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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jun. 29, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
The Company is currently a party to various legal proceedings, including the cases described below. As a result of the Chapter 11 Cases, substantially all non-bankruptcy proceedings pending against the Company have been stayed on account of the automatic stay. While management presently believes that the ultimate outcome of such proceedings, individually and in the aggregate, will not materially harm the Company’s financial position, cash flows, or overall trends in results of operations, legal proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur. An unfavorable ruling could include monetary damages or, in matters for which injunctive relief or other conduct remedies may be sought, an injunction prohibiting the Company from selling one or more products at all or in particular ways. Were unfavorable final outcomes to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial position and overall trends. The outcomes in these matters are not reasonably estimable.
In October 2021, The Trustees of Purdue University ("Purdue") filed a complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,498,633 (the "'633 Patent"), entitled "High-voltage power semiconductor device," and 8,035,112 (the "'112 Patent"), entitled "SIC power DMOSFET with self-aligned source contact." In the complaint, Purdue also alleged willful infringement and sought unspecified monetary damages and attorneys’ fees. In August 2022, Purdue voluntarily withdrew all allegations as to the '112 Patent after having disclaimed all rights to that patent. On February 25, 2025, the Company entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Purdue resolving all remaining claims against the Company. A stipulation for dismissal was filed with the court, and the court dismissed the case with prejudice on March 17, 2025. The Company recorded the entire financial impact of the settlement during the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as the loss became probable and estimable when the settlement was made.
On November 15, 2024, the Company and certain of its former executive officers were named as defendants (“Defendants”) in a securities class action lawsuit captioned Gary Zagami v Wolfspeed, Inc., et al., Case No. 6:24-cv-01395, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making false and/or misleading statements between August 16, 2023 and November 6, 2024 in connection with the operational status, profitability, and growth potential of the Mohawk Valley fabrication facility, among other things. The complaint seeks unspecified compensatory damages and other relief. On January 8, 2025 and January 13, 2025, respectively, two additional lawsuits captioned Maizner v. Wolfspeed, Inc., et al., Case No. 6:25-cv-00046 and Ferreira v. Wolfspeed, Inc., et al., Case No. 6:25-CV-00062 were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York by shareholders regarding these same matters and naming the same Defendants. On February 24, 2025, the Court consolidated the Zagami, Maizner, and Ferreira actions and appointed co-lead plaintiffs and co-lead counsel. On May 5, 2025, co-lead plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. On June 4, 2025, Defendants filed a motion to transfer the consolidated action to the US. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and as of July 22, 2025, briefing on the motion to transfer was complete. Pursuant to section 362 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), the class action was stayed upon the filing of the Company’s voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on June 30, 2025 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Bankruptcy Court”) as to the Company but not as to the individual defendants.
On April 21, 2025, a derivative action was filed by a putative shareholder purportedly on behalf of the Company in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against certain current and former directors and officers of the Company (collectively, “Derivative Action Defendants”) for breach of fiduciary duty, waste, unjust enrichment, aiding and abetting, insider trading, and a violation of Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks to implement reforms to the Company’s corporate governance and internal procedures and to recover on behalf of the Company for any liability the Company might incur as a result of the Derivative Action Defendants’ alleged misconduct, as well as declaratory and other monetary relief, including attorneys’ fees and other costs. The derivative action is based substantially on the same facts alleged in the consolidated securities class action described above. Pursuant to section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, the derivative action was stayed upon the filing of the Company’s voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on June 30, 2025 in the Bankruptcy Court.
The Company intends to vigorously defend against the claims in the above-referenced actions.
Grant Disbursement Agreement ("GDA") with the State of New York
The Company currently has a GDA with the State of New York Urban Development Corporation (doing business as Empire State Development). The GDA provides a potential total grant amount of $500.0 million to partially and fully reimburse the Company for certain property, plant and equipment costs related to the Company's construction of its silicon carbide device fabrication facility in Marcy, New York.
The GDA was signed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and requires the Company to satisfy a number of objectives for the Company to receive reimbursements through the span of the 13-year agreement. These objectives include maintaining a certain level of local employment, investing a certain amount in locally administered research and development activities and the payment of an annual commitment fee for the first six years. Additionally, the Company has agreed, under a separate agreement (the SUNY Agreement), to sponsor the creation of two endowed faculty chairs and fund a scholarship program at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
As of June 29, 2025, the annual cost of satisfying the objectives of the GDA and the SUNY Agreement, excluding the direct and indirect costs associated with employment, varies from $2.2 million to $5.2 million per year through fiscal 2031.
As of June 29, 2025, the Company has reduced property and equipment, net by a total of $500.0 million as a result of GDA reimbursements, of which $467.3 has been received in cash and an additional $32.7 million in receivables has been recorded in other current assets in the consolidated balance sheet.
Supply Commitments
From time to time, the Company may enter into agreements with its suppliers which require the Company to commit to a minimum of product purchases or make capacity reservation deposits.
In fiscal 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with a supplier which requires a minimum commitment of product purchases on a take-or-pay basis of $200.0 million over the life of the contract. During the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company amended the agreement to extend the term of the contract through December 2029 and modify the remaining minimum annual purchase commitments. During the fiscal years ended June 29, 2025 and June 30, 2024, the Company purchased $20.0 million and $36.7 million of product under this agreement. As of June 29, 2025, minimum future product purchases for fiscal years 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are $41.3 million, $38.0 million, $40.0 million and $42.0 million, respectively.
In addition, the Company will pay quarterly capacity reservation deposits through the second quarter of fiscal 2026. The capacity reservation deposits will total $60.0 million and are refundable through credits on future product purchases. The Company paid $18.1 million in fiscal 2025, $32.9 million in fiscal 2024 and $5.5 million in fiscal 2023 in connection with the agreement, which is recognized in prepaid expenses and other long-term assets on the consolidated balance sheet.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company entered into an agreement with another supplier which requires a minimum commitment of product purchases on a take-or-pay basis of $86.4 million over the life of the contract. During the fiscal years ended June 29, 2025 and June 30, 2024, the Company purchased $26.4 million and $19.2 million, respectively, of product under this agreement which satisfied the minimum future product purchases for the period. Minimum future product purchases for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 are $31.2 million and $9.6 million, respectively.
The Company will also be required to purchase electricity for its facility in Siler City, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina under a long-term electricity supply agreement with minimum volume and spend requirements of approximately $62.4 million over the next 5 years and approximately $25.7 million over the next 8 years, respectively.
The Company reviews the terms of all its long-term supply agreements and assesses the need for any accruals for estimated losses on adverse purchase commitments, such as lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments that will not be recovered by future sales prices and the recoverability of assets related to capacity deposits, as necessary.