Standard&Poor's Ratings Services expects Lam Research Corp.'s trailing-12-month revenues and margins to decline moderately through at least the March 2012 quarter, on continuing economic uncertainty and reduced consumer spending on electronics, which is leading many of Lam's chip manufacturing customers to reduce capital expenditures. However, relative to its peers, we expect Lam to maintain present cash levels and competitive positioning. Adjusted debt-to-EBITDA is currently under 1x and is likely to remain below 2x on a trailing basis through at least early 2012. Lam is a global producer of plasma etch and single-wafer cleaning tools used to manufacture memory, logic, and micro-electromechanical system devices. We view Lam's business risk as fair, primarily reflecting the company's steadily improving competitive position
