Note 16. Commitments and Contingencies

In addition to the finance and operating leases discussed in Note 9, we have purchase commitments and other contingency considerations. See Footnote 19 for contingency considerations related to the proposed merger with Veeco Instruments Inc.

(a)          Purchase Commitments

We have contracts and purchase orders for inventory and other expenditures of $178.0 million at December 31, 2025, approximately $171.0 million of which are expected to occur in 2026.

(b)          Litigation

We are not presently a party to any litigation that we believe might have a material adverse effect on our business operations. We are, from time to time, a party to litigation that arises in the normal course of our business operations.

(c)          Indemnifications

Our system sales agreements typically include provisions under which we agree to take certain actions, provide certain remedies and defend our customers against third-party claims of intellectual property infringement under specified conditions and to indemnify customers against any damage and costs awarded in connection with such claims. We have not incurred any material costs as a result of such indemnifications and have not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 26, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 28, 2025
2023Feb 23, 2024
2022Feb 24, 2023
2021Feb 25, 2022
2020Feb 26, 2021
2019Mar 2, 2020
2018Mar 11, 2019
2017Mar 14, 2018
2016Mar 14, 2017
2015Mar 4, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.