UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

xANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20122015

OR

 

¨TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from             to            

Commission File Number: 001-35375

Zynga Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Delaware 42-1733483

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

699 Eighth Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip
699 Eighth Street

94103

(Zip Code)

San Francisco, CA

(Address of principal executive offices)

(855) 449-9642

(Registrant’s Telephone Number,telephone number, including Area Code)area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class:

 

Name of each exchange on which registered:

Class A Common Stock, par value $.00000625$0.00000625 per share The Nasdaq Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨x    No  x¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer x  Accelerated filer  ¨
Non-accelerated filer ¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)  Smaller reporting company  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 of the Act)12b-2).    Yes  ¨    No  x

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equitystock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $3,257,034,695 as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter,on June 30, 2015, based upon the closing sale price of $2.86 of the registrant’s Class A Common Stock as reported on Thethe NASDAQ Global Select Market, reported for such date.was approximately $2.230 billion, which excludes 144.5 million shares of the registrant’s common stock held on June 30, 2015 by then current executive officers, directors, and stockholders that the registrant has concluded are affiliates of the registrant.

As of February 15, 2013,12, 2016, there were 598,057,857728,915,069 shares of the registrant’s Class A common stock outstanding, 166,918,231113,522,135 shares of the registrant’s Class B common stock outstanding and 20,517,472 shares of the registrant’s Class C common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. The proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

 

 

 


Zynga Inc.

Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 20122015

 

     Page 

PART I

   

Item 1.

 Business   34  

Item 1A.

 Risk Factors   11  

Item 1B.

 Unresolved Staff Comments   3241  

Item 2.

 Properties   3241  

Item 3.

 Legal Proceedings   3341  

Item 4.

 Mine Safety Disclosures   3341  

PART II

   

Item 5.

 

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

   3442  

Item 6.

 Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data   3644  

Item 7.

 

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

   4048  

Item 7A.

 Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk   6371  

Item 8.

 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data   6572  

Item 9.

 

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

   101111  

Item 9A.

 Controls and Procedures   101111  

Item 9B.

 Other Information   101111  

PART III

   

Item 10.

 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance   102112  

Item 11.

 Executive Compensation   102112  

Item 12.

 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

   102112  

Item 13.

 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence   102112  

Item 14.

 Principal Accounting Fees and Services   102112  

PART IV

   

Item 15.

 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules   103113  
 Signatures   109118  

Zynga, the Zynga logo and other trademarks or service marks of Zynga appearing in this report are the property of Zynga. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this report are the property of their respective holders.

References in this report to “DAUs” mean daily active users of our games, “MAUs” mean monthly active users of our games, “MUUs” mean monthly unique users of our games, “ABPU” means average daily bookings per average DAU and “MUPs” mean monthly unique payers ofin our games. Unless otherwise indicated, these metrics are based on internally-derived measurements across all platforms on which our games are played. For further information about ABPU, DAUs, MAUs, MUPs, and MUUs as measured by us, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics.”

i


SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “might,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “outlook,” “target,” “expect,” or similar expressions, or the negative or plural of these words or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning or impacted by the following:

 

our future spend, including spend on R&D and marketing and our future margins;

our future operational plans, use of cash, strategies and prospects;

the breadth and depth of our 2015 game slate and our game slate for 2016 and the success of these slates, including launches from our 2015 game slate (Words on Tour,Empires & Allies,FarmVille: Harvest Swap,Mountain Goat Mountain,Black Diamond Casino andPrincess Bride Slots) and expected future launches from our 2016 game slate (includingDawn of Titans,CSR2,CityVille Mobile, a sequel toFarmVille 2: Country Escape,Spin It Rich!,Willy Wonka Slots,True Vegas,Vegas Diamond Slots,Crazy Cake Swap and a Wizard of Oz branded match-3 game);

our ability to change our mix of R&D and unlaunched game slate to live games;

our ability to increase the predictability of our business and to continue to transition to mobile;

our planned launch of mobile first games and new features for existing games;

our ability to grow mobile bookings in 2016 and beyond;

our cost structure and cost reduction plans and estimated savings and charges, including our reduction in workforce and reduction in centralized services costs and spend;

our ability to accelerate execution, drive profitability and nurture creativity and innovation while reducing costs and lowering discretionary spend;

our ability to execute against our turnaround strategy and deliver long-term value to our shareholders, employees and players and fulfill our mission to connect the world through games;

our ability to accurately forecast our upcoming game launches and bookings and revenue related to upcoming game launches and our existing games;

our ability to accurately forecast our bookings, revenue and performance of our existing games;

our relationship or agreements with key licensing partners, additional platform providers or any other key partners;

our ability to launch and monetize successful new games and features for web and mobile in a timely manner and the success of these games and features;

��

our ability to sustain player engagement, optimize our games to increase long-term player retention and monetize our live games (including our Slots games,Words With Friends,Zynga Poker, andFarmVille franchise games) and games in geo-lock testing, (including,Dawn of Titans,CSR2, CityVille Mobile,Spin It Rich!,Vegas Diamond Slots andCrazy Cake Swap);

our ability to renew our existing brand, technology and content licenses as they expire and secure new licenses for top brands;

the success of our acquisition of Rising Tide Games, Inc. (“Rising Tide Games”) and Zindagi Games, Inc. (“Zindagi”);

the process of integrating NaturalMotion Limited’s (“NaturalMotion’s”), Rising Tide Games and Zindagi’s operations with ours, including but not limited to our expected ability to expand our creative pipeline, accelerate our growth on mobile and deliver hit games on schedule from NaturalMotion, Rising Tide Games and Zindagi;

the effectiveness of our marketing program and initiatives and our ability to obtain game featuring from partners;

our strategy of backing proven teams to develop or expand our game offerings in the content categories where we are focused, the timely launch of our games in these categories and the success of these games;

our relationship with Facebook, changes in the Facebook platform or changes in our agreementsagreement with Facebook;

 

our abilityrelationship with Apple, Google and other Android platform providers, changes to launch successful new gamesthe Android or iOS platforms and hit games for web and mobile generally/or changes in a timely manner;

sustaining and expanding our franchise games;agreements with Apple, Google or other Android platform providers;

 

our ability to expandattract and retain key employees in light of business challenges, including employees key to franchise games and planned launches and senior management;

the impact of change in our offerings across several game genres;senior management team and management teams, new hires and other changes in our organization;

the strength of our balance sheet and our ability to effectively manage our cost structure and investments;

the timely launch and success of our games, including the launch of our 2016 game slate (includingDawn of Titans,CSR2,CityVille Mobile, a sequel toFarmVille 2: Country Escape,Spin It Rich!,Willy Wonka Slots,True Vegas,Vegas Diamond Slots, Crazy Cake Swap and a Wizard of Oz branded match-3 game);

our ability to efficiently deploy employees and leverage our teams and talent, including shifting resources when necessary to prioritize more important projects;

 

our ability to extenduse data analytics to improve our brandplayer experience, gameplay and games to mobile platforms;monetization;

 

our ability to transition our web franchises to mobile and createmanage new franchises on the web and mobile;IP costs;

 

competition in our industry;

our ability to maintain technology infrastructure and employees that can efficiently and reliably handle increased player usage, changes in mobile devices and game platforms, fast load times and the growthrapid deployment of new features and products;

our ability to anticipate and address technical challenges that may arise;

our ability to protect our players’ information and adequately address privacy concerns;

our ability to maintain reliable security services and infrastructure to protect against security breaches, computer malware and hacking attacks;

market opportunity in the social gamesgaming market, including the mobile market, and the advertising market, the market for social game categories in which we invest, and our ability to capitalize on and contribute to this market opportunity;

the success of our advertising offerings, and our ability to grow advertising bookings;

our ability to successfully monitor and adapt to changes in gaming platform and consumer demand as the industry continues to evolve;

our ability to develop, identify, market and launch hit games and new features and content for our existing games in a timely manner;

 

the ability of our games to generate revenue and bookings for a significant period of time after launch and the timing for market acceptance of new games;

retainingattrition or decline in existing games’ audience and adding players and increasing the monetization of our player base;financial performance, including franchise games;

 

expanding our player network, including creatingability to utilize, protect, defend and building a mobile network and the success of that network;enforce our intellectual property;

 

user trafficour exposure to intellectual property disputes and publishingother litigation;

our exposure to illegitimate credit card activity and other security risks, including sales or purchases of virtual goods used in our games fromthrough unauthorized or illegitimate third-party developerswebsites;

our ability to manage risks, costs and other challenges associated with international expansion;

the impact of laws and regulations on our network;business;

 

our evaluation of new business opportunities and acquisitions by us, including our expansion into real money gaming;integration of newly acquired businesses;

 

our plans and opportunities to expand into real money gamingchanges in the United Kingdom and elsewhere;corporate strategy or management;

 

our ability to rationalizeunderstand industry trends, such as seasonality, and position our product pipeline, reduce marketing and technology expenditures and consolidate certain facilities;business to take advantage of these trends;

 

our cost reduction plansability to build on our social legacy in both our web games and estimated savingsour new mobile games and charges;

capital expenditures and investment in ourbuild a player network infrastructure, including data centers;

successfully acquiring and integrating companies and assets.across mobile games;

 

our use of working capitalability to operate in general;

maintaining a technology infrastructure that can efficientlyan entrepreneurial manner, successfully invest in and reliably handle increased player usage, fast load timesinnovate on game mechanics and the deployment of new featuressuccessfully invest in and products;

attractingleverage data and retaining qualified employees and key personnel;

maintaining, protecting and enhancinganalytics in our intellectual property;

protecting our players’ information and adequately addressing privacy concerns;operations; and

 

the effectiveness of our stock repurchase program.cost cutting activities and our ability to control and reduce expenses, including our estimated savings and charges associated with our restructuring efforts.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and industry. We are also highly reliant on Facebook and

the Facebook platform for a significant portion of our revenue. Our relationship with Facebook, the Facebook platform and our agreements with Facebook are subject to change. New risks may also emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all of the risks related to our business and operations, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated, predicted or implied in the forward-looking statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Weoccur, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those described in the section titled “Risk Factors.” Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

Zynga Inc. (“Zynga” or “we” or “the Company”) is the world’sa leading provider of social game services. We develop, market and operate online social games as live services played over the Interneton mobile platforms such as iOS and onAndroid and social networking sites and mobile platforms. Our games are accessible on Facebook and other social networks, mobile platforms and Zynga.com.such as Facebook. Generally, all of our games are free to play, and we generate revenue through the in-game sale of virtual goods mobile game download fees and advertising.advertising services.

We are a pioneer and innovator of social games and a leader in making play“play” a core activity on the Internet.mobile devices and social networking sites. We believe our leadership position in social games is the result of our significant investment in our people, content, brand, technology and infrastructure. Our leadership position in social games is defined by the following:

 

  

LargeEngaged and Global Community of Players.According to AppData, asour analytics, during the fourth quarter of December 31, 2012,2015, we had five68 million monthly active users or MAUs, of the top 10 games on Facebook based onwhich 81% were mobile MAUs, and 18 million daily active users or DAUs, of which 82% were mobile DAUs. Our players are also morehighly engaged with our games being played by 6321 million DAUs worldwide for the full year ended 2015, of which 80% were mobile DAUs. According to comScore Mobile Metrix, as of December 31, 2012. According to comScore,2015, Zynga is ranked number 1 in mobile applications in the month of December 2012, players spent more time playing Zynga’s mobileUnited States for monthly unique users in the games than the next five mobile game developers combined.category.

 

  

Leading Portfolio of Social Games. We have manydeveloped a number of the most popular and successful online social games including thegames in our Slots,FarmVille,Words With Friendsand,Zynga Poker franchises, Bubble Safari, ChefVille,and Draw SomethingFarmVille. As of December 31, 2012, according to AppData, we had three of the top five social games on Facebook based on DAUs. franchises.

 

  

Scalable Technology and Data. We processleverage our technology to increase player engagement, cross-promote our portfolio of games, continually enhance existing games, launch new games and serve more than a petabyte of content forbuild the Zynga brand. We believe our scale results in network effects that deliver compelling value to our players, every day, a volumeand we are committed to making significant investments to grow our community of data that we believe is unmatched in the social game industry. We continually analyze game data to optimize our games.players, their engagement and monetization over time. We believe that combining data analytics with creative game design enables us to create a superior player experience.

OnIn 2015, we launched several new games on mobile platforms, we have several of the most popular games,and web includingWords With Friendson Tour,Draw SomethingEmpires & Allies,FarmVille: Harvest Swap,Mountain Goat Mountain,Black Diamond Casino andZynga PokerPrincess Bride Slots. In March 2012,May 2015, we entered the mobile Action Strategy category withEmpires & Allies and were listed among the “2015 Best New Games” awarded by Google Play and “2015 Best Mobile Games” awarded by Facebook.Words with Friends also earned “Best Free Game of 2015” by Apple announced thatWords With Friendsand was number three onlocalized in six global languages. Inclusion in these rankings demonstrates our commitment to developing high quality mobile social games. In the 25 most downloaded iOS appsthird quarter of all time for2015, we also acquired Rising Tide Games to expand our footprint in the iPhone and tenth most downloaded for the iPad. In December 2012,Zynga Poker was named the top grossing App of 2012 according to the App Store chart.

We leverage our scale to increase player engagement, cross-promote our portfolio ofsocial casino games continually enhance existing games, launch new games and build the Zynga brand. We believe our scale results in network effects that deliver compelling value to our players, and we are committed to making significant investments to grow our community of players, their engagement and our monetization over time.space.

Consistent with our free-to-play business model, a small portion of our players have historically been payers. During the three months ended December 31, 2012,2015, we had approximately 2.90.8 million monthly unique payers or MUPs (excluding payers who use certain payment methods for which unique payer data is not available)available, NaturalMotion legacy games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide). Because the opportunity for social interactions increases as the number of players increases, we believe that maintaining and growing our overall number of players, including the number of players who may not purchase virtual goods, is important to the success of our business. As a result, we believe that the number of players who choose to purchase virtual goods will continue to constitute a small portion of our overall players as our business grows.players.

Our top three games historically have contributed the majority of our revenue. Our top three games accounted for 55%53%, 57%60% and 78%54% of our online game revenue in 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 2010,2013, respectively.

Our operations are headquartered in San Francisco, California, and we have several operating locations in the U.S. as well as various international office locations in AsiaIndia and Europe. We were originally organized in

April 2007 and completed our initial public offering in December 2011, and our2011. Our Class A common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ZNGA.” As

Our Strategy and Core Commitments

Our mission is to connect the world through games. In pursuit of December 31, 2012,our mission, we had 3,058 full-time employees.encourage entrepreneurship and intelligent risk-taking to produce great games and breakthrough innovations. Our goal from a content perspective is to create top hits that engage mainstream global audiences.

We encourage innovation, the creation of compelling game experiences and moving with a sense of urgency to capitalize on our opportunities for our success and the benefit of our players. These factors are critical to extending our leadership position as we seek to continue building successful franchises.

Our Social Games

We design our social games to provide players with shared experiences that surprise and delight them. Our social games leverage the global connectivity and distribution on Facebook, other social networks, mobile platforms such as iOS and the With Friends Network, including Zynga.com.Android and social networking sites such as Facebook. Our games are generally free to play, span a number of genrescategories and attract a community of players that is demographically and geographically diverse. We operate our games as live services and update them with fresh content and new features to make them more social, enhance player engagement and improve monetization. We analyze the data generated by our players’ game play and social interactions to guide the creation of new content and features. We use this ongoing feedback loop to keep our games compelling and enhance the player experience.

We believe expanding our offerings across several game genres is critical to our success. We will invest in several game categories, including the following:

Invest & Express. Represented by our market-leading web games such asFarmVille,CityVille,FarmVille 2, ChefVille andCastleVille, these games allow our players to express their personalities by customizing the appearances of their characters and building their own virtual city, farm, restaurant or castle.

Casino.Zynga Poker was our first social game and is the largest free-to-play online poker game in the world; we plan to continue our investment in this category.

Casual. Includes some of our most popular titles likeWords With Friends, Scramble With Friends, Draw Something andBubble Safari, these games provide chances for friendly competition and allow our players to quickly connect with friends and family when they start a game and to build and enhance these relationships throughout the game experience.

Midcore Player versus Player. We began our investment in this category with the launch ofMafia Wars in June 2008 and have continued that investment with the launch ofAyakashi in 2012 along with recently published games includingHorn andRespawnables.

We generate revenue from the following online services:

Virtual Goods and Paid DownloadsOur Content

Our primary revenue source is the sale of virtual currency that players use to buy in-game virtual goods. Virtual currency can also be earned for free through game play or by accepting promotional offers from our advertising partners. We also generate revenue when players purchase mobile game downloads.

Advertising

Our advertising services offer creative ways for marketers and advertisers to reach and engage with our players. The goal of our engagement-based advertising is to enhance the player experience while delivering real value to advertisers. Our advertising offerings include:

Branded Virtual Goods and Sponsorshipsthat integrate advertising within game play;

Engagement Ads and Offersin which players can answer certain questions, watch-to-earn engagements or sign up for third party services to receive virtual currency;

Mobile Adsthrough ad-supported free versions of our mobile games, such asWords with Friends;

Display Ads in our online web games that include banner advertisements; and

Licensing of our brands in toy and game product lines.

With Friends Network

We plan to expand our With Friends Network in 2013 to be accessible to both web players and mobile players alike to make games more engaging, more social and more profitable. We began this effort with our beta launch of Zynga.com on the web in 2012. The With Friends Network enables players to meet and connect with other players who share a love for social games across both web and mobile, ultimately giving them more friends to play with. Players progress faster in their games by connecting with the entire With Friends Network to instantly get what they need to complete quests, obtain virtual items and advance to the next level.

Our Strategy

Our mission is to connect the world through games. In pursuit of our mission, we encourage entrepreneurship and intelligent risk taking to produce great games and breakthrough innovations. The key elements of our strategy are:

 

  

Make Games Free, Accessible and Fun. We operate our games as live services that are available anytime and anywhere. We design our social games to provide players with easy access to shared experiences that delight, amuse and entertain, and we will continue to update our games on an ongoing basis with fresh content and new features to make them more social and fun for our players.

 

  

Launch New Games. We will continue to invest in building new games to expand the genres of games that we offer, further engage with our existing playersSustain and attract new players.

Continue Mobile Growth. We believe there is a large opportunity to extend our brand and games to mobile platforms such as Apple iOS and Google Android. We also believe the With Friends Network, our social gaming network for mobile players, will enhance our audience and increase the engagement of our mobile players. We will continue to make our games accessible on a large number of mobile and other Internet-connected devices and invest in developing and acquiring mobile development talent, technologies and content.

Enhance ExistingGrow Live Franchises. We will continue to enhance the games that make up our market-leading franchises including Slots,FarmVille, Words withWith Friendsand,Zynga Poker andFarmVille. We regularly update our games after launch to encourage social interactions, add new content and features and seek to improve monetization.

 

  

Create the Leading Game NetworkNew Hits..We are committed to creating the leading social game network for players and began this effort with the launch of Zynga.com for web players in 2012. We plan to further expand our With Friends Network in 2013 to be accessible to both web players and mobile players alike to make games more engaging, more social and more profitable. We have opened up our application programming interface (“API”) layer to third party developers andwill continue to registerinvest in building new developersgames and partners who want to launch theirexpand the number of categories of games that we offer, as well as offer our games on multiple platforms so players can access our network.games on various devices. For example, in addition to multiple in-game features and events, this year we releasedWords on Tour andFarmVille: Harvest Swap in the Casual category,Black Diamond Casino andPrincess Bride Slots in the Social Casino category andEmpires & Allies in the Action Strategy category.

 

  

Expand Into RMG.Growth on Mobile. In the first half of 2013, we plan to expand into RMG in the United Kingdom through a partnership with bwin.party, a leading international RMG operator. We believe thisthere is a greatlarge opportunity to enter the real money gaming market.extend our brand and games to mobile platforms including Apple iOS and Google Android. We shifted our business to focus on mobile first games in 2015. We also believe our acquisition of NaturalMotion in 2014 will continue to look for opportunities to create high quality gaming experiences foraccelerate our playersmobile growth and add mobile titles in this market. In Decemberstrategic game categories.

Our Franchises

We have created evergreen franchises such as Slots,Words With Friends,Zynga Poker andFarmVille. In 2016, we expect to move into new game categories that align with the timeless entertainment categories that consumers care about, including the Action Strategy category.

We currently invest in several game categories, including the following:

Social Casino. IncludesZynga Poker and our Slots games such asHit it Rich! Slots, Wizard of 2012 we filed an Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.Oz Slots, Princess Bride Slots andBlack Diamond Casino.

 

  

ExtendCasual. Includes one of our Technology Leadership Position.most popular mobile-game titlesWords With Friends, which launched a localized version in six new languages, including Spanish, French, German and Italian in the third quarter of 2015.Games in this category provide chances for friendly competition and allow our players to quickly connect with friends and family when they start a game and to build and enhance relationships throughout the game experience.

Action Strategy. Our proprietary technology stackIncludesEmpires & Allies, which launched in the second quarter of 2015. Games in this category emphasize skillful thinking and data analytics are competitive advantages planning to achieve victory against other players. There is also a strong social focus as players can connect with friends to achieve a common goal, such as the Alliances feature inEmpires & Allies.

Invest Express.Represented by our games such asFarmVille,FarmVille 2 andFarmVille 2: Country Escape, these games allow our players to express their personalities by customizing the appearances of their farms.

We also may invest in other strategic categories in the future.

Our Network

Players progress faster in their games by connecting with friends and other players in our network to instantly get what they need to complete quests, obtain virtual items and enhance their experience. We aspire to leverage our existing and new games to bring the best social playing experiences to our audience. Our network enables users to discover new games, find and connect with new friends, challenge, cooperate and compete with friends; all of which drive higher user engagement for games on our network.

Our Revenues

We generate revenue from the following live services:

Virtual Goods and Paid Downloads

Our primary revenue source is the sale of virtual currency that players use to buy in-game virtual goods. Virtual currency can also be earned for free through game play or by accepting promotional offers from our advertising partners. We also generate revenue when players purchase mobile game downloads.

Advertising and Licensing

Our advertising services offer creative ways for marketers and advertisers to reach and engage with our players. The goal of our engagement-based advertising is to enhance the player experience while delivering real value to advertisers. Our advertising offerings include:

Branded Virtual Goods and Sponsorshipsthat enhanceintegrate relevant advertising and messaging within game play;

Engagement Ads and Offersin which players can answer certain questions, watch-to-earn engagements or sign up for third party services to receive virtual currency and in-game bonuses;

Mobile Adsthrough ad-supported free versions of our ability to create the world’s best social games. We will continue to innovatemobile games;

Display Ads in our online web games that include banner advertisements; and optimize

Licensing our network infrastructure to cost-effectively ensure high performance and high availability for our social games.brands.

Our Technology Stack

We have invested extensively in developing our proprietary technology stack, which has the ability to handle sudden bursts of activity for millions of players over a short period of time with high levels of performanceMarketing and reliability, to support the growth of our business. Our proprietary technology stack includes datacenter and cloud computing management, a shared code base, network and cross-promotional features and proprietary data analytics. Our technology stack also supports the growth of our 2D and 3D game engines across the mobile business in addition to supporting high-level security and anti-fraud infrastructure. We believe that our technology stack is a competitive advantage and we will continue to innovate and optimize our stack to extend our technology leadership.

MarketingDistribution

We acquire most of our players through unpaid channels by cross-promoting new games to our existing audience and through paid advertising channels. We have been able to build a large community of players through the viral and sharing features provided by social networks, the social innovations in our games and the network effects of our games.

We are committed to connecting with our players. We have fan pages, generally on Facebook, for each of our games to connect with our players; and we leverage various other forms of social media, including Twitter, to communicate with them. We periodically host live and online player events. We also use traditionaladvertise our games within other mobile applications and on social networks such as Facebook via various in-app advertising activities, primarily online advertising spendingpartners. In 2015 and 2014, we spent $128.9 million and $101.7 million, respectively, on Facebook.these player acquisition costs.

Agreements with Facebook, Apple and Google

To date,Our revenue depends on our continued ability to publish our games on Facebook and on mobile platforms, primarily the iOS and Android platforms. We operate under the standard terms of service for Facebook, Apple and Google and any of these operators could unilaterally alter their terms of service in a manner that could harm our business.

In 2015, we have derived a significant portion29% of our bookings (81% in 2012) and revenue (86% in 2012) and acquired substantially all of our players from our games played on Facebook. We expect to continue to derive a significant portion33% of our revenue from games played on the Facebook platform for the foreseeable future. We have entered into two addenda to Facebook’s standard terms of service that govern the distribution, promotion and operation68% of our games through the Facebook platform. Our first addendum requires us to use Facebook Credits as the primary payment method for anybookings and 64% of our games that are either onrevenue from mobile platforms, such as Apple’s App Store for iOS devices and the Facebook platform or that utilize the data from the Facebook social graph, and requires Facebook to remit to usGoogle Play App Store for Android devices. In 2015, an amount equal to 70% of the price stated to our players. The second addendum obligated us to use Facebook Credits as the sole in-game payment mechanism in any games launched on our own social gaming network, and entitled Facebook to retain 30% of the stated price for transactions on our network. The second addendum also required us to use Facebook as the exclusive social platform for the Zynga properties and to exclusively launch certainincreasing number of our games on the Facebook platform for up to twelve months, subject to certain exceptions.players were generated from mobile platforms.

In June 2012, Facebook announced its plans to discontinue the use of Facebook Credits and instead will offer pricing of our virtual goods in local currencies. Facebook will continue to retain 30% of the stated price for transactions on their platform under the terms of their new payments program. We expect to begin our transition away from Facebook Credits and to adopt Facebook’s local currency-based payments model in the first half of 2013.

On November 28, 2012, we amended our agreements with Facebook such that ourOur use of the Facebook platform and any data derived from Facebook on any Zynga service offered through a Zynga game page (for example, the With Friends Network) will beis governed by Facebook’s standard terms of service beginning on March 31, 2013. Underexcept for certain limited addenda. Our use of mobile platforms and data derived from mobile platforms is also governed by the current terms of service, we will be limited in our ability to use a Facebook user’s friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote the With Friends Network. In December 2012, Facebook amended its standard terms of service of the mobile platforms, primarily Apple and Google.

Research and Development

We believe continued investment in enhancing existing games and developing new games, and in software development tools and code modification, is important to prohibit (i) apps onattaining our strategic objectives. Our research and development expenses were $361.9 million, $396.6 million and $413.0 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, which included stock-based expense of $94.5 million, $83.7 million and $61.9 million, respectively.

Technology and Tools.

We have invested extensively in developing our proprietary technology stack, which has the Facebook canvas from promoting or linkingability to handle sudden bursts of activity for millions of players over a short period of time with high levels of performance and reliability. Our proprietary technology stack includes datacenter and cloud computing management, a shared code base, network and cross-promotional features and proprietary data analytics. Our technology stack also supports the growth of our 2D and 3D game sites other than Facebookengines across the mobile business in addition to supporting high-level security and (ii)anti-fraud infrastructure. We are also investing in machine learning. We believe that investing in technology and tools, including the usesimulation technologies we acquired with our purchase of emails obtained from Facebook to promote or link to desktop web games on platforms other than Facebook.NaturalMotion in 2014, can create competitive advantages as well as extend our technology leadership. We will be prohibited from cross-promoting traffic to games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook from our games on Facebook. We will not be permitted to use e-mail addresses obtained from Facebook to promote desktop web games that are not on the Facebook platform, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Beginning on March 31, 2013, we will no longer be obligated to display Facebook advertising units or utilize Facebook’s payment services (Facebook Credits and/or local-currency based payments) on any Zynga game pages. We will have the right to process our own payments, and Facebook will no longer have the right to receive 30% of the proceeds from payments made on the With Friends Network.

In addition, as of March 31, 2013, we will no longer be required to use Facebook as the exclusive social platform for the Zynga properties, or be required to grant certain title exclusivities of Zynga games on the Facebook platform, subject to certain exceptions. However, any social game launched after March 31, 2013 by Zynga will generally be available through the Facebook web site concurrent with, or shortly following, the time such game is made available on another social platform or a Zynga property.

The addenda, including our recent amendments, with Facebook will each expire in 2015. Our current agreements with Facebook allow our users to use Zynga/Facebook co-branded game cards for the redemption of Facebook Credits and also allow for our own Zynga game cards, which were previously printed and delivered to our distributors and retailers, to continue to be soldinnovate and optimize across our technology and tools to game players until all such cards are sold. We do not plan to printdeliver cost-effective, high performance and sell more of our own cards for redemption on the Facebook platform, however we have the right to sell our own game cards on other platforms, including on the With Friends Network after March 31, 2013.highly available social games.

Intellectual Property

Our business is significantly based on the creation, acquisition, use and protection of intellectual property. Some of this intellectual property is in the form of software code, patented technology and trade secrets that we

use to develop our games and to enable them to run properly on multiple platforms. Other intellectual property we create includes product and feature names and audio-visual elements, including graphics, music, story lines and interface design.

While most of the intellectual property we use is created by us, we have also acquired rights to proprietary intellectual property. We have also obtained rights to use intellectual property through licenses and service agreements with third parties. These licenses typically limit our use of intellectual property to specific uses and for specific time periods.

We protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights,protections, as well as contractual restrictions. We actively seek patent protection covering inventions originating from the company and acquire patents we believe may be useful or relevant to our business. We control access to our proprietary technology by entering into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and confidentiality agreements with third parties. We also actively engage in monitoring and enforcement activities with respect to infringing uses of our intellectual propertytrademarks, copyrights and domain names by third parties.

In addition to these contractual arrangements, we also rely on a combination of trade secret, copyright, trademark, trade dress, domain name and patents to protect our games and other intellectual property. We typically own the copyright to the software code to our content, as well as the trademark for the brand or title name trademark under which our games are marketed. We pursue the registration of our domain names, copyrights, trademarks patents, and service marks in the United States and, for some, in locations outside the United States. Our registered trademarks in the United States include “Zynga,”“Zynga” and the names of our games, and company taglines, among others.

Circumstances outside our control could pose a threat to our intellectual property rights. For example, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in the United States or other countries in which our games are distributed. Also, the efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business or our ability to compete. Also, protecting our intellectual property rights is costly and time-consuming. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of our intellectual property could make it more expensive to do business, thereby harming our operating results.

Companies in the Internet, games, social media, technology and other industries may own large numbers of patents, copyrights and trademarks and may frequently request license agreements, threaten litigation or file suit against us based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. From time to time, we have faced, and we expect to face in the future, allegations by third parties, including our competitors and non-practicing entities, that we have infringed their copyrights, trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights. As we face increasing competition and as our business grows, including into new areas, we will likely face more claims of infringement.

Competition

We face significant competition in all aspects of our business. Specifically, we compete for the leisure time, attention and discretionary spending of our players with other social game developers on the basis of a number of factors, including quality of player experience, brand awareness and reputation and access to distribution channels.

We believe we compete favorably on these factors. However, our industry is evolving rapidly and is becoming increasingly competitive. Other developers of social games could develop more compelling content that competes with our social games and adversely affects our ability to attract and retain players and their entertainment time. These competitors, including companies of which we may not be currently aware, may take advantage of social networks, access to a large user base and their network effects to grow rapidly and virally.

Our competitors include:

 

  

Game Developers for FacebookMobile and Other Social Networks:Web Games:We face competition from a number of competitors who develop social games for use on Facebookmobile and other social networks.web games. These competitors, some of which have significant financial, technical and other resources, greater name recognition and have longer operating histories, may create similar games that appeal to reach our players. The mobile game sector specifically is characterized by frequent product introductions, rapidly emerging mobile platforms, new technologies and new mobile application storefronts. Some of these competitors include Crowdstar, Inc.DeNA Co. Ltd. (Japan), DeNA, Electronic Arts Inc., Gameloft SA, GREE International, Inc., Glu Mobile Inc., King.com Social Point,Inc., Rovio Mobile Ltd., Supercell Inc., GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc., Kabam and The Walt Disney Company, Vostu, Ltd. and Wooga GmbH.Company. Because our games are free to play, we compete primarily on the basis of player experience rather than price. We could face additional competition if large companies with significant online presences, such Facebook, Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation and Tencent Holdings Limited, choose to enter or expand in the social games space or develop competing social games.

Game Developers for Mobile:The mobile game sector is characterized by frequent product introductions, rapidly emerging mobile platforms, new technologies and new mobile application storefronts. Some of our competitors in the mobile game market include Addmired, DeNA Co. Ltd., Disney Mobile, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, GREE International Inc., Rovio Mobile Ltd, Storm8, Inc. and Supercell. Wealso expect new mobile-game competitors to enter the market and existing competitors to allocate more resources to develop and market competing games and applications.

 

  

Other Game Developers:Our players may also play other games on personal computers and consoles, some of which include social features that compete with our social games and have community functions where game developers can engage with their players. Some of these competitors include Activision Blizzard, Inc., Electronic Arts, Riot Games, Valve, Take-Two Interactive, SEGA of America, Inc., and The Walt Disney Company and THQ Inc.Company.

 

  

Other Forms of Media and Entertainment:We compete more broadly for the leisure time and attention of our players with providers of other forms of Internet and mobile entertainment, including social networking, online casual entertainment and music. To the extent existing or potential players choose to read, watch or listen to online content or streaming video or radio, play interactive video games at home or on their computer or mobile devices rather than play social games, these content services pose a competitive threat.

Our Core Values

We were founded on a deeply held passion for games and for family and friends playing together. Our passion for play is at the core of our mission: to connect the world through games. Our mission and our core values drive everything that we do: design social games that everyone wants to play, assemble and retain talented teams, prioritize our opportunities and make investment decisions.

Our core values have enabled us to scale our organization and innovate a new way to play. We encourage innovation, the creation of compelling game experiences and acting quickly. These factors are critical to extending our leadership position as we seek to continue building successful franchises. We embrace ownership, meritocracy, career growth and focus on the long-term to motivate our employees and attract and retain world class game design, product management, engineering and operational talent. We remain steadfast in our commitment to surprise and delight our players. We believe our unique company culture serves as the foundation of our success. Our core values are:

Build games that you and your friends love to play

Surprise and delight our players

Zynga is a meritocracy

Be a CEO and own outcomes

Work Zynga smart

Zynga first; decisions for the greater good

Always innovate

Research and Development

We believe continued investment in enhancing existing games and developing new games, and in software development tools and code modification, is important to attaining our strategic objectives. Our research and development expenses were $645.6 million, $727.0 million and $149.5 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, which included stock-based expense of $200.6 million, $374.9 million and $10.2 million, respectively. We expect research and development expense to rise due to the increasing required investment to launch high quality games across multiple devices and platforms.

Government Regulation

We are subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet and mobile platforms, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. In the United States and internationally, laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are currently being tested by a number of claims, including actions based on invasion of privacy and other torts, unfair competition, copyright and trademark infringement, and other theories based on the nature and content of the materials searched, the ads posted, or the content provided by users. Any court ruling or other governmental action that imposes liability on providers of online services for the activities of their users and other third parties could harm our business. We are potentially subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect the offering of certain types of content, such as that which depicts violence, many of which are ill defined, still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business or expose us to liability.

In addition, rising concern about the use of social networking technologies for illegal conduct, such as the unauthorized dissemination of national security information, money laundering or supporting terrorist activities may in the future produce legislation or other governmental action that could require changes to our games or restrict or impose additional costs upon the conduct of our business.

Some of our games or features are based upon traditional casino games, such as slots and poker. We have structured and operate our casino-themedthese games and features, includingZynga Pokerand Hit It Rich! Slots, with the gambling laws in mind and believe that playing suchthese games doesor features do not constitute gambling. However, we have begun efforts to expand our business to include RMG. We recently announced a partnership agreement with bwin.party to develop, testThere are ongoing academic, political and operate certain real money online poker and casino gamesregulatory discussions in the United Kingdom. The real money games willStates and other jurisdictions regarding whether social casino applications should be powered by the established operating platform and software of bwin.party and will operate under bwin.party’s gambling licenses in the applicable jurisdictions. In addition, in December 2012 we filed an Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. RMG is subject to stringent, complicateda higher level or different type of regulation than other social game applications and, rapidly changing licensing and regulatory requirements, both federally and in each state, as well as internationally. Regulatory and legislative developments, including excessive taxation, may prevent or significantly limit our ability to enter into or succeed in RMG. Becoming familiar with and complying with these requirements will increase our costs and subject our business to greater scrutiny by regulators in many different jurisdictions.if so, what this regulation should include.

We also sometimes offer our players various types of sweepstakes, giveaways and promotion opportunities. We are subject to laws in a number of jurisdictions concerning the operation and offering of such activities, and games, many of

which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. Any court ruling or other governmental action that imposes liability on providers of online services could result in criminal or civil liability and could harm our business.

In the area of information security and data protection, many states have passed laws requiring notification to users when there is a security breach for personal data, such as the 2002 amendment to California’s Information Practices Act, or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to implement. The costs of compliance with these laws may increase in the future as a result of changes in interpretation. Furthermore, any failure on our part to comply with these laws may subject us to significant liabilities.

We are also subject to federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy and protection of player data, including the collection of data from minors. We post our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service online, in which we describe our practices concerning the use, transmission and disclosure of player data. Any failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policy or privacy related laws and regulations could result in proceedings against us by governmental authorities or others, which could harm our business. In addition, the interpretation of many data protection laws, and their application to the Internet is unclear and in a state of flux. There is a risk that these laws may be interpreted and applied in conflicting ways from state to state, country to country, or region to region, and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices. Complying with these varying international requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Further, any failure by us to adequately protect our players’ privacyinformation and data could result in a loss of player confidence in our services and ultimately in a loss of players, which could adversely affect our business.

With the move of our services to mobile devices, we are also subject to additional regulations regarding communication via this channel, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The interpretation of many of these laws, including the TCPA, and their application to current means of communication through mobile devices is unclear and in a state of flux. These laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is not consistent with current industry practices. The costs of compliance with these laws may increase in the future as a result of changes in interpretation and may greatly reduce our ability to contact our players through this channel. Furthermore, failure on our part to comply with these laws may subject us to significant liabilities.

In addition, some concern has been expressed in Europe and in certain countries that social gaming should be regulated to protect consumers, in particular minors and persons susceptible to addiction to social games. This concernEuropean regulators are also considering the efficacy of existing consumer protection laws as they relate to protection of consumers for the purchase of virtual items in applications, including game applications. These concerns could lead to the adoption of legislation or regulations that may impose additional burdens upon us, prohibit the offering of our games to certain users or territories, increase our costs or require changes to our games. These concerns have already led to certain changes in Apple and Google policy and could lead to additional changes.

Also, because our services are accessible worldwide, certain foreign jurisdictions have claimed and others may claim that we are required to comply with their laws, including in jurisdictions where we have no local entity, employees or infrastructure.

Separately, we had a partnership agreement with bwin.party to develop, test and operate certain real money online poker and casino games in the United Kingdom which ended in February 2015.

Seasonality

During fiscal year 2015, approximately 23% of our revenue was derived from advertising and other. Advertising budgets are generally highest during the fourth quarter and decline significantly in the first quarter of the following year, which affects the revenues we derive from advertisements and offers in our games. Additionally, we generally experience increases in game downloads and resulting online games revenues in the fourth quarter and first quarter corresponding to increases in smartphone and tablet purchases during the holiday shopping season.

Employees

Our future success depends upon the continued service of our key technical and management personnel and upon our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, particularly our senior management team and highly skilled game designers, product managers and engineers. We currently have favorable employee relations, but the competition for technical personnel is intense, and the loss of key employees or the inability to hire such employees when needed could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition. As of December 31, 2015, we had 1,669 full-time employees.

Available Information

Our website is located at www.zynga.com and our investor relations website is located at http://investor.zynga.com. The following filings are available through our investor relations website after we file

them with the SEC: Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and our Proxy Statements for our annual meetings of stockholders, for the last year.stockholders. These filings are also available for download free of charge on our investor relations website. Further, a copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is located at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

We webcast our earnings calls and certain events we participate in or host with members of the investment community on our investor relations website. Additionally, we provide notifications of news or announcements regarding our financial performance, including SEC filings, investor events, press and earnings releases as part of our investor relations website. Investors and others can receive notifications of new information posted on our investor relations website in real time by signing up for email alerts and RSS feeds. Further corporate governance information, including our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, governance guidelines, board committee charters, and code of conduct, is also available on our investor relations website under the heading “Corporate Governance.” The contents of our websites are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

We have identified the following risks and uncertainties that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material may also significantly impair our business operations. Our business could be harmed by any of these risks. The trading price of our Class A common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. In assessing these risks, you should also refer to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes.

