corresp
May 24, 2010
VIA EDGAR AND OVERNIGHT DELIVERY
Brian Cascio
Accounting Branch Chief
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
| Re: |
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Broadcom Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2009
Filed February 3, 2010
File No.: 000-23993 |
Dear Mr. Cascio:
Set forth below are Broadcom Corporations (the Company) responses to the comments and
requests for additional information contained in the letter from the staff of the Division of
Corporation Finance (the Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission)
dated April 29, 2010. As indicated to the Staff via telephone, the Company was not in receipt of
the letter until May 18, 2010 and is responding as promptly as practicable. For your convenience,
the exact text of the comments provided by the Staff has been included in bold and italicized face
type preceding each response in the order presented in the comment letter. Unless the context
otherwise requires, all references to page numbers in the responses to the Staffs comments
correspond to the pages in the Companys referenced filings. We look forward to working with the
Staff to enhance the overall disclosure in our future filings, pursuant to your comments.
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009
Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 74
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We see that accounts receivable has significantly increased at December 31, 2009 compared to
December 31, 2008 while revenue decreased during the same period. Please tell us what you
mean by a variation in revenue linearity. In addition, revise future filings to provide a
more substantive explanation for the increase in the accounts receivable. |
We acknowledge the Staffs comments and will make appropriate disclosures in future filings.
Revenue linearity is defined as the percentage of sales in each of the months leading up to year
end. For example, over a three month period a larger percentage of our sales occurred in
U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission
May 9, 2008
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the final month of 2009 (30%) as compared to the percentage of sales that occurred in the
final month of 2008 (27%). In the fourth quarter of 2008, the demand for semiconductor products
declined dramatically and many of our customers cancelled product orders causing lower receivables.
We also had an increase in overall sales (19%) in the three months ended December 31, 2009 as
compared to the three months ended December 31, 2008. Both of these factors contributed to the
increase in accounts receivable at December 31, 2009.
Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 2. Supplemental Financial Information, page F-14
Income from the Qualcomm Agreement, page F-18
| 2. |
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Please revise future filings to clarify that the $65.3 million gain from the settlement of
litigation related to intellectual property from Qualcomm was recorded as a contra expense
within settlement costs, net on the statement of operations. While we note the disclosure in
Note 10, disclosure in this note would also be beneficial to investors. |
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We acknowledge the Staffs comment and will make appropriate disclosures in future filings. |
Note 4. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities, page F-24
| 3. |
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We note the disclosure that the fair value of commercial paper included in cash equivalents
was determined based upon level 2 inputs. Please tell us where you have provided the
disclosures required by FASB ASC 820-10-50-1 and 2, including total amounts of recurring
investments valued using level 1 and level 2 inputs to the fair value hierarchy. |
We respectfully submit that the value of our cash equivalents and marketable securities using
level 2 inputs represented approximately 3% of our total cash equivalent and marketable securities
balance and based on materiality did not require additional disclosure. In addition, the amount
outstanding valued using level 2 inputs at December 31, 2009 subsequently matured in the three
months ended March 31, 2010. In the event that we enter into additional arrangements requiring
valuation using level 2 inputs, we will provide additional disclosure to comply with FAS ASC
820-10-50-1 and 2.
Note 11. Litigation, page F-39
| 4. |
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Please tell us how your disclosures of unrecognized loss contingencies related to outstanding
litigation comply with the disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 450-20-50-3 through 8. |
We respectfully submit that further disclosure of unrecognized loss contingencies related to
our outstanding litigation was not required under FASB ASC 450-20-50-3 through 8 as of December 31,
2009. We determined that the accrual for the potential liability related to the Stock Option Class
Actions was the only matter necessitating an accrual pursuant FASB ASC 450-20-50-1. After
evaluating the status of the litigation, we concluded that there was not a
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May 9, 2008
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reasonable possibility of an exposure to loss in excess of the accrual pursuant to FASB ASC
450-20-50-3(b). However, as noted in our current disclosure, in the event that we are unable to
execute a final stipulation of settlement and obtain court approval, our ultimate liability could
differ materially from the accrued amount.
We have disclosed all unrecognized loss contingencies required to be disclosed pursuant to
FASB ASC 450-20-50-3 through 8. In light of the inherent uncertainty surrounding our litigation
proceedings, we concluded as of December 31, 2009, that there was not sufficient evidence to find
that a reasonable possibility existed that a loss may have been incurred. Litigation is
unpredictable and we understand that there is no assurance that any lawsuit to which we are a party
will be resolved in our favor. The Company will continue to monitor developments in the litigation
and update this disclosure as appropriate in future filings.
Note 12. Business Enterprise Segments, Significant Customer, Supplier, and Geographical
Information, page F-45
| 5. |
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We note that you began reporting three reportable segments during fiscal year 2009. In
future filings, please include all disclosures required by FASB ASC 280-10-50-22 and 25 or
tell us why you do not believe those disclosures are applicable to you. |
We respectfully submit that we have included all disclosures applicable to us and required by
FASB ASC 280-10-50-22 and 25. The segment disclosure included in our 2009 Form 10-K represents the
information as it is provided to our Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) to manage our business
and complies with the disclosure requirements of FASB AC 280-10-50-22 and 25. The segment
information provided to the CODM does not include asset, tax or interest income line items because
these items are not allocated to our reportable segments when we assess their performance, and we
believe such information is not significant to our investors from a segment reporting perspective.
Broadcom is a fabless manufacturer of semiconductors which utilizes a minimal amount of capital
equipment. Our property, plant and equipment, net was approximately 4.5% of total assets, and is
not regularly reviewed on an operating segment basis. In addition interest and taxes are calculated
and recorded on a consolidated basis, as these decisions are made at the corporate level and are
not reviewed at an operating segment level. In future filings we will disclose that interest income
and income taxes are not reviewed by our CODM on an operating segment basis.
| 6. |
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Regarding the disclosure of geographic information, if revenues from external customers
attributed to an individual foreign country are material, those revenues shall be disclosed
separately in future filings. Refer to FASB ASC 280-10-50-41. |
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We acknowledge the Staffs comment and will make appropriate disclosures in future filings. |
Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2
| 7. |
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We note that the identification of the certifying individuals at the beginning of the
certifications required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) also includes the title of the
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May 9, 2008
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certifying individual. In future filings, the identification of the certifying individual at the
beginning of each certification should be revised so as not to include such individuals title. |
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We acknowledge the Staffs comment and will make appropriate disclosures in future filings. |
| 8. |
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As a related matter, we note your statement in paragraph 4(d) refers to the change in the
registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants
fourth fiscal quarter rather than during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report). In future filings,
please include a certification that is consistent with Item 601(b)(31)(i) of regulation S-K. |
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We acknowledge the Staffs comment and will make appropriate disclosures in future filings. |
* * * *
The Company hereby acknowledges that (i) it is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of
the disclosure in the filing, (ii) the Staffs comments or changes to disclosure in response to
Staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing,
and (iii) the Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the
Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States.
We hope that the foregoing is responsive to your inquiry. Once you have had time to review
our responses to the Staffs comments, we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss any
additional questions or concerns that you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact the
undersigned at (949) 926-8200.
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Sincerely,
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/s/ Eric K. Brandt
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Eric K. Brandt, |
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Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer |
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| cc: |
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Arthur Chong, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
KPMG
Latham & Watkins LLP |
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