v3.25.2
Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Aug. 03, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments
The following table summarizes contractual obligations and commitments as of August 3, 2025:
Fiscal Year:Purchase CommitmentsOther Contractual Commitments
(In millions)
2025 (remainder)
$106 $264 
2026103 634 
202712 604 
2028
10 530 
2029
718 
Thereafter— 1,027 
Total
$235 $3,777 
Purchase Commitments. Represent unconditional purchase obligations to purchase goods or services, primarily inventory, that are enforceable and legally binding on us and specify all significant terms, including fixed or minimum quantities to be purchased, price provisions, and the approximate timing of the transaction. Purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancelable without penalty and unconditional purchase obligations with a remaining term of one year or less.
Other Contractual Commitments. Represent amounts payable pursuant to agreements related to IT and other service agreements.
Due to the inherent uncertainty with respect to the timing of future cash outflows associated with our unrecognized tax benefits as of August 3, 2025, we are unable to reliably estimate the timing of cash settlement with the respective taxing authorities. Therefore, $3,817 million of unrecognized tax benefits and accrued interest and penalties as of August 3, 2025 have been excluded from the table above.
Contingencies
From time to time, we are involved in litigation that we believe is of the type common to companies engaged in our lines of business, including commercial disputes, employment issues, tax disputes and disputes involving claims by third parties that our activities infringe their patent, copyright, trademark or other IP rights, as well as regulatory investigations or inquiries. Legal proceedings and regulatory investigations or inquiries are often complex, may require the expenditure of significant funds and other resources, and the outcomes of such proceedings are inherently uncertain, with material adverse outcomes possible. IP property claims generally involve the demand by a third-party that we cease the manufacture, use or sale of the allegedly infringing products, processes or technologies and/or pay substantial damages or royalties for past, present and future use of the allegedly infringing IP. Claims that our products or processes infringe or misappropriate any third-party IP rights (including claims arising through our contractual indemnification of our customers) often involve highly complex, technical issues, the outcome of which is inherently uncertain. Moreover, from time to time, we pursue litigation to assert our IP rights. Regardless of the merit or resolution of any such litigation, complex IP litigation is generally costly and diverts the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel.
Lawsuits Relating to VMware Backlog
On March 31, 2020, a securities class action lawsuit was filed against VMware and certain former officers of VMware in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “California Court”). On September 18, 2020, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint alleging that VMware’s statements about backlog and the related internal controls during the period from August 2018 through February 2020 were materially misleading. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted with leave to amend on September 10, 2021. On October 8, 2021, the plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Consolidated Complaint based on the same alleged disclosure deficiencies. The defendants’ motion to dismiss the Second Amended Consolidated Complaint was filed on November 5, 2021. On April 2, 2023, the California Court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss finding that the plaintiffs had adequately stated claims under Sections 10 and 20A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The parties have agreed to settlement terms and in March 2025 the California Court approved the settlement.
Other Matters
We are currently engaged in a number of legal actions in the ordinary course of our business.
Contingency Assessment
We do not believe, based on currently available facts and circumstances, that the final outcome of any pending legal proceedings, ongoing regulatory investigations or tax disputes, taken individually or as a whole, will have a material adverse effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements. However, lawsuits may involve complex questions of fact and law and may require the expenditure of significant funds and other resources to defend. The results of litigation, regulatory investigations or tax disputes are inherently uncertain, and material adverse outcomes are possible. From time to time, we may enter into confidential discussions regarding the potential settlement of such lawsuits. Any settlement of pending litigation could require us to incur substantial costs and other ongoing expenses, such as future royalty payments in the case of an IP dispute.
During the periods presented, no material amounts have been accrued or disclosed in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements with respect to loss contingencies associated with any other legal proceedings, regulatory investigations or tax disputes, as potential losses for such matters are not considered probable and ranges of losses are not reasonably estimable. These matters are subject to many uncertainties and the ultimate outcomes are not predictable. There can be no assurances that the actual amounts required to satisfy any liabilities arising from the matters described above will not have a material adverse effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements.
Other Indemnifications
As is customary in our industry and as provided for in local law in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, many of our standard contracts provide remedies to our customers and others with whom we enter into contracts, such as defense, settlement, or payment of judgment for IP claims related to the use of our products. From time to time, we indemnify customers, as well as our suppliers, contractors, lessors, lessees, companies that purchase our businesses or assets and others with whom we enter into contracts, against combinations of loss, expense, or liability arising from various triggering events related to the sale and the use of our products, the use of their goods and services, the use of facilities and state of our owned facilities, the state of the assets and businesses that we sell and other matters covered by such contracts, usually up to a specified maximum amount. In addition, from time to time we also provide protection to these parties against claims related to undiscovered liabilities, additional product liabilities or environmental obligations. In our experience, claims made under such indemnifications are rare and the associated estimated fair value of the liability is not material.