We have marked with an asterisk (*) those risks described below that reflect changes from, or additions to, the risks described in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter-ended September 30, 2015.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our business will suffer if we are unable to continue to develop successful games for mobile platforms, successfully monetize mobile games, or successfully forecast mobile launches and/or monetization.*

Our business depends on developing and publishing mobile games that consumers will download and spend time and money playing. We have devoted and we expect to continue to devote substantial resources to the research, development, analytics and marketing of our mobile games, however we cannot guarantee that we will continue to develop games that appeal to players or advertisers. We are also in the process of executing plans to succeed as a mobile first company, which includes the optimization of our live games, development and launch

of new games, stemming declines in our audience size and prudent cost control. However, these efforts may not be sufficient to enable us to improve our operating results. We recently launchedWords on Tour,Empires & Allies,FarmVille: Harvest Swap,Mountain Goat Mountain,Princess Bride Slots andBlack Diamond Casino in 2015. In order to generate profits, new games that we introduce need to generate sufficient bookings and revenues to offset the associated development and marketing costs. As our player base becomes more heavily concentrated on mobile platforms, our ability to drive traffic to our games through unpaid channels may become diminished, and the overall cost of marketing our games may increase. We may also encounter difficulty in integrating features on games developed for mobile platforms that a sufficient number of players will pay for or otherwise sufficiently monetizing mobile games. The success of our games depends, in part, on unpredictable and volatile factors beyond our control including consumer preferences, competing games, new mobile platforms and the availability of other entertainment experiences. If our games are not launched on time or do not meet consumer expectations, or they are not brought to market in a timely and effective manner, our ability to grow revenue and our financial performance will be negatively affected. For example, we recently experienced delays in the introduction ofLooney Tunes Dash!,Dawn of Titans andCSR Racing 2 which had a negative impact on our financial results.

We also recently announced that we will exit the Sports category to focus efforts on four categories: Social Casino, Casual, Action Strategy and Invest Express. In addition to the market factors noted above, our ability to successfully develop games for mobile platforms and their ability to achieve commercial success will depend on our ability to:

effectively market mobile games to our existing web-based players, mobile players and new players without excess cost;

achieve viral organic growth;

achieve benefit from player acquisition costs that may materialize in the future;

adapt to changing player preferences;

adapt games quickly to make sure they are compatible with, and take advantage of feature sets for new releases of mobile phones and other devices;

expand and enhance games after their initial release;

anticipate and effectively respond to the growing number of players switching from web-based to mobile games, the changing mobile landscape and the interests of players on mobile platforms;

attract, retain and motivate talented game designers, product managers and engineers who have experience developing games for mobile platforms;

partner with mobile platforms and obtain featuring opportunities;

adapt game feature sets for limited bandwidth, processing power and screen size of typical mobile devices;

minimize launch delays and cost overruns on the development of new games;

effectively monetize our games;

maintain a quality social game experience;

provide a compelling and optimal user experience through existing and developing third party technologies, including third party software and middleware utilized by our players;

release games compatible with an increasingly diverse set of mobile devices;

compete successfully against a large and growing number of existing market participants;

minimize and quickly resolve bugs or outages; and

acquire and successfully integrate high quality mobile game assets, personnel or companies.

These and other uncertainties make it difficult to know whether we will succeed in continuing to develop successful mobile games and launch these games in accordance with our financial plan. If we do not succeed in doing so, our business will suffer.

Moreover, our mobile games generally monetize at a lower rate than our web-based games and we may not be successful in our efforts to increase our monetization from mobile games. If we are unable to offset the decline in our web-based games with bookings from our mobile games, our revenue and our financial performance will suffer.

We are also a relatively new entrant in the mobile game market and, as a result have a relatively short history in developing and launching mobile games. As a result of this we may have difficulty predicting the development schedule of a new game and forecasting bookings for a game. If launches are delayed and we are unable to monetize mobile games in the manner that we forecast, our ability to grow revenue and our financial performance will be negatively impacted.

We must continue to launch, innovate and enhance games that players like and attract and retain a significant number of players in order to grow our revenue and sustain our competitive position.*

We previously announced that we would launch six to ten new mobile games in 2015, including games in new categories. This estimate subsequently underwent several downward revisions, ultimately to 6 new mobile games in 2015. We also recently announced during our first quarter of 2015 earnings call that we decided to exit the Sports category to focus efforts on four categories: Social Casino, Casual, Action Strategy and Invest Express. These revisions highlight the inherent risk that we may not launch games that we expect to launch in a given period according to schedule. Moreover, the games we do launch may not attract and retain a significant number of players or monetize well. If we do not launch games on schedule or our games do not monetize well, our business, revenue, bookings and profits will be negatively impacted.

If our top games do not maintain their popularity, our results of operations could be harmed.

In addition to creating new games that are attractive to a significant number of players, we must extend the life of our existing games, in particular our most successful games. Historically, we have depended on a small number of games for a majority of our revenue and we expect that this dependency will continue for the foreseeable future. Our existing games compete with our new offerings and the offerings of our competitors. Traditionally, bookings from existing games decline over time. For a game to remain popular, we must constantly enhance, expand or upgrade the game with new features that players find attractive. Increased competition can result in increasing player acquisition and retention costs. Constant game enhancement requires the investment of significant resources, particularly with older games, and such costs on average have increased. We may not be able to successfully enhance, expand or upgrade our current games. Any reduction in the number of players of our most popular games, any decrease in the popularity of our games or social games in general, any breach of game-related security or prolonged server interruption, any loss of rights to any intellectual property underlying such games, or any other adverse developments relating to our most popular games, could harm our results of operations.

Our business is intensely competitive and “hit” driven. If we do not deliver “hit” products and services, or if consumers prefer our competitors’ products or services over our own, our operating results could suffer.

Competition in our industry is intense. Many new games are introduced in each major industry segment (mobile, web, and PC free-to-download), but only a relatively small number of “hit” titles account for a significant portion of total revenue in each segment. Our competitors range from large established companies to emerging start-ups, and we expect new competitors to continue to emerge throughout the world. If our competitors develop and market more successful products or services, offer competitive products or services at lower price points or based on payment models perceived as offering a better value proposition, or if we do not continue to develop consistently high-quality and well-received products and services, our revenue, margins, and profitability will decline.

Our operating results are volatile and difficult to predict, and our stock price may decline if we fail to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors.*

Our bookings, revenue, adjusted EBITDA, player traffic and operating results have fluctuated in the past and could vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year and may fail to match our past performance or the expectations of securities analysts or investors because of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Any of these events could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fluctuate. Factors that may contribute to the variability of our operating results include the risk factors listed in these “Risk Factors” and the factors discussed in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Factors Affecting Our Performance.”

In particular, it is difficult to predict when bookings from one of our games will begin to decline, the decay rate for any particular game, which is the speed at which the popularity and player usage for a game declines and the commercial success of our new games. Our business depends on our ability to consistently and timely launch new games or versions of games that achieve significant popularity and have the potential to become franchise games as bookings from our older games decline. It is difficult for us to predict with certainty when we will launch a new game as games may require longer development schedules or soft launch periods than we expect to meet our quality standards. For example, our experience in 2014 and 2015 launches has caused us to extend soft launch periods for certain of our games during 2015, including a move in the launch ofDawn of TitansandCSR Racing 2from 2015 to 2016, which results in a delay in significant bookings for the games. If decay rates are higher than expected in a particular quarterly period and/or we experience delays in the launch of new games that we expect to offset these declines and/or new games do not monetize well, we may not meet our expectations or the expectations of securities analysts or investors for a given quarter.

In addition, we recognize revenue from the sale of our virtual goods in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is complex and based on our assumptions and historical data with respect to the sale and use of various types of virtual goods. In the event that such assumptions are revised based on new data or there are changes in the historical mix of virtual goods sold due to new game introductions, reduced virtual good sales in existing games or other factors or there are changes in our estimates of average playing periods and player life, the amount of revenue that we recognize in any particular period may fluctuate significantly. In addition, changes in the policies of Facebook, Apple, Google or other third party platforms or accounting policies promulgated by the SEC and national accounting standards bodies affecting software and virtual goods revenue recognition could further significantly affect the way we report revenue related to our products. Such changes could have an adverse effect on our reported revenue, net income and earnings per share under U.S. GAAP. For further information regarding our revenue recognition policy, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies—Revenue Recognition” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Given the rapidly evolving social game industry in which we operate, our historical operating results may not be useful in predicting our future operating results. In addition, metrics we have developed or those available from third parties regarding our industry and the performance of our games, including DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs and ABPU may not be indicative of our future financial performance. This could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fluctuate.

A small number of games have generated a majority of our revenue, and we must continue to launch, innovate and enhance games that players like and attract and retain a significant number of players in order to grow our revenue and sustain our competitive position.*

Historically, we have depended on a small number of games for a majority of our revenue and we expect that this dependency will continue for the foreseeable future. Bookings and revenue from many of our games tend to decline over time after reaching a peak of popularity and player usage. As a result of this natural decline in the life cycle of our games, our business depends on our ability to consistently and timely launch new games across multiple platforms and devices that achieve significant popularity and have the potential to become

franchise games. We previously announced that we would launch six to ten new mobile games in 2015, including games in new categories. This estimate subsequently underwent several downward revisions, ultimately to 6 new mobile games in 2015. We also recently announced that we will exit the Sports category to focus efforts on four categories: Social Casino, Casual, Action Strategy and Invest Express. These revisions highlight the inherent risk that we may not launch games that we expect to launch in a given period according to schedule. Moreover, the games we do launch may not attract and retain a significant number of players or monetize well.

Each of our games requires significant engineering, marketing and other resources to develop, launch and sustain via regular upgrades and expansions, and such costs on average have increased over the last several years. Our ability to successfully launch, sustain and expand games and attract and retain players largely will depend on our ability to:

anticipate and effectively respond to changing game player interests and preferences;

achieve benefit from player acquisition costs that may materialize in the future;

anticipate or respond to changes in the competitive and technological landscape (including, but not limited to changes in mobile devices and gaming platforms);

attract, retain and motivate talented game designers, product managers and engineers;

develop, sustain and expand games that our players find fun, interesting and compelling to play;

develop games that can build upon or become franchise games;

effectively market and advertise new games and enhancements to our existing players and new players;

acquire players in a cost-effective manner;

minimize the launch delays and cost overruns on new games and game expansions;

minimize downtime and other technical difficulties; and

acquire and integrate high quality assets, personnel and companies.

It is difficult to consistently anticipate player demand on a large scale, particularly as we develop games in new categories or new markets, including international markets and mobile platforms. If we do not successfully launch games that attract and retain a significant number of players and extend the life of our existing games, our market share, brand and financial results will be harmed. For example, in September 2014, we launched a new version ofZynga Poker which replaced our existing mobile poker offering. The launch resulted in a sharp decline in DAUs and revenue, and feedback that some existing players preferred the prior version of the game. As a result, we now have two mobile poker offerings,Zynga Poker and the original game offering, which was subsequently reintroduced asZynga Poker Classic.

We rely on a small portion of our total players for nearly all of our revenue and if we fail to grow our player base, or if player engagement continues to decline, bookings, revenue and operating results will be harmed.*

Compared to all players who play our games in any period, only a small portion are paying players. During the three months ended December 31, 2015, we had approximately 0.8 million MUPs (excluding payers who use certain payment methods for which unique payer data is not available, excluding NaturalMotion legacy games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide), who represent approximately one percent of our total players during the three months ended December 31, 2015. In order to sustain and grow our revenue levels, we must attract, retain and increase the number of paying players or more effectively monetize our players. To retain players, we must devote significant resources so that the games they play retain their interest and attract them to our other games. We might not succeed in our efforts to increase the monetization rates of our users, particularly if we are unable to retain our paying players. If we fail to grow or sustain the number of our paying players, if the rates at which we attract and retain players declines or if the average amount our players pay declines, our business may not grow and our financial results will suffer.

Our business depends on our players and our player’s level of engagement is critical to our success. We lose players in the ordinary course of business. Average MAU declined 30% percent from 98 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 68 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Our financial performance will continue to be significantly impacted if we continue to lose users. If we fail to sustain the number of our paying players, if the rates at which we attract and retain players declines or if the average amount our players pay declines, our business will continue to decline and our financial results will suffer.

A large portion of our business is dependent upon, and our bookings and revenues are derived from, the Facebook platform, and Facebook in many cases has the unilateral ability to interpret its standardpolicies and terms and conditions for developers in a way that is detrimental to us, our business will suffer.applications and developers.*

Facebook is currently the primary distribution, marketing, promotion andlargest payment platform for our games. To date, we have derived a significant portion of our bookings (81%(24% in 2012)the three months ended December 31, 2015) and revenue (86%(28% in 2012)the three months ended December 31, 2015) and acquired substantially alla significant number of our players through Facebook. We expect to continue to derive a significant portion of our bookings and revenue from the Facebook platform for the foreseeable future. Except for thecertain limited addenda, described below, we are subject to Facebook’s standard terms and conditions for application developers, which govern the promotion, distribution between us and Facebook and operation of games and other applications on the Facebook platform, and which are subject to change by Facebook at its sole discretion at any time. If Facebook changes its standard terms and conditions in a way that is detrimental to us, our business would be harmed and our operating results would be adversely affected.

We have entered into two addenda to Facebook’s standard terms of service that govern the distribution, promotion and operation of our games through the Facebook platform. The first addendum required us to use Facebook Credits as the primary payment method for any of our games that are either on the Facebook platform or that utilize the data from the Facebook social graph, and requires Facebook to remit to us an amount equal to 70% of the price stated to our players. The second addendum obligated us to use Facebook Credits as the sole in-game payment mechanism in any games launched on our own social gaming network, and entitled Facebook to retain 30% of the stated price for transactions on our network. The second addendum also required us to use Facebook as the exclusive social platform for the Zynga properties and to exclusively launch certain of our games on the Facebook platform for up to twelve months, subject to certain exceptions.

In June 2012, Facebook announced its plans to discontinue the use of Facebook Credits and instead will offer pricing of our virtual goods in local currencies. Facebook will continue to retain 30% of the stated price for transactions on their platform under the terms of their new payments program. We expect to begin our transition away from Facebook Credits and to adopt Facebook’s local currency-based payments model in the first half of 2013.

On November 28, 2012, we amended our agreements with Facebook such that our use of the Facebook platform and any data from Facebook on any Zynga service offered through a Zynga game page (for example, the With Friends Network) will be governed by Facebook’s standard terms of service beginning on March 31, 2013. Under the current terms of service, we will be limited in our ability to use a Facebook user’s friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote the With Friends Network. This may limit our ability to reach Facebook users from the With Friends Network and may limit the number of players that use the With Friends Network. In December 2012, Facebook amended its standard terms of service to prohibit (i) apps on the Facebook canvas from promoting or linking to game sites other than Facebook and (ii) the use of emails obtained from Facebook to promote or link to desktop web games on platforms other than Facebook. We will be prohibited from cross-promoting traffic to games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook from our games on Facebook. We will not be permitted to use e-mail addresses obtained from Facebook to promote desktop web games that are not on the Facebook platform, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Beginning on March 31, 2013, we will no longer be obligated to display Facebook advertising units or utilize Facebook’s payment services (Facebook Credits and/or local-currency based payments) on any such Zynga game pages. We will have the right to process our own payments, and Facebook will no longer have the right to receive 30% of the proceeds from payments made on the With Friends Network.

In addition, as of March 31, 2013, we will no longer be required to use Facebook as the exclusive social platform for the Zynga properties, or be required to grant certain title exclusivities of Zynga games on the Facebook platform, subject to certain exceptions. However, any social game launched after March 31, 2013 by Zynga will generally be available through the Facebook web site concurrent with, or shortly following, the time such game is made available on another social platform or a Zynga property.

The addenda, including our recent amendments, with Facebook will each expire in 2015. Our current agreements with Facebook allow our users to use Zynga/Facebook co-branded game cards for the redemption of Facebook Credits and also allows for our own Zynga game cards, which were previously printed and delivered to our distributors and retailers, to continue to be sold to game players until all such cards are sold. We do not plan to print and sell more of our own cards for redemption on the Facebook platform, however we have the right to sell our own game cards on other platforms, including on the With Friends Network after March 31, 2013.

Our business may be harmed if:

 

Facebook discontinues or limits our access to its platform by us;platform;

 

Facebook terminates or does not renew or modifies our addenda or seeks to terminate our contractual relationship altogether;

 

Facebook determines that we are a competitor or otherwise prohibits us from offering our games on the Facebook platform;platform because it determines that we are a competitor or for other reasons;

 

Facebook modifies its terms of service or other policies, including fees charged to, or other restrictions on, us or other application developers, or developers;

Facebook makes operational changes to its platform that we are not able to adapt to our game offerings;

Facebook changes how the personal information of its users is made available to application developers on the Facebook platform or is able to be shared by users;

Facebook modifies or interprets its terms of service or other policies in a manner that impacts our ability to advertise, either for our games or for third party products or services;

 

Facebook establishes more favorable relationships with one or more of our competitors;

Facebook platform or purchasing functionality becomes unavailable for a period of time; or

 

Facebook develops or acquires its own competitive offerings.

In addition, we have benefited from Facebook’s strong brand recognition and large user base. If Facebook loses its market position or otherwise falls out of favor with Internet users or other factors cause its user base to stop growing or to shrink, we would need to identify alternative channels for marketing, promoting and distributing our games, which would consume substantial resources and may not be effective, or available at all. As noted above,

Facebook has broad discretion to change and interpret its terms of service and other policies with respect to us and other developers, and those changes may be unfavorable to us. For example, starting in April 2011, Facebook’s policy requiring that applications on Facebook accept only its virtual currency, Facebook Credits, as payment from users, provided Facebook with a greater share of payments made by our players than it did when other payment options were allowed. Facebook may also change its fee structure, add fees associated with access to and use of the Facebook platform, alter how we are able to advertise on the Facebook platform, change how the personal information of its users is made available to application developers on the Facebook platform or restrict how Facebook users can share information with friends on their platform or across platforms other than Facebook. Beginning in early 2010, If changes were made that were detrimental to us, our business would be harmed and our operating results would be adversely affected.

Facebook changed its policies for application developers regarding userecently introduced a new version of its communication channels. These changes limiteddeveloper platform that required us to migrate our games to that platform. We have made the level of communication among users about applications ondecision not to migrate multiple games to the Facebook platform. As a result, the number ofnew platform, which impacted our players onability to access those games through Facebook declined. In addition, Facebook’s policy requiring that applications on Facebook accept only Facebook Credits as payment from users provided Facebook with a greater share of payments made by our players than it did when other payment options were allowed. Our current agreements with Facebook allow our users to use Zynga-branded game cards for the redemption of Facebook Credits in our games on Facebook. Our game cards that were previously printed and delivered to our distributors and retailers may continue to be sold to game players until all such cards are sold. We do not plan to print and sell more of our cards for redemption on the Facebook platform; however, we have the right to sell our own game cards for use on other platforms, including the With Friends Network after March 31, 2013. Our futureweb based bookings and revenue in 2015 and is expected to continue to impact our web based bookings and revenue in 2016. If we are unable to develop new games or features that work with this platform our players may not be negatively impacted during this transition periodable to access those games or features or otherwise encounter a negative gaming experience, resulting in reduced bookings and uponrevenue. In addition, the expiration ofnew platform and any future changes to it may change the way our game card program.developers can interact with users or how Facebook users can share information with friends. Any such changes in the future could significantly alter how players experience or interact within our games, which may harm our business.

If we violate, or if Facebook believes we have violated its terms of service, it could limit or discontinue our access to the platform, which would harm our business.

We also rely on the continued functionality of the Facebook platform. If our players or potential players are not able to access our games through this platform or encounter difficulties in doing so, we may lose players, resulting in decreased bookings and revenue. The level of service provided by Facebook may also impact the purchase, usage and satisfaction with the virtual goods or currency purchased by our players, adversely affecting our business and profitability. If Facebook experiences interruptions in service or issues with its in-app purchasing functionality regularly or for a prolonged basis, or other similar issues arise that impact our ability to generate revenues on the Facebook platform, it could have a negative impact on our revenues and operating results.

To be successful, we must increasingly leverage the global connectivity and distribution of mobile platforms, making the success of our business dependent on this technology and our relationships with mobile platform providers, which in many cases have the unilateral ability to interpret their policies and terms and conditions for applications and developers.*

Our social games increasingly leverage the global connectivity and distribution of mobile platforms including Apple’s App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play App Store for Android devices. Our games are distributed on these platforms and the virtual items we sell in our games are purchased using the payment processing systems of these platform providers. In the fourth quarter of 2015, 73% of our bookings were generated through mobile platforms. We are subject to the standard policies and terms of service of these third party platforms, which govern the promotion, distribution and operation of games on the platform and can be changed by the platform providers, in their sole discretion, at any time. Such changes may decrease the visibility or availability of our games, limit our distribution capabilities, prevent access to our existing games, reduce the amount of bookings and revenue we may recognize from in-game purchases, increase our costs to operate on these platforms or result in the exclusion or limitation of our games on such third party platforms. Any such changes could significantly harm our business in both the short-term and long-term.

For example, Apple recently changed its policy and required apps available through the Apple App Store to provide 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 software development kit, with certain exceptions. This policy change required us to adapt our games to support 64-bit and be built with the iOS 8 software development kit, which involved significant development, time, and expense. In addition, due to the significant expense involved in supporting 64-bit development, we might decide not to continue updating certain of our existing games that we otherwise would have continued to update, which would cause the revenues we generate from those games to decline more quickly than they otherwise would have. Furthermore, building our games to support 64-bit development will increase the file size of our games, which could reduce the number of downloads of these games, particularly if we are unable to keep the size of the games below 100 megabytes, which is the maximum file size that can currently be downloaded over any carrier’s wireless network.

If we violate, or a platform provider believes we have violated its terms of service, it could limit or discontinue our access to the platform, which would harm our business.

We also rely on the continued functionality of the Apple App Store and the Google Play App Store. If our players or potential players are not able to access our games through these platforms or encounter difficulties in doing so, we may lose players, resulting in decreased bookings and revenue. The level of service provided by these storefronts may also impact the purchase, usage and satisfaction with the virtual goods or currency purchased by our players, adversely affecting our business and profitability. Further, in the past these digital storefronts have experienced interruptions in service or issues with their in-app purchasing functionality. If these types of interruptions were to occur regularly or for a prolonged basis, or other similar issues arise that impact our ability to generate revenues from these storefronts, it could have a negative impact on our revenues and operating results.

Any restructuring actions and cost reduction initiatives that we undertake may not deliver the expected results and these actions may adversely affect our business.*

On May 6, 2015 we announced a restructuring, including a reduction in headcount of approximately 18% of our global workforce, including contractors. Prior to that, on February 12, 2015 we announced that we were closing our studio in Beijing, China and in 2013 and 2014, we implemented certain restructuring actions and cost reduction initiatives to better align our operating expenses with our revenue, including reducing our headcount, rationalizing our product pipeline, reducing marketing and technology expenditures and consolidating and closing certain facilities. We plan to continue to manage costs to better and more efficiently manage our business. Our restructuring plans and other such efforts could result in disruptions to our operations and adversely affect our business.

We expect to continue to actively monitor our costs, however, if we do not fully realize or maintain the anticipated benefits of any restructuring actions and cost reduction initiatives, our business could be adversely affected. In addition, we cannot be sure that the cost reduction initiatives will be as successful in reducing our overall expenses as expected or that additional costs will not offset any such reductions. If our operating costs are higher than we expect or if we do not maintain adequate control of our costs and expenses, our operating results will suffer.

In addition, our cost-cutting measures could negatively impact our business including but not limited by, delaying the introduction of new games, features or events, interrupting live services, impairing our control environment, delaying introduction of new technology, impacting our ability to react nimbly to game or technology issues, or impacting employee retention and morale.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our capabilities for porting games to a broad array of mobile devices, particularly those running the Android operating system, our revenues and financial results could suffer.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from the sale of virtual goods within our games for smartphones and tablets that run Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating system. Unlike the Apple ecosystem in which Apple controls both the device (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) and the storefront (Apple’s App Store), the Android ecosystem is highly fragmented since a large number of OEMs manufacture and sell Android-based devices that run a variety of versions of the Android operating system, and there are many Android-based storefronts in addition to the Google Play Store. For us to sell our games to the widest possible audience of Android users, we must port our games to a significant portion of the more than 1,000 Android-based devices that are commercially available, many of which have different technical requirements. Since the number of Android-based smartphones and tablets shipped worldwide is growing significantly, it is important that we maintain and enhance our porting capabilities, which could require us to invest considerable resources in this area. These additional costs could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, we must continue to increase the efficiency of our porting processes or it may take us longer to port games to an equivalent number of devices, which would negatively impact our margins. If we fail to maintain or enhance our porting capabilities, our revenues and financial results could suffer.

We operate in a new and rapidly changing industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects.industry.

The social game industry, through which we derive substantially all of our revenue, is a new and rapidly evolving industry. The growth of the social game industry and the level of demand and market acceptance of our games are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. Our future operating results will depend on numerous factors affecting the social game industry, many of which are beyond our control, including:

 

our ability to extend our brand and games to mobile platforms and the timing and success of such mobile game launches;

 

continued worldwide growth in the adoption and use of Facebook and other social networks;networks on which our platform relies;

our ability to maintain the popularity of our games on Facebook, iOS, Android and other platforms;

the transition of our players from the web to mobile devices, and our ability to effectively monetize games on mobile devices and across multiple platforms and devices;

our ability to maintain technological solutions and employee expertise to rapidly respond to continuous changes in mobile platforms and mobile devices;

our ability to maintain technological solutions and employee expertise to rapidly respond to changes in consumer demand for games on new gaming platforms;

 

changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences;

 

the availability and popularity of other forms of entertainment;

 

the worldwide growth of personal computer,mobile devices, broadband Internet and mobile devicepersonal computer users, and the rate of any such growth;

the transition of our players from the web to mobile devices; and

 

general economic conditions, particularly economic conditions adversely affecting discretionary consumer spending.

Our ability to plan for game development, distribution and promotional activities will be significantly affected by our ability to anticipate and adapt to relatively rapid changes in the tastes and preferences of our current and potential players.players and relatively rapid changes in technology. New and different types of entertainment may increase in popularity at the expense of social games. A decline in the popularity of social games in general, or our games in particular, would harm our business and prospects.

Our growth prospects may suffer if the With Friends Network is unsuccessful.

We plan to expand our With Friends Network in 2013 to be more accessible to both web players and mobile players alike to make games more engaging, more social and more profitable. We began this effort with our beta launch of Zynga.com on the web in 2012. Our ability to increase our player base and revenue will depend, in part, on the successful operation and growth of the With Friends Network, including its extension to mobile. If the With Friends Network fails to engage players, interest third-party game developers or attract advertisers, we may fail to generate sufficient revenue or bookings to justify our investment in the development and operation of the With Friends Network. We have limited experience launching third-party developed games on the With Friends Network, or supporting games developed by third parties. We may also encounter technical and operational challenges operating a network

On November 28, 2012, we amended our agreements with Facebook such that our use of the Facebook platform and any data from Facebook on any Zynga service offered through a Zynga game page (for example, the With Friends Network) will be governed by Facebook’s standard terms of service beginning on March 31, 2013. Under the current terms of service, we will be limited in our ability to use a Facebook user’s friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote the With Friends Network. This may limit our ability to reach Facebook users from the With Friends Network, and may limit the number of players that use the With Friends Network. In December 2012, Facebook amended its standard terms of service to prohibit (i) apps on the Facebook canvas from promoting or linking to game sites other than Facebook and (ii) the use of emails obtained from Facebook to promote or link to desktop web games on platforms other than Facebook. We will be prohibited from cross-promoting traffic to games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook from our games on Facebook. We will not be permitted to use e-mail addresses obtained from Facebook to promote desktop web games that are not on the Facebook platform, subject to certain limited exceptions. If we are not successful with the overall monetization of the With Friends Network, we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue as anticipated and our financial results could be adversely affected.

Our revenue, bookings and operating margins may decline.

From 2010 to 2011, our revenue increased from $0.60 billion to $1.14 billion and from 2011 to 2012, our revenue increased from $1.14 billion to $1.28 billion, which represent an annual increase of 91% and 12%, respectively. From 2010 to 2011, our bookings increased from $0.84 billion to $1.16 billion, which represents an annual increase of 38%, and from 2011 to 2012 our bookings decreased from $1.16 billion to $1.15 billion, which represents an annual decrease of approximately 1%. We expect that our revenue and bookings will decline in the first quarter of 2013. In addition, we believe that our operating margin will continue to experience downward pressure as a result of increasing competition and the need for increased operating expenditures for many aspects of our business. Further, the increased stock-based expense associated with restricted stock units (“ZSUs”) issued to our directors, employees and consultants, which we had not recognized prior to our initial public offering, will also exert downward pressure on our operating margin. We expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on game development, including mobile games, the expansion of our With Friends Network, international expansion and our network infrastructure. Our operating costs will increase if we do not effectively manage costs. In addition, weak economic conditions or other factors could cause our business to contract, requiring us to implement significant additional cost cutting measures, including a decrease in research and development, which could harm our long-term growth.

Our growth prospects will suffer if we are unable to continue to develop successful games for mobile platforms or successfully monetize mobile games we develop or acquire.

Developing games for mobile platforms is an important component of our strategy. We have devoted and we expect to continue to devote substantial resources to the development of our mobile games, and we cannot guarantee that we will continue to develop games that appeal to players or advertisers. In addition, we may encounter difficulty in integrating features on games developed for mobile platforms that a sufficient number of players will pay for or otherwise sufficiently monetizing mobile games. Generally, our mobile games monetize at a lower rate than our web-based games and we may not be successful in our efforts to increase our monetization

from mobile games. If we are unable to implement successful monetization strategies for our mobile games, our ability to grow revenue and our financial performance will be negatively affected.

Our ability to successfully develop games for mobile platforms will depend on our ability to:

anticipate and effectively respond to the growing number of players switching from web-based to mobile games, the changing mobile landscape and the interests of players on mobile platforms;

attract, retain and motivate talented game designers, product managers and engineers who have experience developing games for mobile platforms;

expand on our current mobile games;

effectively market new mobile games to our existing web-based players and players of our current mobile games;

expand our With Friends Network to mobile;

minimize launch delays and cost overruns on the development of new games;

effectively monetize mobile games without degrading the social game experience for our players;

develop games that provide for a compelling and optimal user experience through existing and developing third party technologies, including third party software and middleware utilized by our players; and

acquire and successfully integrate high quality mobile game assets, personnel or companies.

These and other uncertainties make it difficult to know whether we will succeed in continuing to develop successful mobile games. If we do not succeed in doing so, our growth prospects will suffer.

Any failure or significant interruption in our network could impact our operations and harm our business.

Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our games and to player satisfaction. Our games run on a complex distributed system, or what is commonly known as cloud computing. We own, operate and maintain the primary elements of this system, but some elements of this system are operated by third parties that we do not control and which would require significant time to replace. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, website disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. For example, the operation ofCityVille was interrupted for several hours in April of 2011 and the operation of most of our games was interrupted for several hours in January of 2013, in each case due to network outages. If a particular game is unavailable when players attempt to access it or navigation through a game is slower than they expect, players may stop playing the game and may be less likely to return to the game as often, if at all. A failure or significant interruption in our game service would harm our reputation and operations. We expect to continue to make significant investments to our technology infrastructure to maintain and improve all aspects of player experience and game performance. To the extent that our disaster recovery systems are not adequate, or we do not effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade our systems as needed and continually develop our technology and network architecture to accommodate increasing traffic, our business and operating results may suffer. We do not maintain insurance policies covering losses relating to our systems and we do not have business interruption insurance.

Security breaches, computer viruses and computer hacking attacks could harm our business, reputation, brand and results of operations.operating results.*

Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have become more prevalent in our industry, have occurred on our systems in the past and may occur on our systems in the future. Any security

breach caused by hacking, which involves efforts to gain unauthorized access to information or systems, or to cause intentional malfunctions or loss or corruption of data, software, hardware or other computer equipment, and the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could harm our business, financial condition and operating results. We have experienced and will continue to experience hacking attacks of varying degrees from time to time, including denial-of-service attacks. Because of our prominence in the social game industry, we believe we are a particularly attractive target for hackers.

In addition, our games involve the storage and transmission of players’ personal information in our facilities and on our equipment, networks and corporate systems.systems run by us or managed by third-parties including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Security breaches of our systems or the systems of third-parties on whom we rely could expose us to litigation, remediation costs, increased costs for security measures, loss of revenue, damage to our reputation and potential liability. Our player data, and corporate systems, third-party systems and security measures may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance, a combination of these, or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to

our data, our players’ data or our players’advertisers’ data. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or players to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our players’ data or our advertisers’ data. We must continuously examine and modify our security controls and business policies to address the use of new devices and technologies enabling players to share data and communicate in new ways, and the increasing focus by our players and regulators on controlling and protecting user data.

Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. Though it is difficult to determine what harm may directly result from any specific interruption or breach, any failure or perceived failure to maintain performance, reliability, security and availability of our network infrastructure to the satisfaction of our players may harm our reputation and our ability to retain existing players and attract new players.

If an actual or perceived security breach of our security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, we could lose players and advertisers, and we could suffer significant legal and financial exposure due to such events or in connection with remediation efforts, investigation costs or penalties, changed security and system protection measures. Any of these actions could have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation and operating results.

Any failure or significant interruption in our infrastructure could impact our operations and harm our business.*

Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our games and to player satisfaction, as well our corporate functions. Our games and company systems run on a complex distributed system, or what is commonly known as cloud computing. We own, operate and maintain elements of this system, but many elements of this system are operated by third-parties that we do not control and which would require significant time and potential expense to replace. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, service disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. For example, the operation ofCityVillewas interrupted for several hours in April 2011 and the operation of most of our games was interrupted for several hours in January 2013, in each case due to network outages. If a particular game is unavailable when players attempt to access it or navigation through a game is slower than they expect, players may stop playing the game and may be less likely to return to the game as often, if at all. A failure or significant interruption in our game service could harm our reputation and operations. We have suffered interruptions in service when releasing new software versions or bug fixes for specific games in the past and if any such interruption were significant it could harm our business or reputation. We expect to continue to maintain our technology infrastructure to maintain and improve our player experience and game performance and maintain our corporate system functionality. To the extent we do not effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade our systems as needed and continually develop our technology and network architecture to accommodate increasing traffic, our business and operating results may suffer. We do not maintain insurance policies covering losses relating to our systems and we do not have business interruption insurance. Furthermore, our disaster recovery systems and those of third-parties with which we do business may not function as intended or may fail to adequately protect our critical business information in the event of a significant business interruption, which may cause interruption in service of our games, security breaches or the loss of data or functionality, leading to a negative effect on our business.

We rely on a smallthird-party hosting and cloud computing providers, like Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), to operate certain aspects of our business. A significant portion of our total players for nearlygame traffic is hosted by a single vendor, and any failure, disruption or significant interruption in our network or hosting and cloud services could adversely impact our operations and harm our business.*

Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our games and to player satisfaction. Our games run on a complex distributed system, or what is commonly known as cloud computing. We own, operate

and maintain elements of this system, but significant elements of this system are operated by third-parties that we do not control and which would require significant time to replace. We expect this dependence on third-parties to continue. In particular, a significant portion of our game traffic, data storage, data processing and other computing services is hosted by AWS. As of December 31, 2015, AWS hosted almost all of our revenue.

Comparedgame traffic and computing systems. AWS provides us with computing and storage capacity pursuant to all players who play our gamesan agreement that continues until terminated by either party. AWS may terminate the agreement without cause by providing 180 days prior written notice, and may terminate the agreement with 30 days prior written notice for cause, including any material default or breach of the agreement by us that we do not cure within the 30 day period. The agreement requires AWS to provide us their standard computing and storage capacity and related support in any period, only a small portion are paying players. During the year ended December 31, 2012, we had approximately 3.4 million MUPs (excluding payers who use certainexchange for timely payment methods for which unique payer data is not available), who represent approximately two percent of our total players.by us. We lose playershave experienced, and may in the ordinary coursefuture experience, disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of business. In orderfactors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. If a particular game is unavailable when players attempt to sustainaccess it or navigation through a game is slower than they expect, players may stop playing the game and may be less likely to return to the game as often, if at all. Any failure, disruption or interference with our revenue levels, we must attract, retainuse of hosted cloud computing services provided by third-parties, like AWS, could impact our operations, and increase the number of players or more effectively monetize our players. To retain players, we must devote significant resources so that the games they play retain their interest and attract them to our other games. If we fail to grow or sustain the number of our players, or if the rates at which we attract and retain players declines or if the average amount our players pay declines, our business may not grow and our financial results will suffer.could be adversely impacted.

We have a new business model and a short operating history, which makes it difficultmust continue to evaluate our prospects and future financial results and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.

We began operations in April 2007, and we have a short operating history and a new business model, which makes it difficult to effectively assess our future prospects. Our business model is based on offering games that are free to play. To date, only a small portion of our players pay for virtual goods.

If we failspend significant resources to effectively manage our human resources, our business and operating results could be harmed.operations.

We have experienced significant turnover in our headcount over the last year, which has placed and will continue to place significant demands on our management and our operational, financial and technological

infrastructure. As of December 31, 2012, approximately 35% of our employees had been with us for less than one year and approximately 70% for less than two years. We have implemented certain cost reduction initiatives to better align our operating expenses with our revenue, including reducing our headcount, rationalizing our product pipeline, reducing marketing and technology expenditures and consolidating certain facilities, and we plan to continue to manage costs to better and more efficiently manage our business. However, we must continue to expend significant resources to identify, hire, integrate, develop, motivate and retain a large number of qualified employees. Our cost reduction initiatives could negatively impact our ability to hire and retain key employees. If we fail to effectively manage our hiring needs, successfully integrate our new hires and retain key employees, our ability to continue launching new games and enhance existing games, including in each case on mobile, and to expand our With Friends Network, could suffer.

To effectively manage our business and operations, we will need to continue to focus on spending significant resources to improve our technology infrastructure, our operational, financial and management controls, and our reporting systems and procedures by, among other things:

 

monitoring and updating our technology infrastructure to maintain high performance and minimize down time;

 

enhancing information and communication systems to ensure that our employees and offices around the world are well-coordinated and can effectively communicate with each other; and

 

enhancingmonitoring our internal controls to ensure timely and accurate reporting of all of our operations.

These enhancements and improvements will require capital expenditures and allocation of valuable management and employee resources. In addition, we cannot be sure that the cost reduction initiatives will be as successful in reducing our overall expenses as expected or that additional costs will not offset any such reductions. If our operating costs are higher than we expect or if we do not maintain adequate control of our costs and expenses, our operating results will suffer.

Our core valuesacquisition of focusing onNaturalMotion was significant, and the anticipated benefits of the acquisition could be impacted by a number of risks specific to NaturalMotion’s business, as well as by risks related to the integration process.*

On February 11, 2014, we completed our players firstacquisition of NaturalMotion. The process of integrating NaturalMotion’s operations into our operations is still continuing and actingcould result in unforeseen operating difficulties, absorb significant management attention, and require significant resources that would otherwise have been available for the long term may conflict with the short-term interestsongoing development of our business.existing operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing these risks and challenges, our business and prospects would be harmed. Particular significant risks and challenges include, but are not limited to:

the potential lack of employee retention;

that NaturalMotion’s games may not succeed or perform as we anticipated;

that NaturalMotion’s pipeline of future products under development, includingDawn of Titans andCSR Racing 2, have and may continue to take longer than predicted to develop and launch or may fail to launch at all. For example, we recently announced that the previously anticipated 2015 launches ofDawn of TitansandCSR Racing 2 are being moved to 2016;

the difficulty of integrating our and NaturalMotion’s tools and technology into each other’s current and future mobile products; and

the risk that the implementation of our existing models and mechanics fails to enhance NaturalMotion’s products.

Our business will suffer if we are unable to successfully acquire or integrate acquired companies into our business or otherwise manage the growth associated with multiple acquisitions.*

One of our core values is to focus on surprisingWe have acquired businesses, personnel and delighting our players, which we believe is essential to our success and serves the best, long-term interests of Zynga and our stakeholders. Therefore, we have madetechnologies in the past and we intend to continue to evaluate and pursue acquisitions and strategic investments. These acquisitions and strategic investments could be material to our financial condition or results of operations.

