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Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies | 12 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2025
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies | Summary of Significant Accounting Policies The Company F5, Inc. (the "Company") is a global leader in application delivery and security solutions which enables its customers to deploy, operate, secure, optimize, and govern every application and API across any architecture - on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. The Company's cloud, software, and hardware solutions enable its customers to deliver fast, available, and secure digital experiences to their customers at scale. The Company's enterprise-grade application services are available as hardware, software, and SaaS solutions optimized for hybrid, multicloud environments, with modules that can run independently, or as part of an integrated solution on its high-performance appliances. In connection with its solutions, the Company offers a broad range of professional services, including consulting, training, maintenance, and other technical support services. Accounting Principles The Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"). Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates and Assumptions The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Examples of estimates and assumptions include: revenue recognition, identifying and evaluating the performance obligations of contracts, and the allocation of purchase consideration based on the relative fair value of standalone sales prices of these performance obligations; business combinations, including the determination of fair value for acquired developed technology assets and the evaluation and selection of significant assumptions such as revenue growth rate and technology migration curve; and the incremental borrowing rate for measuring lease obligations. Actual results may differ materially from management's estimates and assumptions. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash The Company considers all highly liquid investments, including money market funds, with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company invests its cash and cash equivalents in deposits with three major financial institutions, which, at times, exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on its cash and cash equivalents. Amounts included in restricted cash represent those for which the Company's use is restricted by a contractual agreement. Investments Equity investments without readily determinable fair values are measured at cost with adjustments for observable changes in price or impairments, or measured using net asset value as a practical expedient to fair value and are classified as long-term investments on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company performs a qualitative assessment on a periodic basis and recognizes an impairment if there are sufficient indicators that the fair value of the investment is less than carrying value. Changes in value are recorded in other income (expense) in the Company's consolidated income statements. Accounts Receivable Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount, net of allowances for credit losses for any potential uncollectible amounts. The allowance for credit losses is based on the assessment of the collectability of accounts. Management regularly reviews the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses on a collective basis by considering the age of each outstanding invoice, each customer’s expected ability to pay and collection history, current market conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions to determine whether the allowance is appropriate. Accounts receivable deemed uncollectible are charged against the allowance for credit losses when identified. For fiscal years ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, the allowance for credit losses was not material. Unbilled Receivables Unbilled receivables represent amounts related to the Company's unconditional right to consideration associated with contracts with customers that have not yet been billed, net of allowances. Unbilled receivables are converted to accounts receivable at the point in time when the Company has the contractual right to invoice its customers. As of September 30, 2025, unbilled receivables that are expected to be reclassified to accounts receivable within the next 12 months are included in other current assets, with those expected to be transferred to accounts receivables in more than 12 months included in other assets. Concentration of Credit Risk The Company extends credit to customers and is therefore subject to credit risk. The Company performs initial and ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and does not require collateral. An allowance for credit losses is recorded for any potential uncollectible amount. Estimates are used in determining the allowance for credit losses in accordance with the Accounts Receivable policy. See Note 15 - Segment Information, for disaggregated accounts receivable by significant customer. The Company maintains its cash and investment balances with high credit quality financial institutions. Fair Value of Financial Instruments In accordance with the authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosure under GAAP, the Company determines fair value using a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity, and the reporting entity’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available in the circumstances and expands disclosure about fair value measurements. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date, essentially the exit price. The levels of fair value hierarchy are: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities at the measurement date that the Company has the ability to access. Level 2: Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data. Level 3: Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data available. These inputs reflect management’s assumptions of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. However, the determination of what constitutes "observable" requires significant judgment by the Company. The Company considers observable data to be market data which is readily available, regularly distributed or updated, reliable and verifiable, not proprietary, and provided by independent sources that are actively involved in the relevant market. Inventories The Company outsources the manufacturing of its pre-configured hardware platforms to contract manufacturers, who assemble each product to the Company’s specifications. As protection against component shortages and to provide replacement parts for its service teams, the Company also stocks limited supplies of certain key product components. The Company reduces inventory to net realizable value based on excess and obsolete inventories determined primarily by historical usage and forecasted demand. Inventories consist of hardware and related component parts and are recorded at the lower of cost and net realizable value (as determined by the first-in, first-out method). Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at net book value. Depreciation of property and equipment is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the remaining lease term or the estimated useful life of the improvements. The cost of normal maintenance and repairs is charged to expense as incurred and expenditures for major improvements are capitalized at cost. Gains or losses on the disposition of assets are reflected in the consolidated income statements at the time of disposal. Business Combinations The Company’s business combinations are accounted for under the acquisition method. Management allocates the fair value of purchase consideration to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Such valuations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets. Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired as of the acquisition date. The Company tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis and between annual tests when impairment indicators are identified, and goodwill is adjusted when impaired. For its annual goodwill impairment test in all periods to date, the Company has operated under one reporting unit and the fair value of its reporting unit has been determined by the Company’s enterprise value. The Company performs its annual goodwill impairment test during the second fiscal quarter. For its annual impairment test performed in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company completed a quantitative assessment and determined that there was no impairment of goodwill. The Company also considered potential impairment indicators of goodwill at September 30, 2025 and noted no indicators of impairment. Intangible Assets Intangible assets with finite lives consist of acquired developed technology, customer relationships, patents and trademarks, trade names, and non-compete covenants acquired through business combinations or asset acquisitions. Intangible assets acquired through business combinations are recorded at their respective estimated fair values upon acquisition close. Other intangible assets acquired through asset acquisitions are recorded at their respective cost. The Company determines the estimated useful lives for acquired intangible assets based on the expected future cash flows associated with the respective asset. The Company's intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, ranging from four to fifteen years. Amortization expense related to acquired developed technology is charged to cost of product revenues. Amortization expense related to customer relationships, trade names, and non-compete covenants is charged to sales and marketing activities. Amortization expense related to patents and trademarks is charged to general and administrative activities. The Company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets periodically by taking into account events or circumstances that may warrant revised estimates of useful lives or that indicate the asset may be impaired. Software Development Costs The authoritative guidance requires certain internal software development costs related to software to be sold to be capitalized upon the establishment of technological feasibility. Capitalized software development costs are amortized over the remaining estimated economic life of the product. The Company's software development costs incurred subsequent to achieving technological feasibility have not been significant and, as a result, all software development costs have been expensed as research and development activities as incurred. Internal-Use Software The Company capitalizes costs incurred during the application development stage associated with the development of internal-use software systems. The capitalized costs are then amortized over the estimated useful life of the software, which is generally three to ten years, and are included in other assets, net in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets The Company assesses the impairment of long-lived assets whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. When such events occur, management determines whether there has been impairment by comparing the anticipated undiscounted net future cash flows to the related asset’s carrying value. If impairment exists, the asset is adjusted to its estimated fair value. Revenue Recognition The Company sells products through distributors, resellers, and directly to end users. Revenue related to the Company's contracts with customers is recognized by following a five-step process: •Identify the contract(s) with a customer. Evidence of a contract generally consists of a purchase order issued pursuant to the terms and conditions of a distributor, reseller or end user agreement. •Identify the performance obligations in the contract. Performance obligations are identified in the Company's contracts and may include hardware, hardware-based software, software-only solutions, cloud-based subscription services as well as a broad range of service performance obligations including consulting, training, installation and maintenance. •Determine the transaction price. The purchase price stated in an agreed upon purchase order is generally representative of the transaction price. The Company offers several programs in which customers are eligible for certain levels of rebates if certain conditions are met. When determining the transaction price, the Company considers the effects of any variable consideration. •Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract. The transaction price in a contract is allocated based upon the relative standalone selling price of each distinct performance obligation identified in the contract. •Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company satisfies performance obligations either over time or at a point in time as discussed in further detail below. Revenue is recognized at the time the related performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of promised products and services to a customer. Revenue is recognized net of any taxes collected, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. Shipping and handling fees charged to the Company’s customers are recognized as product revenue in the period shipped and the related costs for providing these services are recorded as a cost of product revenues. The following is a description of the principal