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Commitments and Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Jun. 27, 2026
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 7. Commitments and Contingencies Legal proceedings From time to time, the Company is involved in legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including claims relating to employee relations, business practices, and patent infringement. Litigation can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict, and the Company’s view of these matters may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. The Company expenses legal fees as incurred. The Company records a provision for contingent losses when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. An unfavorable outcome to any legal matter, if material, could have an adverse effect on the Company’s operations or its financial position, liquidity or results of operations. The Company’s Lawsuits Against Google: On January 7, 2020, the Company filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") against Alphabet Inc. ("Alphabet") and Google LLC ("Google") and a counterpart lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Google. The complaint and lawsuit each allege infringement by Alphabet and Google of certain Sonos patents related to its smart speakers and related technology. The counterpart lawsuit was stayed pending completion of the ITC investigation and appeal thereof. The ITC concluded its investigation in January 2022, finding all five of the Company’s asserted patents to be valid and infringed by Google, and further finding that one redesign per patent proposed by Google would avoid infringement. The ITC issued a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order with respect to Google’s infringing products. The Company and Google each appealed the ITC’s determination, which was upheld in its entirety by the appeals court. The stay in the counterpart lawsuit has been lifted and the Company has asserted five additional patents against Google in this counterpart lawsuit, bringing the total number of asserted patents against Google to ten. Google moved to file counterclaims on two of its own patents related to device setup and the court has added those patents to the case. No trial date has been set. On September 29, 2020, the Company filed another lawsuit against Google alleging infringement of additional Sonos patents and seeking monetary damages and other non-monetary relief. A jury trial was held in May 2023, which found one Sonos patent to be infringed and another Sonos patent not infringed, and returned an award of $32.5 million based on a royalty rate of $2.30 per infringing unit. After trial, the court held Sonos’ patents unenforceable under the doctrine of prosecution laches and invalid as a result of amendments made during prosecution. In September 2025, the Federal Circuit overturned the lower court decision that had invalidated the jury verdict against Google, and is now set to decide the post-trial motions, including the Company’s motion for injunctive relief and additional damages. Google’s Lawsuits Against the Company: On June 11, 2020, Google filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the Company alleging infringement by the Company of five Google patents and seeking monetary damages and other non-monetary relief. All five of these patents have since been found invalid or non-infringed by the Court or by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or have been withdrawn from the case by Google. The Court has now entered final judgment for Sonos and against Google. Google has appealed the non-infringement rulings. On August 8, 2022, Google filed two complaints with the ITC against the Company and two counterpart lawsuits in the Northern District of California against the Company, collectively alleging infringement by the Company of seven Google patents generally related to wireless charging, device setup, and voice control, and seeking monetary damages and other non-monetary relief. The counterpart lawsuits are stayed pending completion of the ITC investigations. In the first ITC investigation, the ITC terminated the investigation as to one Google patent as a result of the expiration of that Google patent and determined the other two Google patents to be invalid as indefinite, thus concluding the first investigation. Google has appealed this first ITC determination. The Company has also initiated Inter Partes Reviews at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") against these two remaining Google patents, which resulted in the USPTO invalidating these two Google patents. Google has appealed this determination, and the appeals court has now vacated this USPTO invalidity decision and remanded the proceeding back to the USPTO for further determination. The second ITC investigation concluded in December 2023 with a final determination of no violation by the Company. Google did not appeal this determination. Implicit On March 10, 2017, Implicit, LLC (“Implicit”) filed a patent infringement action in the United States District Court, District of Delaware against the Company. Implicit asserted that the Company has infringed on certain claims of two patents in this case. The Company denied the allegations. The claims at issue have been held unpatentable by the USPTO. Implicit appealed this ruling, but on March 9, 2026, the Federal Circuit rejected Implicit's appeal and affirmed the PTO's ruling. Implicit has filed for en banc review of the adverse appellate ruling, which has been denied. The Company is involved in certain other litigation matters not listed above but does not consider these matters to be material either individually or in the aggregate at this time. The Company’s view of the matters not listed may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. Tariffs On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were invalid. To date, the Company has paid approximately $41 million in IEEPA-related tariffs that may now be recoverable. Due to uncertainties regarding the timing and ultimate receipt of these funds, the Company will not recognize any recoveries until they become realized. During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the Company received $23.2 million in refunds for a portion of these previously paid tariffs, which was recorded as a reduction to cost of revenue. The Company also received $0.8 million of associated interest, which was recorded as interest income.

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