Challenges and risks from such investments and acquisitions include:

negative effects on products and product pipeline from the changes and potential disruption that may makefollow the acquisition;

diversion of our management’s attention away from our business;

declining employee morale and retention issues resulting from changes in the future, significant investmentscompensation, or changes in strategymanagement, reporting relationships, or future prospects;

significant competition from other game companies as the social game industry consolidates;

the need to integrate the operations, systems, technologies, products and personnel of each acquired company, the inefficiencies and lack of control that may result if such integration is delayed or not implemented, and unforeseen difficulties and expenditures that may arise in connection with integration;

the difficulty in determining the appropriate purchase price of acquired companies may lead to the overpayment from certain acquisitions and the potential impairment of intangible assets and goodwill acquired in the acquisitions;

the difficulty in successfully evaluating and utilizing the acquired products, technology or personnel;

the potential incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or restructuring charges in connection with any acquisition;

the need to implement controls, procedures and policies appropriate for a larger public company at companies that prior to acquisition had lacked such controls, procedures and policies;

the difficulty in accurately forecasting and accounting for the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges and integrating and reporting results for acquired companies that do not historically follow U.S. GAAP;

the fact that we thinkmay be required to pay contingent consideration in excess of the initial fair value; and contingent consideration may become payable at a time when we do not have sufficient cash available to pay such consideration;

under purchase accounting, we may be required to write off deferred revenue which may impair our ability to recognize revenue that would have otherwise been recognizable which may impact our financial performance or that of the acquired company;

risks associated with our expansion into new international markets and doing business internationally, including those described under the risk factor caption “Our international operations are subject to increased challenges and risks” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K;

in the case of foreign acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries;

in some cases, the need to transition operations and players onto our existing or new platforms and the potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees, players and other suppliers as a result of integration of new businesses;

in certain instances, the ability to exert control of acquired businesses that include earnout provisions in the agreements relating to such acquisitions or the potential obligation to fund an earnout for, or other obligations related to, a product that has not met expectations;

our dependence on the accuracy and completeness of statements and disclosures made or actions taken by the companies we acquire or their representatives, when conducting due diligence and evaluating the results of such due diligence; and

liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including intellectual property and other litigation claims or disputes, information security vulnerabilities, violations of laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities.

The benefits of an acquisition or investment may also take considerable time to develop, and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition or investment will benefitproduce the intended benefits, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Our ability to grow through future acquisitions will depend on the availability of suitable acquisition and investment candidates at an acceptable cost, our ability to compete effectively to attract these candidates and the availability of financing to complete larger acquisitions. Acquisitions could result in potential dilutive issuances of equity securities, use of significant cash balances or incurrence of debt (and increased interest expense), contingent liabilities or amortization expenses related to intangible assets or write-offs of goodwill and/or intangible assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations and dilute the economic and voting rights of our stockholders. For example, in the third quarter of 2012, we made the decision to discontinue the development of certain games associated with technology and other intangible assets previously acquired from OMGPOP, Inc. (“OMGPOP”) and we recorded an asset impairment charge of $95.5 million.

Some of our players evenmay make sales or purchases of virtual goods used in our games through unauthorized or fraudulent third-party websites, which may reduce our revenue.*

Virtual goods in our games have no monetary value outside of our games. Nonetheless, some of our players may make sales and/or purchases of our virtual goods, such asHit It Rich! Slots virtual coins and Zynga Poker virtual poker chips, through unauthorized third-party sellers in exchange for real currency. These unauthorized or fraudulent transactions are usually arranged on third-party websites and the virtual goods offered may have been obtained through unauthorized means such as exploiting vulnerabilities in our games, from scamming our players with fake offers or virtual goods or other game benefits, or from credit card fraud. We do not generate any revenue from these transactions. These unauthorized purchases and sales from third-party sellers could impede our revenue and profit growth by, among other things:

decreasing revenue from authorized transactions;

creating downward pressure on the prices we charge players for our virtual currency and virtual goods;

increasing chargebacks from unauthorized credit card transactions;

causing us to lose revenue from paying players as our partners increase their credit card fraud prevention efforts;

causing us to lose revenue from paying players who stop playing a particular game;

increasing costs we incur to develop technological measures to curtail unauthorized transactions;

generating legal claims relating to the diminution of value of our virtual goods;

resulting in negative publicity or harm our reputation with players and partners; and

increasing customer support costs to respond to dissatisfied players.

To discourage unauthorized purchases and sales of our virtual goods, we state in our terms of service that the buying or selling of virtual currency and virtual goods from unauthorized third-party sellers may result in bans from our games or legal action. We have banned players as a result of such activities. We have also filed lawsuits against third parties attempting to “sell” virtual goods from our games, particularly poker chips fromZynga Poker, outside of our games. We have also employed technological measures to help detect unauthorized

transactions and continue to develop additional methods and processes by which we can identify unauthorized transactions and block such transactions. However, there can be no assurance that our efforts to prevent or minimize these unauthorized or fraudulent transactions will be successful.

The value of our virtual goods is highly dependent on how we manage the economies in our games. If we fail to manage our game economies properly, our business may suffer.

Paying players purchase virtual goods in our games because of the perceived value of these goods, which is dependent on the relative ease of securing an equivalent good via non-paid means within the game. The perceived value of these virtual goods can be impacted if one of our decisionplatform providers offers discounted local currency or other incentives to our players, or by various actions that we take in the games including offering discounts for virtual goods, giving away virtual goods in promotions or providing easier non-paid means to secure these goods. If we fail to manage our virtual economies properly, players may be less likely to purchase virtual goods and our business may suffer.

If we are able to develop new games that achieve success, it is possible that these games could divert players of our other games without growing our overall user base, which could harm operating results.

Although it is important to our future success that we develop new games that become popular with players, it is possible that these games could cause players to reduce their playing time and purchase of virtual items in our existing games. We plan to cross-promote our new games in our other games, which could encourage players of existing games to divert some of their playing time and spend on existing games. If new games do not grow our player base or generate sufficient new bookings to offset any declines from our other games, our bookings and revenue could be adversely affected.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from advertisements and offers that are incorporated into our free-to-play games through relationships with third parties. If we lose the ability to provide these advertisements and offers for any reason, or if any events occur that negatively impactsimpact the revenues we receive from these sources, it would negatively impact our operating resultsresults.*

We derive revenues from our free-to-play games though in-app purchases, advertisements and offers. We incorporate advertisements and offers into our games by implementing third parties’ software development kits and we have direct relationships with third parties regarding advertising. We rely on these third parties to continue our advertising relationships and/or to provide us with a sufficient inventory of advertisements and offers to meet the demand of our user base. If direct advertising relationships change or competitors’ advertising efforts change these third parties’ fill rates of available adverting inventory, it will negatively impact our revenues. If our relationship with any of these third parties terminates for any reason, or if the commercial terms of our relationships do not continue to be renewed on favorable terms, we would need to locate and implement other third-party solutions, which could negatively impact our revenues, at least in the short term. For example,Furthermore, the revenues that we derive from advertisements and offers is subject to seasonality, as companies’ advertising budgets are generally highest during the fourth quarter and decline significantly in late 2009the first quarter of the following year, which negatively impacts our revenues in the first quarter (and conversely significantly increases our marketing expenses in the fourth quarter).

We have a history of net losses and our revenue, bookings and operating margins may decline. We also may incur substantial net losses in 2010the future and may not achieve profitability.*

The industry in which we reduced in-game advertising offersoperate is highly competitive and rapidly changing, and relies heavily on successful new product launches and compelling content, products and services. As such, if we fail to deliver such content, products and services, do not execute our strategy successfully or if our new content launches are delayed, our revenue, bookings and audience numbers may decline, and our operating results will suffer. We have incurred significant losses since inception, including a net loss of $37 million in order2013, a net loss of $226 million in 2014 and a net loss of $122 million in 2015. As of December 31, 2015, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.3 billion.

In addition, our operating margin may experience downward pressure as a result of increasing competition. We expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on game development, including mobile games, our technology stack, game engines, game technology and tools, the expansion of our network and international expansion. Our operating costs will increase and our operating margins may decline if we do not effectively manage costs, launch new products on schedule that monetize successfully and enhance our franchise games so that these games continue to monetize successfully. In addition, weak economic conditions or other factors could cause our business to further contract, requiring us to implement significant additional cost cutting measures, including a decrease in research and development, which could harm our long-term prospects.

If our revenues do not increase to offset these additional expenses, if we experience unexpected increases in operating expenses or if we are required to take additional charges related to impairments or restructurings, we will continue to incur losses and will not become profitable on a sustained basis. If we are unable to significantly increase our revenues or reduce our expenses, it will continue to negatively affect our operating results and our ability to achieve and sustain profitability.

We rely on assumptions and estimates to calculate certain of our key metrics, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business.*

The numbers of our DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs, and ABPU are calculated using metrics tracked by our internal analytics systems based on tracking activity of user accounts. The analytics systems and the resulting data have not been independently verified. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable calculations for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage and user engagement across our user base and factors relating to user activity and systems may impact these numbers. The calculation of these metrics and examples of how user activity and our systems may impact the calculation of the metrics is described in detail under the heading titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics.”

As we transition our business to focus on mobile products, there is more likelihood of having difficulty calculating these metrics. As described under the heading titled Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics,” we have recently updated our calculation of these metrics to take into account our business’s transition to mobile and we rely on the veracity of data provided by individuals and reported by third parties to calculate our metrics and eliminate duplication of data. The recent update to our calculation methodology resulted in a reduction in our as reported DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs and ABPU for 2014. These metrics are disclosed under the heading titled Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics.”

We are unable to distinguish whether players of legacy NaturalMotion games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide are also players of other Zynga games. As a result of this we exclude players of these games from our calculation of MUU to avoid potential double counting. This issue has been resolved for future NaturalMotion releases, so players of new games released by NaturalMotion in 2015 and beyond will be included in our MUU calculations.

Our advertisers and investors rely on our key metrics as a representation of our performance. We regularly review and may adjust our processes for calculating our internal metrics to improve player experience. This decrease in in-game offers led to a reduction of advertising revenue in 2010 as compared to 2009. Our decisions may not result in the long-term benefitstheir accuracy. If we determine that we expect, in which case the successcan no longer calculate any of our games,key metrics with a sufficient degree of accuracy, and we cannot find an adequate replacement for the metric, our business or revenue may be harmed. In addition, if advertisers, platform partners or investors do not perceive our user metrics to be accurate representations of our user base or user engagement, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our user metrics, our reputation may be harmed and advertisers and platform partners may be less willing to allocate their budgets or resources to our products and services, which could negatively affect our business and operating results could be harmed.results.

If we losefail to effectively manage our human resources, our business may suffer.*

Our ability to compete and grow depends in large part on the servicesefforts and talents of our founderemployees and Chief Executive Officer or certain other members of our senior management team, we may not be able to execute our business strategy.

executives. Our success depends in a large part upon the continued service of our senior management team. In particular,We have seen significant turnover in our founder andmanagement team in 2015, including the recent resignation of our prior Chief Financial Officer. Our Chief Executive Officer, Mark Pincus, is critical to our vision, strategic direction, culture, products and technology.technology and the continued retention of the remaining senior management team is important to our continued development. We do not have employment agreements, other than offer letters, with our senior management team and a retention agreement with our General Counsel, and we do not maintain key-man insurance for Mr. Pincus or any other member of our senior management team. The loss of our founder and Chief Executive Officer or certain other members of senior management could harm our business.

If we are unableIn addition, our ability to attractexecute our strategy depends on our continued ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified employees, we may not be able to grow effectively.

Our ability to compete and grow depends in large part on the efforts and talents of our employees. Suchskilled employees, particularly game designers, product managers engineers and executivesengineers. These employees are in high demand, and we

devote significant resources to identifying, recruiting, hiring, training, successfully integrating and retaining thesethem. We have experienced significant turnover in our headcount over the last year, which has placed and will continue to place significant demands on our management and our operational, financial and technological infrastructure. As of December 31, 2015, approximately 29% of our employees had been with us for less than one year and approximately 56% for less than two years.

We believe that two critical components of our success and our ability to retain our best people are our culture and our competitive compensation practices. As we operate as a public company, we may find it difficult to maintain our entrepreneurial, execution-focused culture. In addition, our recent operating results and the current trading price of our Class A common stock may cause our employee base to be more vulnerable to be targeted for recruitment by competitors. Some of our employees may have been motivated to work for us by an expectation that our Class A common stock would be trading at a higher value and may be less motivated by the equity compensation they receive as a result. Competitors may leverage any resulting disappointment as a tool to recruit talented employees. Competition for highly skilled employees is intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters is located. If we are unable to retain our senior management team and our key employees, are unable to continue to hire highly skilled employees our business could be harmed. Moreover, if our team fails to work together effectively to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed.

We have historically hired a number of key personnel through acquisitions, and as competition with other game companies for attractive target companies with a skilled employee base increases, we may incur significant expenses in continuing this practice. In addition, our recent operating results, the decline in our revenue and the current trading price of our Class A common stock may negatively impact our perceived reputation and make it more difficult and more expensive to recruit new employees. The loss of talented employees or the inability to hire skilled employees as replacements could result in significant disruptions to our business, and the integration of replacement personnel could be time-consuming and expensive and cause additional disruptions to our business. If we do not succeed in recruiting, retaining, and motivating our key employees to achieve a high level of success or if we do not attract new key personnel, we may be unable to growcontinue to launch new games and enhance existing games, including in each case on mobile, expand our businessnetwork, or execute our business strategy, and as a result, our revenuebusiness may suffer.

Our core values of focusing on our players first and profitabilityacting for the long-term may decline. Weconflict with the short-term interests of our business.*

One of our core values is to focus on surprising and delighting our players, which we believe that two critical components ofis essential to our success and our ability to retain ourserves the best, people are our culturelong-term interests of Zynga and our competitive compensation practices. Asstockholders. Therefore, we continue to develop the infrastructure of a public company, we may find it difficult to maintain our entrepreneurial, execution-focused culture. In addition, some of our employees may have been motivated to work for us by an expectation that our Class A common stock would be trading at a higher value and may be less motivated by the equity compensation they receive as a result. Competitors may leverage any resulting disappointment as a tool to recruit talented employees. Despite this, many of our employees may still be able to receive significant proceeds from sales of our equity in the public markets, which may reduce their motivation to continue to work for us. In addition, there may also be disparities of wealth between those of our employees whom we hired prior to our initial public offering in December 2011 and those who joined us after we became a public company, which may harm our culture and relations among employees. We have recently experienced attrition at higher levels than we havemade in the past and we may make in part as athe future, significant investments or changes in strategy that we think will benefit us in the long-term, even if our decision negatively impacts our operating results in the short term. For example,

we recently announced that we delayed the launches ofDawn of Titans andCSR Racing 2 from 2015 to 2016. Although launching those games in 2015 may have offered short-term bookings, we determined that both games need more time in soft launch to achieve their full potential. We also recently announced that we would exit the Sports category in order to focus fewer game categories that we believe have the highest potential of driving long-term enterprise value. Although games in the discontinued Sports category may have offered short-term bookings, we determined that they did not contribute meaningfully to the brand and our strategy in the long-term. In the future, we could make decisions to balance the number of advertisements we show in games based on consumer reaction to advertising. This type of decision may increase consumer satisfaction and decrease bookings in the short-term. Our decisions may not result in the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case the success of our transition to a public company. In addition, we have recently begun implementing certain cost reduction initiatives to better align ourgames, business and operating expenses with our revenue, including reducing our headcount, and these cost reduction initiativesresults could negatively impact our ability to hire and retain key employees.be harmed.

An increasing number of individuals are utilizing devices other than personal computers to access the Internet, and versions of our games developed for these devices might not gain widespread adoption, or may not function as intended.

The number of individuals who access the Internet through devices other than a personal computer, such as smart phones, handheld computers such as net books and tablets, televisions, video game consoles and set-top box devices, has increased dramatically, and we believe this trend is likely to continue. The generally lower processing speed, power, functionality and memory associated with these devices make playingCertain of our games through such devices more difficult and theor versions of our games developed for these devices may not be compelling to players.players on such devices. In addition, each device manufacturer or platform provider may establish unique or restrictive terms and conditions for developers on such devicesmobile users also frequently change or platforms,upgrade their mobile devices. Our business and operating results may be harmed if our players do not install our games may not work wellwhen they change or be viewable on these devices as a result. upgrader their device.

To expand our business, we will need to support a number of alternative devices and technologies. Once developed, we may choose to port or convert a game into separate versions for alternative devices with different technological requirements. As new devices and new mobile platforms or updates to platforms are continually being released, we may encounter problems in developing versions of our games for use on these alternative devices and we may need to devote significant resources to the creation, support and maintenance of such devices and platforms. If we are unable to successfully expand the platforms and devices on which our games are available, or if the versions of our games that we create for alternative platforms and devices are not compelling to our players, our business will suffer. For example, in September 2014, we released a new version of our poker offering that was intended to reimagine the game with an entirely new experience for mobile and replace the original game for mobile applications. Due to playability issues, some players playing on older devices reported that they were not having a smooth and seamless experience and that they preferred the classic design and play style of the original game. This resulted in us both having to address the issues impactingZynga Poker so that it would offer a more optimal player experience and re-launchZynga Poker Classic, which offers familiar gameplay that stays true to our traditional poker experience. To have more successful game launches in the future, we will need to hire and retain engineers with the expertise to develop games and game updates on mobile platforms, better anticipate technical and operational issues in connection with a launch so that they can be addressed prior to launch and stay true to our consumer-centric approach to decision making to offer optimal player experiences. If we are unsuccessful in any of these endeavors, or are otherwise unable to keep up with rapidly changing technology, to offer new games and game updates that appeal to our player base or to monetize our mobile games, our business will suffer.

Expansion into international marketsIf the use of mobile devices as game platforms and the proliferation of mobile devices generally do not increase, our business could be adversely affected.

We have shifted our business to focus on mobile first games over the last year. The number of people using mobile Internet-enabled devices has increased dramatically in the past few years and we expect that this trend will continue. However, the mobile market, particularly the market for mobile games is importantstill emerging and it may not grow as we anticipate. Our future success is substantially dependent upon the continued growth of the market for mobile games. The mobile market may not continue to grow at historic rates and consumers may not continue

to use mobile-Internet enabled devices as a platform for games. In addition, we do not currently offer our games on all mobile devices. If the mobile devices on which our games are available decline in popularity we could experience a decline in bookings and revenue. Any decline in the growth of the mobile market or in the use of mobile devices for games could harm our business.

We have a new business model and a short operating history, which make it difficult to evaluate our prospects and future financial results and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.

We began operations in April 2007, and became publicly listed in December 2011, and we have a short operating history and a new business model, which make it difficult to effectively assess our future prospects. Our business model is based on offering games that are free to play. To date, only a small portion of our players pay for our growth,products. We cannot assure that any of our efforts will be successful or result in the development or timely launch of additional products, or ultimately produce any material revenue.

We are not participating in the real money gaming market at this time and, asif we expand internationally,elect to participate in this market, our efforts may not be successful.*

We are not currently participating in global RMG markets. We may evaluate from time to time possible participation in global RMG markets. If we elect to participate in global regulated markets, gaming laws may require us, each of our subsidiaries engaged in gaming operations, certain of our directors, officers and employees, and in some cases, our stockholders, to obtain licenses or findings of suitability from gaming authorities. Gaming authorities have very broad discretion in determining whether an applicant qualifies for a license or should be deemed suitable. If we are required to obtain a license to participate in a global RMG market, we cannot provide assurance that we will face additional business, political,be able to obtain a license in a timely fashion or at all.

In addition, regulatory operational, financial and economic risks,legislative developments, including excessive taxation, may prevent or significantly limit our ability, or the ability of any ofentity with which couldwe may partner in the future, to enter into or succeed in RMG. Becoming familiar with and complying with these requirements will increase our costs and hindersubject our growth.business to greater scrutiny by regulators in many different jurisdictions. If our brand becomes associated with RMG we may lose current players, advertisers or partners or have difficulty attracting new players, advertisers or partners, which could adversely impact our business.

Our international operations are subject to increased challenges and risks.

Continuing to expand our business to attract players in countries other than the United States is a critical element of our business strategy. An important part of targeting international markets is developing offerings that are localized and customized for the players in those markets. We have a limited operating history as a company outside of the United States. We expect to continue to devote significant resources toexpand our international expansion through acquisitions,operations in the establishment of additional offices and development studios, and increasingfuture by expanding our foreign

language offerings.offerings in new languages. Our ability to expand our business and to attract talented employees and players in an increasing number of international markets will require considerable management attention and resources and is subject to the particular challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in an environment of multiple languages, cultures, customs, legal systems, alternative dispute systems, regulatory systems and commercial infrastructures. We have experienced difficulties in the past and have not been successful in all the countries we have entered. For example, we recently announced that we closed our office in Beijing, China because its recent game launches and product localization initiatives did not meet expectations. We may not be able to offer our games in certain countries. Expanding our international focus may subject us to risks that we have not faced before or increase risks that we currently face, including risks associated with:

 

recruiting and retaining talented and capable management and employees in foreign countries;

 

challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences;

 

developing and customizing games and other offerings that appeal to the tastes and preferences of players in international markets;

competition from local game makers with intellectual property rights and significant market share in those markets and with a better understanding of player preferences;

 

utilizing, protecting, defending and enforcing our intellectual property rights;

 

negotiating agreements with local distribution platforms that are sufficiently economically beneficial to us and protective of our rights;

 

the inability to extend proprietary rights in our brand, content or technology into new jurisdictions;

 

implementing alternative payment methods for virtual goods in a manner that complies with local laws and practices and protects us from fraud;

 

compliance with applicable foreign laws and regulations, including privacy laws and laws relating to content;content and consumer protection (for example, the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading issued new principles in January 2014 relating to in-app purchases in free-to-play games that are directed toward children 16 and under, which principles became effective in April 2014);

 

compliance with anti-bribery laws including without limitation, compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;

 

credit risk and higher levels of payment fraud;

 

currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

protectionist laws and business practices that favor local businesses in some countries;

 

foreigndouble taxation of our international earnings and potentially adverse tax consequences;

foreign exchange controls or U.S.consequences due to changes in the tax restrictions that might restrict or prevent us from repatriating income earned in countries outsidelaws of the United States;States or the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate;

 

political, economic and social instability;

 

higher costs associated with doing business internationally;

 

export or import regulations; and

 

trade and tariff restrictions.

Entering new international markets willIf we are unable to manage the complexity of our global operations successfully, our business, financial condition and operating results could be expensive,adversely affected. Additionally, our ability to successfully gain market acceptance in any particular market is uncertain, and the distraction of our senior management team could harm our business.

Competition withinIf we do not successfully invest in, establish and maintain awareness of our brand and games, if we incur excessive expenses promoting and maintaining our brand or our games or if our games contain defects or objectionable content, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.*

We believe that establishing and maintaining our brand is critical to establishing a direct relationship with players who purchase our products from direct-to-consumer channels and to maintaining our existing relationships with distributors and content licensors, as well as potentially developing new such relationships. Increasing awareness of our brand and recognition of our games is particularly important in connection with our strategic focus of developing games based on our own intellectual property. Our ability to promote the broader entertainment industry is intenseZynga brand and increase recognition of our games depends on our ability to develop high-quality, engaging games. If consumers, digital storefront owners and branded content owners do not perceive our existing games as high-quality or if we introduce new games that are not favorably received by them, then we may not succeed in building brand recognition and brand loyalty in the marketplace. In addition, globalizing and extending our brand and recognition of our games requires significant and involves extensive management time to execute successfully. Although we make significant sales and marketing expenditures in connection with the launch of our games, these efforts may not succeed in increasing awareness of our brand or the new games. If we fail to increase and maintain brand awareness and consumer recognition of our games, our potential revenues could be limited, our costs could increase and our business, operating results and financial condition could suffer.

In addition, if a game contains objectionable content, we could experience damage to our reputation and brand. Despite reasonable precautions, some consumers may be offended by certain of our game content. If consumers believe that a game we published contains objectionable content, it could harm our brand and consumers could refuse to play it and could pressure the digital storefront operators to no longer allow us to publish the game on their platforms. Similarly, if any of our games are introduced with defects or have playability issues, we may receive negative user reviews and our brand may be damaged. These issues could be exacerbated if our customer service department does not timely and adequately address issues that our players have encountered with our games.

Our existing and potential players may be attracted to competing forms of entertainment such as offline and traditional online games, television, movies and sports, as well as other entertainment options on the Internet.

Our players face a vast array of entertainment choices. Other forms of entertainment, such as offline, traditional online, personal computer and console games, television, movies, sports, RMG and the Internet, are

much larger and more well-established markets and may be perceived by our players to offer greater variety, affordability, interactivity and enjoyment. These other forms of entertainment compete for the discretionary time and income of our players. If we are unable to sustain sufficient interest in our games in comparison to other forms of entertainment, including new forms of entertainment, our business model may no longer be viable.

Competition in the social gameour industry is intense.intense and there are low barriers to entry.

The social gameOur industry is highly competitive and we expect more companies to enter the sector and a wider range of social games to be introduced. Our competitors that develop social games for social networks, on both web and mobile, vary in size and include companies such as Electronic Arts Inc., DeNA Co. Ltd. (Japan), Electronic Arts Inc., Gameloft SA, GREE International, Inc., Glu Mobile Inc., King.com Inc., Rovio Mobile Ltd., Supercell Inc., GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc., Kabam and The Walt Disney Company, Crowdstar, Inc., Vostu, King.com and Wooga.Company. In addition, online game developers and distributors who are primarily focused on specific international markets, such as Tencent Holdings Limited in Asia, and high-profile companies with significant online presences that to date have not developed social games, such as Facebook, Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, may decide to develop social games. Some of these current and potential competitors have significant resources for developing or acquiring additional games, may be able to incorporate their own strong brands and assets into their games, have a more diversified set of revenue sources than we do and may be less severely affected by changes in consumer preferences, regulations or other developments that may impact the online social gameour industry. In addition, we have limited experience in developing games for mobile and other platforms and our ability to succeed on those platforms is uncertain. As we continue to devote significant resources to developing games for those platforms, we will face significant competition from established companies, including Electronic Arts Inc., GREE International, Inc., DeNA, Gameloft SA, Glu Mobile Inc., Disney and Rovio Mobile Ltd. We expect new mobile-gamegame competitors to enter the market and existing competitors to allocate more resources to develop and market competing games and applications.

As there are relatively low barriers to entry to develop a mobile or online casual game, we expect new game competitors to enter the market and existing competitors to allocate more resources to develop and market competing games and applications. We also compete or will compete with a vast number of small companies and individuals who are able to create and launch games and other content for devices and platforms using relatively limited resources and with relatively limited start-up time or expertise. The valueproliferation of titles in these open developer channels makes it difficult for us to differentiate ourselves from other developers and to compete for players without substantially increasing our marketing expenses and development costs. Increasing competition could result in loss of players, loss of talent or loss of our virtual goods is highly dependent on how we manage the economies in our games. If we fail to manage our game economies properly, our business may suffer.

Paying players purchase virtual goods in our games because of the perceived value of these goods which is dependent on the relative ease of securing an equivalent good via non-paid means within the game. The perceived value of these virtual goods can be impacted by an increase in the availability of free or discounted Facebook Credits and/or Facebook’s local-currency based payments, or by various actions that we take in the games including offering discounts for virtual goods, giving away virtual goods in promotions or providing easier non-paid means to secure these goods. If we fail to manage our virtual economies properly, players may be less likely to purchase virtual goods and our business may suffer.

Some of our players may make sales and/or purchases of virtual goods used in our games through unauthorized third-party websites, which may impede our revenue growth.

Virtual goods in our games have no monetary value outside of our games. Nonetheless, some of our players may make sales and/or purchases of our virtual goods, such asZynga Poker virtual poker chips, through unauthorized third-party sellers in exchange for real currency. These unauthorized transactions are usually arranged on third-party websites and the virtual goods offered may have been obtained through unauthorized means such as exploiting vulnerabilities in our games or from scamming our players with fake offers or virtual goods or other game benefits. We do not generate any revenue from these transactions, or have any control over them. Accordingly, these unauthorized purchases and sales from third-party sellers could impede our revenue and profit growth by, among other things:

decreasing revenue from authorized transactions;

creating downward pressure on the prices we charge players for our virtual currency and virtual goods;

causing us to lose revenue from paying players who stop playing a particular game;

increasing costs we incur to develop technological measures to curtail unauthorized transactions;

generating legal claims relating to the diminution of value of our virtual goods; and

increasing customer support costs to respond to dissatisfied players.

To discourage unauthorized purchases and sales of our virtual goods, we state in our terms of service that the buying or selling of virtual currency and virtual goods from unauthorized third-party sellers may result in bans from our games and/or legal action. We have banned players as a result of such activities. We have also filed lawsuits against third parties attempting to “sell” virtual goods from our games, particularly poker chips fromZynga Poker, outside of our games. We have also employed technological measures to help detect unauthorized transactions. If we decide to implement further restrictions on players’ ability to transfer virtual goods, we may loseacquire new players in a cost-effective manner, all of which could harm our financial condition and results of operations.business.

TheOur revenue may be harmed by the proliferation of “cheating” programs and scam offers that seek to exploit our games and players, affectswhich may affect the game-playing experience and may lead players to stop playing our games.

Unrelated third parties have developed, and may continue to develop, “cheating” programs that enable players to exploit vulnerabilities in our games, play them in an automated way or obtain unfair advantages over

other players who do play fairly. These programs harm the experience of players who play fairly, and may disrupt the virtual economies of our games.games and may reduce the demand for virtual items. In addition, unrelated third parties attempt to scam our players with fake offers for virtual goods or other game benefits. We devote significant resources to discover and disable these programs and activities, and if we are unable to do so quickly our operations may be disrupted, our reputation damaged and players may stop playing our games. This may lead to lost revenue from paying players, increased cost of developing technological measures to combat these programs and activities, legal claims relating to the diminution in value of our virtual currency and goods, and increased customer service costs needed to respond to dissatisfied players.

Our quarterly operating results are volatile and difficult to predict, and our stock price may decline if we fail to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors.

Our bookings, revenue, traffic and operating results could vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year and may fail to match our past performance or the expectations of securities analysts or investors because of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Any of these events could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fluctuate. Factors that may contribute to the variability of our operating results include the risk factors listed in these “Risk Factors” and the factors discussed in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Factors Affecting Our Performance.”

In particular, we recognize revenue from the sale of our virtual goods in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which is complex and based on our assumptions and historical data with respect to the sale and use of various types of virtual goods. In the event that such assumptions are revised based on new data or there are changes in the historical mix of virtual goods sold due to new game introductions, reduced virtual good sales in existing games or other factors or there are changes in our estimates of average playing periods, the amount of revenue that we recognize in any particular period may fluctuate significantly. For further information regarding our revenue recognition policy, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies—Revenue Recognition” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Given our short operating history and the rapidly evolving social game industry in which we operate, our historical operating results may not be useful in predicting our future operating results. In addition, metrics we have developed or those available from third parties regarding our industry and the performance of our games, including DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs and ABPU may not be indicative of our financial performance.

We may be required to record impairment related to our goodwill, intangible assets or other long-lived assets if our market capitalization declines below our net asset value or if our financial performance and/or condition deteriorates.deteriorates including for specific games for which we have recorded intangible assets.*

As of December 31, 2012,2015, we had $724.4 million$1.0 billion of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets. Our February 2014 acquisition of NaturalMotion increased our reported goodwill and intangible assets. If our market capitalization continues to declinedeclines below our net asset value or if our financial performance and/or condition deteriorates,deteriorate, we may have to impair our goodwill, intangible assets or other long-lived assets, which could adversely impact our results of operations and financial position. For example, in the third quarter of 2012, we made the decision to discontinue the development of certain games associated with technology and other intangible assets previously acquired from OMGPOP Inc. and we recorded an asset impairment charge of $95.5 million. In addition, in the third quarter of 2013 we recorded an intangible asset impairment charge of $10.2 million related to various prior acquisitions. For more information, see Note 6 – “Goodwill6—“Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Failure to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or the costs involved in such enforcement could harm our business and operating results.

We regard the protection of our trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, domain names, patents, and other product rights as critical to our success. We strive to protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights, as well as contractual restrictions. We enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors and confidentiality agreements with parties with whom we conduct business in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our proprietary information. However, these contractual arrangements and the other steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property may not prevent the misappropriation of our proprietary information or deter independent development of similar technologies by others.

We pursue the registration of our copyrights, trademarks, service marks, domain names, copyrights, trademarks, and service markspatents in the United States and in certain locations outside the United States. We are seeking to protect our trademarks, copyrights, patents and domain names in multiple jurisdictions, aThis process that iscan be expensive and time-consuming, and may not always be successful depending on local laws or whichother circumstances, and we also may choose not pursue registrations in every location.location depending on the nature of the project to which the intellectual property rights pertain. We may, over time, increase our investments in protecting our creative works through increased copyright filings and our brands through increased trademark and other filings. Likewise, we may, over time, increase our investment in protecting our innovations through increased patent filings that are expensive and time-consuming and may not result in issued patents that can be effectively enforced.enforced or licensed. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the “Leahy-Smith Act”) was adopted in September 2011. The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to United States patent law, including provisions that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted, which could be detrimental to investors, and may also affect patent litigation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is currently developing regulations and procedures to govern administration of the Leahy-Smith Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the Leahy-Smith Act will not become effective until March 2013. Accordingly, it is not clear what, if any, impact the Leahy-Smith Act will have on the operation of our business. However, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could harm our business.

Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. For example, we historically have brought several

actions to protect our “Zynga Poker,” “Ville,” and “With Friends” franchises against third-party uses of those intellectual property assets and brands. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs, adverse publicity, or diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. If we fail to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property rights, our business and operating results may be harmed.

Our ability to acquire and maintain licenses to intellectual property may affect our revenue and profitability. Competition for these licenses may make them more expensive and increase our costs.*

While most of the intellectual property we use is created by us, we have also acquired rights to proprietary intellectual property. We have also obtained rights to use intellectual property through licenses and service agreements with third parties. We use licensed intellectual property as a creative asset in certain games such asLooney Tunes Dash!, Hit it Rich! Slots, Wizard of Oz SlotsandBlack Diamond Casino and have built many of our games on proprietary source code, such as Unity.

Proprietary licenses typically limit our use of intellectual property to specific uses and for specific time periods. Competition for licenses for creative assets is intense. If we are unable to maintain these licenses or obtain additional licenses on reasonable economic terms or with significant commercial value, our revenue and profitability may be adversely impacted. Competition for these licenses may also increase the advances, guarantees and royalties that we must pay to the licensor, which could significantly increase our costs and adversely affect our profitability.

Many of our games are built on propriety source code, such as Unity. If we are unable to renew licenses to proprietary source code underlying our games, or the terms and conditions of these licenses change at the time of renewal our business, operations and revenue could be negatively impacted. We rely on third parties, including Unity, to maintain versions of their proprietary engines that allow us to ship our games on multiple platforms. If a third party from whom we license source code discontinues support for one or more of these platforms, our business could be negatively impacted.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property disputes, which are costly to defend and could require us to pay significant damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

From time to time, we have faced, and we expect to face in the future, allegations that we have infringed the trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including from our

competitors, non-practicing entities and former employers of our personnel. Patent and other intellectualIntellectual property litigation may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict. As the result of any court judgment or settlement, we may be obligated to cancel the launch of a new game, stop offering a game or certain features of a game in a particular geographic region or worldwide, pay royalties or significant settlement costs, purchase licenses or modify our games and features, or develop substitutes.

In addition, we use open source software in our games and expect to continue to use open source software in the future. From time to time, we may face claims from companies that incorporate open source software into their products, claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the source code, the open source software and/or derivative works that were developed using such software, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could also result in litigation, require us to purchase a costly license or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our games, any of which would have a negative effect on our business and operating results.

Although we do not believe that the final outcome of intellectual property litigation and claims that we currently face will have a material adverse effect on our business, our expectations may not prove to be correct. Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, operating results, financial condition, reputation or the market price of our Class A common stock.

We are involved in legal proceedings that may result in adverse outcomes.*

We may be involved in claims, suits, government investigations, and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, including actions with respect to intellectual property claims, privacy, data protection or

law enforcement matters, tax matters, labor and employment claims, commercial claims, as well as stockholder derivative actions, class action lawsuits, and other matters. Such claims, suits, government investigations, and proceedings are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted with certainty. Regardless of the outcome,their outcomes, such legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on us because of legal costs, diversion of management and other personnel, and other factors. In addition, it is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in liability, penalties, or sanctions, as well as judgments, consent decrees, or orders preventing us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services, or requiring a change in our business practices, products or technologies, which could in the future materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. See the section titled “Legal Matters” included in Note 13 – “Commitments12—“Commitments and Contingencies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Programming errors or flaws in our games could harm our reputation or decrease market acceptance of our games, which wouldcould harm our operating results.*

Our games may contain errors, bugs, flaws or corrupted data, and these defects may only become apparent after their launch, particularly as we launch new games and rapidly release new features to existing games under tight time constraints. We believe that if our players have a negative experience with our games, they may be less inclined to continue or resume playing our games or recommend our games to other potential players. Undetected programming errors, game vulnerabilities that may be exploited by cheating programs and other forms of misappropriation, game defects and data corruption can disrupt our operations, adversely affect the game experience of our players by allowing players to gain unfair advantage, misappropriate virtual goods, harm our reputation, cause our players to stop playing our games, divert our resources and delay market acceptance of our games, any of which could result in legal liability to us or harm our operating results.

Evolving regulations, industry standards and practices by platform providers concerning data privacy could prevent us from providing our current games to our players, or require us to modify our games, thereby harming our business.*

The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is currently in flux and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Practices regarding the collection, use, storage, transmission and security of personal information by companies operating over the Internet and mobile platforms are under increased public scrutiny, and civil claims alleging liability for the breachviolation of data privacy laws have been asserted against us. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Congress, and various State Attorneys General are continuing to review the need for greater regulation for the collection of information concerning consumer behavior on the Internet, including regulation aimed at restricting certain targeted advertising practices. There is also increased attention being given to the collection of data from minors. For instance, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act requires companies to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under the age of 13. In addition, the European Union has proposed reforms to its existing data protection legal framework, which may result in a greater compliance burden for companies with users in Europe. Various government and consumer agencies have also called for new regulation and changes in industry practices.

We began operations in 2007 and have grown rapidly.2007. While our administrative and technical systems have developed rapidly, during our earlier history our practices relating to intellectual property, data privacy and security, and legal compliance may not have been as robust as they are now, and there may be unasserted claims arising from this period that we are not able to anticipate. In addition, our business, including our ability to operate and expand internationally, could be adversely affected if laws or regulations are adopted, interpreted, or implemented in a manner that is inconsistent with our current business practices and that require changes to these practices, the design of our website, games, features or our privacy policy.policies. In particular, the success of our business has been, and we expect will continue to be, driven by our ability to responsibly use the data that our players share with us. Therefore, our business could be harmed by any significant change to applicable laws, regulations or industry practices or the requirements of platform providers regarding the use or disclosure of data our players choose to

share with us, age verification, underage players or the manner in which the express or implied consent of consumers for such use and disclosure is obtained. Such changes may require us to modify our game features and advertising practices, possibly in a material manner, and may limit our ability to use the data that our players share with us.

We process, store and use personal information and other data, which subjects us to governmental regulation and other legal obligations related to privacy, information security, data protection, consumer protection and protection of minors and our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business.

We receive, store and process personal information and other player data, and we enable our players to share their personal information with each other and with third parties, including on the Internet and mobile platforms. There are numerous federal, state and local laws around the world regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, processing, disclosure and protection of personal information and other player data on the Internet and mobile platforms, the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent between countries or conflict with other rules. We generally comply with industry standards and are subject to the terms of our own privacy policies and privacy-related obligations to third parties (including voluntary third-party certification bodies such as TRUSTe). We strive to comply with all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations and certain industry codes of conduct relating to privacy and data protection, to the extent reasonably attainable. However, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. It is also possible that new laws, policies, legal obligations or industry codes of conduct may be passed, or existing laws, policies, legal obligations or industry codes of conduct may be interpreted in such a way that could prevent us from being able to offer services to citizens of a certain jurisdiction or may make it more costly or difficult for us to do so. For example, if a country enacted legislation that required data of their citizens gathered by online services to be held within the country, we may not be able to comply with such legislation or compliance could be so difficult or costly that we chose not to stop offering services to citizens of that country. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to players or other third parties, or our privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other player data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could cause our players to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if third parties we

work with, such as players, vendors or developers, violate applicable laws or our policies, such violations may also put our players’ information at risk and could in turn have an adverse effect on our business.

