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Jabil Removes the Names of Top Customers From Filing
Omission raises questions about key customer relationships which JBL warned analysts not to ask about on last earnings call.
January 8, 2021
Jabil (JBL) removed the names of its top customers from its latest 10-Q. The company’s last quarterly filing was also its 10-K in which it warns investors of customer concentration and listed its top customers.
“We depend, and expect to continue to depend, upon a relatively small number of customers for a significant percentage of our net revenue, which in turn depends upon their growth, viability and financial stability. Based on net revenue, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, our largest customers include Amazon.com, Inc., Apple, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Ingenico Group, Johnson and Johnson, LM Ericsson Telephone Company, NetApp, Inc., SolarEdge Technologies Inc., and Tesla, Inc.”
In its most recent 10-Q, Jabil maintains its customer concentration warning but omits the names of its top customers.
“We depend, and expect to continue to depend, upon a relatively small number of customers for a significant percentage of our net revenue, which in turn depends upon their growth, viability and financial stability.”
Jabil’s latest 10-Q also adds language to its warning about forward-looking statements that raises questions. Though these risks are referenced elsewhere in the 10-K last quarter, Jabil felt compelled to add language to the forward-looking statements section warning investors about the competitive challenges impacting its top customers.
“...our dependence on a limited number of customers; competitive challenges affecting our customers; managing rapid declines or increases in customer demand and other related customer challenges that may occur; risks arising from relationships with emerging companies…”
Jabil just reported record quarterly revenue and raised guidance. Prior to taking questions on its earnings call, JBL warned analysts not to ask about its customers.
“As we begin the Q&A session, I'd like to remind our call participants that per our customer agreements, we cannot address any customer or product-specific questions. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.”
It contradicts the 10-K JBL filed five months earlier in which it did discuss specific customers and how much revenue they account for. Though the filings raise questions, the language management uses on the earnings call suggests its top customers— and JBL’s relationship with them— are strong.
“On top of this, during the quarter, a few of our highly regarded strategic customers in our mobility, connected devices and cloud businesses experienced unexpected high levels of demand in Q1, which caused revenue to come in much higher than expected.”
“And the one thing is, is when you do what we do, you're in the middle of all those discussions because we are the primary manufacturing partner to so many outstanding customers and brands.”
“But to me, the results themselves are really an output of us taking great care of customers and obsessing around our customers. And along with obsession around our customers that drive these financial results, we also spend, I think, just a tremendous amount of time as a leadership team, talking about approach because results can be derived in many different ways.”
DuDil has asked Jabil for an explanation for the omission, whether it has lost a top customer, or if there’s been a material change in how much key customers intend to spend with the company and will update subscribers when new information is developed.
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