continuous loss position for more than 12 months.

The maturities of securities classified as available-for-sale at March 31, 2018 were all due in one year or less. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties. There were no realized gains for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable is presented net of an allowance for doubtful accounts of $0.3 million at both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined on a first-in, first-out basis. Inventories at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consist of the following:

	March 31,		December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
Materials	$	70,621	$	59,919
Work-in-process	35,211		37,222
Finished goods	25,132		23,125

Total	$	130,964	$	120,266

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets primarily consist of supplier deposits, prepaid value-added tax, lease deposits, prepaid insurance, and prepaid licenses. Veeco had deposits with its suppliers of $11.5 million and $7.6 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consist of the following:

	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in thousands)
Land	$	5,669	$	5,669
Building and improvements	59,972		54,449
Machinery and equipment(1)	118,360		126,829
Leasehold improvements	9,523		10,073

Gross property, plant, and equipment	193,524		197,020
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	110,424		111,962

Net property, plant, and equipment	$	83,100	$	85,058

(1)

Machinery and equipment also includes software, furniture and fixtures

For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, depreciation expense was $4.2 million and $2.9 million, respectively.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the future economic benefits arising from assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. There were no changes to goodwill during the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist of purchased technology, customer relationships, patents, trademarks and tradenames, and backlog and are initially recorded at fair value. Long-lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives in a method reflecting the pattern in which the economic benefits are consumed or amortized on a straight-line basis if such pattern cannot be reliably determined.

The components of purchased intangible assets were as follows:

	March 31, 2018						December 31, 2017
			Accumulated						Accumulated
	Gross		Amortization				Gross		Amortization
	Carrying		and		Net		Carrying		and		Net
	Amount		Impairment		Amount		Amount		Impairment		Amount
	(in thousands)
Technology	$	307,588	$	142,209	$	165,379	$	307,588	$	133,121	$	174,467
Customer relationships	164,595		42,703		121,892		164,595		39,336		125,259
In-process R&D	43,340		—		43,340		43,340		—		43,340
Trademarks and tradenames	30,910		5,370		25,540		30,910		4,321		26,589
Other	3,686		3,526		160		3,686		3,498		188

Total	$	550,119	$	193,808	$	356,311	$	550,119	$	180,276	$	369,843

Other intangible assets primarily consist of patents, licenses, and backlog.

Other Assets

Veeco has an ownership interest of less than 20% in a non-marketable investment, Kateeva, Inc. (“Kateeva”), over which Veeco does not exert significant influence. The carrying value of the investment was $21.0 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. Additionally, during the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company made a separate non-marketable investment of $3.5 million. The Company does not exert significant influence over this investment, and its ownership interest is less than 20%. Neither equity investment has a readily observable market price, and therefore the Company has elected to measure these investments at cost, adjusted for changes in observable market prices minus impairment. The investments are included in “Other assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. There were no changes in observable market prices for either investment for the three months ended March 31, 2018. These investments are subject to periodic impairment reviews; as there are no open-market valuations, the impairment analyses require judgment. The analyses include assessments of the companies’ financial condition, the business outlooks for their products and technologies, their projected results and cash flow, business valuation indications from recent rounds of financing, the likelihood of obtaining subsequent rounds of financing, and the impact of equity preferences held by Veeco relative to other investors.