In thethis area of information security and data protection, many states have passed laws requiring notification to players when there is a security breach for personal data, such as the 2002 amendment to California’s Information Practices Act, or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to practically implement. In January 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Apple related to in-app purchases made by minors. The costs of compliance with these laws may increase in the future as a result of changes in interpretation. Furthermore, anyMoreover, in the areas of privacy, information security, data protection, consumer protection and protection of minors, foreign laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. In particular, the European Union and its member states traditionally have taken broader views as to types of data that are subject to data protection, and have imposed legal obligations on companies in this regard. Any failure on our part to comply with laws in these lawsareas may subject us to significant liabilities.

Our business is subject to a variety of other U.S. and foreign laws, many of which are unsettled and still developing and which could subject us to claims or otherwise harm our business.*

We are subject to a variety of laws in the United States and abroad, including state and Federal laws regarding consumer protection, electronic marketing, protection of minors, data protection, competition, taxation, intellectual property, export and national security, that are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting,

particularly laws outside the United States. There is a risk that these laws may be interpreted in a manner that is not consistent with our current practices, and could have an adverse effect on our business. For example, laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are currently being tested by a number of claims, including actions based on invasion of privacy and other torts, unfair competition, copyright and trademark infringement, and other theories based on the nature and content of the materials searched, the ads posted or the content provided by users. It is also likely that as our business grows and evolves and our games are played in a greater number of countries, we will become subject to laws and regulations in additional jurisdictions. We are potentially subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect the offering of certain types of content, such as that which depicts violence, many of which are ambiguous, still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business or expose us to liability. In addition, there are ongoing academic, political and regulatory discussions in the United States and other jurisdictions regarding whether social casino applications should be subject to a higher level or different type of regulation than other social game applications and, if so, what this regulation should include. If new casino-themed regulations are imposed certain of our casino-themed games, includingZynga Poker, Zynga Poker Classic, Hit it Rich! Slots,Wizard of Oz SlotsandBlack Diamond Casino,may become subject to gambling-relatedthe rules and regulations and expose us to civil and criminal penalties if we do not comply. We have recently begun effortsHeightened regulation could increase the cost of running our casino games, make our games more difficult to expandaccess, decrease our user base or otherwise harm our business, to include RMG and announced a partnership agreement with bwin.party to develop, test and operate certain real money online poker and casino games in the United Kingdom. We also recently filed an Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. RMG is subject to stringent, complicated and rapidly changing licensing and regulatory requirements, both federally and in each state, as well as internationally. Regulatory and legislative developments, including excessive taxation, may preventbookings or significantly limit our ability to enter into or succeed in RMG. Becoming familiar with and complying with these requirements will increase our costs and subject our business to greater scrutiny by regulators in many different jurisdictions.revenue.

It is difficult to predict how existing laws will be applied to our business and the new laws to which we may become subject. If we are not able to comply with these laws or regulations or if we become liable under these laws or regulations, we could be directly harmed, and we may be forced to implement new measures to reduce our exposure to this liability. This may require us to expend substantial resources or to modify our games, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the increased attention focused upon liability issues as a result of lawsuits and legislative proposals could harm our reputation or otherwise impact the growth of our business. Any costs incurred as a result of this potential liability could harm our business and operating results.

It is possible that a number of laws and regulations may be adopted or construed to apply to us in the United States and elsewhere that could restrict the online and mobile industries, including player privacy, advertising, taxation, content suitability, copyright, distribution and antitrust. Furthermore, the growth and development of electronic commerce and virtual goods may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws that may impose additional burdens on companies such as ours conducting business through the Internet and mobile devices. We anticipate that scrutiny and regulation of our industry will increase and we will be required to devote legal and other resources to addressing such regulation. For example, existing laws or new laws regarding the

marketing of in-app purchases, labeling of free-to-play games, regulation of currency and banking institutions unclaimed property and money transmission may be interpreted to cover our games and the virtual currency, goods or payments that we receive. If that were to occur we may be required to seek licenses, authorizations or approvals from relevant regulators, the granting of which may be dependent on us meeting certain capital and other requirements and we may be subject to additional regulation and oversight, all of which could significantly increase our operating costs. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States or elsewhere regarding these activities may lessen the growth of social game services and impair our business. In addition, some concern has been expressed in Europe, Australia and in certain countriesother jurisdictions that social gaming should be regulated to protect consumers, in particular minors and persons susceptible to addiction to social games. This concern could lead to the adoption of legislation or regulations that may impose additional burdens upon us, prohibit the offering of our games to certain users or territories, increase our costs or require changes to our games.

Our prospects may suffer if our network is unsuccessful.

We aspire to expand our network to leverage our existing and new games to bring the best social playing experiences to our audience and further broaden to other games to ultimately create the best experience for play that includes mobile and web players. If our network fails to engage players or attract advertisers, we may fail to

generate sufficient revenue or bookings to justify our investment in the development and operation of our network. We may also encounter technical and operational challenges operating a network.

We are subject to the terms of service of third party social networks and platforms such as Facebook, Apple and Google, where our games are distributed, which may limit our ability to operate or promote our network. For example, under the current terms of service with Facebook, we are limited in our ability to use a Facebook users’ friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote our network. This may limit our ability to reach Facebook users from our network and may limit the number of players that use our network.

Companies and governmental agencies may restrict access to Facebook, our website, mobile applications or the Internet generally, which could lead to the loss or slower growth of our player base.*

Our players generally need to access the Internet and in particular platforms such as Facebook, Apple, Google and our website to play our games. Companies and governmental agencies could block access to Facebook, our website, mobile applications or the Internet generally for a number of reasons such as security or confidentiality concerns or regulatory reasons, or they may adopt policies that prohibit employees from accessing Facebook, Apple, Google and our website or other social platforms. For example, the government of the People’s Republic of China has blocked access to Facebook in China. If companies or governmental entities block or limit access to Facebook or our websitesuch or otherwise adopt policies restricting players from playing our games, our business could be negatively impacted and could lead to the loss or slower growth of our player base.

Our business will suffer if we are unable to successfully acquire or integrate acquired companies into our business or otherwise manage the growth associated with multiple acquisitions.

We have acquired businesses, personnel and technologies in the past and we intend to continue to evaluate and pursue acquisitions and strategic investments. Our ability to grow through future acquisitions will depend on the availability of suitable acquisition and investment candidates at an acceptable cost, our ability to compete effectively to attract these candidates and the availability of financing to complete larger acquisitions. Additional challenges and risks include:

significant competition from other game companies as the social game industry consolidates;

the need to integrate the operations, systems, technologies, products and personnel of each acquired company, the inefficiencies and lack of control that may result if such integration is delayed or not implemented, and unforeseen difficulties and expenditures that may arise in connection with integration;

the difficulty in determining the appropriate purchase price of acquired companies may lead to the potential impairment of intangible assets and goodwill acquired in the acquisitions;

diversion of our management’s attention away from our business and any difficulties encountered in the integration process;

declining employee morale and retention issues resulting from changes in, or acceleration of, compensation, or changes in management, reporting relationships, or future prospects;

the need to implement controls, procedures and policies appropriate for a larger public company at companies that prior to acquisition had lacked such controls, procedures and policies;

risks associated with our expansion into new international markets and doing business internationally, including those described under the risk factor caption “Expansion into international markets is important for our growth, and as we expand internationally, we will face additional business, political,

regulatory, operational, financial and economic risks, any of which could increase our costs and hinder such growth” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K;

in the case of foreign acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries;

in some cases, the need to transition operations and players onto our existing or new platforms and the potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees, players and other suppliers as a result of integration of new businesses; and

liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including intellectual property and other litigation claims or disputes, information security vulnerabilities, violations of laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities.

The benefits of an acquisition or investment may also take considerable time to develop, and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition or investment will produce the intended benefits, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Acquisitions could result in potential dilutive issuances of equity securities, use of significant cash balances or incurrence of debt (and increased interest expense), contingent liabilities or amortization expenses related to intangible assets or write-offs of goodwill and/or intangible assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations and dilute the economic and voting rights of our stockholders. For example, in the third quarter of 2012, we made the decision to discontinue the development of certain games associated with technology and other intangible assets previously acquired from OMGPOP and we recorded an asset impairment charge of $95.5 million. For more information, see Note 6 — “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Failure in pursuing or executing new business initiatives including RMG, could have a material adverse impact on our business and future growth.strategy.*

Our growth strategy includes evaluating, considering and effectively executing new business initiatives, which can be difficult. Management may not properly ascertain or assess the risks of new initiatives, and subsequent events may alter the risks that were evaluated at the time we decided to execute any new initiative. Entering into any new initiatives can also divert our management’s attention from other business issues and opportunities. Failure to effectively identify, pursue and execute new business initiatives including RMG as discussed below, may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. We believe RMG

If we fail to anticipate or successfully develop new games for new technologies, platforms and devices, the quality, timeliness and competitiveness of our games could have riskssuffer.*

The games industry is characterized by rapid technological changes that can be difficult to anticipate. New technologies, including distribution platforms and gaming devices, such as consoles, connected TVs, virtual or augmented reality devices, or a combination of existing and new devices, may force us to adapt our current game development processes or adopt new processes. If consumers shift their time to platforms other than the mobile and social platforms where our games are different than those associatedcurrently distributed, the size of our audience could decline and our performance could be impacted. It may take significant time and resources to shift our focus to such technologies, platforms and devices, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. Alternatively, we may increase the resources employed in research and development to adapt to these new technologies, distribution platforms and devices, either to preserve our games or a game launch schedule or to keep up with other new initiatives. In particular, RMG is subject to stringent, complicated and rapidly changing licensing and regulatory requirements, both federally and in each state, as well as internationally. Regulatory and legislative developments, including excessive taxation, may prevent or significantly limit our ability to enter into or succeed in RMG. Becoming familiar with and complying with these requirements willcompetition, which would increase our costsdevelopment expenses. We could also devote significant resources to developing games to work with such technologies, platforms or devices, and subjectthese new technologies, platforms or devices may not experience sustained, widespread consumer acceptance. The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect the quality, timelines and competitiveness of our businessgames, or cause us to greater scrutiny by regulators in many different jurisdictions. If our brand becomes associated with RMG we may lose current players, advertisers or partners or have difficulty attracting new players, advertisers or partners,incur significantly increased costs, which could adversely impactharm our business.operation results.

We have begun efforts to expand our business to include RMG and in October 2012, we entered into a partnership agreement with bwin.party digital entertainment plc to develop, test and operate certain real money online poker and casino games in the United Kingdom. This is our first experience with RMG and we cannot assure you that these preliminary efforts will be successful or result in the development or timely launch of RMG products, if at all, or ultimately produce any revenue. In addition, even if we ultimately do launch RMG products, if we or our partners fail to comply with regulatory requirements, or if players are less satisfied than expected with the games provided, or if we become subject to excessive taxation in the U.S. or in other countries, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of this line of business or we may lose players and we may curtail our efforts to enter the RMG market.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates will affect our financial results, which we report in U.S. dollars.

As we continue to expand our international operations, such as our recent acquisition of NaturalMotion, a company domiciled in the U.K., we become more exposed to the effects of fluctuations in currency exchange

rates. We incur expenses for employee compensation and other operating expenses at our non-U.S. locations in the local currency, and an increasing percentage of our international revenue is from players who pay us in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and those other currencies could result in the dollar equivalent of such expenses being higher and/or the dollar equivalent of such foreign-denominated revenue being lower than would be the case if exchange rates were stable. This could have a negative impact on our reported operating results.

The enactment of legislation implementing changesChanges in the U.S. taxation of international business activitiestax laws or the adoption of other tax reform policiesrulings could materially impactaffect our financial position and results of operations.*

The tax regimes we are subject to or operate under are unsettled and may be subject to significant change. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings, or changes in interpretations of existing laws, could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. Many countries in the European Union, as well as a number of other countries and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, have recently proposed or recommended changes to existing tax laws or have enacted new laws that could impact our tax obligations. For example, in 2015 the United Kingdom enacted the Diverted Profits Tax. In addition, the current U.S. administration hasand key members of Congress have made public statements indicating that it has made international tax reform is a priority, and key members of the U.S. Congress have conducted hearings and proposed new legislation. Recentpriority. Any changes to U.S. tax laws, including limitations on the ability of taxpayers to claim and utilize foreign tax credits and the deferral of certain tax deductions until earnings outside of the United States are repatriated to the United States, as well as changes to U.S. tax laws that may be enacted in the future, could impact the tax treatment of our foreign earnings. Due to the large and expanding scaletaxation of our international business activities any changes in the U.S. taxation of such activities may increaseimpact our worldwide effective tax rate, and harm our financial position and results of operations.

The intendedWe may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax benefits of our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements depend on the application of the tax laws of various jurisdictions and on how we operate our business.liabilities.*

Our income tax obligations are based in part on our corporate operating structure and intercompany arrangements, including the manner in which we develop, value, manage, and use our intellectual property and the transfer pricingvaluation of our intercompany transactions, are intended to reduce our worldwide effective tax rate.transactions. The application of the tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of various jurisdictions, including the United States to our international business activities isand other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and depends on our abilitycertain jurisdictions are aggressively interpreting their laws in new ways in an effort to operate our business in a manner consistent with our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements. The taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, including our transfer pricing, or determine that the manner in which we operate our business is not consistent with the manner in which we report our income to the jurisdictions, which could increase our worldwide effectiveraise additional tax rate and harm our financial position and results of operations.

Our corporate structure includes legal entities located in jurisdictions with income tax rates lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate. Our intercompany arrangements allocate income to such entities in accordance with arm’s-length principles and commensurate with functions performed, risks assumed and ownership of valuable corporate assets. We believe that income taxed in certain foreign jurisdictions at a lower rate relative to the U.S. statutory rate will have a beneficial impact on our worldwide effective tax rate.

Significant judgment is required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. During the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. For example, our effective tax rates could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in countries where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in countries where we have higher statutory rates, by changes in foreign currency exchange rates or by changes in the relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations, principles and interpretations. As we operate in numerous taxing jurisdictions, the application of tax laws can be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities of these jurisdictions. It is not uncommon for taxing authorities in different countries to have conflicting views, for instance, with respect to, among other things, the manner in which the arm’s length

standard is applied for transfer pricing purposes, or with respect to the valuation of intellectual property. In addition, tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of existing laws are issued or applied. In particular, there is uncertainty in relation to the U.S. tax legislation in terms of the future corporate tax rate but also in terms of the U.S. tax consequences of income derived from income related to intellectual property earned overseas in low tax jurisdictions.

revenue. Our existing corporate structure and intercompany arrangements have been implemented in a manner we believe is in compliance with current prevailing tax laws. However, the tax benefits which we intend to eventually derive could be undermined due to changing tax laws or if we are unable to adapttaxing authorities of the mannerjurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our business.methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and results of operations.

Our facilities are located near known earthquake fault zones, and theThe occurrence of an earthquake or other natural disaster at or near one of our facilities could cause damage to our facilities and equipment, which could require us to curtail or cease operations.*

Our principal offices and network operations centers are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, an area known for earthquakes, and are thus vulnerable to damage. WeAll of our facilities are also vulnerable to damage from other types ofnatural or manmade disasters, including power loss, fire, explosions, floods, communications failures, terrorist attacks and similar events. If any disaster were to occur, our ability to operate our business at our facilities could be impaired and we could incur significant losses, require substantial recovery time and experience significant expenditures in order to resume operations.

We are subject to contractual covenants which place certain limitations on how we manage our business.*

We have not drawn down on our Credit Agreement (as defined in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), but if we do use this as a source of funds it may limit our ability to take various actions, including incur indebtedness, grant liens, merge with or consolidate with another entity, dispose of all or substantially all assets and pay dividends or make distributions. Accordingly, we may be restricted from taking actions that management believes would be desirable and in the best interests of us and our stockholders. Our Credit Agreement also requires us to maintain compliance with a capitalization ratio and maintain a minimum cash balance. A breach of any of the covenants contained in our Credit Agreement could result in an event of default under the agreement and would allow our lenders to pursue various remedies, including accelerating the repayment of any outstanding indebtedness.

We may require additional capital to meet our financial obligations and support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms or at all.

We intend to continue to make significant investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new games and features or enhance our existing games, improve our operating infrastructure or acquire complementary businesses, personnel and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through future issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our Class A common stock. Any debt financing that we secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired, and our business may be harmed.

Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock

The three class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with those stockholders who held our stock prior to our initial public offering, including our founder and Chief Executive Officer and ourcertain other executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates; this limits our other stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters.*

Our Class C common stock has 70 votes per share, our Class B common stock has seven votes per share and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. Mark Pincus, our Chief Executive Officer, beneficially owned approximately 59%63% of the total voting power of our outstanding capital stock as of December 31, 2012.2015. As a result, MarkMr. Pincus has significant influence over the management and affairs of the companyCompany and control over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our companyCompany or our assets. Mr. Pincus may hold this voting power for the

foreseeable future, subject to additional issuances of stock by the companyCompany or sales by Mr. Pincus. This concentrated voting control limits the ability of our other stockholders to influence corporate matters and could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Future transfers or sales by holders of Class B common stock or Class C common stock will result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, which will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those stockholders who retain their existing shares of Class B or Class C common stock. In addition, as shares of Class B common stock are transferred or sold and converted to Class A common stock, the sole holder of Class C common stock, Mark Pincus, will have greater relative voting control to the extent he retains his existing shares of Class C common stock, and as a result he could in the future continue to control a majority of our total voting power. Mark Pincus is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests and may do so.

Certain provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our board of directors or current management and limit the market price of our Class A common stock.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in our board of directors or management. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions that:

 

establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors;

 

prohibit cumulative voting in the election of directors; and

 

reflect three classes of common stock, as discussed above.

These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder.

Our share price has been and will likely continue to be volatile.*

The trading price of our Class A common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Since sharesBetween December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015, the stock price of our Class A common stock were sold in our initial public offering in December 2011 at a price of $10.00 per share, through December 31, 2012, our stock price has ranged from $2.09$2.20 to $15.91.$3.13. In addition to the factors discussed in these “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, factors that may cause volatility in our share price include:

 

changes in projected operational and financial results;

 

issuance of new or updated research or reports by securities analysts;

 

market rumors or press reports;

 

announcements related to our stock repurchase program;announcement of significant transactions;

 

the use by investors or analysts of third-party data regarding our business that may not reflect our actual performance;

 

fluctuations in the valuation of companies perceived by investors to be comparable to us;

the activities, public announcements and financial performance of our commercial partners, such as Facebook;Facebook, Apple and Google;

 

fluctuations in the trading volume of our shares, or the size of our public float relative to the total number of shares of our Class A, Class B and Class C common stock that are issued and outstanding;

 

share price and volume fluctuations attributable to inconsistent trading volume levels of our shares; and

 

general economic and market conditions.

Furthermore, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, may negatively impact the market price of our Class A common stock. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We have been the target of this type of litigation as described in the section titled “Legal Matters’Matters” included in Note 13 —“12—“Commitments and Contingencies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could harm our business.

In addition, in October 2012, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase up to $200 million of our Class A common stock. The timing and amount of any stock repurchases will be determined based on market conditions, share price and other factors. The program does not require us to repurchase any specific number of shares of our Class A common stock, and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without notice. The stock repurchase program will be funded from existing cash on hand. Repurchases of our Class A common stock in the open market could result in increased volatility in our stock price.

Our Class A common stock price may be volatile due to third-party data regarding our games.

Third parties, such as AppData, AppAnnie and comScore publish daily data about us and other social game companies with respect to DAUs and MAUs, monthly revenue, time spent per user and other information concerning social game usage, in particular on Facebook.usage. These metrics can be volatile, particularly for specific games, and in many cases

do not accurately reflect the actual levels of usage of our games across all platforms and may not correlate to our bookings or revenue from the sale of virtual goods. There is a possibility that third parties could change their methodologies for calculating these metrics in the future. To the extent that securities analysts or investors base their views of our business or prospects on such third-party data, the price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and may not reflect the performance of our business.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Class A common stock, to some extent, depends on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or lower their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

Future sales or potential sales of our Class A common stock in the public market could cause our share price to decline.*

If the existing holders of our Class B common stock, particularly our directors and officers that hold such stock, sell a large number of shares, they could adversely affect the market price for our Class A common stock. Sales of

substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline. For example, in connection with the filing of our Registration Statement on Form S-3 in February 2014, covering the resale of shares issued to the security holders of NaturalMotion prior to our acquisition, we registered 28,178,201 shares of our Class A common stock, which were eligible to be resold immediately thereafter. In addition, in connection with the assumption of certain outstanding equity awards held by the employees of NaturalMotion prior to the acquisition, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-8 covering up to 6,850,973 shares of our Class A common stock. These will vest in accordance with the terms of the replacement option awards granted at the time of the acquisition. As of December 31, 2015, 3,233,693 of these options had vested. We also issued 39.8 million shares of our Class A common stock in connection with the acquisition of NaturalMotion; certain of the shares issued to employees were subject to time based repurchase options. The repurchase option on 3,848,472 shares was released on or prior to February 11, 2015. In addition, we issued approximately 1.1 million shares of Class A common stock to employees in connection with our 2014 bonus program. These shares were issued out of the shares reserved under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan.

Certain holders of our Class B common stock will beare also entitled to rights with respect to the registration of such shares under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to an investors’ rights agreement. If these holders of our Class B common stock, by exercising their registration rights, sell a large number of shares, they could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock. If we file a registration statement for the purposes of selling additional shares to raise capital and are required to include shares held by these holders pursuant to the exercise of their registration rights, our ability to raise capital may be impaired. Sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market, following the release of lock-up agreements, the filing of additional registration statements, or otherwise, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.

If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected.

If we are unable to maintain adequate internal controls for financial reporting in the future, or if our auditors are unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal controls as required pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, investor confidence in the accuracy of our financial reports may be impacted or the market price of our Class A common stock could be negatively impacted.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.*

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Select Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations has increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results.

As a result of disclosure of information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings with the SEC as required of a public company, our business and financial condition have become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.

We do not intendhave no plans to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.*

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not intendhave any plans to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their Class A common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We own our San Francisco, California corporate headquarters, an office building of approximately 660,000 square feet. We use approximately 480,000360,000 square feet for our operations and lease most of the remainder to

third-party non-affiliated, tenants under leases that range in terms from month-to-month to terms through 2021. The San Francisco facility currently accommodates our principal executive, development, engineering, marketing, business development, human resources, finance, legal, information technology and administrative activities.

We lease additional domestic office space in San Francisco, California; Carlsbad, California; Los Angeles, California; Mountain View, California; Timonium, Maryland;Eugene, Oregon; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and New York, New York; Syracuse, New York; Eugene, Oregon; Allen, Texas; Austin, Texas; McKinney, Texas; and Seattle, Washington. We lease office and data center space in California and Virginia.York. We lease offices for our foreign operations in: Victoria, Canada; Toronto, Canada; Beijing, China; Bielefeld-Sennestadt, Germany; Mainz, Germany;Victoria, Canada; Bangalore, India; Dublin, Ireland; Tokyo, Japan; Luxembourg City, Luxembourg;Oxford, England; Brighton, England; and Farnham, United Kingdom.London, England. These additional domestic and international facilities total approximately 470,000160,000 square feet, excluding restructured properties.

We believe that our existing facilities are sufficient for our current needs. We intend to add new facilities and expand our existing facilities as we add employees and expand our markets, and we believe that suitable additional or substitute space will be available as needed to accommodate any such expansion ofchanges in our operations.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

For a description of our material legal proceedings, see the section titled “Legal Matters’ included in Note 13 —“12—“Commitments and Contingencies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements, which is incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PartPART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our Class A common stock has been listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ZNGA” since December 16, 2011. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our stock. The following table sets forth for the indicated periods the high and low sales prices per share for our Class A common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

 

   High   Low 

Fourth Quarter 2011 (from December 16, 2011)

  $11.50    $8.75  

First Quarter 2012

  $15.91    $7.97  

Second Quarter 2012

  $13.15    $4.78  

Third Quarter 2012

  $5.61    $2.66  

Fourth Quarter 2012

  $2.90    $2.09  
   High   Low 

Fourth Quarter 2014

  $2.92    $2.20  

First Quarter 2015

  $2.89    $2.20  

Second Quarter 2015

  $3.13    $2.35  

Third Quarter 2015

  $2.96    $2.20  

Fourth Quarter 2015

  $2.75    $2.22  

Our Class B common stock and Class C common stock are not listed nor traded on any stock exchange.exchange, but are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock.

Holders of Record

As of December 31, 2012,2015, there were approximately 38249 stockholders of record of our Class A common stock, and the closing price of our Class A common stock was $2.36$2.68 per share as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Because many of our shares of Class A common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders. As of December 31, 2012,2015, there were approximately 1,241552 stockholders of record of our Class B common stock, and Mr. Pincus, Chairman of our Chief Executive Officer,Board of Directors, remains the only holder of Class C common stock.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our common stock. We intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

OnIn October 24, 2012,2015, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program allowing us to repurchase up to $200 million of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock. Repurchases under this program may take place in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. There is no guarantee as to

In the exact numberfourth quarter of shares that will be2015, we repurchased by us, and we may discontinue repurchases at any time.

All of our stock repurchases during fiscal year 2012 were made pursuant to our publicly-announced stock repurchase plan through open market purchases under Rule 10b5-1 plans. As of December 31, 2012, we had repurchased an aggregate of 5.037.9 million shares of our Class A common stock under thisthe repurchase program at a weighted average price of $2.36$2.60 per share for a total of $11.8 million, all of which were repurchased after December 3, 2012.$98.9 million. The remaining amount available for the repurchaseprogram expired upon completion of our Class A common stock was $188.2 million as of December 31, 2012.

The following table provides information with respect to our repurchases of 5.0 million shares of our Class A common stockauthorized share repurchase program in 2012:February 2016.

Period

  Total
Number of
Shares
Purchased
   Average
Price Paid
per Share
   Total Amount
$ of Shares
Purchased as
Part of
Publicly-
Announced
Plans or
Programs
   Maximum
$ Amount of
May Yet Be
Purchased
Under the
Plans or
Programs
 

October 1 – October 31, 2012

   —       —      —       —    

November 1 – November 30, 2012

   —       —      —       —    

December 1 – December 31, 2012

   4,961,802    $2.36    $11,755,842    $188,244,158  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   4,961,802    $2.36    $11,755,842    $188,244,158  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stock Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to liabilities under that section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Zynga Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

The following graph compares, for the year ended December 31, 2012,2015, the cumulative total stockholder return for Zynga’s Class A common stock, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), the NASDAQ 100 Index and the NASDAQ Internet Index.100. The measurement points in the graph below are December 16, 2011 (the first trading day of our Class A common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market) and the last trading day of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015. The graph assumes that $100 was invested on December 16, 2011 in the Class A common stock of Zynga Inc., the S&P 500 Index the NASDAQ 100 Index and the NASDAQ Internet100 Index and assumes reinvestment of any dividends. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

 

ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA

The following selected consolidated financial and other data should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 20102013 as well as the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 20122015 and 20112014 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The consolidated statement of operations data for the 12 months ended December 31, 20092012 and 2008,2011, as well as the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010, 20092013, 2012 and 2008,2011, are derived from audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future.

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010  2009  2008 
   (in thousands, except per share, users and ABPU data) 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data

  

Revenue:

      

Online game

  $1,144,252  $1,065,648  $574,632  $85,748  $5,272 

Advertising

   137,015   74,452   22,827   35,719   14,138 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total revenue

   1,281,267   1,140,100   597,459   121,467   19,410 

Costs and expenses:

      

Cost of revenue

   352,169   330,043   176,052   56,707   10,017 

Research and development

   645,648   727,018   149,519   51,029   12,160 

Sales and marketing

   181,924   234,199   114,165   42,266   10,982 

General and administrative

   189,004   254,456   32,251   24,243   8,834 

Impairment of intangible assets

   95,493   —     —     —     —   
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

   1,464,238   1,545,716   471,987   174,245   41,993 

Income (loss) from operations

   (182,971  (405,616  125,472   (52,778  (22,583

Interest income

   4,749   1,680   1,222   177   319 

Other income (expense), net

   18,647   (2,206  365   (209  187 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

   (159,575  (406,142  127,059   (52,810  (22,077

(Provision for) benefit from income taxes

   (49,873  1,826   (36,464  (12  (38
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $90,595  $(52,822 $(22,115
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Deemed dividend to a Series B-2 convertible preferred stockholder

     4,590   

Net income attributable to participating securities

   —      —      58,110   —      —    
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $27,895  $(52,822 $(22,115
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders

      

Basic

  $(0.28 $(1.40 $0.12  $(0.31 $(0.18
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Diluted

  $(0.28 $(1.40 $0.11  $(0.31 $(0.18
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares used to compute net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders:

      

Basic

   741,177   288,599   223,881   171,751   119,990 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Diluted

   741,177   288,599   329,256   171,751   119,990 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Other Financial and Operational Data:

      

Bookings(1)

  $1,147,627  $1,155,509  $838,896  $328,070  $35,948 

Adjusted EBITDA(2)

  $213,233  $303,274  $392,738  $168,187  $4,549 

Average DAUs (in millions)(3)

   63   57   56   41   NA  

Average MAUs (in millions)(4)

   302   233   217   153   NA  

Average MUUs (in millions)(5)

   180   151   116   86   NA  

ABPU(6)

  $0.050  $0.055  $0.041  $0.035  $NA  

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2015  2014  2013  2012  2011 
   (in thousands, except per share, user and ABPU data) 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

      

Revenue:

      

Online game

  $590,755   $537,619   $759,572   $1,144,252   $1,065,648  

Advertising and other

   173,962    152,791    113,694    137,015    74,452  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total revenue

   764,717    690,410    873,266    1,281,267    1,140,100  

Costs and expenses:

      

Cost of revenue

   235,985    213,570    248,358    352,169    330,043  

Research and development

   361,931    396,553    413,001    645,648    727,018  

Sales and marketing

   169,573    157,364    104,403    181,924    234,199  

General and administrative

   143,284    167,664    162,918    189,004    254,456  

Impairment of intangible assets

   —      —      10,217    95,493    —    
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

   910,773    935,151    938,897    1,464,238    1,545,716  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

   (146,056  (244,741  (65,631  (182,971  (405,616

Interest income

   2,568    3,266    4,148    4,749    1,680  

Other income (expense), net

   13,306    8,248    (3,386  18,647    (2,206
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

   (130,182  (233,227  (64,869  (159,575  (406,142

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

   (8,672  (7,327  (27,887  49,873    (1,826
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

  $(121,510 $(225,900 $(36,982 $(209,448 $(404,316
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders

      

Basic

  $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.05 $(0.28 $(1.40
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Diluted

  $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.05 $(0.28 $(1.40
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares used to compute net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders:

      

Basic

   913,511    874,509    799,794    741,177    288,599  

Diluted

   913,511    874,509    799,794    741,177    288,599  

Other Financial and Operational Data:

      

Bookings(1)

   699,955    694,300    716,176    1,147,627    1,155,509  

Adjusted EBITDA(2)

   17,127    39,932    46,549    213,233    303,274  

Other Financial and Operational Data—Revised(7):

      

Average DAUs (in millions)(3)

   21    26    36    62    56  

Average MAUs (in millions)(4)

   81    110    164    288    225  

Average MUUs (in millions)(5)

   57    70    104    159    149  

ABPU(6)

   0.093    0.074    0.054    0.051    0.056  

Other Financial and Operational Data—As Reported:

      

Average DAUs (in millions)(3)

   N/A    27    37    63    57  

Average MAUs (in millions)(4)

   N/A    118    171    302    233  

Average MUUs (in millions)(5)

   N/A    81    112    180    151  

ABPU(6)

   N/A    0.071    0.053    0.050    0.055  

 

NA means data is not available.

(1)

See the section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for how we define and calculate bookings, a reconciliation between bookings and revenue, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and a discussion about the limitations of bookings and adjusted EBITDA.

(2)

See the section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for how we define and calculate adjusted EBITDA, a reconciliation between adjusted EBITDA and net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and a discussion about the limitations of bookings and adjusted EBITDA.

(3)

DAUs is the number of individuals who played one of our games during a particular day, as recorded by our internal analytics systems. Average DAUs is the average of the DAUs for each day during the period reported. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics—Key Operating Metrics—DAUs” for more information on how we define and calculate DAUs. This reflects 2009 data commencing on July 1, 2009.

(4)

MAUs is the number of individuals who played a particular game during a 30-day-period, as recorded by our internal analytics systems. Average MAUs is the average of the MAUs at each month-end during the period reported. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics—Key Operating Metrics—MAUs” for more information on how we define and calculate MAUs. This reflects 2009 data commencing on July 1, 2009.

(5)

MUUs is the number of unique individuals who played any of our games on a particular platform during a 30-day period, as recorded by our internal analytics systems. Average MUUs is the average of the MUUs at each month-end during the period reported. MUUs exclude NaturalMotion legacy games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide as our systems are unable to distinguish whether a player of these games is also a player of other Zynga games so we exclude payers from these games to avoid potential double counting of MUUs. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics—Key Operating Metrics—MUUs” for more information on how we define and calculate MUUs. This reflects 2009 data commencing on July 1, 2009.

(6)

ABPU is defined as (i) our total bookings in a given period, divided by (ii) the number of days in that period, divided by (iii) the average DAUs during the period. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics—Key Operating Metrics—ABPU” for more information on how we define and calculate ABPU. This reflects 2009

(7)

In the first quarter of 2015, the company modified its calculation to take into account our business’s transition to mobile and updates to our operating metrics which utilize additional third party data commencing on July 1, 2009.to help us identify whether a player logged in under two or more accounts is the same individual. As a result of these changes, we revised the definitions for DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, and MUPs in the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, in the third quarter of 2015, the company made a subsequent modification to its calculation of MUUs to further reduce duplication of users of both web and mobile platforms and to correct an error in calculating the third quarter of 2014 MUU which resulted in MUU for that period to be understated by 0.3 million users. For comparative purposes, the above key operating metrics have been revised to reflect the company’s current definitions and calculations for all periods presented.

Stock-based expense included in the statements of operations data above was as follows:

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2009   2008   2015   2014   2013   2012   2011 

Cost of revenue

  $12,116   $17,660   $2,128   $443   $22   $4,547    $4,623    $468    $12,116    $17,660  

Research and development

   200,640    374,920    10,242    1,817    226    94,548     83,673     61,931     200,640     374,920  

Sales and marketing

   24,684    81,326    7,899    518    381    7,501     5,927     8,079     24,684     81,326  

General and administrative

   44,546    126,306    5,425    1,212    60    24,979     35,010     13,915     44,546     126,306  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total stock-based expense

  $281,986   $600,212   $25,694   $3,990   $689 

Total stock-based compensation

  $131,575    $129,233    $84,393    $281,986    $600,212  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

  Year Ended December 31,  Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2009 2008  2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

              

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities

  $1,652,313   $1,917,606   $738,090   $199,958  $35,558  $987,250   $1,147,909   $1,541,970   $1,652,313   $1,917,606  

Property and equipment, net

   466,074    246,740    74,959    34,827   4,052   273,221    297,919    348,793    466,074    246,740  

Working capital

   975,225    1,355,224    385,564    (12,496  8,378   876,084    713,901    964,897    975,225    1,355,224  

Total assets

   2,576,320    2,516,646    1,112,572    258,848   45,367   2,124,630    2,348,793    2,279,085    2,576,320    2,516,646  

Deferred revenue

   347,005    480,645    465,236    223,799   17,196   129,043    193,805    189,915    347,005    480,645  

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

   1,825,503    1,749,539    482,215    (21,478  12,995   1,786,901    1,895,692    1,877,271    1,825,503    1,749,539  

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Bookings

To provide investors with additional information about our financial results, we disclose within this Annual Report on Form 10-K, bookings, a non-GAAP financial measure. We have provided below a reconciliation between bookings and revenue, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Bookings is a non-GAAP financial measure that is equal to revenue recognized during the period plus or minus the change in deferred revenue during the period. We record the sale of virtual goods and mobile downloads as deferred revenue and then recognize that revenue over the estimated average payer life or as virtual goods are consumed. Advertising sales that consist of certain branded virtual goods and sponsorships are also

deferred and recognized over the estimated average life of the branded virtual good, similar to online game revenue. For additional discussion of the estimated average life of durable virtual goods, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Revenue Recognition” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We use bookings to evaluate the results of our operations, generate future operating plans and assess the performance of our company. While we believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for revenue recognized in accordance with GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate bookings differently or not at all, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

The following table is a reconciliation of revenue to bookings for each of the periods presented:

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011   2010   2009   2008 

Reconciliation of Revenue to Bookings:

         

Revenue

  $1,281,267  $1,140,100   $597,459   $121,467   $19,410 

Change in deferred revenue

   (133,640  15,409    241,437    206,603    16,538 
  

 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Bookings

  $1,147,627  $1,155,509   $838,896   $328,070   $35,948 
  

 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

In July 2010, we began migrating to Facebook Credits as the primary payment method for our games played through Facebook, and by April 2011, we had completed this migration. Facebook remits to us an amount equal to 70% of the face value of Facebook Credits purchased by our players for use in our games. We record bookings and recognize revenue net of amounts retained by Facebook. Prior to the adoption of Facebook Credits, we recorded a majority of our online game revenue at the gross price charged to the customer.

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2015  2014   2013  2012  2011 
   (in thousands) 

Reconciliation of Revenue to Bookings:

       

Revenue

  $764,717   $690,410    $873,266   $1,281,267   $1,140,100  

Change in deferred revenue

   (64,762  3,890     (157,090  (133,640  15,409  
  

 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Bookings

  $699,955   $694,300    $716,176   $1,147,627   $1,155,509  
  

 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

To provide investors with additional information about our financial results, we disclose within this Annual Report on Form 10-K adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure. We have provided below a reconciliation between adjusted EBITDA and net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

We have included adjusted EBITDA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K because it is a key measure we use to evaluate our financial and operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions for the allocation of capital. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. While we believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010 2009 2008   2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA:

            

Net income (loss)

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $90,595  $(52,822 $(22,115  $(121,510 $(225,900 $(36,982 $(209,448 $(404,316

(Provision for) / benefit from income taxes

   49,873   (1,826  36,464   12   38 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

   (8,672  (7,327  (27,887  49,873    (1,826

Other income (expense), net

   (18,647  2,206   (365  209   (187   (13,306  (8,248  3,386    (18,647  2,206  

Interest income

   (4,749  (1,680  (1,222  (177  (319   (2,568  (3,266  (4,148  (4,749  (1,680

Gain (loss) from legal settlements

   3,024   (2,145  (39,346      7,000 

Gain (loss) on legal settlements

   (1,681  5,250    —      3,024    (2,145

Depreciation and amortization

   141,479   95,414   39,481   10,372   2,905    54,315    82,894    129,047    141,479    95,414  

Stock-based expense

   281,986   600,212   25,694   3,990   689    131,575    129,233    84,393    281,986    600,212  

Impairment of intangible assets

   95,493   —     —     —     —      —      —      10,217    95,493    —    

Restructuring expense

   7,862   —     —     —     —   

Contingent consideration fair value adjustment

   6,112    32,700    —      —      —    

Acquisition-related transaction expenses

   1,144    6,425    930    —      —    

Restructuring expense, net

   36,480    24,281    44,683    7,862    —    

Change in deferred revenue

   (133,640  15,409   241,437   206,603   16,538    (64,762  3,890    (157,090  (133,640  15,409  
  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

  $213,233  $303,274  $392,738  $168,187  $4,549   $17,127   $39,932   $46,549   $213,233   $303,274  
  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Limitations of Bookings and Adjusted EBITDA

Some limitations of bookings and adjusted EBITDA are:

 

adjusted EBITDA does not include the impact of stock-based expense;

 

bookings and adjusted EBITDA do not reflect that we defer and recognize online game revenue and revenue from certain advertising transactions over the estimated average life of durable virtual goods or as virtual goods are consumed;

 

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect income tax expense;

 

adjusted EBITDA does not include other income and expense (net),(expense) net, which includes foreign exchange gains and losses and interest income, and the net gain on termination of our lease and the purchase of our corporate headquarters building;income;

 

adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization and although these are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future;

 

adjusted EBITDA does not include the impairment of intangible assets previously acquired, in connection with the company’s purchase of OMGPOP;

adjusted EBITDA does not include losses associated withcontingent consideration fair value adjustments, acquisition-related transaction expenses or restructuring charges;expense;

 

adjusted EBITDA does not include gains and losses associated with significant legal settlements; and

 

other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate bookings and adjusted EBITDA differently or not at all, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, you should consider bookings and adjusted EBITDA along with other financial performance measures, including revenue, net income (loss) and our other financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”

Overview

We are the world’sa leading online social game developer with approximately 29868 million average MAUs for the three months ended December 31, 2012.2015. We have launched some of the most successful social games in the industry in each of the last three years.industry. Our games are accessible on mobile platforms, Facebook and other social networks mobile platforms and Zynga.com. Our games are generally available for free, and we generate revenue through the in-game sale of virtual goods mobile game download fees and advertising.advertising services.

