Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 29, 2013

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which Harmonic Inc. (“Harmonic,” or the “Company”) considers necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations for the interim periods covered and the consolidated financial condition of the Company at the date of the balance sheets. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2013 (“2012 Form 10-K”). The interim results presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be expected for the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2013, or any other future period. The Company’s fiscal quarters are based on 13-week periods, except for the fourth quarter which ends on December 31.

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The year-end condensed balance sheet was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”).

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations. On March 5, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its cable access HFC business to Aurora Networks (“Aurora”) for $46.0 million in cash. The Consolidated Statements of Operations have been retrospectively adjusted to present the cable access HFC business as discontinued operations, as described in “Note 3 Discontinued Operations”. Unless noted otherwise, all discussions herein with respect to the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements relate to the Company’s continuing operations.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Significant Accounting Policies

Significant Accounting Policies. The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to its audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in its 2012 Form 10-K. There have been no significant changes to these policies during the three months ended March 29, 2013.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications. From time to time the Company reclassifies certain prior period balances to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications have no material impact on previously reported total assets, total liabilities, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or cash flows.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In December 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2011-11, “Disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities”. This guidance enhances disclosure requirements about the nature of an entity’s right to offset. The new guidance requires the disclosure of the gross amounts subject to rights of set-off, amounts offset in accordance with the accounting standards followed, and the related net exposure. The new guidance became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and it did not have any impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-2, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other”, which allows an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived asset is impaired for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. The guidance is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. This accounting standard update became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013, and it did not have any impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-2, “Comprehensive Income”, which requires reclassification adjustments from other comprehensive income to be presented either in the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements. The Company adopted this new guidance in the first quarter of 2013 and included the required disclosures.

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-4, “Obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date”. The update provides requirements for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of an entity’s reasonable expectation of its obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date. This guidance requires an entity to disclose the nature and amount of any such obligation as well as other information about the obligation. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and should be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-04 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

On March 5, 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-05, “Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon De-recognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity”. The ASU addresses accounting for a cumulative translation adjustment when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a nonprofit activity or a business within a foreign entity. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and should be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-05 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Impairment of Investments

Impairment of Investments

The Company monitors its investment portfolio for impairment on a periodic basis. In the event that the carrying value of an investment exceeds its fair value and the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary, an impairment charge is recorded and a new cost basis for the investment is established. A decline of fair value below amortized costs of debt securities is considered other-than temporary if the Company has the intent to sell the security or it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of the entire amortized cost basis. At the present time, the Company does not intend to sell its investments that have unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss. In addition, the Company does not believe that it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell its investments that have unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss before the Company recovers the principal amounts invested. The Company believes that the unrealized losses are temporary and do not require an-other-than-temporary impairment, based on its evaluation of available evidence as of March 29, 2013.

As of March 29, 2013, there were no individual available-for-sale securities in a material unrealized loss position and the amount of unrealized losses on the total investment balance was insignificant.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The guidance describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

• Level 1 — Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

• Level 2 — Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. The Company primarily uses broker quotes for valuation of its short-term investments. The forward exchange contracts are classified as Level 2 because they are valued using quoted market prices and other observable data for similar instruments in an active market.

• Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The Company uses the market approach to measure fair value for its financial assets and liabilities. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. During the three months ended March 29, 2013, there were no nonrecurring fair value measurements of assets and liabilities subsequent to initial recognition.

Share-based Compensation Expense

The Company estimated the fair value of all employee stock options using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions:

	Three months ended
	March 29, 2013			March 30, 2012
Expected term (years)		4.70			4.70
Volatility		52	%		58	%
Risk-free interest rate		0.8	%		1.0	%
Expected dividends		0.0	%		0.0	%

The expected term represents the weighted-average period that the stock options are expected to remain outstanding. The computation of expected term was determined based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules and expectations of future employee behavior. The Company uses its historical volatility for a period equivalent to the expected term of the options to estimate the expected volatility. The risk-free interest rate that the Company uses in the Black-Scholes option valuation model is based on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with remaining terms similar to the expected term. The Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends and does not plan to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future, and, therefore, used an expected dividend yield of zero in the valuation model.

The Company is required to estimate forfeitures at the time of grant and revise those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The Company uses historical data to estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and records stock-based compensation expense only for those awards that are expected to vest. All stock-based payment awards are amortized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the vesting periods.

The value of the stock purchase rights under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) consists of: (1) the 15% discount on the purchase of the stock; (2) 85% of the fair value of the call option; and (3) 15% of the fair value of the put option. The call option and put option were valued using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions:

	Three months ended
	March 29, 2013			March 30, 2012
Expected term (years)		0.49			0.50
Volatility		32	%		53	%
Risk-free interest rate		0.2	%		0.2	%
Expected dividends		0.0	%		0.0	%

The expected term represents the period of time from the beginning of the offering period to the purchase date. The Company uses its historical volatility for a period equivalent to the expected term of the options to estimate the expected volatility. The risk-free interest rate that the Company uses in the Black-Scholes option valuation model is based on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with remaining terms similar to the expected term. The Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends and does not plan to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future, and, therefore, used an expected dividend yield of zero in the valuation model

Income Tax

The income tax provision includes federal, state and local, and foreign income taxes and is based on the application of a forecasted annual income tax rate applied to the current quarter’s year-to-date pre-tax income (loss). In determining the estimated annual effective income tax rate, the Company estimates the annual impact of certain factors, including projections of the Company’s annual earnings, taxing jurisdictions in which the earnings will be generated, state and local income taxes, the Company’s ability to use tax credits and net operating loss carryforwards, and available tax planning alternatives. Discrete items, including the effect of changes in tax laws, tax rates, and certain circumstances with respect to valuation allowances or other unusual or non-recurring tax adjustments, are reflected in the period in which they occur as an addition to, or reduction from, the income tax provision, rather than being included in the estimated annual effective income tax rate.

In compliance with applicable guidance for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, the Company had gross unrecognized tax benefits, which include interest and penalties, of approximately $59.2 million as of December 31, 2012, and approximately $60.8 million as of March 29, 2013. If all of these unrecognized tax benefits were recognized, the entire amount would impact the provision for income taxes. The unrecognized tax benefits may decrease significantly within the next 12 months if related statutes of limitation that are to expire during that period are not extended.

The Company recognizes interest and possible penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. During the three months ended March 29, 2013, the Company recorded a net increase of $0.6 million for interest and possible penalties related to uncertain tax positions, resulting in a balance at March 29, 2013 of $7.7 million.

Discontinued Operations [Member]

Discontinued Operations

In accordance with ASC 205 “Presentation of financial statements – Discontinued Operations”, a business is classified as a discontinued operation when : (i) the operations and cash flows of the business can be clearly distinguished and have been or will be eliminated from our ongoing operations; (ii) the business has either been disposed of or is classified as held for sale; and (iii) the Company will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the business after the disposal transactions.