Here are 1-2 brief analogies to describe NetApp (NTAP):

• They are like the VMware of enterprise data management and hybrid cloud storage.
• Think of them as similar to Dell's enterprise storage division (formerly EMC), but with a strong specialization in managing data seamlessly across hybrid cloud environments.

• ONTAP Software: The foundational operating system for data management across hybrid cloud environments, enabling storage efficiency and flexibility.
• All-Flash and Hybrid Storage Arrays (FAS/AFF): On-premises hardware systems providing high-performance and scalable data storage for enterprise workloads.
• Cloud Storage Services: Managed data storage solutions offered natively within major public cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
• Data Management & Protection Software: Software products offering advanced capabilities for data replication, backup, recovery, and application-aware data mobility.

NetApp (NTAP) primarily sells its data storage and management solutions to other companies, making it a B2B (business-to-business) enterprise.

While NetApp serves a vast number of enterprise customers across various industries (including financial services, government, high technology, life sciences, manufacturing, media, and telecommunications), specific end-user customer names are generally not disclosed publicly due to competitive reasons and client confidentiality. However, NetApp has significant strategic partnerships and sales relationships with major cloud service providers who integrate and offer NetApp's technology as part of their own cloud services. These relationships represent major customer and partner engagements for NetApp.

Major customer categories and identifiable customer companies include:

• Hyperscale Cloud Service Providers: NetApp has deep integrations and partnerships with these providers, who consume NetApp's technology (e.g., Cloud Volumes ONTAP, Azure NetApp Files, Google Cloud NetApp Volumes) and offer it as a service to their own customer base.
  • Amazon Web Services (part of Amazon.com, Inc. - Symbol: AMZN)
  • Microsoft Azure (part of Microsoft Corp. - Symbol: MSFT)
  • Google Cloud (part of Alphabet Inc. - Symbol: GOOGL)
• Large Enterprises and Government Agencies: NetApp sells directly and through channel partners to a broad range of large businesses and public sector organizations globally. While specific names of these end-user customers are not disclosed, this represents the largest portion of NetApp's diverse customer base across sectors like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology.

• Intel Corporation (INTC)
• Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)
• Western Digital Corporation (WDC)
• Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX)
• Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
• NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)

George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer

George Kurian joined NetApp in 2011 and was named Chief Executive Officer in June 2015. Prior to his CEO role, he served as executive vice president of Product Operations and senior vice president of the Data ONTAP Group at NetApp. Before joining NetApp, Kurian was vice president and general manager of the Application Networking and Switching Technology Group at Cisco Systems. His career also includes roles as vice president at Akamai Technologies, management consulting at McKinsey & Company, and leading software engineering and product management teams at Oracle Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University. His twin brother, Thomas Kurian, is the CEO of Google Cloud.

Wissam Jabre, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Wissam Jabre was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NetApp, effective March 10, 2025. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Western Digital Corporation. Jabre was also Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Dialog Semiconductor from 2016 until its acquisition by Renesas Electronics in 2021. He has held senior finance roles at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Freescale Semiconductor, and Motorola, and began his career in engineering and finance at Schlumberger. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut.

César Cernuda, President

César Cernuda has led NetApp's integrated go-to-market organization since July 2020. Before joining NetApp, Cernuda had a long career at Microsoft, where he served as president of Microsoft Asia Pacific, president of Microsoft Latin America, and global corporate vice president of the brand. He holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from ESIC Business & Marketing School.

Harvinder (Harv) Bhela, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer

Harvinder (Harv) Bhela joined NetApp in 2022 and leads product and engineering teams, focusing on multi-cloud and AI-powered data services. Prior to NetApp, he spent 25 years at Microsoft, where he was instrumental in the growth of Office 365, launched Windows 10, and led the Microsoft 365 Security business. Bhela holds a B. Eng. from the University of Mumbai and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota.

Gus Shahin, Executive Vice President of Business Technology and Operations

Gus Shahin drives IT, Operations, Security, and Process Excellence functions at NetApp, having joined in September 2024. Before his tenure at NetApp, Shahin spent 25 years at Flex, where he led global IT and business process transformation as CIO and VP. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and an M.S. from the University of Western Ontario.