We are a pioneer and innovator of social games and a leader in making play a core activity on the Internet. Our objective is to become the worldwide leader in play by connecting the world through games.

Consistent with our free-to-play business model, compared to all players who play our games in any period, only a small portion of our players are payers. Because the opportunity for social interactions increases as the number of players increases, we believe that maintaining and growing our overall number of players, including the number of players who may not purchase virtual goods, is important to the success of our business. As a result, we believe that the number of players who choose to purchase virtual goods will continue to constitute a small portion of our overall players as our business grows.players.

The games that constitute our top games vary over time but historically the top three online game revenue-generating games in any period contributed the majority of our revenue. Our top three games accounted for 55%53%, 57%60% and 78%54% of our online game revenue in 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 2010,2013, respectively. The percentage

In 2015, we continued to align our cost-structure with our key strategic initiatives. We reduced our headcount from 1,974, as of online game revenue relatedDecember 31, 2014, to 1,669, as of December 31, 2015, we consolidated certain facilities and data centers and we migrated a significant portion of our top three games has declined during these periods as we continuecomputing to launch new games. These more recently launched games increased our total online game revenue without necessarily being included as a top three game.

We made significant investments in 2012 to drive long-term growth.run on hosting and cloud computer services provided by third parties. We continue to invest in game development, creating both new games and new features and content in existing games designed to engage our players. We are also investing in other key areas of our business, including international market development, RMG,players on mobile games, our technology infrastructuredevices and our With Friends Network. In 2013, we expect to make capital expenditures of up to $48 million as we invest in network infrastructure to continue to improveon the player experience.web.

How We Generate Revenue

We operate our games as live services that allow players to play for free. We generate revenue primarily from the in-game sale of virtual goods and advertising.advertising services. Revenue growth will depend largely on our ability to attract and retain players and more effectively monetize our player base through the sale of virtual goods and advertising. We intend to do this through the launch of new games, enhancements to current games and expansion into new markets and distribution platforms.

Online Game.game. We provide our players with the opportunity to purchase virtual goods that enhance their game-playing experience. We believe players choose to pay for virtual goods for the same reasons they are

willing to pay for other forms of entertainment. Theyentertainment—they enjoy the additional playing time or added convenience, the ability to personalize their own game boards, the satisfaction of leveling up and the opportunity for sharing

creative expressions. We believe players are more likely to purchase virtual goods when they are connected to and playing with their friends, whether those friends play for free or also purchase virtual goods. Players may also elect to pay a one-time download fee to obtain an ad-freecertain mobile game.games free of third-party advertisements.

In 2015, our business continued generating a higher percentage of bookings through mobile platforms than through the Facebook platform. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 we estimate that we generated 68% and 51% of our bookings, respectively, from mobile platforms while 29% and 43% of our bookings, respectively, were generated from the Facebook platform. Facebook is currentlystill the primary distribution, marketing, promotion and paymentlargest single platform for our games. Wegames and we generate a significant portion of our revenue through the Facebook platform and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. For example, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, we estimate that 81% and 93% of our bookings, respectively, was generated through the Facebook platform, while 18% and 5% of our bookings, respectively, were generated through mobile platforms.platform. For the twelve months ended December 31, 20122015 and 2011,2014, we estimate that 86%64% and 93%44% of our revenue, respectively, werewas generated through the mobile platforms, while 33% and 51% of our revenue, respectively, was generated through the Facebook platform, while 13% and 4% of our revenue, respectively, were generated through mobile platforms.platform. We have had to estimate this information because certain payment methods we accept and certain advertising networks do not allow us to determine the platform used.

We began migrating to Facebook CreditsFor all payment transactions in July 2010 pursuant to an addendum toour games under Facebook’s standard terms and conditions, and in April 2011, we completed this migration. Contractually,local currency-based payments model, Facebook remits to us an amount equal to 70% of the price statedwe requested to be charged to our players for use in our games. We recognize revenue net of amounts retained by Facebook. Prior to our migration to Facebook Credits, we used third-party payment processors and paid these processors service fees ranging from 2% to 10% of the purchase price of our virtual goods which were recorded in cost of revenue. Players can purchase Facebook Credits from Facebook directly through our games or through game cards purchased from retailers and distributors.

In June 2012, Facebook announced its plans to discontinue the use of Facebook Credits and instead support pricing in local currencies. We expect to begin our transition away from Facebook Credits and to adopt Facebook’s local currency-based payments model in the first half of 2013.

players. On platforms other than Facebook, players purchase our virtual goods through various widely accepted payment methods offered in the games, including credit cards, PayPal, Apple iTunes accounts, Google Wallet and direct wires. Players can purchase game cards from retailers and distributors that can be redeemed in our games.credit cards.

Advertising.Advertising and other.Advertising revenue primarily includes branded virtual goods and sponsorships, engagement ads and offers, mobile ads,and display ads and licensing.other. We generally report our advertising revenue net of amounts due to advertising agencies and brokers. Other revenue includes software licensing and maintenance related to technology acquired in our acquisition of NaturalMotion as well as licensing of our brands.

Key Metrics

We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key financial and operating metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends in our business, prepare financial projections and make strategic decisions.

Key Financial Metrics

Bookings.Bookings is a non-GAAP financial measure that is equal to revenue recognized during the period plus the change in deferred revenue during the period. We record the sale of virtual goods and mobile downloads as deferred revenue and then recognize that revenue over the estimated average payer life of the purchased virtual goods or as the virtual goods are consumed. Advertising sales which consist of certain branded virtual goods and sponsorships are also deferred and recognized over the estimated average life of the branded virtual good, similar to online game revenue. Bookings, as opposed to revenue, is the fundamental top-line metric we use to manage our business, as we believe it is a betteruseful indicator of the sales activity in a given period. Over the long term,long-term, the factors impacting our bookings and revenue are the same. However, in the short term, there are factors that may cause revenue to exceed or be less than bookings in any period.

We use bookings to evaluate the results of our operations, generate future operating plans and assess the performance of our company. While we believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for revenue recognized in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate bookings differently or not at all, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss), adjusted for (provision for) / benefit fromprovision for (benefit from) income taxes; other income (expense), net; interest income; gain (loss) from significant legal settlements; restructuring expense, net; depreciation and amortization; stock-based expense; impairment of intangible assets; restructuring chargesstock-based expense; contingent consideration fair value adjustments; acquisition-related

transaction expenses, and change in deferred revenue. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. For a reconciliation of net income (loss) to

We have included adjusted EBITDA see the section titled “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” Included in Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.10-K because it is a key measure we use to evaluate our financial and operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions for the allocation of capital. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. While we believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Key Operating Metrics

We manage our business by tracking several operating metrics: “DAUs,” which measure daily active users of our games, “MAUs,” which measure monthly active users of our games, “MUUs,” which measure monthly unique users of our games, “MUPs,” which measure monthly unique payers in our games, and “ABPU,” which measures our average daily bookings per average DAU, each of which is recorded by our internal analytics systems. The numbers for these operating metrics are calculated using internal company data based on tracking of user account activity. We use the information provided by third parties, including third party network logins provided by platform providers, to help us track whether a player logged in under two or more different user accounts is the same individual. We believe that the numbers are reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement; however, factors relating to user activity and systems may impact these numbers.

DAUs. We define DAUs as the number of individuals who played one of our games during a particular day. Under this metric, an individual who plays two different games on the same day is counted as two DAUs. Similarly,We use information provided by third parties to help us identify individuals who play the same game to reduce this duplication. However, because we do not always have the third party network login data to link an individual who plays the same game on two different platforms (e.g. web and mobile) or on two different social networks on the same day wouldhas played under multiple user accounts, a player may be counted as twomultiple DAUs. Average DAUs for a particular period is the average of the DAUs for each day during that period. We use DAUs as a measure of audience engagement.

MAUs.We define MAUs as the number of individuals who played a particular gameone of our games in the 30-day period ending with the measurement date. Under this metric, an individual who plays two different games in the same 30-day period is counted as two MAUs. Similarly,We use information provided by third parties to help us identify individuals who play the same game to reduce this duplication. However, because we do not always have the third party network login data to link an individual who plays the same game on two different platforms (e.g., web and mobile) or on two different social networks inhas played under multiple user accounts, a 30-day period wouldplayer may be counted as twomultiple MAUs. Average MAUs for a particular period is the average of the MAUs at each month-end during that period. We use MAUs as a measure of total game audience size.

MUUs.We define MUUs as the number of unique individuals who played anyone or more of our games, on a particular platformwhich we were able to verify were played by the same individual in the 30-day period ending with the measurement date. An individual who plays more than one of our games in a given 30-day period would be counted as a single MUU.MUU to the extent we can verify that the games were played by the same individual. However, because we cannotdo not always distinguish unique individuals playing across multiple platforms,have the third party network login data necessary to link an individual who plays any of our games on two different platforms (e.g., web and mobile)has paid under multiple user accounts in a given 30-day period, an individual may be counted as two MUUs in the event that we do not have data that allows us to de-duplicate the player.multiple MUUs. Because many of our players play more than one game in a given 30-day period, MUUs are always equal to or lower than MAUs in any given time period. Average MUUs for a particular period is the average of the MUUs at each month-endmonth end during that period. We use MUUs as a measure of total audience reach across our network of games.

MUPs. We define MUPs as the number of unique playersindividuals who made a payment at least once during the applicable month30-day period through a payment method for which we can quantify the number of unique payers, individuals,

including payers from certain of our mobile games. MUPs does not include payersindividuals who use certain payment methods for which we cannot quantify the number of unique payers. IfHowever, because we do not always have the third party network login data necessary to link an individual who has paid under multiple user accounts in a 30-day period, a player made a payment in our games on two separate platforms (e.g., Facebook and Google+) in a period, the player wouldwho has paid using multiple user accounts may be counted as two unique payers in that period.multiple MUPs. MUPs are presented as an average of the three months in the applicable quarter. We use MUPs as a measure of the number of individuals who made payments across our network of games during a 30-day period.

ABPU. We define ABPU as (i) our total bookings in a given period, divided by (ii) the number of days in that period, divided by, (iii) the average DAUs during the period. We believe that ABPU provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. We use ABPU as a measure of overall monetization across all of our players through the sale of virtual goods and advertising.

Our business model for social games is designed so that, as there are more players that play our games, social interactions increase and the more valuable the games and our business become. All engaged players of our games help drive our bookings and, consequently, both online game revenue and advertising revenue. Virtual goods are purchased by players who are socializing with, competing against or collaborating with other players, most of whom do not buy virtual goods. Accordingly, we primarily focus on bookings, DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs and ABPU, which together we believe best reflect key audience metrics.

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec 31,
2012
   Sep 30,
2012
   Jun 30,
2012
   Mar 31,
2012
   Dec 31,
2011
   Sep 30,
2011
   Jun 30,
2011
   Mar 31,
2011
 
   (users and payers in millions) 

Average DAUs

   56    60    72    65    54    54    59    62 

Average MAUs

   298    311    306    292    240    227    228    236 

Average MUUs

   167    177    192    182    153    152    151    146 

Average MUPs

   2.9    2.9    4.1    3.5    2.9    2.6    NA     NA  

ABPU

  $0.051   $0.047   $0.046   $0.055   $0.061   $0.058   $0.051   $0.051 

NA means data is not available.The table below shows average DAUs, MAUs, MUUs, MUPs and ABPU for the last eight quarters including the four quarters ended in 2014, both the metrics as initially reported and as subject to the revisions in 2015 described in the footnotes below:

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec 31,
2015
   Sep 30,
2015
   Jun 30,
2015
   Mar 31,
2015
   Dec 31,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
   Sep 30,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
   Jun 30,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
   Mar 31,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
 
                
   (users and payers in millions) 

Average DAUs

   18     19     21     25     24     24     27     28  

Average MAUs

   68     75     83     100     98     103     121     119  

Average MUPs(3)

   0.8     0.9     1.0     1.1     1.0     1.2     1.4     1.3  

ABPU

  $0.110    $0.100    $0.091    $0.076    $0.084    $0.079    $0.071    $0.064  

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec 31,  2014
As Reported
   Sep 30,  2014
As Reported
   Jun 30,  2014
As Reported
   Mar 31,  2014
As Reported
 
        
   (users and payers in millions) 

Average DAUs

   25     26     29     28  

Average MAUs

   108     112     130     123  

Average MUPs(3)

   1.1     1.3     1.7     1.4  

ABPU

  $0.079    $0.073    $0.067    $0.063  

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec  31,
2015
   Sep  30,
2015
   Jun  30,
2015
   Mar  31,
2015
   Dec  31,
2014
   Sep  30,
2014
   Jun  30,
2014
   Mar  31,
2014
 
                
   (users in millions) 

Average MUUs(3)

                

Revised in Q3 2015(2)

   48     51     60     71     64     66     77     74  

Revised in Q1 2015(1)

   N/A     N/A     62     73     66     65     82     79  

As Reported in 2014

   N/A     N/A     N/A     N/A     71     77     89     86  

(1)

In the first quarter of 2015, the company modified its calculation to take into account our business’s transition to mobile and updates to our operating metrics which utilize additional third party data to help us

identify whether a player logged in under two or more accounts is the same individual. As a result of these changes, we revised the definitions for DAUs, MAUs, MUUs and MUPs in the first quarter of 2015.
(2)

In the third quarter of 2015, the company made a subsequent modification to its calculation of MUUs to further reduce duplication of users of both web and mobile platforms and to correct an error in calculating the third quarter of 2014 MUU which resulted in MUU for that period to be understated by 0.3 million users.

(3)

MUUs and MUPs exclude NaturalMotion legacy games (CSR Racing,CSR Classics andClumsy Ninja) and games from recently acquired Rising Tide as our systems are unable to distinguish whether a player of these games is also a player of other Zynga games. We exclude payers of these games to avoid potential double counting of MUUs and MUPs.

The increase inAverage DAUs, MAUs and MUUs fordeclined during the three months ended March 31, 2012 as compared to the same periodsecond, third, and fourth quarters of the prior year was primarily the result of the release ofCastleVille, which launched in the fourth quarter of 20112015 and reached seven million DAUs in two weeks, andHidden Chronicles, which launched in the first quarter of 2012. Additionally we released four titles on mobile platforms. The increase in DAUs for the three months ended June 30, 2012 as compared to the prior quarter was the result of new users fromDraw Something, a game we acquired through the OMGPOP acquisition. DAUs and MUUs decreased in the three months ended September 30, 2012 as compared to the prior quarter, primarily due to declines in the performance ofDraw Something. The decrease in DAUs, MAUs and MUUs forwhen comparing the three months ended December 31, 20122015 to December 31, 2014. These declines in average DAUs, MAUs and MUUs were due to declines in users for our existing games such asFarmVille 2 andZynga Poker which were not offset by the contribution from newer titles such asWizard of Oz Slots andEmpires & Allies. Average DAUs, MAUs and MUUs increased in the first quarter of 2015 primarily due to the launch ofLooney Tunes Dash! in December 2014. MUPs declined in the three months ended December 31, 2015 compared to the priorthree months ended December 31, 2014, as payers inFarmVille 2,FarmVille 2: Country Escape andZynga Poker contributed more MUPs in the fourth quarter wasof 2014 compared to the resultfourth quarter of declines2015. ABPU increased in web players and mobile players.each consecutive quarter in 2015 (except for the first quarter of 2015 when average DAUs increased) due to the decline in average DAUs. Future growth in audience and engagement will depend on our ability to retain current players, attract new players, launch new games and expand into new marketsmarket and distribution platforms.

Our DAUs, MAUs and MUUs all increased in the three months ended March 31, 2011, primarily due to the launch ofCityVille in December 2010, the addition of new content to existing games and the launch of several mobile initiatives. In the third and fourth quarters of 2011, DAUs declined compared to the first two quarters of the year, mainly due to a decline in players of our more mature games. However, during that same period we saw an increase in MAUs and ABPU as we continued to expand our reach as a result of new game launches and improve our monetization as a result of both new game launches and increased bookings from advertising.

Other Metrics

Although our management primarily focuses on the operating metrics above, we also monitor periodic trends in our paying players of our games. The table below shows average monthly unique payer bookings, average MUPs and unique payer bookings per unique payer for the last six quarters. These metrics are not available for the first and second quarters of 2011 due to mobile payer data not becoming available until the third quarter of 2011:eight quarters:

 

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2012
  Sep 30,
2012
  Jun 30,
2012
  Mar 31,
2012
  Dec 31,
2011
  Sep 30,
2011
  Jun 30,
2011
  Mar 31,
2011
 

Average monthly unique payer bookings (in thousands)(1)

 $72,867  $71,760  $86,282  $96,277  $90,839  $86,543   NA    NA  

Average MUPs (in millions)

  2.9   2.9   4.1   3.5   2.9   2.6   NA    NA  

Monthly unique payer bookings per MUP(2)

 $25  $25  $21  $28  $31  $33   NA    NA  
  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2015
  Sep 30,
2015
  Jun 30,
2015
  Mar 31,
2015
  Dec 31,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Sep 30,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Jun 30,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Mar 31,  2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
 
        

Average monthly unique payer bookings (in thousands)(2)

 $38,444   $40,780   $42,488   $41,352   $41,323   $43,739   $44,844   $39,073  

Average MUPs (in millions)(3)

  0.8    0.9    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.2    1.4    1.3  

Monthly unique payer bookings per MUP(4)

 $47   $47   $44   $38   $41   $38   $32   $31  

NA means data is not available.

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,  2014
As Reported
  Sep 30,  2014
As Reported
  Jun 30,  2014
As Reported
  Mar 31,  2014
As Reported
 
    

Average monthly unique payer bookings (in thousands)(2)

 $41,323   $43,739   $44,844   $39,073  

Average MUPs (in millions)(3)

  1.1    1.3    1.7    1.4  

Monthly unique payer bookings per MUP(4)

 $37   $33   $27   $27  

(1)

For comparative purposes, average MUPs for 2014 have been revised to reflect the updated definitions for our key operating metrics in the first quarter of 2015 to eliminate known instances of duplication of unique individuals who play on different social networks or platforms. As a result, monthly unique payer bookings per MUP have also been revised for 2014.

(2)

Average monthly unique payer bookings represent the monthly average amount of bookings for the applicable quarter that we received through payment methods for which we can quantify the number of

unique payers and excludes bookings generated from certain mobile payers in the first quarter of 2012 due to our acquisition of OMGPOP late in that quarter, as well as bookings from certain payment methods for which we cannot quantify the number of unique payers. Also excluded are bookings from advertising.advertising, NaturalMotion legacy games (CSR Racing,CSR Classics andClumsy Ninja) and games from recently acquired Rising Tide.
(2)(3)

MUPs exclude payers of NaturalMotion legacy games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide as our systems are unable to distinguish whether a player of these games is also a player of other Zynga games. We exclude payers of these games to avoid potential double counting of MUPs.

(4)

Monthly unique payer bookings per MUP is calculated by dividing average monthly unique payer bookings by average MUPs. This calculation excludes MUP data for NaturalMotion legacy games and games from recently acquired Rising Tide.

Average monthly unique payer bookings decreasedgrew during the first and second quarters of 2015 and declined in the secondthird and thirdfourth quarters of 2012. Monthly2015 and when comparing the three months ended December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2014. Growth in average monthly unique payer bookings per MUP decreased from $28 in the first quarter of 2012 to $21 in theand second quarter of 2012,2015 was due to an increasethe bookings contribution fromWizard of Oz Slots (launched in MUPsNovember 2014) andEmpires & Allies (launched in May 2015). Declines in average monthly unique payer bookings in the third and fourth quarters of 2015 and when comparing the three months ended December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2014 were due to the decline in bookings and users in our existing web and multiplatform games, such asFarmVille 2,Zynga Poker andHit It Rich! Slots and older mobile games,titles such asFarmVille 2: Country Escape which generally monetize at a lower rate than our web games.were not offset by the contribution from newer titles. Monthly unique payer bookings per MUP increased to $25$47 in the third quarterand fourth quarters of 2012,2015 due to fewer mobile MUPs. In the initial launch period of mobile games, such as the second quarter of 2012 that included the first full quarter of new payers fromDraw Something, we have seen increased MUPs due to one-time paid download fees that tend to decline in subsequent periods after which in-game spending comprises a greater percentage of mobile bookings.MUP decreasing faster than unique payer bookings for those periods.

Although we monitor our unique payer metrics, we focus on monetization, including through in-game advertising, of all of our players and not just ourthose who are payers. Accordingly, we strive to enhance content and our players’ game experience to increase our bookings and ABPU, which is a measure of overall monetization across all of our players through the sale of virtual goods and advertising.

Future growth in audience and engagement will depend on our ability to retain current players, attract new players, launch new games and expand into new markets and distribution platforms, and the success of the Zynga platform. Our operating metrics may not correlate directly to quarterly bookings or revenue trends in the short term.

Recent Developments

 

  

Game Launches.Launches. We launched 22several new games in 2012,2015, including 11 titlesWords on webTour,Empires & Allies,Mountain Goat Mountain andBlack Diamond Casino on mobile platforms and 11 titlesFarmVille: Harvest Swap andPrincess Bride Slots on mobile and web platforms. In the fourth quarterWe also launched a localized version of 2012, our releases includedBubble Safari Ocean,CityVille 2,CoasterVilleWords With Friends in six new languages, including Spanish, French, German andThe Friend Gameon web platforms andAyakashiandParty Placeon mobile platforms. Italian.

 

  

Mobile Growth.In 20122015, we saw 224%delivered a 35% increase in mobile bookings year over year and 302% year-over-year growtha 61% increase in bookingsmobile revenue year over year. This increase was driven by the continued success of our Slots franchise, includingHit it Rich! Slots, Wizard of Oz Slots and revenue, respectively, onthe launch of new mobile platforms as our players continued to play our games on their phones and tablets. In order to deliver on our mission of connecting the world through games, we are also

developing the With Friends Network, our own social gaming network for web and mobile players. We will continue to invest heavilytitles in developing our mobile platform to ensure our players can continue to play our games anywhere, anytime.

2015, includingRMG.Empires & AlliesIn October 2012 we entered into an exclusive partnership agreement with bwin.party, a leading international RMG operator, to develop, test and operate certain real money online poker and casino games in the United Kingdom. We expect to launch our first RMG products in the first half of 2013, which include table games such as slots, roulette and blackjack. In December 2012, we filed an Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board..

 

  

Cost ReductionChanges in Executive Team. On April 8, 2015, Don Mattrick resigned as Chief Executive Officer. The Board appointed Mark Pincus, Zynga’s Founder and Product Prioritization.We have implemented cost reduction initiatives to better align our operating expenses with our revenue, including a reduction in force of 155 employees, or approximately 5% of our current workforce, and also steps to rationalize our product pipeline, reduce marketing expenses and consolidate certain facilities, and we plan to continue to manage costs.

2012 Operating Results.Our operating results declined as compared to 2011. Total bookings decreased by 1% and adjusted EBITDA decreased by 30% compared to 2011. These results primarily reflect weakness of certain games within our “invest and express” category and include an impairment charge of $95.5 million (excluding any tax impact) related to the intangible assets previously acquired in connection with our purchase of OMGPOP.

Facebook Agreement. In June 2012, Facebook announced its plans to discontinue the use of Facebook Credits and instead will offer pricing in local currencies. Facebook will continue to retain 30%Chairman of the stated price for transactions on their platform underBoard, as Zynga’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pincus had previously served as Zynga’s Chief Executive Officer from April 2007 to July 2013. In addition, he served as Chief Product Officer from April 2007 to April 2014 and has served as Chairman of the terms of their new payments program. We expect to begin our transition away from Facebook Credits and to adopt Facebook’s local currency-based payments model in the first half of 2013.Board since April 2007.

On April 19, 2015, Clive Downie resigned as Chief Operating Officer.

On November 28, 2012, we amended our agreements with Facebook such that our use of the Facebook platform3, 2015, Chief Financial Officer David Lee resigned as CFO. Zynga has initiated a search for a replacement CFO and any data from Facebook on any Zynga service offered throughuntil a Zynga game page (for example, the With Friends Network) will be governed by Facebook’s standard terms of service beginning on March 31, 2013. Under the current terms of service, we will be limited in our ability to use a Facebook user’s friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote the With Friends Network. In December 2012, Facebook amended its standard terms of service to prohibit (i) apps on the Facebook canvas from promoting or linking to game sites other than Facebook and (ii) the use of emails obtained from Facebook to promote or link to desktop web games on platforms other than Facebook. We will be prohibited from cross-promoting traffic to games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook from our games on Facebook. We will not be permitted to use e-mail addresses obtained from Facebook to promote desktop web games that are not on the Facebook platform, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Beginning on March 31, 2013, we will no longer be obligated to display Facebook advertising units or utilize Facebook’s payment services (Facebook Credits and/or local-currency based payments) on any Zynga game pages. We will have the right to process our own payments, and Facebook will no longer have the right to receive 30% of the proceeds from payments made on the With Friends Network.

In addition,new CFO is appointed, Michelle Quejado, Zynga’s Chief Accounting Officer, is serving as of March 31, 2013, we will no longer be required to use Facebook as the exclusive social platform for the Zynga properties, or be required to grant certain title exclusivities of Zynga games on the Facebook platform, subject to certain exceptions. However, any social game launched after March 31, 2013 by Zynga will generally be available through the Facebook web site concurrent with, or shortly following, the time such game is made available on another social platform or a Zynga property. The addenda with Facebook will each expire in 2015.interim CFO.

 

  

AMEX/Hasbro Initiatives.2015 Restructuring. In 2012the first quarter of 2015, we entered into two strategic initiativesimplemented a restructuring plan which included a reduction in workforce and the closure of the Beijing, China office. In total, we recorded a charge of $3.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to create new ways for people to play our games. In May 2012, we launched a new program with American Express to provide co-branded prepaid AMEX cards that will allow customers to receive free virtual currency for signingthis plan.

In the second quarter of 2015, we implemented a restructuring plan which included a reduction in workforce. In total, we recorded a charge of $33.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to this plan.

 

up for the prepaid card and for their everyday spending. In February 2012, we announced a global

 

partnership with Hasbro that grants themAcquisition of Rising Tide Games.In the rightsthird quarter of 2015, we acquired Rising Tide Games, a provider of social casino games, for mobile and web platforms, for purchase consideration of approximately $44.2 million in cash and contingent consideration. We acquired Rising Tide Games to develop a wide range of toy and gaming experiences based on Zynga’sexpand our footprint in the social casino games and brands.space.

 

  

Stock Repurchase Program. In October 2012,2015, our Board authorized a program for the repurchase of our common stock in an amount of up to $200 million stock repurchase program. We initiated purchases under this program in December 2012. Asmillion. In the fourth quarter of December 31, 2012,2015, we had spent a total of $11.8 million under our stock repurchase program to repurchase 5.0repurchased approximately 37.9 million shares of our Class A common stock at an average pricefor $98.9 million under our 2015 program, and as of $2.36 per share;December 31, 2015, the remaining authorized amount of stock repurchases that may be made under this planthe program was $188.2$101.1 million. We completed the share repurchase program in the first quarter of 2016.

Factors Affecting Our Performance

Changes inPlatform agreements.Our games are primarily distributed, marketed and promoted through third parties, primarily Facebook, Agreements.Facebook isApple’s App store for iOS and the primary distribution, marketing, promotion and payment platformGoogle Play App Store for Android devices. Virtual goods for our social games. We generategames are purchased through the payment processing systems of these platform providers. To date, we have generated a significant portion of our bookings, revenue and players through the Facebook, platformApple and Google platforms and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We are generating an increasing portion of our bookings, revenue and players through the Apple App store and Google Play App Store and expect that this trend will continue as we launch more games for mobile devices. Facebook, Apple and other platformsGoogle generally have the discretion to change their platforms,platforms’ terms of service and other policies with respect to us or other developers in their sole discretion, and those changes may be unfavorable to us. On November 28, 2012, we amended our agreements with Facebook such that our use of the Facebook platform and any data from Facebook on any Zynga service offered through a Zynga game page (for example, the With Friends Network) will be governed by Facebook’s standard terms of service beginning on March 31, 2013. Under the current terms of service, we will be limited in our ability to use a Facebook user’s friends list and Facebook’s communication channels to promote the With Friends Network. In December 2012, Facebook amended its standard terms of service to prohibit (i) apps on the Facebook canvas from promoting or linking to game sites other than Facebook and (ii) the use of emails obtained from Facebook to promote or link to desktop web games on platforms other than Facebook. We will be prohibited from cross-promoting traffic to games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook from our games on Facebook. We will not be permitted to use e-mail addresses obtained from Facebook to promote desktop web games that are not on the Facebook platform, subject to certain limited exceptions. Beginning on March 31, 2013, we will no longer be obligated to display Facebook advertising units or utilize Facebook’s payment services (Facebook Credits and/or local-currency based payments) on any such Zynga game pages. We will have the right to process our own payments, and Facebook will no longer have the right to receive 30% of the proceeds from payments made on the With Friends Network.

Launch of new games and release of enhancementsenhancements.. Our bookings and revenue results have been driven by the launch of new mobile and web games and the release of fresh content and new features in existing games. Our future success depends on our ability to launch and monetize successful new hit titles on various platforms. Although the amount of revenue and bookings we generate from a new game or an enhancement to an existing game can vary significantly, we expect our revenue and bookings to be correlated to the success and timely launch of our new games and our success in releasing engaging content and features. In addition, revenue and bookings from many of our games tend to decline over time after reaching a peak of popularity and player usage. We often refer to the speed of this decline as the decay rate of a game. As a result of this decline in the revenue and bookings of our games, our business depends on our ability to consistently and timely launch new games that achieve significant popularity and have the potential to become franchise games.

Game monetization. We generate most of our bookings and revenue from the sale of virtual goods in our games. The degree to which our players choose to pay for virtual goods in our games is driven by our ability to create content and virtual goods that enhance the game-play experience. Our bookings, revenue and overall financial performance are affected by the number of players and the effectiveness of our monetization of players through the sale of virtual goods and advertising. For example ABPU decreasedincreased from $0.055$0.074 in the twelve months ended December 31, 20112014 to $0.050$0.093 in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, which was partially2015 due to a shifthigher decline in our user baseDAU of non-paying players (compared to mobile games includingDraw Something, a mobilepaying players) who do not contribute to online game that increased our overall player base, but did not monetize as high as some of our core web games.bookings. In addition, mobile and international players have historically monetized at a lower level than web and U.S. players, on average.respectively. The percentage of paying mobile and international players may increase or decrease based on a number of factors, including growth in mobile games as a percentage of total game audience and our overall international players, localization of content and the availability of payment options.

Investment in game development. In order to develop new games and enhance the content and features in our existing games, we must continue to invest in a significant amount of engineering and creative resources. These

These expenditures generally occur months in advance of the launch of a new game or the release of new content, and the resulting revenue may not equal or exceed our development costs.

Player acquisition costs.We utilize advertising and other forms of player acquisition and retention to grow and retain our player audience. These expenditures generally relate to the promotion of new game launches and ongoing performance-based programs to drive new player acquisition and lapsed player reactivation. Over time, these acquisition and retention-related programs may become either less effective or more costly, negatively impacting our operating results. Due to the amendment ofAdditionally, as our agreement with Facebook, effective March 31, 2013, we may incur increased player acquisition costs asbase becomes more heavily concentrated on mobile platforms, our ability to cross-promotedrive traffic to our games that are offered on platforms other than Facebook, for example,through unpaid channels may become diminished, and the overall cost of marketing our games offered on our With Friends Network, as well as our RMG offerings with bwin.party, will be limited by Facebook’s standard terms of service, subject to certain exceptions.may increase.

New market development.We are investing in new distribution channels, such as the With Friends Network, mobile platforms other social networks and international markets to expand our reach and grow our business. For example, we have continued to hire additional employees and acquire companies with experience developing mobile applications. We have also invested resources in integrating and operating some of our games on additional platforms, including Google+, mixi, Tencent, and our With Friends Network. Our ability to be successful will depend on our ability to develop a successful mobile network, obtain usersnew players and retain existing players on our With Friends Network , interest third-party game developers,new and existing social networks and attract advertisers and successfully extend our With Friends Network to mobile.advertisers.

During 2012,In the third quarter of 2015, we acquired Rising Tide Games, a provider of social casino games for mobile and web platforms which expanded our efforts into RMG markets by entering into an agreement with bwin.party to offer RMG productsfootprint in the UK and filing an application for Preliminary Finding of Suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. We will continue to explore RMG options in regulated markets as well as take actions in preparation for potential legislative developments.social casino games space.

As we expand into new markets and distribution channels, we expect to incur headcount, marketing and other operating costs in advance of the associated bookings and revenue. Our financial performance will be impacted by our investment in these initiatives and their success.

Stock-based expense.Prior to our initial public offering, we granted ZSUs to our employees that generally vested upon the satisfaction of both a service-period condition of up to four years and a liquidity event condition, the latter of which was satisfied upon our initial public offering. Because the liquidity event condition was not met until our initial public offering, prior to the fourth quarter of 2011, we had not recorded any expense related to our ZSUs. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, we recognized $204.7 million, of stock-based expense related to ZSUs.

Hiring and retaining key personnel. Our ability to compete and grow depends in large part on the efforts and talents of our employees. During 2012,In addition to employee attrition, we experienced increased employee attrition. Retaininghave also implemented, and continue to implement, certain cost reduction initiatives to better align our operating expenses with our revenue, including reducing our headcount and consolidating certain facilities. For example, in the second quarter of 2015, we implemented a restructuring plan that included a work force reduction. These cost reduction initiatives could negatively impact our ability to attract, hire and retain key employees, which is critical to our ability to grow our business and execute on our business strategy.

Cost of Revenue and Operating Expenses

Cost of revenue. Our cost of revenue consists primarily of web hosting and data center costs related to operating our games, including: depreciation and amortization; consulting costs primarily related to third-party provisioning of customer support services; certain payment processing fees, and salaries, benefits and stock-based expense for our customer support and infrastructure teams. Our infrastructure team includes our network operations and payment platform teams. Credit card processing fees, allocated facilities costs and other supporting overhead costs are also included in cost of revenue.

Research and development. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits and stock-based expense for our engineers and developers. In addition, research and development expenses include outside services and consulting, as well as allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. We

believe continued investment in enhancing existing games and developing new games, and in software development tools and code modification, is important to attaining our strategic objectives.

Sales and marketing. Our sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of player acquisition costs, which are advertisements designed to drive players into our games, salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation for our sales and marketing employees and fees paid to consultants. In addition, sales and marketing expenses include general marketing, branding, advertising and public relations costs, as well as allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. We plan to continue to invest in sales and marketing to grow our player base and continue building brand awareness.

General and administrative. Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits and stock-based expense for our executive, finance, legal, information technology, human resources and other administrative employees. In addition, general and administrative expenses include outside consulting, legal and accounting services, charitable donations and facilities and other supporting overhead costs not allocated to other departments. General and administrative expenses also include gains and losses associated with legal settlements.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the periods presented as a percentage of revenue for those periods:

   For the Year Ended December 31, 
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:  2012  2011  2010 

Revenue

   100  100  100

Costs and expenses:

    

Cost of revenue

   27   29   29 

Research and development

   50   64   25 

Sales and marketing

   14   21   19 

General and administrative

   15   22   6 

Impairment of intangible assets

   7   —     —   
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

   113   136   79 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

   (13  (36  21 

Interest income

   —     —     —   

Other income (expense), net

   1   —     —   
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

   (12  (36  21 

(Provision for) / benefit from income taxes

   (4  1   (6
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   (16)%   (35)%   15
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Revenue

 

  Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to 2015
% Change
  2013 to 2014
% Change
 
  2012   2011   2010      2015   2014   2013    
  (in thousands)         (in thousands)       

Revenue by type:

                  

Online game

  $1,144,252   $1,065,648   $574,632    7  85  $590,755    $537,619    $759,572     10  (29)% 

Advertising

   137,015    74,452    22,827    84  226

Advertising and other

   173,962     152,791     113,694     14  34
  

 

   

 

   

 

      

 

   

 

   

 

    

Total revenue

  $1,281,267   $1,140,100   $597,459    12  91  $764,717    $690,410    $873,266     11  (21)% 
  

 

   

 

   

 

      

 

   

 

   

 

    

20122015 Compared to 20112014..

Total revenue increased $141.2$74.3 million in 20122015 as a result of growthincreases in both online game revenue and advertising and other revenue. Bookings decreasedincreased $5.7 million in 2015 due to growth in advertising bookings, offset by $7.9 milliona decline in online game bookings from 2011existing games as a result of declines in audience metrics and the lack of successful new launches to 2012.offset these declines. ABPU increased from $0.074 ($0.071 as reported) in 2014 to $0.093 in 2015, due to the decline in average DAUs. Average DAUs decreased from $0.055 from 201126 million (27 million as reported) in 2014 to $0.050 in 2012. DAUs increased from 5721 million in 20112015 and MUPs decreased from 1.2 million (1.4 million as reported) in 2014 to 630.9 million in 2012.2015.

Online game revenue increased $78.6$53.1 million in 20122015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. This increase is primarily attributable to increases in online game revenue fromCastleVille, Zynga Poker, Hidden ChroniclesFarmVille 2: Country Escape,Wizard of Oz SlotsandFarmVille 2Hit It Rich! Slots, in the amounts of $98.3$60.6 million, $55.2 million, $29.6$58.3 million and $12.1$44.6 million, respectively. The increasesOnline game revenue increased forFarmVille 2: Country Escape andWizard of Oz Slots as these games were launched in April 2014 and November 2014, respectively, while online game revenue fromincreasedCastleVille, Hidden Chroniclesfor Hit It Rich! SlotsandFarmville 2were as the result of these games’ more recentgame did not launch dates in November 2011, February 2012,on all platforms and September 2012, respectively.devices until May 2014. The increase in online game revenue fromZynga Poker was mainly due to bookings growth on mobile platforms. The growth in online game revenue was partially offset by decreases in online game revenue fromFarmVille 2,FarmVille andZynga Poker (web) in the amounts of $90.9$38.2 million, $19.2 million and $77.4$17.3 million, fromMafia WarsandFrontierVille, respectively, which was primarily due to anthe overall decreasedecay rate in bookings driven byand audience metrics in these games. Moreover, there was a shift in players to newer games. In addition, $18.2$14.9 million of the decrease in online game revenue fromforFrontierVilleAyakashias this game was due to changesdiscontinued in our estimated average lifethe second quarter of durable virtual goods during 2011 which resulted in higher revenue in 2011.2015. All other games accounted for the remaining net increasedecrease of $51.7$20.8 million.

International revenue as a percentage of total revenue was 41%34% and 36%38% in 20122015 and 2011,2014, respectively.

In 2012,2015,FarmVille, 2, Zynga Poker,Hit It Rich! Slots,FarmVille 2: Country Escape andCityVilleWizard of Oz Slots, were our top online game revenue-generating games and comprised 24%, 19%, 18%, 16%, 14% and 12%10%, respectively, of our online game revenue for the period. No other game generated more than 10% of online game revenue during the year.

Consumable virtual goods accounted for 30%46% and 29%38% of online game revenue 2012in 2015 and 2011,2014, respectively. Durable virtual goods accounted for 70%54% and 71%62% of online game revenue in 20122015 and 2011,2014, respectively. The estimated weighted-average life of durable virtual goods was 10 months in 2015 and 12 months in 2012, compared to 15 months in 2011. In addition, changes2014. Changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods during 2012the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 for various games resulted in an increase in revenue, income from operations and net income of $14.1$1.0 million, in that period, which is the result of adjusting the remaining recognition period of deferred revenue generated in prior periods at the time of a change in estimate. We also recognized $9.9 million of revenue and income from operations in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 due to changes in our estimated average life of durable goods for games that were discontinued as there is no further service obligation after the closure of these games. These changes in estimates and discontinuance of games resulted in a $0.01 per share impact on our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015. For 2011,2014, changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods resulted in an increasea decrease in revenue, income from operations and net income of $53.9$1.2 million. These changes in estimates did not impact our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.

Advertising and other revenue increased $62.6$21.2 million from 2011the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 to 2012,the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 primarily due to a $62.3$27.4 million increase in in-game display ads as a $7.9result of better optimization and performance on mobile platforms. The increase was also attributed to an $8.3 million increase in licensing revenue, and a $9.0 million increase in in-game sponsorship revenue, offset by a decrease of $16.6 million from in-game offers, engagement ads and other advertising revenue.revenue which was primarily due to an increase in engagement ads on our mobile games. The increases in in-game display ads and engagement ads were driven by the Company’s transition from web to mobile, as mobile bookings as a percentage of total bookings grew from 51% in 2014 to 68% in 2015 and mobile revenue as a percentage of total revenue grew from 44% in 2014 to 64% in 2015. These increases were offset by a $12.1 million decrease in licensing revenue driven by the final licensing payment from a strategic partner in 2014 and a $2.4 million decrease in in-game sponsorships, which were historically more prevalent in our web games, such asCityVille andFarmVille.