activities from which the Company generates revenue: Product Revenue from the sale of the Company's hardware and perpetual software products is generally recognized at a point in time when the product has been fulfilled and the customer is obligated to pay for the product. The Company also offers several products by subscription, either through term-based license agreements or as SaaS offerings. Term-based license agreements include both a software license and post-contract customer support ("PCS"). For these offerings, product revenue is recognized at the point in time the software license is fulfilled to the customer, and services revenues for PCS is recognized over the subscription term. For the Company's SaaS offerings, revenue is recognized ratably as the services are provided. Hardware, including the software run on those devices, is considered systems revenue. Perpetual or subscription software offerings that are, or have the ability to be deployed on a standalone basis, along with the Company's SaaS offerings are considered software revenue. When rights of return are present and the Company cannot estimate returns, revenue is recognized when such rights of return lapse. Payment terms to customers are generally net 30 days to net 60 days. Services Revenues for post-contract customer support ("PCS") are recognized on a straight-line basis over the service contract term. PCS includes a limited period of telephone support, updates, repair or replacement of any failed product or component that fails during the term of the agreement, bug fixes and rights to upgrades, when and if available. Consulting services are customarily billed at fixed hourly rates, plus out-of-pocket expenses, and revenues are recognized as the consulting is delivered. Similarly, training revenue is recognized as the training is completed. Flexible Consumption Program The Company enters into certain contracts with customers, including flexible consumption programs and multi-year subscriptions, with non-standard terms and conditions. Management assesses contractual terms in these agreements to identify and evaluate performance obligations. Management allocates consideration to each performance obligation based on relative fair value using standalone selling price and recognizes associated revenue as control is transferred to the customer. Contract Acquisition Costs Sales commissions earned by the Company's sales force are considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a contract with a customer. Sales commissions on fulfilled hardware, perpetual software, and fulfilled software from term-based subscription sales are expensed as incurred. Sales commissions on the initial PCS for systems, perpetual software, and term-based license subscription offerings are deferred and then amortized as an expense on a straight-line basis over the period of benefit. Sales commissions on SaaS subscription offerings are deferred and then amortized as an expense on a straight-line basis over the period of benefit. Management has determined the period of benefit to be 4.5 years for initial PCS on hardware and perpetual software offerings, and 3 years for subscription offerings. Guarantees and Product Warranties In the normal course of business to facilitate sales of its products, the Company indemnifies other parties, including customers, resellers, lessors, and parties to other transactions with the Company, with respect to certain matters. The Company has agreed to hold the other party harmless against losses arising from a breach of representations or covenants, or out of intellectual property infringement or other claims made against certain parties. These agreements may limit the time within which an indemnification claim can be made and the amount of the claim. The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its officers and directors, and the Company’s bylaws contain similar indemnification obligations to the Company’s agents. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount under these indemnification agreements due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. The Company offers warranties of one year for hardware for those customers without service contracts, with the option of purchasing additional warranty coverage in yearly increments. The Company accrues for warranty costs as part of its cost of sales based on associated material product costs and technical support labor costs. Warranty expense and accrued warranty costs were not material for all periods presented. Research and Development Research and development expenses consist of salaries and related benefits of product development personnel, prototype materials and expenses related to the development of new and improved products, technology costs, including cloud hosting and software licenses expenses used to support development activities, and an allocation of facilities, depreciation and amortization expense. Research and development expenses are reflected in the income statements as incurred. Advertising Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. The Company incurred $6.2 million, $5.4 million and $8.9 million in advertising costs during the fiscal years 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Income Taxes Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based upon differences between the financial statement and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The realization of deferred tax assets is based on historical tax positions and estimates of future taxable income. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more-likely-than-not that some of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company assesses whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the financial statements. The Company may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more-likely-than-not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefit to be recognized in the financial statements from such a position is measured as the largest amount of benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company adjusts these liabilities based on a variety of factors, including the evaluation of information not previously available. These adjustments are reflected as increases or decreases to income tax expense in the period in which new information is available. Foreign Currency The functional currency for the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is either the U.S. dollar or the local currency depending on the assessment of management. An entity’s functional currency is determined by the currency of the economic environment in which the majority of cash is generated and expended by the entity. The financial statements of all majority-owned subsidiaries and related entities, with