• Amortization of purchased intangibles, including purchased technology, patents, customer relationships, trademarks, backlog and non-compete agreements;
• Amortization of step-up in value of inventory recorded as part of purchase price accounting; and
• One-time charges associated with the completion of an acquisition including items such as contract termination costs, severance and other acquisition-related restructuring costs; costs incurred in connection with integration activities; and legal and accounting costs.

Stock-based compensation expense: Stock-based compensation expense relates primarily to employee stock options, restricted stock units, performance stock units and the employee stock purchase plan. Stock-based compensation expense is a non-cash expense that is affected by changes in market factors including the price of Cypress’ common shares, which are not within the control of management. In addition, the valuation of stock-based compensation is subjective, and the expense recognized by Cypress may be significantly different than the expense recognized by other companies for similar equity awards, which makes it difficult to assess Cypress’ results compared to its competitors. Accordingly, management excludes this item from its internal operating forecasts and models. However, a limitation of non-GAAP measures that exclude stock-based compensation expense is that they do not reflect the full costs of compensating employees.

Other adjustments: Other items are excluded from non-GAAP financial measures because management does not consider them to be related to the core operating activities and ongoing operating performance of Cypress. Excluding these items, which can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, allows management to better compare Cypress’ period-over-period performance. However, limitations of non-GAAP measures that exclude these items include that these adjustments are often subjective and such non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Other adjustments primarily include:

• Changes in value of deferred compensation plan assets and liabilities,
• Investment-related gains or losses, including equity method investments,
• Restructuring and related costs,
• Loss on extinguishment of debt,
• Amortization of debt issuance costs, discounts and imputed interest related to the equity component of convertible debt,
• Asset impairments,
• Tax effects of non-GAAP adjustments,
• Income tax adjustment related to the use of the net operating loss, non-cash impact of not asserting indefinite reinvestment on earnings of our foreign subsidiaries, deferred tax expense not affecting taxes payable (i.e. release of valuation allowance), and non-cash expense (benefit) related to uncertain tax positions,
• Certain other expenses and benefits, and
• Diluted weighted average shares non-GAAP adjustment - for purposes of calculating non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, the GAAP diluted weighted average shares outstanding is adjusted to include the impact of non-GAAP adjustments on the number of diluted shares underlying stock-based compensation awards and the impact of the capped call transactions related to the convertible notes.

Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting net income (loss) attributable to Cypress to exclude (without duplication): interest expense, income tax provision, depreciation, amortization, equity in net loss of equity method investees, and the non-GAAP adjustments described above (acquisition related charges, stock-based compensation expense, and other adjustments). Commencing in the second quarter of 2018, Cypress reconciles adjusted EBITDA to GAAP net income rather than operating income; prior period reconciliation tables have been revised to conform to the current presentation. Adjusted EBITDA may be useful to management, investors and other users of our financial information because the exclusion of certain gains, losses, and expenses facilitates comparisons of Cypress' operating performance on a period to period basis. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to invest in the growth of the business. In addition, adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to net income attributable to Cypress, operating income, or diluted earnings per share, or other financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow is calculated as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less acquisition of property, plant and equipment, net (i.e., acquisition of property, plant and equipment less proceeds received from disposition of property, plant and equipment). We consider free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by business operations, after deducting our net payments for acquisitions and dispositions of property and equipment, which cash can then be used for strategic opportunities or other business purposes including, among others, investing in the Company's business, repurchasing stock, making strategic acquisitions, repayment of debt, and strengthening the balance sheet. A limitation of free cash flow is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the net increase in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash as presented in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of cash flows prepared in accordance with GAAP which incorporates all cash movements during the period.