20112014 Compared to 20102013..

Total revenue increased $542.6decreased $182.9 million in 2011,2014 as a result of growtha decline in both online game revenue offset by an increase in advertising and advertisingother revenue. Bookings increaseddecreased by $316.6$21.9 million from 20102013 to 2011.2014 due to declines in existing games, declines in audience metrics and the lack of successful new launches to offset these declines. ABPU increased from $0.041$0.054 ($0.053 as reported) in 2013 to $0.055, reflecting improved overall monetization of our players, while$0.074 ($0.071 as reported) in 2014, due

to a faster decline in DAUs increasedthan the decline in bookings. DAUs decreased from 5636 million (37 million as reported) in 2013 to 57 million. Despite the increase26 million (27 million as reported) in revenue the adoption of Facebook Credits2014 and MUPs decreased from 1.8 million (1.8 million as our primary in-game payment method beginningreported) in the third quarter of 2010 negatively impacted online game revenue2013 to 1.2 million (1.4 million as reported) in 2011 due to the fact that we record revenue net of amounts retained by Facebook.2014.

Online game revenue increased $491.0decreased $222.0 million in 2011.2014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. This decrease is primarily attributable to decreases in revenue fromFarmVille, FrontierVilleChefVille and,CastleVille, Zynga Poker,CityVille accounted for $118.7andFrontierVillein the amounts of $87.7 million, $137.4$37.1 million, $36.6 million, $35.5 million, $23.7 million and $139.1$13.7 million, of the increase, respectively.FarmVille The decreases in online game revenue from these games were due to overall decay rate in bookings and audience metrics. The decrease in online game revenue was launched in June 2009, and the increase in revenue reflectspartially offset by an increase in bookingsonline game revenue of $47.1 million from new content, as well as the recognition of revenue derived from deferred revenue built up over a longer period of time. The increase in revenue fromFrontierVilleHit it Rich! Slots andCityVille was the result of the launch of these games in June 2010 and December 2010, respectively, and, with respect toFrontierVille, a change in the estimated weighted-average life used to recognize revenue from durable virtual goods, which resulted in a $18.2 million increase in revenue fromFrontierVille in 2011.. All other games accounted for the remaining net increasedecrease of $95.8$34.8 million.

International revenue as a percentage of total revenue accounted for 36%was 38% and 33%40% in 20112014 and 2010,2013, respectively.

In 2011,2014,FarmVille 2,andFrontierVille,Zynga Poker,Mafia Wars andCityVille were our top two online game revenue-generating games and comprised 27%, 15%, 15%, 13%28% and 13%23%, respectively, of our online game revenue. In 2010,Mafia

Wars,FarmVille andZynga Poker were our top revenue-generating games and comprised 28%, 30% and 20%, respectively, of online game revenue.revenue for the period. No other game generated more than 10% of online game revenue during eitherthe year.

Consumable virtual goods accounted for 38% and 29% of online game revenue 2014 and 37%2013, respectively. Durable virtual goods accounted for 62% and 71% of online game revenue in 20112014 and 2010,2013, respectively. Revenue from consumable virtual goods accounted for 19% of the increase in online game revenue in 2011.

Durable virtual goods accounted for 71% and 63% of online game revenue in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Revenue from durable virtual goods accounted for 81% of the increase in online game revenue in 2011. The estimated weighted-average life of durable virtual goods for bookings was 1512 months for 2011 compared to 18 months for 2010. In addition, in 2011 cumulative changes2014 and 2013. Changes in our estimated weighted-averageaverage life of durable virtual goods during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 for various games resulted in a net increasedecrease in revenue, income from operations and net income of $53.9$1.2 million, in 2011, which is the result of adjusting the remaining recognition period of deferred revenue generated in prior periods at the time of thea change in estimate.

Advertising revenue increased $51.6 million These changes in 2011, due to a $26.0 millionestimates did not impact our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. For 2013, changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods resulted in an increase in revenue, income from in-game offers, sponsorshipsoperations and engagement ads, andnet income of $12.3 million. These changes in estimates resulted in a $25.6 million$0.01 increase in revenue from other advertising activity. Revenue from in-game offers, sponsorships and engagement ads increased in part due to a higher level of in-game offers during 2011, reflecting in part the fact that we discontinued certain in-game offers in the fourth quarter of 2009 and resumed and gradually increased in-game offers duringour reported earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2010 but did not have2013.

Advertising and other revenue increased $39.1 million from 2013 to 2014, due to a $39.3 million increase in in-game display ads as a result of better optimization on mobile platforms and a $7.6 million increase in licensing revenue driven by the final licensing payment from a strategic partner, offset by a $5.6 million decrease in in-game sponsorships and a $2.2 million decrease in in-game offers, for the entire year.engagement ads, and other advertising revenue.

Cost of revenue

 

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

Cost of revenue

  $352,169   $330,043   $176,052    7  87
   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to  2015
% Change
  2013 to  2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)     

Cost of revenue

  $235,985    $213,570    $248,358     10  (14)% 

20122015 Compared to 2011.2014.Cost of revenue increased $22.1$22.4 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 20122015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to a $27.1 million increase in payment processing fees from bookings generated from mobile payment processors, a $14.4 million increase in hosting costs due to data center migration and a $12.2 million increase in royalty expense for licensed intellectual property, offset by a $26.4 million decrease in depreciation expense due to the consolidation of data center facilities and the related disposition of certain data center assets in prior periods, a $3.9 million decrease in headcount-related expense and a $3.6 million decrease in third party customer service expense which is in line with the discontinuance of certain games. We expect our cost of revenue to increase as a result of payment processing fees from mobile payment processors as players of our games continue to transition from web to mobile.

2014 Compared to 2013.Cost of revenue decreased $34.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $38.1 million decrease in depreciation expense due to the consolidation of data center facilities and the related disposition of certain data center assets in prior periods, a $23.1 million decrease in hosting and data center costs due to lower data usage, an $11.7 million decrease in third party customer service expense which is in line with the discontinuance of certain games and a $5.1 million decrease in headcount-related expense, offset by a $36.8 million increase in payment processing fees from mobile payment processors due to an increase in mobile bookings and a $6.3 million increase in royalty expense for licensed intellectual property.

Research and development

   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to  2015
% Change
  2013 to  2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)     

Research and development

  $361,931    $396,553    $413,001     (9)%   (4)% 

2015 Compared to 2014.Research and development expenses decreased $34.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $24.1 million decrease in headcount-related expense and $23.3 million less expense incurred in 2015 due to the settlement of the contingent consideration liability for Spooky Cool Labs in the first quarter of 2015, offset by a $10.9 million increase in stock-based expense.

2014 Compared to 2013. Research and development expenses decreased $16.4 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $46.4 million decrease in headcount-related expenses, $13.7 million decrease in restructuring expense and a $13.7 million decrease in allocated facilities and overhead costs, offset by $32.7 million of expense recorded in 2014 to reflect the change in estimated fair value of the contingent consideration liability for Spooky Cool Labs and a $21.7 million increase in stock-based expense primarily due to higher forfeiture credits in the prior year and additional grants in 2014 as a result of the NaturalMotion acquisition in February 2014.

Sales and marketing

   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to  2015
% Change
  2013 to  2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)     

Sales and marketing

  $169,573    $157,364    $104,403     8  51

2015 Compared to 2014.Sales and marketing expenses increased $12.2 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to an $18.8 million increase in player acquisition costs spent on newer titles such asWizard of $31.5Oz Slots andEmpires & Allies, a $2.6 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense related to property and equipment acquired to support our network infrastructure and acquired intangibles, an increase of $24.6 million in third-party payment processing fees and an increase of $5.3 million in consultingmarketing software costs primarily related to third-party customer support required. These increases in costs of revenue were partially offset by a decrease of $30.4 million in maintenance and hosting costs in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, and a decrease of $5.5$1.6 million increase in stock-based expense, mainly due to expense recognized related to ZSUs. Stock-based expense associated with ZSUsoffset by an $11.3 million decrease in 2012 did not include the IPO related catch-up of expense, which had been recognized in 2011.other marketing costs.

20112014 Compared to 2010.2013.Cost of revenueSales and marketing expenses increased $154 million in 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in third party hosting costs of $72.7 million to support additional games and player activity, an increase of $44.2 million in depreciation and amortization related to new fixed assets to support our network infrastructure and acquired intangibles, an increase of $18.8 million in consulting costs primarily related to third-party customer support required as a result of higher player activity, an increase of $10.8 million in headcount-related expenses and an increase of $15.5 million in stock-based compensation mainly due to expense recognized for the vesting of ZSUs, as prior to our initial public offering, these stock-based compensation expenses had been deferred. These increases in costs of revenue were partially offset by a decrease of $10.2 million in sales tax expense.

Research and development

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

Research and development

  $645,648   $727,018   $149,519    (11)%   386

2012 Compared to 2011.Research and development expenses decreased $81.4$53.0 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 20122014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to a $57.8 million increase in marketing expense due to higher mobile player acquisition costs and consumer marketing costs from the launch ofFarmVille 2: Country EscapeandHit it Rich! Slots, offset by a $3.1 million decrease in headcount-related expenses and a $2.2 million decrease in stock-based expense primarily due to forfeiture credits resulting from employee attrition.

General and administrative

   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to 2015
% Change
  2013 to 2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)     

General and administrative

  $143,284    $167,664    $162,918     (15)%   3

2015 Compared to 2014.General and administrative expenses decreased $24.4 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $174.3$21.8 million decrease in third party consulting and legal expenses and a $10.0 million decrease in stock-based expense. Stock-based expense, associated with ZSUs in 2012 did not include the IPO related catch-up of expense, which had been recognized in 2011. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $66.2 million in headcount-related expenses, an increase of $10.7 million in facilities and other overhead support costs and an increase of $8.1 million in consulting costs.

2011 Compared to 2010.Research and development expenses increased $577.5 million in 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to a $364.7$8.5 million increase in stock-based compensation, mainly due to the expense recognized for ZSUs that vested in connection with our initial public offering, an increase of $164.1 million in headcount-related expenses and an increase of $24.4 million in consulting costs due to the ongoing investment in new game development, in addition to an increase in allocated facilities and other overhead support costs of $19.7 million.restructuring expense.

Sales and marketing

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

Sales and marketing

  $181,924   $234,199   $114,165    (22)%   105

20122014 Compared to 2011.2013.SalesGeneral and marketingadministrative expenses decreased $52.3increased $4.7 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to $56.6 million decrease in stock-based expense. Stock-based expense associated with ZSUs in 2012 did not include the IPO related catch-up of expense, which had been recognized in 2011. Additionally, there was a $3.5 million decrease in marketing costs offset by a $4.2 million increase in headcount-related expenses, and a $2.6 million increase in amortization from acquired intangibles, as compared to the same period of the prior year.

2011 Compared to 2010.Sales and marketing expenses increased $120 million in 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to a $73.4 million increase in stock-based compensation, mainly due to the expense recognized for ZSUs that vested in connection with our initial public offering, a $23.2 million increase in player acquisition costs, an increase in headcount-related expenses of $13.4 million and increase of $5.7 million in consulting costs.

General and administrative

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

General and administrative

  $189,004   $254,456   $32,251    (26)%   689

2012 Compared to 2011.General and administrative expenses decreased $65.5 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease of $81.8 million in stock-based expense. Stock-based expense associated with ZSUs in 2012 did not include the IPO related catch-up of expense, which had been recognized in 2011. Additionally, there was a decrease of $10.2

million in allocated facilities and overhead costs, offset by a $12.0 million increase in depreciation and amortization, and a $15.6 million increase in consulting expense, as compared to the same period of the prior year.

2011 Compared to 2010.General and administrative expenses increased $222.2 million in 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $120.9 million in stock-based compensation, mainly due to the expense recognized for ZSUs that vested in connection with our initial public offering, a $41.7 million increase in headcount-related expenses, a $9.8 million increase in information technology costs and a $10.0 million increase in depreciation expense. The increase in general and administrative expenses was also due to a $39.3 million gain from legal settlements that was recognized in 2010.

Interest income

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
  2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

Interest income

  $4,749   $1,680   $1,222    183  37

2012 Compared to 2011.Interest income increased $3.1 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in our cash and marketable securities balance driven by the increase in cash flows from operations and proceeds from our IPO in December 2011.

2011 Compared to 2010.Interest income increased $0.5 million in 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in our cash and marketable securities balance driven by the increase in cash flows from operations and proceeds from the sale and issuance of shares of our Series C preferred stock in February 2011.

Other income (expense), net

   Year Ended December 31,   2011 to 2012
% Change
   2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012   2011  2010     
   (in thousands)         

Other income (expense), net

  $18,647   $(2,206 $365    NM     NM  

2012 Compared to 2011.Other income (expense), net increased $20.9 million in the twelve months ended December 31,20122014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to the $19.9a $21.1 million net gain recognized on the terminationincrease in stock-based expense and a $16.5 million increase due to a lower amount of facilities and overhead costs allocated out, partially offset by a lease of our headquarters building$14.0 million decrease in connection with the related purchase of that building.

2011 Compared to 2010.Other income (expense), net decreased $2.6headcount-related expense, a $9.8 million decrease in 2011. Thedepreciation expense and a $7.1 million decrease was primarily attributable to increased interest expense under the terms of a revolving credit agreement signed in July 2011.restructuring expense.

(Provision for) / benefit fromInterest income taxes

 

   Year Ended December 31,  2011 to 2012
% Change
   2010 to 2011
% Change
 
   2012  2011   2010    
   (in thousands)        

(Provision for) / benefit from income taxes

  $(49,873 $1,826   $(36,464  NM     NM  
   Year Ended December 31,   2014 to 2015
% Change
  2013 to 2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)     

Interest income

  $2,568    $3,266    $4,148     (21)%   (21)% 

20122015 Compared to 2011.2014. The provision forInterest income taxes increased by $51.7decreased $0.7 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 20122015. The decrease was primarily attributed to lower marketable security balances in 2015 compared to 2014.

2014 Compared to 2013.Interest income decreased $0.9 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The decrease was primarily attributed to lower marketable security balances in 2014 compared to 2013.

Other income (expense), net

   Year Ended December 31,  2014 to 2015
% Change
   2013 to 2014
% Change
 
   2015   2014   2013    
   (in thousands)    

Other income (expense), net

  $13,306    $8,248    $(3,386  NM     NM  

2015 Compared to 2014.Other income (expense), net increased $5.1 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was attributable to a $4.8 million increase of other income which was primarily related to the sale of an equity investment in the first quarter of 2015 and a $1.2 million increase in net sublease rental income.

2014 Compared to 2013.Other income (expense), net increased $11.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 as compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to a $5.2 million decrease in interest expense which includes the $2.4 million expense in connection with the termination of our interest rate swap agreement and repayment of our loan in the second quarter of 2013, a $4.6 million increase of other income related to the sale of an equity investment in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a $2.3 million increase in net sublease rental income.

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

   Year Ended December 31,  2014 to 2015
% Change
   2013 to 2014
% Change
 
   2015  2014  2013    
   (in thousands)    

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

  $(8,672 $(7,327 $(27,887  NM     NM  

2015 Compared to 2014. The benefit from income taxes increased by $1.3 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 compared to the same period of the prior year. This increase was attributable primarily to the net $2.7 million benefit recorded in part2015 related to a reduction in tax risk reserves and the pre-tax worldwide lossnet incremental benefit of $246.6$2.5 million recorded in connection with current year tax purchase accounting, offset by $3.7 million of net tax expense related to changes in estimated jurisdictional mix of earnings between the two periods.

2014 Compared to 2013. The benefit from income taxes decreased by $20.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, as well as2014 compared to the cost of acquisitions, the cost of fully implementing our international structure, and a current year valuation allowance offsetting a portion of our net deferred tax assets.

Before we began forming non-U.S. operating companies during 2010, the revenue from non-U.S. users was earned by our U.S. Company, resulting in virtually no foreign profit before tax. The new foreign entities, as start-up companies, generated operating losses in 2010 and 2011. During 2012, we completed the implementation of our international structure, which resulted in a significant loss outsidesame period of the U.S. During 2012 and 2011,prior year. This decrease was attributable primarily to the net tax impactincremental benefit of the losses generated in tax jurisdictions with lower statutory rates than the U.S. rate increased tax expense and the effective tax rate.

The federal research and development tax credit expired on December 31, 2011. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law. Under this act, the federal research and development tax credit was retroactively extended for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2011 and before January 1, 2014. The effects of these changes in the tax law will result in a 2012 tax benefit which will be recognized$5.0 million recorded in the first quarter of 2013 related to the quarter in whichrecognition of Federal research and development tax credits and the law was enacted. We estimate our 2012 creditnet benefit related to be between $12 million and $16 million, resulting in a tax benefit of the same amount when recognizedchanges in the first quarter.

2011 Compared to 2010. The provision for income taxes decreased by $38.3 million in 2011. This decrease was attributable toestimated jurisdictional mix of earnings between the decrease in pre-tax income from $127 million in the year ended December 31, 2010 to a pre-tax losstwo periods of $406.1 million in 2011. The decrease in pre-tax income was primarily driven by stock-based compensation expense associated with ZSUs that vested in connection with our initial public offering. In addition, the income tax benefit associated with the loss generated in 2011 was primarily offset by a valuation allowance.$15.6 million.

Before we began forming non-U.S. operating companies during 2010, the revenue from non-U.S. users was earned by our U.S. company, resulting in virtually no foreign profit before tax. The new foreign entities, as start-up companies, generated operating losses in 2011 and 2010. The tax impact of the losses generated in tax jurisdictions with lower statutory rates than the U.S. rate increased tax expense and the effective tax rate.

Quarterly Results of Operations Data

The following tables set forth our unaudited quarterly consolidated statements of operations data in dollars and as a percentage of revenue for each of the eight quarters ended December 31, 20122015 (certain items may not reconcile due to rounding). We also present other financial and operations data, and a reconciliation of revenue to bookings and net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA, for the same periods. We have prepared the quarterly consolidated statements of operations data on a basis consistent with the audited consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the opinion of management, the financial information reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of this data. This information should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of historical periods are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for a full year or any future period.

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,  Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,  Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31, 
  2015  2015  2015  2015  2014  2014  2014  2014 
  (in thousands, except per share data) 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

        

Online game

 $129,463   $151,168   $162,161   $147,963   $135,011   $139,372   $130,966   $132,270  

Advertising and other

  56,306    44,569    37,757    35,330    57,536    37,239    22,266    35,750  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total revenue

  185,769    195,737    199,918    183,293    192,547    176,611    153,232    168,020  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Costs and expenses:

        

Cost of revenue

  63,397    57,187    57,779    57,622    55,492    53,286    51,288    53,504  

Research and development

  85,099    78,416    90,896    107,520    105,134    100,113    93,722    97,584  

Sales and marketing

  53,066    43,549    41,119    31,839    41,898    44,005    41,608    29,853  

General and administrative

  39,333    25,765    37,805    40,381    38,961    38,536    32,831    57,336  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

  240,895    204,917    227,599    237,362    241,485    235,940    219,449    238,277  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

  (55,126  (9,180  (27,681  (54,069  (48,938  (59,329  (66,217  (70,257
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(51,198 $3,052   $(26,868 $(46,496 $(45,126 $(57,058 $(62,533 $(61,183
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Earnings per share—basic

 $(0.06 $0.00   $(0.03 $(0.05 $(0.05 $(0.06 $(0.07 $(0.07
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Earnings per share—diluted

 $(0.06 $0.00   $(0.03 $(0.05 $(0.05 $(0.06 $(0.07 $(0.07
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2012
  Sep 30,
2012
  Jun 30,
2012
  Mar 31,
2012
  Dec 31,
2011
  Sep 30,
2011
  Jun 30,
2011
  Mar 31,
2011
 
  (in thousands, except per share data) 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

        

Online game

 $274,337  $285,587  $291,548  $292,780  $283,910  $287,866  $263,974  $229,898 

Advertising

  36,828   31,050   40,945   28,192   27,327   18,963   15,170   12,992 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total Revenue

  311,165   316,637   332,493   320,972   311,237   306,829   279,144   242,890 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Costs and expenses:

        

Cost of revenue

  77,056   90,150   94,841   90,122   104,135   80,170   78,076   67,662 

Research and development

  131,847   155,609   171,316   186,876   444,702   114,809   95,747   71,760 

Sales and marketing

  32,446   36,586   56,055   56,837   112,228   43,717   38,098   40,156 

General and administrative

  32,206   35,353   48,730   72,715   136,733   36,395   54,218   27,110 

Impairment of intangible assets

  —     95,493   —     —     —     —     —     —   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

  273,555   413,191   370,942   406,550   797,798   275,091   266,139   206,688 

Income (loss) from operations

  37,610   (96,554  (38,449  (85,578  (486,561  31,738   13,005   36,202 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(48,561 $(52,725 $(22,811 $(85,351 $(435,005 $12,540  $1,391  $16,758 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Earnings per share—basic

 $(0.06 $(0.07 $(0.03 $(0.12 $(1.22 $0.00   $0.00   $0.01 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Earnings per share—diluted

 $(0.06 $(0.07 $(0.03 $(0.12 $(1.22 $0.00   $0.00   $0.00  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2015
  Sep 30,
2015
  Jun 30,
2015
  Mar 31,
2015
  Dec 31,
2014
  Sep 30,
2014
  Jun 30,
2014
  Mar 31,
2014
 
  (dollars in thousands) 

Other Financial and Operations Data:

        

Bookings

 $182,104   $175,979   $174,462   $167,410   $182,352   $175,488   $175,102   $161,358  

Adjusted EBITDA

  1,656    12,415    963    2,093    9,432    2,163    14,491    13,846  

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2015
  Sep 30,
2015
  Jun 30,
2015
  Mar 31,
2015
  Dec 31, 2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Sep 30, 2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Jun 30, 2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
  Mar 31, 2014
Revised in
Q1 2015(1)
 
  (users and payers in millions) 

Other Financial and Operations Data—Revised:

        

Average DAUs

  18    19    21    25    24    24    27    28  

Average MAUs

  68    75    83    100    98    103    121    119  

Average MUPs(3)

  0.8    0.9    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.2    1.4    1.3  

ABPU

 $0.110   $0.100   $0.091   $0.076   $0.084   $0.079   $0.071   $0.064  

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec 31, 2014
As Reported
   Sep 30, 2014
As Reported
   Jun 30, 2014
As Reported
   Mar 31, 2014
As Reported
 
   (users and payers in millions) 

Other Financial and Operations Data—Reported:

        

Average DAUs

   25     26     29     28  

Average DAUs

   108     112     130     123  

Average MUPs(3)

   1.1     1.3     1.7     1.4  

ABPU

  $0.079    $0.073    $0.067    $0.063  

   For the Three Months Ended 
   Dec 31,
2015
   Sep 30,
2015
   Jun 30,
2015
   Mar 31,
2015
   Dec 31,
2014
   Sep 30,
2014
   Jun 30,
2014
   Mar 31,
2014
 
   (users in millions) 

Average MUUs(3)

                

Revision in Q3 2015(2)

   48     51     60     71     64     66     77     74  

Revision in Q1 2015(1)

   N/A     N/A     62     73     66     65     82     79  

As Reported in 2014

   N/A     N/A     N/A     N/A     71     77     89     86  

(1)

In the first quarter of 2015, the company modified its calculation to take into account our business’s transition to mobile and updates to our operating metrics which utilize additional third party data to help us identify whether a player logged in under two or more accounts is the same individual. As a result of these changes, we revised the definitions for DAUs, MAUs, MUUs and MUPs in the first quarter of 2015.

(2)

In the third quarter of 2015, the company made a subsequent modification to its calculation of MUUs to further reduce duplication of users of both web and mobile platforms and to correct an error in calculating the third quarter of 2014 MUU which resulted in MUU for that period to be understated by 0.3 million users.

(3)

MUUs and MUPs exclude NaturalMotion legacy games (CSR Racing,CSR Classics andClumsy Ninja) and games from recently acquired Rising Tide as our systems are unable to distinguish whether a player of a these games is also a player of other Zynga games. We exclude payers of these games to avoid potential double counting of MUUs and MUPs.

  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2012
  Sep 30,
2012
  Jun 30,
2012
  Mar 31,
2012
  Dec 31,
2011
  Sep 30,
2011
  Jun 30,
2011
  Mar 31,
2011
 
  (as a percentage of revenue) 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

        

Revenue

  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100

Costs and expenses:

        

Cost of revenue

  25   28   29   28   33   26   28   28 

Research and development

  42   49   52   58   143   38   34   30 

Sales and marketing

  10   12   17   18   36   14   14   17 

General and administrative

  10   11   14   23   44   12   19   11 

Impairment of intangible assets

  —     30   —     —     —     —     —     —   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

  87   130   112   127   256   90   95   86 

Income (loss) from operations

  13    (30  (12  (27  (156  10    5    14  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

  (16)%   (17)%   (7)%   (27)%   (140)%   4  0  6
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  For the Three Months Ended 
  Dec 31,
2012
  Sep 30,
2012
  Jun 30,
2012
  Mar 31,
2012
  Dec 31,
2011
  Sep 30,
2011
  Jun 30,
2011
  Mar 31,
2011
 
  (dollars in thousands, except ABPU data) 

Other Financial and Operations Data:

        

Bookings

 $261,269  $255,606  $301,588  $329,164  $306,507  $287,661  $274,743  $286,598 

Adjusted EBITDA

 $45,018  $16,154  $65,309  $86,752  $67,801  $58,130  $65,080  $112,263 

Average DAUs

  56   60   72   65   54   54   59   62 

(in millions)

        

Average MAUs

  298   311   306   292   240   227   228   236 

(in millions)

        

Average MUUs

  167   177   192   182   153   152   151   146 

(in millions)

        

Average MUPs

  2.9   2.9   4.1   3.5   2.9   2.6   NA    NA  

(in millions)

        

ABPU

 $0.051  $0.047  $0.046  $0.055  $0.061  $0.058  $0.051  $0.051 

 For the Three Months Ended 
 For the Three Months Ended  Dec 31,
2015
 Sep 30,
2015
 Jun 30,
2015
 Mar 31,
2015
 Dec 31,
2014
 Sep 30,
2014
 Jun 30,
2014
 Mar 31,
2014
 
 Dec 31,
2012
 Sep 30,
2012
 Jun 30,
2012
 Mar 31,
2012
 Dec 31,
2011
 Sep 30,
2011
 Jun 30,
2011
 Mar 31,
2011
  (in thousands) 

Reconciliation of Revenue to Bookings:

                

Revenue

 $311,165  $316,637  $332,493  $320,972  $311,237  $306,829  $279,144  $242,890  $185,769   $195,737   $199,918   $183,293   $192,547   $176,611   $153,232   $168,020  

Change in deferred revenue

  (49,896  (61,031  (30,905  8,192   (4,730  (19,168  (4,401  43,708   (3,665  (19,758  (25,456  (15,883  (10,195  (1,123  21,870    (6,662
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Bookings

 $261,269  $255,606  $301,588  $329,164  $306,507  $287,661  $274,743  $286,598  $182,104   $175,979   $174,462   $167,410   $182,352   $175,488   $175,102   $161,358  
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA:

                

Net income (loss)

 $(48,561 $(52,725 $(22,811 $(85,351 $(435,005 $12,540  $1,391  $16,758  $(51,198 $3,052   $(26,868 $(46,496 $(45,126 $(57,058 $(62,533 $(61,183

(Provision for) / benefit from income taxes

  86,290   (43,035  6,696   (78  (53,032  19,723   12,257   19,226 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

  (1,862  (9,381  991    1,580    2,547    (783  (2,012  (7,079

Other income (expense), net

  1,111   350   (21,250  1,142   1,933   (263  (200  736   (1,463  (2,285  (1,199  (8,359  (5,580  (647  (896  (1,125

Interest income

  (1,230  (1,144  (1,084  (1,291  (457  (262  (443  (518  (603  (566  (605  (794  (779  (841  (776  (870

Gain on legal settlements

  1,150   985   —     889   (2,145            

Restructuring expense, net

  19,748    416    12,855    3,461    (3,391  287    (2,270  29,655  

Gain (loss) on legal settlements

  —      (1,681  —      —      5,250    —      —      —    

Depreciation and amortization

  33,430   39,444   39,207   29,398   31,266   22,936   23,365   17,847   11,966    11,287    13,340    17,722    18,341    19,283    19,926    25,344  

Impairment of intangible assets

  —     95,493   —     —     —     —     —     —   

Contingent consideration fair value adjustment

  (3,288  —      —      9,400    12,600    6,750    12,070    1,280  

Acquisition-related transaction expenses

  249    895    —      —      —      —      265    6,160  

Stock-based expense

  14,862   37,817   95,456   133,851   529,971   22,624   33,111   14,506   31,772    30,436    27,905    41,462    35,765    36,295    28,847    28,326  

Change in deferred revenue

  (49,896  (61,031  (30,905  8,192   (4,730  (19,168  (4,401  43,708   (3,665  (19,758  (25,456  (15,883  (10,195  (1,123  21,870    (6,662

Restructuring expense

  7,862   —     —     —     —     —     —     —   
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 $45,018  $16,154  $65,309  $86,752  $67,801  $58,130  $65,080  $112,263  $1,656   $12,415   $963   $2,093   $9,432   $2,163   $14,491   $13,846  
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

  Twelve Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010   2015 2014 2013 
  (in thousands)   (in thousands) 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data:

        

Acquisition of property and equipment

  $(98,054 $(238,091 $(56,839  $(7,832 $(9,201 $(7,813

Depreciation and amortization

   141,479   95,414   39,481    54,315    82,894    129,047  

Cash flows provided by operating activities

  $195,767  $389,172  $326,412 

Cash flows used in investing activities

   (1,496,934  (63,455  (617,438

Cash flows provided by financing activities

   104,818   1,068,844   351,437 

Cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities

   (44,447  (4,511  28,674  

Cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities

   749,573    (344,159  147,476  

Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities

   (93,545  15,119    (95,818

As of December 31, 2012,2015, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of approximately $1.65 billion,$987.3 million, which consisted of cash, money market funds, U.S. government and government agency debt securities and corporate debt securities and municipal securities. For the full year ended December 31, 2012,2015, we made capital expenditures of $331.8$7.8 million, which included the purchasehardware and build out of our corporate headquarters as well as investments in network infrastructuresoftware to support our growth.business operations.

In addition, in October 2012, we announced that2015, our Boardboard of Directorsdirectors authorized us to repurchase up toa $200 million stock repurchase program. We initiated purchases under this program in November 2015. In the fourth quarter of our Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2012,2015, we had repurchased $11.837.9 million shares of our Class A common stock under our stockthis repurchase program and the remaining authorized amountat a weighted average price of stock repurchases that may be made under this plan was $188.2$2.60 per share for a total of $98.9 million. The timing and amountprogram expired upon completion of any stock

repurchases will be determined based on market conditions,our authorized share price and other factors. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, together with cash generated from operations, will be sufficient to fund our operations and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months.repurchase program in February 2016.

Operating Activities

OperatingAfter our net loss of $121.5 million is adjusted to exclude non-cash items, operating activities provided $195.8used $44.4 million of cash during the twelve months ended December 31, 2012,2015. Significant non-cash items included stock-based expense of $131.6 million and depreciation and amortization of $54.3 million. Stock-based expense increased $2.3 million primarily due to an increase in grants awarded in 2015 compared to 2014. Depreciation and amortization decreased by $28.6 million as compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 primarily due to the consolidation of data facilities and the related disposition of certain data center assets and intangible assets that were fully amortized in 2015. Net cash used in operating activities increased $39.9 million when compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The increase in net cash used in operating activities was primarily due to changes in our operating assets and liabilities in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, including changes of $64.8 million and $34.5 million in deferred revenue and other liabilities, respectively, offset by changes of $10.9 million and $10.1 million in accounts payable and accounts receivable, respectively.

After our net loss of $209.5$225.9 million is adjusted to exclude non-cash items, operating activities used $4.5 million of cash during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. Significant non-cash items included stock-based expense of $129.2 million and depreciation and amortization of $82.9 million. Depreciation and amortization decreased by $46.2 million as compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2013 as a result of fixed assets that were fully depreciated and disposed of and intangible assets that were fully amortized in 2014. Stock-based expense increased by $44.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 is adjusted to exclude non-cash items. Significant non-cash items included stock-based expense of $282.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $141.5 million and impairment of intangible assets of $95.5 million. Stock-based expense was composed primarily of employee ZSU and stock option expense and decreased by $318.2 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 20122014 as compared to the same period of the prior year primarily due to expensegrants related to ZSU’sthe NaturalMotion acquisition. Net cash provided by operating activities declined $33.2 million when compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, the decline was primarily due to changes in 2011 as a resultour operating assets and liabilities in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, including changes of $24.6 million and $5.4 million in other liabilities and income tax receivable, respectively, partially offset by changes of $16.5 million and $6.4 million in accounts receivable and accounts payable, respectively.

After our 2011 IPO.net loss of $37.0 million is adjusted to exclude non-cash items, operating activities provided $28.7 million of cash during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. Significant non-cash items included depreciation and amortization of $129.0 million, stock-based expense of $84.4 million, accretion and amortization on marketable securities of $17.6 million and impairment of intangible assets of $10.2 million. Depreciation and amortization increaseddecreased by $46.1$12.5 million as compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 20112012 as a result of our continued investmentfixed assets that were fully depreciated and disposed of and intangible assets that were fully amortized or impaired in property and equipment, including the purchase of our corporate headquarters building, and business acquisitions. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities used $67.82013. Stock-based expense decreased by $197.6 million of cash in the twelve months ended December 31, 2012,2013 as compared to the same period of the prior year primarily due to increased forfeiture credits resulting from employee attrition in 2013. Net cash provided by operating activities declined $165.0 million primarily due to changes in our operating assets and liabilities in the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, including a decrease$157.1 million decline in deferred revenue offset by increases in accounts receivable other assets and other liabilities. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $77.4 million of cash during the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, primarily due to increases in other liabilities, deferred revenue and accounts payable offset by a decrease in income tax receivable.

Operating activities provided $389.2 million of cash in the year ended December 31, 2011. The cash flow from operating activities primarily resulted from our net income, adjusted for non-cash items, and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. We had a net loss in the year ended December 31, 2011 of $404.3 million, which included non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $600.2 million, composed primarily of expense associated with ZSUs that vested upon our initial public offering, stock awards issued in connection with business acquisitions and expense associated with stock warrants and employee stock options. Non-cash depreciation and amortization expense was $95.4 million during 2011, an increase from prior years due to our continued investment in property and equipment and business acquisitions. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities provided $77.4 million of cash during 2011, primarily due to increases in other liabilities, deferred revenue and accounts payable and a decrease in income tax receivable. The increase in other liabilities was mainly due to an increase of $44.5 million in customer deposits which includes advance payments from certain customers and unredeemed game cards. The favorable components of cash provided by operating activities were partially offset by increases in accounts receivable and other assets. The increases in accounts payable were the result of increased spending due to the growth of our business. The increase in our deferred revenue and accounts receivable was primarily due to our bookings growth in 2011, which increased by $316.6 million from 2010. Additionally, our accounts receivable balance increased as we completed the transition of our primary in-game payment method to Facebook from other payment processors, who generally remitted payments faster. Our income tax receivable balance decreased during 2011 as we received federal and state tax refunds. Our other assets balance increased primarily due to an increase in prepaid expenses, which was driven by the growth of our business during the year.

Operating activities provided $326.4 million of cash in 2010, primarily from an increase in bookings, which resulted in an increase in deferred revenue of $241.4 million from 2009 to 2010. Additionally, growth in our business contributed to increased spending, causing an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $102.4 million. We had net income in 2010 of $90.6 million, which included non-cash depreciation and amortization expense of $39.5 million, driven by investments in capital equipment and business acquisitions we made during 2010. The favorable components of cash provided by operating activities were partially offset by an increase in income tax receivable of $25.3 million, an increase in excess tax benefits from stock-based awards of $39.7 million, due to the realization of tax benefits from stock option activity in 2010; and an increase in accounts receivable of $69.5 million, primarily due to our bookings growth. Additionally, our rate of collection on accounts receivable was impacted in the second half of the year, as we began transitioning our primary in-game payment method to Facebook from other payment processors, who generally remit payments faster.

Investing Activities

Investing activities resulted in a cash outflowinflow of $1.5 billion$749.6 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2012.2015. The primary usesinflows of cash associated with investing activities were $954$766.1 million for the purchaseof sales and maturities of marketable securities, net of sales and maturities; $233.7purchases. The primary outflows of cash were $20.0 million for the purchaseacquisition of our corporate headquarters building and $205.5 million,

Rising Tide Games, net of cash acquired, for business acquisitions. Excludingin the purchasethird quarter of our corporate headquarters building, capital2015. Capital expenditures were $98.1$7.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012,2015, which mainly related to the continuedinvestment in hardware and software to support business operations. We expect capital expenditures of approximately $9.0 million in 2016.

Investing activities used $344.2 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The primary outflow of cash associated with investing activities was the business acquisition of NaturalMotion for which $391.0 was paid in cash. The primary cash inflows were $47.7 million for the sales and maturities of marketable securities, net of purchases. Capital expenditures were $9.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, which mainly related to the investment in hardware and software to support business operations.

Investing activities resulted in a cash inflow of $147.5 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. The primary inflows of cash associated with investing activities were $169.9 million for the sales and maturities of marketable securities, net of purchases. Capital expenditures were $7.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, which mainly related to the investment in our data centers and other hardware and software to supportmaintain our growth.

Cash used in the purchase of marketable securities was $650.0 million in 2011 and $804.5 million in 2010. Cash provided by the sale and maturity of marketable securities was $860.8 million in 2011 and $324.0 million in 2010. We used $42.8 million and $62.3 million, net of cash acquired, in connection with acquisitions in 2011 and 2010, respectively.datacenter infrastructure.

Financing Activities

Financing activities used $93.5 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2015. The primary outflow of cash associated with financing activities was the repurchases of Class A common stock of $88.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. The remaining $10.5 million of share repurchases were recorded in accounts payable and other current liabilities in the amounts of $3.5 million and $7.0 million, respectively, and will be paid in the first quarter of 2016.

Financing activities provided approximately $15.1 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, the primary inflow of cash was $16.4 million of cash receipts from exercises of employee stock options and employee stock purchase plan.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, our2013, the primary outflow of cash associated with financing activityactivities was $99.8$100.0 million in proceedsfor the repayment of debt and $11.2 million of excess tax costs from a term loan, net of issuance costs, entered into on June 29, 2012.stock-based awards. We also had a cash out flowsinflow of $26.3$18.2 million for tax payments made in connection with the vesting of stock awards and cash received from the exercise of employee stock options and warrants of $17.0 million.

In 2011, we issued 100.0 million shares of Class A common stock and 34.9 million shares of Series C preferred stock for net proceeds of $961.4 million and $485.3 million, respectively. We repurchased 27.5 million shares of our outstanding capital stock for a total purchase price of $283.8 million and made payments of $83.2 million related to tax withholding obligations and the related net settlement of equity awards during 2011.warrants.

Credit Facility

In July 2011,June 2013, we executed aamended our existing revolving credit agreement with certain lenders to borrow up towhich we originally executed in July 2011, reducing our maximum available credit from $1.0 billion in revolving loans.to $200 million, and extending the term through June 2018. Per the terms of our amended agreement, we paid additional up-front fees of $0.3 million to be amortized over the remaining extended term of the loan. The interest rate for the amended credit facility is determined based on a formula using certain market rates.rates, as described in the amended credit agreement. Additionally, our minimum quarterly commitment fee was reduced from $0.6 million per quarter to $0.1 million per quarter based on the portion of the credit facility that is not drawn down. The agreement requires us to comply with certain covenants, including maintaining a minimum capitalization ratio, and maintaining a minimum cash balance. As of December 31, 2012,2015, we had not drawn down any amounts onunder the credit facility.facility and were in compliance with these covenants. On July 1, 2015, we made a further, technical amendment to our credit agreement.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements in 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 2010.2013.