The accelerating adoption of container-native storage (CNS) solutions and paradigms for cloud-native application development. As enterprises increasingly build and deploy applications using microservices, containers, and Kubernetes, the demand for storage and data management solutions purpose-built for these environments is growing rapidly. These solutions, often integrated directly with public cloud providers' native services or leveraging open-source projects (e.g., Ceph, Rook, Portworx, Longhorn, MinIO), can offer different cost structures, operational models, and architectural fit compared to NetApp's traditional enterprise storage offerings or even its cloud-integrated solutions. This trend threatens to bypass NetApp's established data management platforms for a significant and growing segment of new enterprise workloads, potentially shifting data away from their core products.

• Hybrid Cloud Business: The addressable market for NetApp's hybrid cloud business is characterized by a 4–6% revenue CAGR. The company has set fiscal year 2025 revenue targets for this segment between $6.6 billion and $7 billion.
• Public Cloud Services: NetApp anticipates its public cloud annual recurring revenue (ARR) to reach $1 billion by 2024 and $2 billion by fiscal year 2026. Public cloud revenues are expected to be between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, with an estimated 50% public cloud revenue CAGR.
• All-Flash Array (AFA) Solutions: The annualized net revenue run rate for NetApp's all-flash array offerings reached $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, marking a 14% year-over-year increase. This figure was $3.6 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

• Growth in Public Cloud Services and Storage-as-a-Service (Keystone): NetApp anticipates significant revenue growth from its expanding public cloud services portfolio, including first-party and marketplace offerings. This is reinforced by strategic partnerships with hyperscalers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, and the increasing adoption of its Keystone storage-as-a-service solution, which contributes to recurring revenue and professional services.
• Expansion and Adoption of All-Flash Storage Solutions: The company is experiencing robust demand and gaining market share in its all-flash array (AFA) portfolio. New product introductions and the ongoing need for customers to modernize their legacy storage infrastructure are expected to continue driving revenue growth in this segment.
• Capitalizing on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market Opportunity: NetApp is strategically positioning itself to benefit from the burgeoning AI market by providing AI-ready data management and storage solutions. Integrations with platforms like NVIDIA's AI Data Platform and offerings such as AIPod Mini are crucial as enterprises adopt generative AI (GenAI) and other data-intensive AI workloads.
• Demand for Hybrid Cloud Solutions and Unified Data Management: NetApp's core strategy revolves around delivering a unified, enterprise-grade data platform that connects, protects, and activates data across diverse hybrid and multi-cloud environments. This approach addresses the ongoing need for businesses to manage data seamlessly across both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, fostering innovation and resilience.

Share Repurchases

• NetApp authorized an additional $1 billion stock repurchase program on March 17, 2022, and another $1 billion authorization was announced on June 1, 2023.
• In fiscal year 2023, NetApp repurchased approximately 13 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of $850 million.
• NetApp returned $1.57 billion to stockholders through share repurchases and cash dividends in fiscal year 2025, and $404 million in Q1 fiscal year 2026, which included $300 million in share repurchases.

Share Issuance

• Proceeds from the issuance of common stock under employee stock award plans amounted to $100 million in fiscal year 2024, $108 million in fiscal year 2023, and $105 million in fiscal year 2022.
• The number of shares outstanding has shown a declining trend over the last few years, indicating that repurchases generally exceed issuances.

Outbound Investments

• NetApp made several strategic acquisitions focusing on cloud infrastructure and CloudOps, including Spot for $450 million in 2020, CloudCheckr in October 2021, Fylamynt in February 2022, and Instaclustr in April 2022.
• In January 2025, NetApp sold parts of its Spot by NetApp and CloudCheckr businesses to Flexera for an estimated $100 million, to streamline its focus on core operations, hybrid cloud, and AI initiatives.

Capital Expenditures

• NetApp's capital expenditures (purchases of property and equipment) were $155 million in fiscal year 2024, $239 million in fiscal year 2023, and $226 million in fiscal year 2022.
• In fiscal year 2025, capital expenditure was reported as -$168 million, which refers to capital outlays.
• NetApp's manufacturing strategy aims to minimize capital investments and overhead, while capital expenditures support ongoing operations and investment requirements.