a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar, have been translated into U.S. dollars. All assets and liabilities of the respective entities are translated at year-end exchange rates and all revenues and expenses are translated at average rates during the respective period. Translation adjustments are reported as other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are a result of the effect of exchange rate changes on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency, including U.S. dollars. Gains and losses on those foreign currency transactions are included in determining net income or loss for the period of exchange and are recorded in other income, net. The net effect of foreign currency gains and losses was not material during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025, 2024 and 2023. Segments Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision-maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. Management has determined that the Company is organized as, and operates in, one reportable operating segment. Stock-based Compensation The Company issues incentive awards to its employees through stock-based compensation consisting of restricted stock units ("RSUs"). RSUs are payable in shares of the Company’s common stock as the periodic vesting requirements are satisfied, generally over one to four years. The value of an RSU is based upon the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The value of RSUs is determined using the intrinsic value method and is based on the number of shares granted and the quoted price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The Company offers an Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") that permits eligible employees to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at a discount. In determining the fair value of shares issued under the ESPP, the Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The assumptions within the option pricing model are based on management’s best estimates at that time, which impact the fair value of the ESPP option calculated under the Black-Scholes methodology and, ultimately, the expense that will be recognized over the life of the ESPP option. The Company has also issued stock options as replacement awards, most notably for those assumed as part of business combinations. The Company used the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of the stock option replacement awards. The assumptions within the option pricing model are based on management’s best estimates at that time, which impact the fair value of the option calculated under the Black-Scholes methodology and, ultimately, the expense that will be recognized over the term of the option. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using the straight-line attribution method for recognizing compensation expense. The Company recognizes compensation expense for only the portion of stock-based awards that are expected to vest. Therefore, the Company applies estimated forfeiture rates that are derived from historical employee termination behavior. Based on historical differences with forfeitures of stock-based awards granted to the Company’s executive officers and Board of Directors versus grants awarded to all other employees, the Company has developed separate forfeiture expectations for these two groups. The Company issues incentive awards to certain current executive officers as part of its annual equity awards program. A portion of the aggregate number of RSUs issued to executive officers vest in equal quarterly increments, and a portion is subject to the Company achieving specified performance goals. The Company's Talent and Compensation Committee has adopted a set of metrics for the performance stock awards, including (1) 50% of the annual performance stock grant is based on achieving certain annual revenue targets; (2) 25% of the annual performance stock grant is based on achieving certain annual earnings per share targets; and (3) 25% of the annual performance stock grant is based on relative total shareholder return ("TSR") benchmarked to the S&P 500 index. In each case, no vesting or payment with respect to a performance goal shall occur unless a minimum threshold is met for the applicable goal. Vesting and payment with respect to the performance goal is linear above the threshold of the applicable goal and is capped at achievement of 200% above target. The Company recognizes compensation costs for awards with performance conditions and market conditions on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award and, for awards with performance conditions, when it concludes it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. The Company reassesses the probability of vesting at each balance sheet date and adjusts compensation costs based on the probability assessment. Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income includes certain changes in equity that are excluded from net income, specifically, unrealized gains or losses on securities and foreign currency translation adjustments. These changes are included in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss. Recently Adopted Accounting Standards In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures ("ASU 2023-07"). This ASU expands annual and interim disclosure requirements for reportable segments, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The Company adopted this accounting standard update as of September 30, 2025 and it did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures ("ASU 2023-09"). This ASU requires disclosure of disaggregated income taxes paid, prescribes standard categories for the components of the effective tax rate reconciliation, and modifies other income tax-related disclosures. ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses ("ASU 2024-03"). This ASU requires new financial statement disclosures disaggregating prescribed expense categories within relevant income statement expense captions. In addition, in January 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-01, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Clarifying the Effective Date, which clarifies the effective date of ASU 2024-03. ASU 2024-03 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. In September 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-06, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal-Use Software ("ASU 2025-06"). This ASU simplifies the capitalization guidance by removing all references to software development project stages. The revised guidance is neutral to different software development methods. The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on the consolidated financial statements.

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