LeaseContractual Obligations

We have entered into operating leases for facilities, including data center space. As of December 31, 2012, future minimum lease payments related to these leases are as follows (in thousands):

   Total   2016   2017-2018   2019-2020   2021 and
thereafter
 

Lease commitments

  $10,871    $4,348    $4,847    $1,632    $44  

Other purchase commitments

   34,182     19,749     14,163     270     —    

Contingent consideration liability(1)

   18,490     —       18,490     —       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total contractual obligations

  $63,543    $24,097    $37,500    $1,902    $44  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2013

  $33,166 

2014

   33,138 

2015

   30,415 

2016

   24,807 

2017

   15,213 

2018 and thereafter

   45,982  
  

 

 

 
  $182,721 
  

 

 

 
(1)

This amount represents the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration that could become payable in connection with our acquisition of Rising Tide Games. This number may change over time as we continue to evaluate the likelihood of payment of the contingent consideration. Under the terms of the agreement, the maximum amount that could be earned and payable by us is $140.0 million.

We do not have any material capital lease obligations, and all of our property, equipment and software has been purchased with cash.

Lease commitments

Our lease commitments consist of operating leases for facilities.

Other purchase commitments

We have entered into several contracts for hosting of data systems and services and licensed intellectual property.

Contingent consideration liability

Contingent consideration liability represents the estimated fair value of additional consideration payable in connection with our acquisition of Rising Tide Games.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our consolidated financial statements and related notes. Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. We have identified below our critical accounting policies and estimates that we believe require the greatest amount of judgment. These estimates and judgments have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. The accounting policies that reflect our more significant estimates and judgments and that we believe are the most critical to fully understand and evaluate our reported financial results include the following:

 

Revenue recognition

 

Income taxes

 

Business combinations

 

Stock-based expense

 

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

Revenue Recognition

We derive revenue from the sale of virtual goods associated with our online games and from the sale of advertising within our games.advertising.

Online gameGame

We operate our games as live services that allow players to play for free. Within these games, players can purchase virtual currency to obtain virtual goods to enhance their game-playing experience. Players can primarily pay for our virtual currency using Facebook Creditslocal currency payments when playing our games through the Facebook platform, and can useplatform. On platforms other than Facebook, players purchase our virtual currency and/or virtual goods through various widely accepted payment methods such asoffered in the games, including PayPal, Apple iTunes accounts, Google Wallet and credit cards or PayPal on other platforms.cards. We also sell existing inventory of game cards that are initially recorded as a customer deposit liability which is included in other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet, net of fees retained by retailers and distributors. Upon redemption of a game card intoin one of our games and delivery of the purchased virtual currency to the player, these amounts are reclassified to deferred revenue. Advance payments from customers that are non-refundable and relate to non-cancellable contracts that specify our obligations are recorded to deferred revenue. All other advance payments that do not meet these criteria are recorded as customer deposits.

We recognize revenue when all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement; (2) the service has been provided to the player; (3) the collection of our fees is reasonably assured; and (4) the amount of fees to be paid by the customerplayer is fixed or determinable. For purposes of determining when the service has been provided to the player, we have determined that an implied obligation exists to the paying player to continue displaying the purchased virtual goods within the online game over their estimated life or until they are consumed. Accordingly, we categorize our virtual goods as either consumable or durable. The proceeds from the salessale of virtual goods are initially recorded in deferred revenue. We categorize our virtual goods as either consumable or durable. Consumable virtual goods such as energy inCityVille, represent goods that can be consumed by a specific player action. Common characteristics of consumable goods may include virtual goods that are no longer displayed on the player’s game board after a short period of time, do not provide the player any continuing benefit following consumption or often times enable a player to perform an in-game action immediately. For the sale of consumable virtual goods, we recognize revenue as the goods are consumed.consumed, which approximates one month. Durable virtual goods such as tractors inFarmVille, represent virtual goods that are accessible to the player over an extended period of time. We recognize revenue from the sale of durable virtual goods ratably over the estimated average playing period of paying players for the applicable game, which represents our best estimate of the average life of our durable virtual goods. If we do not have the ability to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods for a specific game we recognize revenue fromon the sale of durable and consumable virtual goods for that game ratably

over the estimated average period that paying players typically play our games (as further discussed below). Future paying player usage patterns and behavior may differ from the historical usage patterns and therefore the estimated average playing periods may change in the future.that game.

Prior to October 1, 2009, we did not have the data to determine the consumption dates for our consumable virtual goods or to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods. Beginning in October 2009, we had sufficient data to separately account for consumable and durable virtual goods in one of our games, thus allowing us to recognize revenue related to consumable goods upon consumption. Since January 2010, we have had this data for substantially all of our web games, thus allowing us to recognize revenue related to consumable goods upon consumption for our web-based games. However, for our standalone mobile games, we do not have the requisite data to separately account for consumable and durable virtual goods and have therefore recorded mobile revenue ratably over the estimated average payer life. We expect that in future periods there will be changes in the mix of durable and consumable virtual goods sold, reduced virtual good sales in some existing games, changes in estimates in average paying payer life and/or changes in our ability to make such estimates. When such changes occur, and in particular if more of our revenue in any period is derived from goods for which revenue is recognized over the estimated average playing period, or that period increases on average, the amount of revenue that we recognize in a future period may be reduced, perhaps significantly.

On a quarterly basis, we determine the estimated average playing period for paying players by game beginning at the time of a payer’s first purchase in that game and ending on a date when that paying player is no

longer playing the game. To determine when paying players are no longer playing a given game, we analyze monthly cohorts of paying players for that game who made their first in-game payment between six and 18 months prior to the beginning of each quarter and determine whether each player within the cohort is an active or inactive player as of the date of our analysis. To determine which players are inactive, we analyze the dates that each paying player last logged into that game. We determine a paying player to be inactive once they have reached a period of inactivity for which it is probable (defined as at least 80%) that a player will not return to a specific game. For the payers deemed inactive as of our analysis date we analyze the dates they last logged into that game to determine the rate at which inactive players stopped playing. Based on these dates we then project a date at which all paying players for each monthly cohort are expected to cease playing our games. We then average the time periods from first purchase date and the date the last player is expected to cease playing the game for each of the monthly cohorts to determine the total playing period for that game. To determine the estimated average playing period we then divide this total playing period by two. The use of this “average” approach is supported by our observations that paying players typically become inactive at a relatively consistent rate for our games. If future data indicates paying players do not become inactive at a relatively consistent rate, we will modify our calculations accordingly. When a new game is launched and only a limited period of paying player data is available for our analysis, then we also consider other factors, such as the estimated average playing period for other recently launched games with similar characteristics, to determine the estimated average playing period.

In MayFuture usage patterns may differ from historical usage patterns and therefore the estimated average playing periods may change in the future. We assess the estimated average playing period for paying players and the estimated average life of our virtual goods quarterly. Changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods during the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 for various games resulted in an increase in revenue, income from operations and net income of $1.0 million, which is the result of adjusting the remaining recognition period of deferred revenue generated in prior periods at the time of a change in estimate. These changes in estimates did not impact our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

From July 2010 we entered into an agreement with Facebook to acceptthrough the third quarter of 2013, Facebook’s proprietary virtual currency, Facebook Credits, aswas the primary in-game payment method for our games played through the Facebook platform. The agreement required us to begin migrating our games to Facebook Credits in our games beginning in July 2010, and by April 2011 this migration was complete. Facebook Credits is Facebook’s proprietary virtual currency that Facebook sells for use on the Facebook platform. Under the terms of our agreement with Facebook, setsFacebook set the price our players pay for Facebook Credits and collectscollected the cashfunds from the sale of Facebook Credits. Facebook’s current stated face value of a Facebook Credit iswas $0.10. For each Facebook Credit purchased by our players and redeemed in our games, Facebook remitsremitted to us $0.07, which is the amount we recognizerecognized as revenue. We recognizeAccordingly, we recognized revenue net of the amounts retained by Facebook related to Facebook Credits transactions because we dodid not set the pricing of Facebook Credits sold to the players of our games. Priorgames on Facebook. In July 2013, Facebook began to transition payments made on the Facebook platform from Facebook Credits to Facebook’s local currency-based payments program. This transition was completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. Under the terms of our agreement, Facebook remits to us 70% of the price we request to be charged to the implementationgame player for each transaction. We recognize revenue net of the amounts retained by Facebook Credits inrelated to Facebook local currency-based payments because Facebook may choose to alter our games,recommended price, for example by offering a discount or other incentives to players could purchaseplaying on their platform. Additionally, we do not receive information from Facebook indicating the amount of such discounts offered to our virtual goodspaying players or regarding the actual cash paid by our players to Facebook. Accordingly, we are unable to determine the gross amount paid by our players to Facebook.

For revenue earned through various widely accepted payment methods offered in the gamescertain mobile platforms, including Apple iOS and Google Android, we recognizedrecognize online game revenue based on the transaction pricegross amount paid by the player because we are the primary obligor and we have the contractual right to determine the price to be paid by the player. We record the related platform and payment processing fees as cost of revenue in the period incurred.

We estimate chargebacks from Facebookour third-party web and our third-partymobile payment processors to account for potential future chargebacks based on historical data and record such amounts as a reduction of revenue.

Advertising

We have contractual relationships with agencies, advertising brokers and certain advertisers for advertisements within our games. We recognize advertising revenue as advertisements are delivered to customers as long as evidence of the arrangement exists (executed contract), the price is fixed and determinable, and we have assessed collectability as reasonably assured. Certain branded virtual goods and sponsorships are deferred and recognized over the estimated average life of the branded virtual good or as the branded virtual good is consumed, similar to online game revenue.

We generally report our advertising revenue net of amounts due toretained by advertising networks, agencies, and brokers because we are not the primary obligor in our arrangements, we do not set the pricing, and we do not establish or maintain the relationship with the advertiser. Certain advertising arrangements that are directly between us and end advertisers are recognized gross equal to the price paid to us by the end advertiser since we are the primary obligor and we determine the price.

We recognize advertising revenue for branded virtual goods and sponsorships, engagement advertisements and offers, mobile advertisements and other advertisements as advertisements are delivered to customers as long as evidence of the arrangement exists (executed contract), the price is fixed or determinable, and we have assessed collectability as reasonably assured. Certain branded in-game sponsorships that involve virtual goods are deferred and recognized over the estimated life of the branded virtual good or as consumed, similar to online game revenue. Price is determined to be fixed and determinable when there is a fixed price in the applicable evidence of the arrangement, which may include a master contract, insertion order, or a third party statement of activity. For branded virtual goods and sponsorships, we determine the delivery criteria has been met based on delivery information primarily from third parties. For engagement advertisements and offers, mobile advertisements, and other advertisements, delivery occurs when the advertisement has been displayed or the offer has been completed by the customer, as evidenced by third party verification reports supporting the number of advertisements displayed or offers completed.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes using an asset and liability approach, which requires the recognition of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. The measurement of current and deferred tax assets and liabilities is based on provisions of enacted tax laws; the effects of future changes in tax laws or rates are not anticipated. If necessary, the measurement of deferred tax assets is reduced by the amount of any tax benefits that are not expected to be realized based on available evidence. We account for uncertain tax positions by reporting a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. We recognize interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in provision for income taxes.

Business Combinations

In line with our growth strategy, we have completed acquisitions to expand our social games and mobile offerings, obtain employee talent, and expand into new markets. We account for acquisitions of entities that include inputs and processes and have the ability to create outputs as business combinations. We allocate the purchase price of the acquisition, which includes the estimated acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration, to the tangible assets, liabilities and identifiable intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over those fair values is recorded as goodwill. Determining the fair value of such items requires judgment, including estimating future cash flows or estimating the cost to recreate an acquired asset. If actual results are lower than estimates, we could be required to record impairment charges in the future. Acquired intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but rather tested for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances exist which indicate an impairment may exist.

Acquisition-related expenses and restructuring costs are expensed as incurred. During the one-year period beginning with the acquisition date, we may record certain purchase accounting adjustments related to the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed against goodwill. After the final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations. Subsequent toWe record changes in the measurement period, our final determinationfair value of any acquired tax attributes’ value will affect our provision for income taxescontingent consideration liabilities within operating expenses in our consolidated statement of operations and could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.each reporting period.

Stock-Based Expense

Prior to our initial public offeringIPO in December 2011, we granted ZSUs to our employees that generally vest upon the satisfaction of both a service-based condition of up to four years and a liquidity condition, the latter of which was satisfied in connection with our initial public offeringIPO in December 2011. Because the liquidity

condition was not satisfied until our initial public offering,IPO, in prior periods, we had not recorded any expense relating to the granting of our ZSUs. In the fourth quarter of 2011, after the initial public offering,IPO, we recognized $510 million of stock-based expense associated with ZSUs that vested in connection with our initial public offering.IPO. This expense is in addition to the stock-based expense we recognize related to outstanding equity awards other than ZSUs as well as expenses related to ZSUs or other equity awards that may be granted in the future.

For ZSUs granted prior to the initial public offering,IPO, and for awards subject to performance conditions, we recognize stock-based expense based on grant date fair value using the accelerated attribution method net of estimated forfeitures, in which compensation cost for each vesting tranche in an award is recognized ratably from the service inception date to the vesting date for that tranche. For ZSUs granted after the initial public offering,IPO, which are only subject to a service condition, we recognize stock-based expense based on grant date fair value on a ratable basis over the requisite service period for the entire award.

We estimate the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This model requires the use of the following assumptions: (i) expected volatility of our Class A common stock, which is based on our peer group in the industry in which we do business; (ii)own calculated three year historical rate; expected life of the option award, which we elected to calculate using the simplified method; (iii) expected dividend yield, which is 0%, as we have not paid and do not anticipate payinghave any plans to pay dividends on our common stock; and (iv) the risk-free interest rate, which is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant with maturities equal to the grant’s expected life. We changed the basis of estimating our expected volatility in the fourth quarter of 2015 from using peer group data in the industry in which we do business to using our own calculated rate as we now have sufficient historical data (three years of historical trading activity) that we believe provides a reasonable basis for our estimate. Option grants generally vest over four years, with 25% vesting after one year and the remainder vesting monthly thereafter over 36 months. The options have a contractual term of 10 years. If any of the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model changes significantly, stock-based expense for future awards may differ materially compared with the awards granted previously.

The following table summarizes the assumptions relating to our We record stock-based expense for stock options on a ratable basis over the vesting term.

For stock options issued to non-employees, including consultants, we record expense related to stock options equal to the fair value of the options calculated using the Black-Scholes model over the service performance period. The fair value of options granted in 2012, 2011to non-employees is remeasured over the vesting period and 2010:recognized as an expense over the period the services are received.

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010 

Expected term, in years

   6    6    6  

Risk-free interest rates

   0.67  2.04  2.70

Expected volatility

   62  64  73

Dividend yield

   —      —      —   

Fair value of common stock

  $2.80   $6.44 - 17.09   $6.44  

Stock-based expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures so that expense is recorded for only those stock-based awards that we expect to vest. We estimate forfeitures based on our historical forfeiture of equity awards adjusted to reflect future changes in facts and circumstances, if any. We will revise our estimated forfeiture rate if actual forfeitures differ from our initial estimates. We record stock-based expense for stock options on a straight-line basis over the vesting term.

For stock options issued to non-employees, including consultants, we record expense equal to the fair value of the options

Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are carried at cost and are evaluated annually for impairment, or more frequently if circumstances exist that indicate that impairment may exist. When conducting our annual goodwill impairment assessment, we perform a quantitative evaluation of whether goodwill is impaired using the two-step impairment test. The first step is comparing the fair value of our reporting unit to its carrying value. We consider our consolidated entity to be our single reporting unit for this analysis. If step one indicates that impairment potentially exists, the second step is performed to measure the amount of impairment, if any. We record the amount by which the carrying value of the goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, if any, as impairment.

For our annual impairment analysis performed in the fourth quarter of 2012,2015, our estimates of fair value were based on the market approach, which estimated the fair value of our reporting unit based on the company’s market capitalization and an assumed control premium.capitalization. The result of the impairment analysis showed that the estimated fair value of the Company exceeded its carrying value. We further corroborated the analysis by estimating the fair value using the income approach which was based on our estimates of forecasted discounted cash flows. The results of our analysis using the income approach were consistent with those noted above using the market approach. Accordingly, we concluded goodwill was not impaired.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, including other intangible assets (excluding indefinite-lived intangible assets), are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an asset’s carrying value may not be recoverable. If such circumstances are present, we assess the recoverability of the long-lived assets by comparing the carrying value to the undiscounted future cash flows associated with the related assets. If the future net undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets, the assets are considered impaired and an expense, equal to the amount required to reduce the carrying value of the assets to the estimated fair value, using a discounted future cash flow approach, is recorded in the consolidated statements of operations. Significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of future cash flows and the relative risk of achieving those cash flows.

Assumptions and estimates about future values and remaining useful lives are complex and often subjective. They can be affected by a variety of factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors such as changes in our business strategy and our internal forecasts. For example, if our future operating results do not meet current forecasts or if we experience a continued decline in our market capitalization, we may be required to record future impairment charges for goodwill and/or acquired intangible assets. Impairment charges could materially decrease our future net income and result in lower asset values on our balance sheet.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For information with respect to recent accounting pronouncements and the impact of these pronouncements on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 1—“Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

Interest Rate Fluctuation Risk

Our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities consist of cash, money market funds, U.S. government debt securities and corporate debt securities. The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve principal, ensure liquidity and maximize income without significantly increasing risk. Our available-for-sale investments consist of U.S. government and corporate debt securities which may be subject to market risk due to changes in prevailing interest rates that may cause the fair values of our investments to fluctuate. Based on a sensitivity analysis, we have determined that a hypothetical 100 basis points increase in interest rates would have resulted in a decrease in the fair values of our investments of approximately $8.6$1.0 million as of December 31, 2012.2015. Such losses would only be realized if we sold the investments prior to maturity.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Our sales transactions are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars and therefore substantially all ofWe have foreign currency risks related to our revenue is not subject to foreign currency risk. However, certain of ourand operating expenses are incurred outside the United States and are denominated in foreign currencies andother than the functional currency of the entities in which they are recorded. Accordingly, we are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar and Indian Rupee. The volatility of exchange rates depends on many factors that we cannot forecast with reliable accuracy. Although we have experienced and will continue to experience fluctuations in our net income (loss) as a result of transaction gains (losses) related to revaluing certain cash balances, trade accounts receivable, trade accounts payable, current liabilities and intercompany balances that are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, we believe such a change would not have a material impact on our results of operations.

Inflation Risk

We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. If our costs were to become subject to significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

ITEM

8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Zynga Inc.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

   Page No. 

ReportReports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   6673  

Consolidated Financial Statements

  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

   6875  

Consolidated Statements of Operations

   6976  

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Loss)

   7077  

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

   7178  

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

   7479  

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   7580  

The supplementary financial information required by this Item 8 is included in Item 7 under the caption “Quarterly Results of Operations Data,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

Report of Ernst & Young, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Zynga Inc.

We have audited Zynga Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012,2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the(2013 framework), (“the COSO criteria)criteria”). Zynga Inc.’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, Zynga Inc. maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012,2015, based on the COSO criteria.criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the 20122015 consolidated financial statements of Zynga Inc. and our report dated February 25, 201319, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

San Francisco, CA

February 25, 201319, 2016

Report of Ernst & Young, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Zynga Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Zynga Inc. as of December 31, 20122015 and 2011,2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations, and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012.2015. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15. These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Zynga Inc. at December 31, 20122015 and 2011,2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012,2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Zynga Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012,2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control-IntegratedControl—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated February 25, 201319, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

San Francisco, CaliforniaCA

February 25, 201319, 2016

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except par value)

 

  December 31, 
  2012 2011   December 31,
2015
 December 31,
2014
 

Assets

      

Current assets:

      

Cash and cash equivalents

  $385,949  $1,582,343   $742,217   $131,303  

Marketable securities

   898,821   225,165    245,033    785,221  

Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $160 and $163 at December 31, 2012

   106,327   135,633 

and December 31, 2011, respectively

   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $0 at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014

   79,610    89,611  

Income tax receivable

   5,607   18,583    5,233    3,304  

Deferred tax assets

   30,122   23,515    —      2,765  

Restricted cash

   28,152   3,846    209    48,047  

Other current assets

   29,392   34,824    39,988    22,688  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total current assets

   1,484,370   2,023,909    1,112,290    1,082,939  

Long-term marketable securities

   367,543   110,098    —      231,385  

Goodwill

   208,955   91,765    657,671    650,778  

Other intangible assets, net

   33,663   32,112    64,016    66,861  

Property and equipment, net

   466,074   246,740    273,221    297,919  

Restricted cash

   —     4,082    986    —    

Other long-term assets

   15,715   7,940    16,446    18,911  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total assets

  $2,576,320  $2,516,646   $2,124,630   $2,348,793  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity

      

Current liabilities:

      

Accounts payable

  $23,298  $44,020   $29,676   $14,965  

Other current liabilities

   146,883   167,271    77,691    164,150  

Deferred revenue

   338,964   457,394    128,839    189,923  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total current liabilities

   509,145   668,685    236,206    369,038  

Long-term debt

   100,000   —   

Deferred revenue

   8,041   23,251    204    3,882  

Deferred tax liabilities

   24,584   13,950    6,026    5,323  

Other non-current liabilities

   109,047   61,221    95,293    74,858  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total liabilities

   750,817   767,107    337,729    453,101  

Stockholders’ equity:

      

Common stock, $.00000625 par value, and additional paid in capital—authorized shares:

   

2,020,517; shares outstanding: 779,250 shares (Class A, 589,100, Class B, 169,632, Class C, 20,517) as of December 31, 2012 and 721,592 (Class A, 121,381, Class B, 579,694, Class C, 20,517) as of December 31, 2011

   2,725,605   2,426,168 

Common stock, $.00000625 par value, and additional paid in capital—authorized shares: 2,020,517; shares outstanding: 903,617 shares (Class A, 769,533, Class B, 113,567, Class C, 20,517) as of December 31, 2015 and 905,860 (Class A, 770,658, Class B, 114,685, Class C, 20,517) as of December 31, 2014

   3,234,551    3,096,982  

Treasury stock

   (295,113  (282,897   (98,942  —    

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

   (1,447  362    (52,388  (29,175

Accumulated deficit

   (603,542  (394,094   (1,296,320  (1,172,115
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

   1,825,503   1,749,539    1,786,901    1,895,692  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

  $2,576,320  $2,516,646   $2,124,630   $2,348,793  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

 

See accompanying notes.

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010   2015 2014 2013 

Revenue:

        

Online game

  $1,144,252  $1,065,648  $574,632   $590,755   $537,619   $759,572  

Advertising

   137,015   74,452   22,827 

Advertising and other

   173,962    152,791    113,694  
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Total revenue

   1,281,267   1,140,100   597,459    764,717    690,410    873,266  

Costs and expenses:

        

Cost of revenue

   352,169   330,043   176,052    235,985    213,570    248,358  

Research and development

   645,648   727,018   149,519    361,931    396,553    413,001  

Sales and marketing

   181,924   234,199   114,165    169,573    157,364    104,403  

General and administrative

   189,004   254,456   32,251    143,284    167,664    162,918  

Impairment of intangible assets

   95,493   —     —      —      —      10,217  
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Total costs and expenses

   1,464,238   1,545,716   471,987    910,773    935,151    938,897  
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

   (182,971  (405,616  125,472    (146,056  (244,741  (65,631

Interest income

   4,749   1,680   1,222    2,568    3,266    4,148  

Other income (expense), net

   18,647   (2,206  365    13,306    8,248    (3,386
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

   (159,575  (406,142  127,059    (130,182  (233,227  (64,869

(Provision for) benefit from income taxes

   (49,873  1,826   (36,464

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

   (8,672  (7,327  (27,887
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Net income (loss)

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $90,595   $(121,510 $(225,900 $(36,982

Deemed dividend to a Series B-2 convertible preferred stockholder

   —     —     4,590 

Net income attributable to participating securities

   —     —     58,110 
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $27,895 
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders

        

Basic

  $(0.28 $(1.40 $0.12   $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.05
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Diluted

  $(0.28 $(1.40 $0.11   $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.05
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Weighted average common shares used to compute net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders:

    

Weighted average common shares used to compute net income (loss)per share attributable to common stockholders:

    

Basic

   741,177   288,599   223,881    913,511    874,509    799,794  
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Diluted

   741,177   288,599   329,256    913,511    874,509    799,794  
  

 

  

 

  

 

 

See accompanying notes.

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(In thousands)

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010   2015 2014 2013 

Net income (loss)

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $90,595   $(121,510 $(225,900 $(36,982

Other comprehensive income (loss):

        

Change in foreign currency translation adjustment

   (126  456   (21   (23,480  (27,522  (1,586

Net change on unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale investments, net of tax

   740   (208  114    267    (607  (436

Net change on unrealized gains (losses) on derivative instruments

   (2,423  —     —      —      —      2,423  
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss):

   (1,809  248   93    (23,213  (28,129  401  
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

Comprehensive income (loss):

  $(211,257 $(404,068 $90,688   $(144,723 $(254,029 $(36,581
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

 

See accompanying notes.

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(In thousands)

 

  Convertible
Preferred Stock
  Common Stock  Additional
Paid-In

Capital
  Treasury
Stock
  OCI  Retained
Earnings
(Accumulated)

(Deficit)
  Total
Stockholders
Equity

(Deficit)
 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount      

Balance at December 31, 2009

  202,199  $47,672   277,698  $2  $6,610  $—    $21  $(75,783 $(21,478

Exercise of stock options

  —     —     18,313   —     3,358   —     —     —     3,358 

Repurchase of unvested early exercised stock options

  —     —     (4,200  —     —     —     —     —     —   

Issuance of Series B-2 convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs

  48,163   305,231   —     —     —     —     —     —     305,231 

Issuance of Series Z convertible preferred stock in connection with business acquisitions

  26,340   35,269   —     —     —     —     —     —     35,269 

Vesting of restricted stock following the early exercise of options

  —     —     —     —     605   —     —     —     605 

Issuance of common stock warrants in connection with services

  —     —     —     —     1,912   —     —     —     1,912 

Issuance of contingent warrant

  —     —     —     —     4,590   —     —     —     4,590 

Stock-based expense

  —     5,854   —     —     17,928   —     —     —     23,782 

Repurchase of common stock

  —     —     (287  —     —     (1,484  —     —     (1,484

Tax benefits from stock-based expense

  —     —     —     —     39,742   —     —     —     39,742 

Deemed dividend to a Series B-2 convertible preferred stockholder

  —     —     —     —     4,590   —     —     (4,590  —   

Net income (loss)

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     90,595   90,595 

Other comprehensive income

  —     —     —     —     —     —     93   —     93 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2010

  276,702  $394,026   291,524  $2  $79,335  $(1,484 $114  $10,222  $482,215 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) (continued)

(In thousands)

  Convertible
Preferred Stock
  Common Stock  Additional
Paid-In

Capital
  Treasury
Stock
  OCI  Retained
Earnings
(Accumulated)

(Deficit)
  Total
Stockholders
Equity

(Deficit)
 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount      

Balances at December 31, 2010

  276,702  $394,026   291,524  $2  $79,335  $(1,484 $114  $10,222  $482,215 

Exercise of stock options and stock warrants for cash

  —     —     27,889   —     2,893   —     —     —     2,893 

Issuance of Series C convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs

  34,927   485,300   —     —     —     —     —     —     485,300 

Issuance of Series Z convertible preferred stock

  1,995   2,105   —     —     —     —     —     —     2,105 

Repurchase of preferred and common stock

  (8,764  —     (18,716  —     (2,500  (281,270  —     —     (283,770

Conversion of convertible preferred stock to common stock

  (304,860  (925,661  304,860   1   925,660   —     —     —     —   

Vesting of ZSUs, net

  —     —     16,035   —     (83,090  (143  —     —     (83,233

Issuance of Class A common stock from initial public offering, net of issuance costs

  —     —     100,000   1   961,401   —     —     —     961,402 

Vesting of common shares following the early exercise of options

  —     —     —     —     233   —     —     —     233 

Stock-based expense

  —     44,230   —     —     555,982   —     —     —     600,212 

Tax cost from stock-based expense

  —     —     —     —     (13,750  —     —     —     (13,750

Net loss

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     (404,316  (404,316

Other comprehensive income

  —     —     —     —     —     —     248   —     248 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balances at December 31, 2011

  —    $—     721,592  $4  $2,426,164  $(282,897 $362  $(394,094 $1,749,539 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) (continued)

(In thousands)

  Common Stock   Additional
Paid-In
 Treasury
Stock
  OCI  Retained
Earnings
(Accumulated)

(Deficit)
  Total
Stockholders
Equity

(Deficit)
  

 

Common Stock

 Additional
Paid-In
Capital
  Treasury
Stock
  OCI  Retained
Earnings

(Accumulated
Deficit)
  Total
Stockholders
Equity
 
  Shares Amount   Capital  Shares Amount 

Balances at December 31, 2011

   721,592  $4   $2,426,164  $(282,897 $362  $(394,094 $1,749,539 

Exercise of stock options

   42,285   1    21,446   —     —     —     21,447 

Balances at December 31, 2012

  779,249   $5   $2,725,600   $(295,113 $(1,447 $(603,542 $1,825,503  

Exercise of stock options, warrants and ESPP

  34,020    —      26,115    —      —      —      26,115  

Vesting of ZSUs, net

  22,914    —      (901  (486  —      —      (1,387

Cancellation of unvested restricted common stock

  (502  —      —      —      —      —      —    

Stock-based expense

  —      —      84,393    —      —      —      84,393  

Vesting of common stock following the early exercise of options

  —      —      363    —      —      —      363  

Retirement of treasury stock, net of repurchases

  (3,372  —      —      295,599    —      (304,902  (9,303

Tax cost (benefit) from stock-based expense

  —      —      (11,832  —      —      —      (11,832

Net income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      —      (36,982  (36,982

Other comprehensive income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      401    —      401  
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Balances at December 31, 2013

  832,309   $5   $2,823,738   $—     $(1,046 $(945,426 $1,877,271  
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Exercise of stock options, warrants and ESPP

  11,461    —      16,421    —      —      —      16,421  

Vesting of ZSUs, net

   25,649   —      (25,807  (460  —     —     (26,267  22,582    —      (429  (789  —      —      (1,218

Issuance of common stock in connection with business acquisitions

   3,208   —      194   —     —     —     194   39,754    —      131,158    —      —      —      131,158  

Cancellation of unvested restricted common stock

   (9,814  —      —     —     —     —     —     (200  —      —      —      —      —      —    

Stock-based expense

   1,291   —      281,986   —     —     —     281,986   —      —      126,856    —      —      —      126,856  

Vesting of common stock following the early exercise of options

   —     —      614   —     —     —     614   —      —      341    —      —      —      341  

Repurchase of common stock

   (4,962  —      —     (11,756  —     —     (11,756

Tax benefit from stock-based expense

   —     —      21,003   —     —     —     21,003 

Net loss

   —     —      —     —     —     (209,448  (209,448

Other comprehensive loss

   —     —      —     —     (1,809  —     (1,809

Retirement of treasury stock, net of repurchases

  (46  —      —      789    —      (789  —    

Tax cost (benefit) from stock-based expense

  —      —      (1,108  —      —      —      (1,108

Net income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      —      (225,900  (225,900

Other comprehensive income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      (28,129  —      (28,129
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Balances at December 31, 2012

   779,249  $5   $2,725,600  $(295,113 $(1,447 $(603,542 $1,825,503 

Balances at December 31, 2014

  905,860   $5   $3,096,977   $—     $(29,175 $(1,172,115 $1,895,692  
  

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Balances at December 31, 2014

  905,860   $5   $3,096,977   $—     $(29,175 $(1,172,115 $1,895,692  

Exercise of stock options and ESPP

  7,075    —      7,567    —      —      —      7,567  

Vesting of ZSUs, net

  27,966    1    (2,130  (772  —      —      (2,901

Contributed capital, related to common control acquisition

  —      —      1,854    —      —      (1,963  (109

Stock-based expense

  717    —      129,591    —      —      —      129,591  

Vesting of common stock following the early exercise of options

  —      —      170    —      —      —      170  

Repurchases of common stock

  (38,001  —      —      (98,902  —      —      (98,902

Retirements of treasury stock

  —      —      —      732    —      (732  —    

Tax cost (benefit) from stock-based expense

  —      —      516    —      —      —      516  

Net income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      —      (121,510  (121,510

Other comprehensive income (loss)

  —      —      —      —      (23,213  —      (23,213
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Balances at December 31, 2015

  903,617   $6   $3,234,545   $(98,942 $(52,388 $(1,296,320 $1,786,901  
 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Zynga Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010 

Operating activities

    

Net income (loss)

  $(209,448 $(404,316 $90,595 

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

   141,479   95,414   39,481 

Stock-based expense

   281,986   600,212   25,694 

(Gain) Loss from sales of investments, assets and other, net

   563   (550  558 

Net gain on termination of lease and purchase of building

   (19,886  —     —   

Tax benefits from stock-based awards

   21,652   —     —   

Excess tax (benefits) costs from stock-based awards

   (21,652  13,750   (39,742

Accretion and amortization on marketable securities

   17,223   2,873   1,746 

Deferred income taxes

   (43,841  4,367   (8,469

Impairment of intangible assets

   95,493   —     —   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable, net

   34,338   (55,432  (69,518

Income tax receivable

   12,976   17,994   (25,287

Other assets

   19,908   (14,559  (32,495

Accounts payable

   (21,312  10,373   10,626 

Deferred revenue

   (133,640  15,409   241,437 

Other liabilities

   19,928   103,637   91,786 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

   195,767   389,172   326,412 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Investing activities

    

Purchases of marketable securities

   (1,826,137  (649,972  (804,542

Sales of marketable securities

   223,828   19,206   4,222 

Maturities of marketable securities

   647,916   841,560   319,820 

Purchase of corporate headquarters building

   (233,700  —     —   

Acquisition of property and equipment

   (98,054  (238,091  (56,839

Business acquisition, net of cash acquired

   (205,510  (42,774  (62,277

Equity method investment

   (10,000  —     —   

Restricted cash

   6,979   9,194   (16,469

Other investing activities, net

   (2,256  (2,578  (1,353
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

   (1,496,934  (63,455  (617,438
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Financing activities

    

Net Proceeds from initial public offering

   —     961,403   —   

Proceeds from debt, net of issuance costs

   99,780   —     —   

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards

   (26,307  (83,232  —   

Repurchases of common stock and warrants

   (11,756  (283,770  (1,484

Proceeds from exercise of stock options and warrants

   16,960   2,893   3,358 

Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan

   4,489   —     —   

Net proceeds from issuance of preferred stock and contingent warrants

   —     485,300   309,821 

Excess tax benefits from stock-based awards

   21,652   (13,750  39,742 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

   104,818   1,068,844   351,437 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

   (45  (49  84 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

   (1,196,394  1,394,512   60,495 

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

   1,582,343   187,831   127,336 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

  $385,949  $1,582,343  $187,831 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
   Year Ended December 31, 
   2015  2014  2013 

Operating activities:

    

Net income (loss)

  $(121,510 $(225,900 $(36,982

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

   54,315    82,894    129,047  

Stock-based expense

   131,575    129,233    84,393  

(Gain) loss from sales of investments, assets and other, net

   (5,558  (1,610  8,147  

Tax benefits (costs) from stock-based awards

   989    (86  (11,244

Excess tax benefits (costs) from stock-based awards

   (989  86    11,244  

Accretion and amortization on marketable securities

   5,711    10,061    17,575  

Deferred income taxes

   (12,693  (10,982  (18,766

Impairment of intangible assets

   —      —      10,217  

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable, net

   10,148    (16,489  40,806  

Income tax receivable

   (1,929  5,433    (1,336

Other assets

   (16,167  971    3,932  

Accounts payable

   10,934    (6,393  (2,325

Deferred revenue

   (64,762  3,643    (157,090

Other liabilities

   (34,511  24,628    (48,944
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

   (44,447  (4,511  28,674  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Investing activities:

    

Purchases of marketable securities

   (101,091  (758,509  (1,074,919

Sales and maturities of marketable securities

   867,198    806,232    1,244,841  

Acquisition of property and equipment

   (7,832  (9,201  (7,813

Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired

   (20,023  (392,411  (18,054

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

   814    5,059    3,057  

Proceeds from sale of equity method investment

   10,507    —      —    

Restricted cash

   —      —      227  

Other investing activities, net

   —      4,671    137  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

   749,573    (344,159  147,476  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Financing activities:

    

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards

   (2,902  (1,216  (1,387

Repurchases of common stock

   (88,409  —      (9,302

Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan and exercise of stock options

   7,567    16,421    26,115  

Excess tax benefits (costs) from stock-based awards

   989    (86  (11,244

Repayment of debt

   —      —      (100,000

Acquisition-related contingent consideration payment

   (10,790  —      —    
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

   (93,545  15,119    (95,818
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

   (667  (669  (758

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

   610,914    (334,220  79,574  

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

   131,303    465,523    385,949  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

  $742,217   $131,303   $
465,523
  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

See accompanying notes.

Zynga Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

1. Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization and Description of Business

Zynga Inc. (“Zynga,” “we” or “the Company”) develops, markets, and operates online social games as live services played over the Internet and on social networking sites and mobile platforms. We generate revenue through the in-game sale of virtual goods and through advertising. Our operations are headquartered in San Francisco, California, and we have several operating locations in the U.S. as well as various international office locations in Canada,North America, Asia and Europe.

We were originally organized in April 2007 as a California limited liability company under the name Presidio Media LLC, converted to a Delaware corporation under the name Zynga Game Network Inc. in October 2007 and changed our name to Zynga Inc. in November 2010. We completed our initial public offering in December 2011 and our Class A common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ZNGA.”

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated financial statements include the operations of us and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation.

Initial Public Offering

On December 15, 2011, we completed our initial public offering in which we issued and sold 100 million shares of Class A common stock at a public offering price of $10.00 per share. We raised a total of $961.4 million of net proceeds after deducting underwriter discounts and commissions of $32.5 million and other offering expenses of $6.1 million. Upon the closing of the initial public offering, all shares of the Company’s then-outstanding convertible preferred stock automatically converted into an aggregate of 304.9 million shares of Class B common stock. Additionally, 15.7 million vested ZSUs, after deducting shares withheld to satisfy minimum tax withholding obligations, were automatically converted into Class B common shares.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in the financial statements include, but are not limited to, the estimated lives of virtual goods that we use for revenue recognition, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, accrued liabilities, income taxes, accounting for business combinations, stock-based expense and evaluation of goodwill, intangible assets, and long-lived assets for impairment. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015 for various games resulted in an increase in revenue and income from operations of $0.5 million and $1.0 million, respectively, which is the result of adjusting the remaining recognition period of deferred revenue generated in prior periods at the time of a change in estimate. We also recorded $9.9 million of revenue and income from operations in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 due to changes in our estimated average life of durable goods for games that have been discontinued as there is no further service obligation after the closure of these games. These changes in estimates and discontinuance of games did not impact our reported earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and resulted in a $0.01 per share impact on our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015. For 2014, changes in our estimated average life of durable virtual goods resulted in a decrease in revenue, income from operations and net income of $1.2 million. These changes in estimates did not impact our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.

Segments

We have one operating segment with one business activity, developing and monetizing social games. Our Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM)(“CODM”), our Chief Executive Officer, manages our operations on a consolidated basis for purposes of allocating resources. When evaluating performance and allocating resources, the CODM reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated bookings information for our games.

Revenue Recognition

We derive revenue from the sale of virtual goods associated with our online games and the sale of advertising.

Online Game

We operate our games as live services that allow players to play for free. Within these games, players can purchase virtual currency to obtain virtual goods to enhance their game-playing experience. Players can pay for our virtual currency using Facebook Creditslocal currency payments when playing our games through the Facebook platform, and can useplatform. On platforms other than Facebook, players purchase our virtual currency and/or virtual goods through various widely accepted payment methods such asoffered in the games, including PayPal, Apple iTunes accounts, Google Wallet and credit cards or PayPal on other platforms.cards. We also sell existing inventory of game cards that are initially recorded as a customer deposit liability which is included in other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet, net of fees retained by retailers and distributors. Upon redemption of a game card in one of our games and delivery of the purchased virtual currency to the player, these amounts are reclassified to deferred revenue. Advance payments from customers that are non-refundable and relate to non-cancellable contracts that specify our obligations are recorded to deferred revenue. All other advance payments that do not meet these criteria are recorded as customer deposits.

We recognize revenue when all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement; (2) the service has been provided to the player; (3) the collection of our fees is reasonably assured; and (4) the amount of fees to be paid by the player is fixed or determinable. For purposes of determining when the service has been provided to the player, we have determined that an implied obligation exists to the paying player to continue displaying the purchased virtual goods within the online game over their estimated life or until they are consumed. Accordingly, we categorize our virtual goods as either consumable or durable. The proceeds from the sale of virtual goods are initially recorded in deferred revenue. We categorize our virtual goods as either consumable or durable. Consumable virtual goods represent goods that can be consumed by a specific player action. Common characteristics of consumable goods may include virtual goods that are no longer displayed on the player’s game board after a short period of time, do not provide the player any continuing benefit following consumption or often times enable a player to perform an in-game action immediately. For the sale of consumable virtual goods, we recognize revenue as the goods are consumed, which approximates one month. Durable virtual goods represent virtual goods that are accessible to the player over an extended period of time. We recognize revenue from the sale of durable virtual goods ratably over the estimated average playing period of paying players for the applicable game, which represents our best estimate of the estimated average life of durable virtual goods. If we do not have the ability to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods for a specific game we recognize revenue on the sale of durable and consumable virtual goods for that game ratably over the estimated average period that paying players typically play that game.

Prior to October 1, 2009, we did not have the data to determine the consumption dates for our consumable virtual goods or to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods. Beginning in October 2009, we had sufficient data to separately account for consumable and durable virtual goods in one of our games, thus allowing us to recognize revenue related to consumable goods upon consumption. Since January 2010, we have had this data for substantially all of our web games, thus allowing us to recognize revenue related to consumable goods upon consumption for our web-based games. However, for our standalone mobile games, we do not have the requisite data to separately account for consumable and durable virtual goods and have therefore recorded mobile revenue ratably over the estimated average payer life. We expect that in future periods there will be changes in the mix of durable and consumable virtual goods sold, reduced virtual good sales in some existing games, changes in estimates in average paying payer life and/or changes in our ability to make such estimates. When such changes occur, and in particular if more of our revenue in any period is derived from goods for which revenue is recognized over the estimated average playing period, or that period increases on average, the amount of revenue that we recognize in a future period may be reduced, perhaps significantly.

On a quarterly basis, we determine the estimated average playing period for paying players by game beginning at the time of a payer’s first purchase in that game and ending on a date when that paying player is no longer playing the game. To determine when paying players are no longer playing a given game, we analyze monthly cohorts of paying players for that game who made their first in-game payment between six and 18 months prior to the beginning of each quarter and determine whether each player within the cohort is an active or inactive player as of the date of our analysis. To determine which players are inactive, we analyze the dates that each paying player last logged into that game. We determine a paying player to be inactive once they have reached a period of inactivity for which it is probable (defined as at least 80%) that a player will not return to a specific game. For the payers deemed inactive as of our analysis date we analyze the dates they last logged into that game to determine the rate at which inactive players stopped playing. Based on these dates we then project a date at which all paying players for each monthly cohort are expected to cease playing our games. We then average the time periods from first purchase date and the date the last player is expected to cease playing the game for each of the monthly cohorts to determine the total playing period for that game. To determine the estimated average playing period we then divide this total playing period by two. The use of this “average” approach is supported by our observations that paying players typically become inactive at a relatively consistent rate for our games. If future data indicates paying players do not become inactive at a relatively consistent rate, we will modify our calculations accordingly. When a new game is launched and only a limited period of paying player data is available for our analysis, then we also consider other factors, such as the estimated average playing period for other recently launched games with similar characteristics, to determine the estimated average playing period.

Future usage patterns may differ from historical usage patterns and therefore the estimated average playing periods may change in the future. We assess the estimated average playing period for paying players and the estimated average life of our virtual goods quarterly. Changes in our estimated average playing periodlife of durable virtual goods during the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 for paying players in 2012various games resulted in an increase in revenue, income from operations and net income of $14.1$1.0 million, and willwhich is the result of adjusting the remaining recognition period of deferred revenue generated in an offsetting reductionprior periods at the time of a change in estimate. These changes in estimates did not impact our reported earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

From July 2010 through the third quarter of 2013, revenue in the same amount.

We estimate chargebacks from Facebook and third-party payment processors to account for potential future chargebacks based on historical data and record such amounts as a reduction of revenue.

In May 2010, we entered into an agreement with Facebook that required us to acceptFacebook’s proprietary virtual currency, Facebook Credits, aswas the primary in-game payment method for our games played through the Facebook platform. The agreement required us to begin migrating our games to Facebook Credits in our games beginning in July 2010, and by April 2011 this migration was complete. Facebook Credits is Facebook’s proprietary virtual currency that Facebook sells for use on the Facebook platform. Under the terms of our agreement with Facebook, setsFacebook set the price our players pay for Facebook Credits and collectscollected the cashfunds from the sale of Facebook Credits. Facebook’s current stated face value of a Facebook Credit iswas $0.10. For each Facebook Credit purchased by our players and redeemed in our games, Facebook remitsremitted to us $0.07, which is the amount we recognizerecognized as revenue. Accordingly, we recognized revenue net of the amounts retained by Facebook related to Facebook Credits transactions because we did not set the pricing of Facebook Credits sold to the players of our games on Facebook. In July 2013, Facebook began to transition payments made on the Facebook platform from Facebook Credits to Facebook’s local currency-based payments program. This transition was completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. Under the terms of our agreement, Facebook remits to us 70% of the price we request to be charged to the game player for each transaction. We recognize revenue net of the amounts retained by Facebook related to Facebook local currency-based payments because Facebook may choose to alter our recommended price, for example by offering a discount or other incentives to players playing on their platform. Additionally, we do not setreceive information from Facebook indicating the pricingamount of Facebook Credits soldsuch discounts offered to our players.

Prior topaying players or regarding the implementation of Facebook Credits in our games, players could purchase our virtual goods through various widely accepted payment methods offered in the games and we recognized revenue based on the transaction priceactual cash paid by our players to Facebook. Accordingly, we are unable to determine the player.gross amount paid by our players to Facebook.

For revenue earned through certain mobile platforms, including Apple iOS and Google Android, we recognize online game revenue based on the gross amount paid by the player because we are the primary obligor and we have the contractual right to determine the price to be paid by the player. We record the related platform and payment processing fees as cost of revenue in the period incurred.

We estimate chargebacks from our third-party web and mobile payment processors to account for potential future chargebacks based on historical data and record such amounts as a reduction of revenue.

Advertising

We have contractual relationships with agencies, advertising brokers and certain advertisers for advertisements within our games. We generally report our advertising revenue net of amounts retained by advertising networks, agencies, and brokers because we are not the primary obligor in our arrangements, we do not set the pricing, and we do not establish or maintain the relationship with the advertiser. Certain advertising arrangements that are directly between us and end advertisers are recognized gross equal to the price paid to us by the end advertiser since we are the primary obligor and we determine the price.

We recognize advertising revenue for branded virtual goods and sponsorships, engagement advertisements and offers, mobile advertisements and other advertisements as advertisements are delivered to customers as long as evidence of the arrangement exists (executed contract), the price is fixed or determinable, and we have assessed collectability as reasonably assured. Certain branded in-game sponsorships that involve virtual goods are deferred and recognized over the estimated life of the branded virtual good or as consumed, similar to online game revenue. Price is determined to be fixed and determinable when there is a fixed price in the applicable evidence of the arrangement, which may include a master contract, insertion order, or a third party statement of activity. For branded virtual goods and sponsorships, we determine the delivery criteria has been met based on delivery information primarily from our internal systems.third parties. For engagement advertisements and offers, mobile advertisements, and other advertisements, delivery occurs when the advertisement has been displayed or the offer has been completed by the customer, as evidenced by third party verification reports supporting the number of advertisements displayed or offers completed.

We report our advertising revenue net of amounts retained by advertising agencies and brokers because we are not the primary obligor in our arrangements, we do not set the pricing, and we do not establish or maintain the relationship with the advertiser.

Multiple-element Arrangements

We allocate arrangement consideration in multiple-deliverable revenue arrangements at the inception of an arrangement to all deliverables based on the relative selling price method, generally based on our best estimate of selling price. We offer certain promotions to customers from time to time that include the sale of in-game virtual currency via the sale of a game card and also other deliverables such as a limited edition in-game virtual good.

Cost of Revenue

Amounts recorded as cost of revenue relate to direct expenses incurred in order to generate online game revenue. Such costs are recorded as incurred. Our cost of revenue consists primarily of hosting and data center costs related to operating our games, including depreciation;depreciation, consulting costs primarily related to third-party provisioning of customer support services;services, payment processing fees; andfees, licensing fees, salaries, benefits and stock-based expense for our customer support and infrastructure teams. Cost of revenue also includes amortization expense related to purchased technology of $38.5$23.9 million, $28.4$21.4 million and $8.8$11.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 2010,2013, respectively.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents consist of cash on hand, money market funds, commercial paper, corporate bonds municipal securities, and U.S. government-issued obligations with maturities of 90 days or less from the date of purchase.

Marketable Securities and Non-Marketable Securities

Marketable securities consist of U.S. government-issued obligations municipal securities and corporate debt securities. Management determines the appropriate classification of marketable securities at the time of purchase and reevaluatesevaluates such determination at each balance sheet date. The fair value of marketable securities is determined as the exit price in the principal market in which we would transact. Based on our intentions regarding our marketable securities, all marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income, net of income taxes. Realized gains and losses are determined using the specific-identification method and are reflected as a component of other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations when they are realized.

When we determine that a decline in fair value is other than temporary, the cost basis of the individual security is written down to the fair value as a new cost basis and the amount of the write-down is accounted for as a realized loss in other income (expense), net. The new cost basis will not be adjusted for subsequent recoveries in fair value. Determination of whether declines in fair value are other than temporary requires judgment regarding the amount and timing of recovery. No such impairments of marketable securities have been recorded to date.in any of the periods presented.

For non-marketable securities in which we exercise significant influence on the equity to which these non-marketable securities relate, we apply the equity method of accounting. Our non-marketable securities are subject to periodic impairment reviews. In the first quarter of 2015, we sold our only equity method investment and recorded a $6.2 million gain in other income in our consolidated statement of operations. As of December 31, 2015, we did not have any other equity method investments.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of collateral for facility operating leaseroyalty agreements and funds held in escrow in accordance with the terms of certain of our business acquisition agreements.

Derivatives and Hedging

We account for derivative financial instruments in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815, Derivatives and Hedging, which requires that every derivative instrument be recorded on the balance sheet as either an asset or liability measured at its fair value as of the reporting date. ASC 815 also requires that changes in our derivatives’ fair values be recognized in earnings, unless specific hedge accounting and contemporaneous documentation criteria are met, in which case, the change in fair value related to the effective portion of the hedge may be recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (i.e., the instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment). Any ineffective or excluded portion of a designated cash flow hedge is recognized in earnings.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable are recorded and carried at the original invoiced amount less an allowance for any potential uncollectible amounts. We review accounts receivable regularly and make estimates for the allowance for doubtful accounts when there is doubt as to our ability to collect individual balances. In evaluating our ability to collect outstanding receivable balances, we consider many factors, including the age of the balance, the customer’s payment history and current creditworthiness, and current economic trends. Bad debts are written off after all collection efforts have ceased. We do not require collateral from our customers.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the improvements or the lease term.

Business Combinations

We account for acquisitions of entities that include inputs and processes and have the ability to create outputs as business combinations. We allocate the purchase price of the acquisition, which includes the estimated acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration, to the tangible assets, liabilities, and identifiable intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over those fair values is recorded as goodwill. Acquisition-related expenses and restructuring costs are expensed as incurred. During the measurement period, we record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. After the measurement period, which could be up to one year after the transaction date, subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations. We record changes in the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities within operating expenses in our consolidated statement of operations each reporting period.

Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are carried at cost and are evaluated annually for impairment, or more frequently if circumstances exist that indicate that impairment may exist. When conducting our annual goodwill impairment assessment, we perform a quantitative evaluation of whether goodwill is impaired using the two-step impairment test. The first step is comparing the fair value of our reporting unit to its

carrying value. We consider the enterprise to be the reporting unit for this analysis. If step one indicates that impairment potentially exists, the second step is performed to measure the amount of impairment, if any. We record the amount by which the carrying value of the goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, if any, as impairment.

We test recoverability of indefinite-lived intangible assets using a qualitative approach on whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the intangible asset exceeds its carrying value. If the asset is considered to be impaired, the amount of any impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the impaired asset.

Other Intangible Assets

Other intangible assets are carried at cost less accumulated amortization. Amortization is recorded over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally 12 to 2460 months.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, including other intangible assets (excluding indefinite-lived intangible assets), are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an asset’s carrying value may not be recoverable. If such circumstances are present, we assess the recoverability of the long-lived assets by comparing the carrying value to the undiscounted future cash flows associated with the related assets. If the future net undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets, the assets are considered impaired and an expense, equal to the amount required to reduce the carrying value of the assets to the estimated fair value, is recorded as impairment of intangible assets in the consolidated statements of operations. Significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of future cash flows and the relative risk of achieving those cash flows.

Assumptions and estimates about future values and remaining useful lives are complex and often subjective. They can be affected by a variety of factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors such as changes in our business strategy and our internal forecasts. For example, if our future operating results do not meet current forecasts, we may be required to record future impairment charges for acquired intangible assets. Impairment charges could materially decrease our future net income and result in lower asset values on our balance sheet. There were no impairment charges in 2015 and 2014. In 2013, we recorded a $10.2 million impairment charge related to certain games associated with intangible assets previously acquired through various business combinations.

Stock-Based Expense

Prior to our initial public offeringIPO in December 2011, we granted ZSUs to our employees that generally vestedvest upon the satisfaction of service period criteriaboth a service-based condition of up to four years and a liquidity condition, the latter of

which was satisfied in connection with our initial public offering. The ZSUs have a contractual term of seven years.IPO in December 2011. Because the liquidity condition was not satisfied until our initial public offering,IPO, in prior periods, we had not recorded any expense relating to the granting of our ZSUs. In the fourth quarter of 2011, after the IPO, we recognized $510 million of stock-based expense associated with ZSU grants.ZSUs that vested in connection with our IPO. This expense is in addition to the stock-based expense we recognize related to outstanding equity awards other than ZSUs as well as expenses related to ZSUs or other equity awards that may be granted in the future.

For ZSUs granted prior to our initial public offering,the IPO, and for awards subject to performance conditions, we recognize stock-based compensation expense based on grant date fair value using the accelerated attribution method net of estimated forfeitures, in which compensation cost for each vesting tranche in an award is recognized ratably from the service inception date to the vesting date for that tranche. For ZSUs granted after the initial public offering,IPO, which willare only be subject to a service condition, we recognize stock-based expense based on grant date fair value on a ratable basis over the requisite service period for the entire award.

We estimate the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This model requires the use of the following assumptions: (i) expected volatility of our Class A common stock, which is based on our peer group in the industry in which we do business; (ii)own calculated 3 year historical rate; expected life of the option award, which we elected to calculate using the simplified method; (iii) expected dividend yield, which is 0%, as we have not paid and do not anticipate payinghave any plans to pay dividends on our common stock; and (iv) the risk-free interest rate, which is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant with maturities equal to the grant’s expected life. We changed the basis of estimating our expected volatility in the fourth quarter of 2015 from using peer group data in the industry in which we do business to using our own calculated rate as we now have sufficient historical data (3 years of historical trading activity) that we believe provides a reasonable basis for our estimate. Option grants generally vest over four years, with 25% vesting after one year and the remainder vesting monthly thereafter over 36 months. The options have a contractual term of 10 years.

Stock-based If any of the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model changes significantly, stock-based expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures so that expense is recorded for only those stock-basedfuture awards that we expect to vest. We estimate forfeitures based on our historical forfeiture of equitymay differ materially compared with the awards adjusted to reflect future changes in facts and circumstances, if any. We will revise our estimated forfeiture rate if actual forfeitures differ from our initial estimates.granted previously. We record stock-based expense for stock options on a straight-lineratable basis over the vesting term.

For stock options issued to non-employees, including consultants, we record expense related to stock options equal to the fair value of the options calculated using the Black-Scholes model over the service performance period. The fair value of options granted to non-employees is remeasured over the vesting period and recognized as an expense over the period the services are received.

Stock-based expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures so that expense is recorded for only those stock-based awards that we expect to vest. We estimate forfeitures based on our historical forfeiture of equity awards adjusted to reflect future changes in facts and circumstances, if any. We will revise our estimated forfeiture rate if actual forfeitures differ from our initial estimates.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes using an asset and liability approach, which requires the recognition of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. The measurement of current and deferred tax assets and liabilities is based on provisions of enacted tax laws; the effects of future changes in tax laws or rates are not anticipated. If necessary, the measurement of deferred tax assets is reduced by the amount of any tax benefits that are not expected to be realized based on available evidence. We account for uncertain tax positions by reporting a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. We recognize interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income tax expense.taxes.

Foreign Currency Transactions

Generally, the functional currency of our international subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar.dollar or the local currency that the international subsidiary operates in. For these subsidiaries where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency, foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates and foreign currency denominated nonmonetary assets and liabilities are remeasured into U.S. dollars at historical exchange rates. Gains or losses from foreign currency remeasurement and settlements are included in other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations. For foreign subsidiaries where the functional currency is the local currency, we use the period-end exchange rates to translate assets and liabilities, and the average exchange rates to translate revenues and expenses into U.S. dollars. We record translation gains and losses in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity.

Concentration of Credit Risk and Significant Customers

Financial instruments, which potentially expose us to concentrations of credit risk, consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term and long-term marketable securities, and accounts receivable. Substantially all

of our cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities are maintained with threetwo financial institutions with high credit standings. We perform periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of these institutions.

Accounts receivable are unsecured and represent amounts due to us based on contractual obligations where a signed and executed contract or click-through agreement exists. In cases where we are aware of circumstances that may impair a specific customer’s ability to meet its financial obligations, we record a specific allowance as a reduction to the accounts receivable balance to reduce it to its net realizable value.

Facebook, is aApple, and Google are significant distribution, marketing, promotion and payment platformplatforms for our social games. A significant portion of our 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 20102013 revenue was generated from players who accessed our games through Facebook.these platforms. As of December 31, 20122015 and December 31, 2011, 58%2014, 17% and 71%22% of our accounts receivable, respectively, were amounts owed to us by Facebook. Additionally, as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, 17% and 23% of our accounts receivable, respectively, were amounts owed to us by Apple and 14% and 8% of our accounts receivable, respectively, were amounts owed to us by Google.

Advertising Expense

Costs for advertising are expensed as incurred. Advertising costs, which are included in sales and marketing expense, primarily consisting of player acquisition costs, totaled $102.2$128.9 million, $102.6$101.7 million and $83.4$60.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 2010,2013, respectively.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” which requires revenue to be recognized when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that is expected to be received for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 supersedes the existing revenue recognition guidance in “Revenue Recognition (Topic 605)”. In July 2015, the FASB voted to amend ASU 2014-09 by approving a one-year deferral of the effective date as well as allowing early adoption as of the original effective date. Accordingly, the Company may adopt the standard in either the first quarter of 2017 or 2018. We are currently in the process of evaluating the timing of adoption of ASU 2014-09 as well as the impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In September 2015, the FASB issued an ASU 2015-16, “Business Combinations (Topic 805): Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments,” which requires an acquirer in a business combination to recognize measurement-period adjustments during the period in which adjustment amounts are determined rather than retrospectively, including the effect on earnings of any amounts that would have been recorded in previous periods if the accounting had been completed as of the acquisition date. This standard will be applied prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after the effective date. This standard will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2016. We do not expect this standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In November 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-17, “Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes”, which requires that all deferred tax assets and liabilities be classified as non-current on the balance sheet. The amendments in ASU 2015-17 are intended to simplify the presentation of deferred income taxes. As of December 31, 2015, we adopted ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis and have not adjusted prior periods as a result of the adoption. As required by ASU 2015-17, all deferred tax assets and liabilities are now classified as non-current in our consolidated balance sheets.

2. Cash and Investments

Cash and investments consist of the following (in thousands):

 

   December 31,
2012
   December 31,
2011
 

Cash and cash equivalents:

    

Cash

  $137,104   $205,719 

Money market funds

   226,993    1,375,918 

Corporate debt securities

   21,852    706 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents

  $385,949   $1,582,343 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Marketable securities:

    

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

  $464,815   $267,635 

Corporate debt securities

   796,316    67,628 

Municipal securities

   5,233    —   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $1,266,364   $335,263 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

   December 31,
2015
   December 31,
2014
 

Cash and cash equivalents:

    

Cash

  $162,495    $89,708  

Money market funds

   362,587     41,595  

Commercial paper

   160,151     —    

Corporate bonds

   16,995     —    

US government and government agency debt securities

   39,989     —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents

  $742,217    $131,303  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Marketable securities:

    

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

  $144,986    $404,982  

Corporate debt securities

   100,047     611,624  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $245,033    $1,016,606  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following tables summarize our amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in marketable securities (in thousands):

 

  December 31, 2012   December 31, 2015 
  Amortized
Cost
   Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Aggregate
Fair Value
   Amortized
Cost
   Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Aggregate
Fair Value
 

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

  $464,517   $303   $(5 $464,815   $145,066    $    $(80 $144,986  

Corporate debt securities

   795,962    524    (170  796,316    100,093     12     (58  100,047  

Municipal securities

   5,234    —      (1  5,233 
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total

  $1,265,713   $827   $(176 $1,266,364 
  $245,159    $12    $(138 $245,033  
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

 
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

   December 31, 2014 
  Amortized
Cost
   Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses
  Aggregate
Fair Value
 
  December 31, 2011     
  Amortized
Cost
   Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Aggregate
Fair Value
     

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

  $267,635   $53   $(53 $267,635   $405,049    $68    $(135 $404,982  

Corporate debt securities

   67,657    35    (64  67,628    611,950     39     (365  611,624  
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

 

Total

  $335,292   $88   $(117 $335,263 
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

   $1,016,999    $107    $(500 $1,016,606  
  

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

 

The estimated fair value of available-for-sale marketable securities, classified by their contractual maturities was as follows (in thousands):

 

  December 31,
2012
   December 31,
2011
   December 31,
2015
   December 31,
2014
 

Due within one year

  $898,821   $225,165   $245,033    $785,221  

After one year through three years

   367,543    110,098    —       231,385  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $1,266,364   $335,263   $245,033    $1,016,606  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Changes in market interest rates and bond yields cause certain of our investments to fall below their cost basis, resulting in unrealized losses on marketable securities. As of December 31, 2015, we had unrealized losses of $0.1 million related to marketable securities that had a fair value of $199.1 million. As of December 31, 2014,

we had unrealized losses of $0.5 million related to marketable securities that had a fair value of $621.5 million. None of these securities were in a material continuous unrealized loss position for more than 12 months.

 

  December 31, 2012 December 31, 2011  December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 
  Fair Value   Unrealized loss Fair Value   Unrealized loss  Fair Value Unrealized loss Fair Value Unrealized loss 

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

  $43,404   $(5 $70,162   $(53 $137,485   $(80 $222,723   $(135

Corporate debt securities

   371,243    (170  40,964    (64  61,622    (58  398,777    (365

Municipal securities

   3,063    (1  —      —   
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

Total

  $417,710   $(176 $111,126   $(117 $199,107   $(138 $621,500   $(500
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

As of December 31, 20122015 and 2011,2014, we did not consider any of our marketable securities to be other-than-temporarily impaired. When evaluating our investments for other-than-temporary impairment, we review factors such as the length of time and extent to which fair value has been below its cost basis, the financial condition of the issuer, our ability and intent to hold the security to maturity and whether it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the investment before recovery of its cost basis.

3. Fair Value Measurements

Our financial instruments consist of cash equivalents, short-term and long-term marketable securities, accounts receivable, long-term debt and an interest rate swap. Accounts receivable, net and long-term debt are stated at their carrying value, which approximates fair value.

Cash equivalents and short-term and long-term marketable securities, consisting of money market funds, U.S. government and government agency debt securities, municipal securities and corporate debt securities, are carried at fair value, which is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between knowledgeable and willing market participants. These valuation techniques involve some level

Our contingent consideration liability represents the estimated fair value of management estimationthe additional consideration payable in connection with our acquisitions of Spooky Cool Labs LLC (“Spooky Cool Labs”) and judgment,Rising Tide Games, Inc. (“Rising Tide Games”). The amount payable is contingent upon the degreeachievement of which is dependent on price transparency forcertain performance milestones. We estimated the instruments oracquisition date fair value of the contingent consideration payable using discounted cash flow models, and applied a discount rate that appropriately captured a market andparticipant’s view of the instruments’ complexity.

We determinerisk associated with the obligations. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the acquisition-related contingent consideration payable were forecasted future cash flows and the timing of those cash flows. Significant changes in actual and forecasted future cash flows may result in significant charges or benefits to our interest rate swap by calculatingfuture operating expenses. During the net presentperiods ending December 31, 2015 and 2014 we recorded the change in estimated fair value of the fixedcontingent consideration liability as an expense of approximately $6.1 million and variable future cash flows$32.7 million, respectively within research and development expense in our consolidated statements of operations.

In the first quarter of 2015, we executed an amended agreement with Spooky Cool Labs. Under the terms of the swapamended agreement, the maximum amount payable by us was $58.8 million, which are based onincluded $53.8 million of contingent consideration and $5.0 million related to bonuses. We paid $53.8 million in the swap’s stated ratefirst quarter of 2015 and current market interest rates, respectively.$5.0 million in the second quarter of 2015 to fully settle the contingent consideration liability balance and bonuses related to Spooky Cool Labs.

Our non-financial assets, such as intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, are recorded at carrying value unless we recognize an impairment charge and adjust the asset to its fair value. In the third quarter of 2012,2015, we madeacquired Rising Tide Games. Under the decision to discontinue developmentterms of the agreement, the contingent consideration may be payable based on the achievement of certain gamesfuture performance targets during the three year period following the acquisition date. We initially estimated the acquisition date fair value of the contingent consideration payable using discounted cash flow models, and applied a discount rate that appropriately captured a market participant’s view of the risk associated with technologythe obligations. In the fourth quarter of 2015, we updated this analysis based on our updated projections and other intangible assets previously acquired from OMGPOP. Our updated financial forecast as of September 30, 2012 indicated a reduction of undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from these intangible assets, and we therefore performed an impairment analysis. We determinedrecorded the change in estimated fair value of these assets to be $95.5the contingent consideration liability as a benefit of approximately $3.3 million lower than their carrying value as of September 30, 2012. Accordingly, we recorded this amount as an impairment chargewithin research and development expense in our consolidated statementsstatement of operationsoperations. The current contingent consideration expected to be earned and statedpayable by us is $18.5 million; however, the related OMGPOP intangibles at their fair value of $5.3 million on our consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2012. The impaired intangible assets were classified as Level 3 assets within the fair value hierarchy on September 30, 2012 due to the unobservable inputsmaximum contingent consideration that were factored into our income-based valuation analysis used to determine their fair value at the time. The primary input used in determining the fair value of the intangible assets was the estimated undiscounted future cash flows associated with those assets as of September 30, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, there were no further indicators of impairment related to the OMGPOP intangiblescould be earned and they were stated at their adjusted amortized basis of $4.6 million within our consolidated balance sheets.payable by us is $140.0 million.

Fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that knowledgeable and willing market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. The valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of the Company’s debt instruments and all other financial instruments, all of which have counterparties with high credit ratings, were valued based on quoted market prices or model driven valuations using significant inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data. We use a three-tier value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1 — 1—Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 — 2—Includes inputs, other than Level 1 inputs, that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.

Level 3 — 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity.

The composition of our financial instrumentsassets and our impaired intangible assetsliabilities among the three Levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows (in thousands):

 

  December 31, 2012   December 31, 2015 
  Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total 

Assets:

                

Money market funds(1)

  $226,993   $—     $—     $226,993 

Money market funds(1)

  $362,587    $—      $—      $362,587  

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

   —      464,815    —      464,815    —       184,975     —       184,975  

Corporate debt securities(1)

   —      818,167    —      818,167 

Municipal securities

   —      5,234    —      5,234 

Corporate debt securities(1)

   —       277,193     —       277,193  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $226,993   $1,288,216   $—     $1,515,209   $362,587    $462,168    $—      $824,755  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Liabilities:

        

Liabilities

        
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Interest rate swap agreements

  $—     $2,423   $—     $2,423 

Contingent consideration

  $—      $—      $18,490    $18,490  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 
  December 31, 2014 
  Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total 
        

Assets:

        

Money market funds(1)

  $41,595    $—      $—      $41,595  

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

   —       404,982     —       404,982  

Corporate debt securities

   —       611,624     —       611,624  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $41,595    $1,016,606    $—      $1,058,201  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Liabilities

        
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Contingent consideration

  $—      $—      $44,420    $44,420  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

(1)

Includes amounts classified as cash and cash equivalents.

   December 31, 2011 
   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total 

Assets:

        

Money market funds

  $1,375,918   $—     $—     $1,375,918 

U.S. government and government agency debt securities

   —      267,635    —      267,635 

Corporate debt securities

   —      68,334    —      68,334 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $1,375,918   $335,969   $—     $1,711,887 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

4. Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):

 

  December 31, 
  2012 2011   December 31,
2015
   December 31,
2014
 

Computer equipment

  $294,208  $243,986   $36,373    $141,946  

Software

   28,594   25,119    30,950     31,778  

Land

   89,130   —      89,130     89,130  

Building

   190,931   —      195,372     194,574  

Furniture and fixtures

   13,959   9,474    10,348     10,616  

Leasehold improvements

   20,383   67,456    7,748     9,694  
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 
   637,205   346,035    369,921     477,738  

Less accumulated depreciation

   (171,131  (99,295   (96,700   (179,819
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total property and equipment, net

  $466,074  $246,740   $273,221    $297,919  
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

AcquisitionDuring the fourth quarter of Corporate Headquarters Building

In April, 2012,2015, we purchased our corporate headquarters building located in San Francisco, California from 650 Townsend Associates, LLC to supportcompleted the overall growthexit of one of our business. Pursuantdata centers in Santa Clara, and initiated the sale of certain computer data center equipment, resulting in the assets meeting held for sale criteria. Accordingly, these assets were written down to the agreement, we also acquired existing third-party leasestheir fair value and other intangiblereclassified from property and terminated our existing office leasesequipment to other current assets, with

$83.9 million and $80.7 million being reclassified from computer equipment and accumulated depreciation respectively, for a net amount of $3.2 million. The $3.2 million reflects the fair value of the assets less estimated costs to sell.

5. Acquisitions

the seller. In accordance with ASC 805,Business Combinations2015 Acquisitions,

On September 11, 2015, we accountedacquired Rising Tide Games, a provider of social games that we plan to use to release new social casino titles, for the building purchase as a business combination. The purchase consideration of approximately $44.2 million, which consisted of cash paid of $22.4 million and contingent consideration with a fair value of $21.8 million as of September 30, 2015 (see Note 3—“Fair Value Measurements” for the corporate headquarters building was as follows (in thousands):

Cash

  $233,700 

Gain on termination of below-market lease

   41,058 
  

 

 

 

Total purchase consideration

  $274,758 
  

 

 

 

changes in this estimate). The gaincontingent consideration may be payable based on the terminationachievement of certain future performance targets during the below-market lease representsthree year period following the difference betweenacquisition date and could be up to $140.0 million. We will record changes in the contractual minimum rental payments owed underfair value of contingent consideration liabilities within operating expenses in our previously-existing leases and the market ratesconsolidated statement of those same leases. operations each future reporting period.

For further details on our fair value methodology with respect to contingent consideration liabilities, see Note 3—“Fair Value Measurements.”

The following table summarizes the acquisition date fair valuesvalue of net tangible and intangible assets acquired from Rising Tide Games (in thousands)thousands, unaudited):

 

Building

  $182,644 

Land

   89,130 

Acquired lease intangibles

   2,984 
  

 

 

 

Total

  $274,758 
  

 

 

 
   Total 

Developed technology, useful life of 5 years

  $27,000  

Net tangible assets acquired (liabilities assumed)

   2,445  

Goodwill

   25,050  

Deferred tax liabilities

   (10,300
  

 

 

 

Total

  $44,195  
  

 

 

 

In addition to the gain recognized on the termination of the below-market lease, we recognized a gain of $25.1 million from the write-off of deferred rent liability and we recognized a loss of $46.2 million resulting from the write-off of leasehold improvements, as any value ascribed to these leasehold improvements were reflected in the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired. These amounts have been included in other income (expense), net in our consolidated statements of operations.

We have included the rental income from third party leases with other tenants in the building, and the proportionate share of building expensesGoodwill, which is not deductible for those leases, in other income (expense), net in our consolidated results of operations from the date of acquisition. These amounts were not material for the periods presented. The estimated useful life for the building is 39 years and is being amortized on a straight-line basis.

5. Acquisitions

2012 Acquisitions

Acquisition of OMGPOP. In March 2012, we acquired 100% of the outstanding stock of OMGPOP, a provider of social games for mobile phones, tablets, PCs and social network sites, for purchase consideration of approximately $183.1 million in cash. We acquired OMGPOP to expand our social games offerings, particularly on mobile platforms. Goodwill from the acquisitiontax purposes, represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired, and is not deductible for tax purposes. Goodwill recorded in connection with this acquisition is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies at the time of the acquisition.

Other Acquisitions. During

The information above provides a reasonable basis for estimating the yearfair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, however, the preliminary measurements of fair value are subject to change including in the area of income taxes payable and deferred taxes which may change subject to the completion of certain tax returns.

Transaction costs incurred by the Company in connection with the acquisition, including professional fees, were $0.9 million and are included in our statement of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, we acquired four companies in addition to OMGPOP for an aggregate purchase price of $24.1 million, $23.9 million of which was paid in cash and the remainder in issuance of $0.2 million in restricted shares of our Class A common stock.2015.

2011 Acquisitions

In line with our growth strategy, we completed 15 acquisitions in 2011. The purpose of these acquisitions was to expand our social games offerings, obtain employee talent, and expand into new international markets. The results of operations for eachthe acquisition of these acquisitionsRising Tide have been included in our consolidated statement of operations since the date of acquisition. These acquisitions werePro forma results of operations related to our acquisition have not individually significant and had an aggregate

been presented as it is not material to our 2015 consolidated statements.

2014 Acquisitions

purchase price of $45.5 million, of which $43.3 million was paid in cash with the remainderOn February 11, 2014, we acquired 100% of the issuanceoutstanding stock of 0.2 million fully vested sharesNaturalMotion, a provider of Series Z convertible preferred stock with agames for mobile phones and tablets domiciled in the U.K. We acquired NaturalMotion to leverage their strong portfolio of technology, assembled workforce and existing mobile games in order to expand and enhance our game offerings particularly on mobile platforms. The acquisition date fair value of $2.2 million. As a resultthe purchase consideration was $522.2 million, which included the following (in thousands):

   Fair Value of
Purchase
Consideration
 

Cash

  $391,000  

Common stock (28,178,201 shares)

   130,465  

Fair value of stock options assumed

   693  
  

 

 

 

Total

  $522,158  
  

 

 

 

The value of the acquisitions, we recorded $11.1purchase consideration attributed to the 28.2 million common shares issued was based on a $4.63 closing price of developed technology, $1.5 millionthe Company’s Class A Common Stock on the date of the closing of the acquisition.

The following table summarizes the final acquisition date fair value of net tangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed and $35.9 million of goodwill. from NaturalMotion (in thousands, unaudited):

   Estimated
Fair Value
   Estimated
Weighted
Average
Useful Life

Tangible net assets (liabilities) assumed(1)

  $1,259    N/A

Intangible assets

    

Developed technology

   59,900    3 years

Branding and trade names

   15,000    4.6 years

Goodwill(1)

   448,821    N/A
  

 

 

   

Total

  $524,980    
  

 

 

   

(1)

Includes the impact of adjustments to the purchase price allocation in 2014 ($3.9 million) and 2015 ($2.8 million) resulting from changes in net assets (liabilities) acquired and other adjustments pursuant to our business combinations policy and recorded within the measurement period.

Goodwill, which is partially deductible for each of the acquisitionsU.S. income tax purposes, represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired, and is not deductibleprimarily attributable to the

assembled workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies at the time of the acquisition. The information above provides a reasonable basis for tax purposes. Goodwillestimating the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

On the acquisition date, we assumed unvested NaturalMotion employee stock options and exchanged them for options to purchase shares of our Class A Common Stock with a preliminary fair value of $29.7 million. $0.7 million of this value was allocated to purchase consideration and the remaining $29.0 million was allocated to future compensation expense which will be recorded as stock-based expense over the vesting period of the awards. Also on the acquisition date, we granted to continuing employees 11.6 million shares of our Class A Common Stock that vest over a period of three years from the grant date, subject to continued employment with Zynga. The value of these shares on the acquisition date was $53.6 million and will be recorded as stock-based expense over the requisite service period in accordance with the vesting terms. Transaction costs incurred by the Company in connection with the acquisitions is primarily attributableacquisition, including professional fees and transaction taxes, were $6.4 million and are included in our statement of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.

The amounts of revenue and net loss of NaturalMotion included in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations for the post acquisition period from February 12, 2014 to December 31, 2014 are as follows (unaudited, in thousands):

   February 12, 2014 to
December 31, 2014
 

Total revenues

  $26,800  

Net loss

   74,891  

The net loss includes approximately $29.5 million of stock-based expense and $19.7 million related to the assembled workforcesamortization of acquired intangibles, net of tax.

The following pro forma financial information summarizes the acquired businesses and the synergies expected to arise after our acquisition of those businesses. In connection with acquisitions closed in 2011, we incurred transaction costs of approximately $2.3 million.

Pro formacombined results of operations for the Company and NaturalMotion, which was significant for the purposes of unaudited pro forma financial information disclosure, as though the companies were combined as of the beginning of the Company’s fiscal years presented.

The pro forma financial information was as follows (unaudited, in thousands):

   12 Months Ended
December 31,
 
   2014   2013 

Total revenues

  $698,608    $912,880  

Net loss

   (233,036   (96,048

The pro forma financial information for all periods presented has been calculated after adjusting the results of NaturalMotion to reflect the business combination accounting effects resulting from this acquisition including fair value adjustments resulting from purchase accounting, the amortization expenses from acquired intangible assets, the stock-based expense for unvested stock options assumed and restricted stock awards granted and the related to our 2012tax effects as though the acquisition occurred as of the beginning of the periods presented. The pro forma financial information is for informational purposes only and 2011 acquisitions haveis not been presented because they are not material to our 2012 or 2011 consolidated statementsindicative of the results of operations either individually orthat would have been achieved based on these assumptions.

6. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Changes in the aggregate.

The following table summarizes the purchase date faircarrying value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired for all business acquisitions for the years endedgoodwill from December 31, 2012 and 20112013 to December 31, 2015 are as follows (in thousands):

 

   OMGPOP  Other  Total 2012 

Developed technology

  $83,590  $14,379  $97,969 

Branding intangible assets

   33,530   —     33,530 

Deferred tax liabilities

   (42,871  (3,905  (46,776

Net tangible assets acquired (liabilities assumed)

   5,055   400   5,455 

Goodwill(1)

   103,782   13,214   116,996 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

  $183,086  $24,088  $207,174 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
         Total 2011 

Developed technology

    $11,056 

Net tangible assets acquired (liabilities assumed)

     (1,530

Goodwill(1)

     35,946 
    

 

 

 

Total

    $45,472 
    

 

 

 

Goodwill—December 31, 2013

  $ 227,989  

Additions

   450,582  

Foreign currency translation adjustments(1)

   (23,994

Goodwill adjustments(2)

   (3,799
  

 

 

 

Goodwill—December 31, 2014

   650,778  

Additions

   25,050  

Foreign currency translation adjustments(1)

   (20,816

Goodwill adjustments(2)

   2,659  
  

 

 

 

Goodwill—December 31, 2015

  $657,671  
  

 

 

 

 

(1)(1)

The decreases are primarily related to translation losses on goodwill associated with the acquisition of NaturalMotion denominated in British pounds.

(2)

Includes the impact of adjustments to goodwill resulting from changes in net assets (liabilities) acquired and other adjustments, pursuant to our business combinations policy.

Prior to the impairment of the developed technology and branding intangible assets acquired in the OMGPOP acquisition (described in Note 3), the useful lives for the developed technology and branding intangible assets were three years and seven years, respectively. Subsequent to the impairment, the remaining useful lives of both the developed technology and branding intangible assets were adjusted to two years. These assets were, and continue to be, amortized on a straight-line basis. For all acquisitions completed during the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the weighted-average useful life of all identified acquired intangible assets is 2.4 and 2.0 years, respectively. Developed technologies associated with acquisitions are being amortized over periods ranging from one to three years.

6. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Changes in the carrying value of goodwill from December 31, 2011 to December 31, 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

Goodwill – December 31, 2010

  $60,217 

Additions

   35,946 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

   63 

Goodwill adjustments

   (4,461
  

 

 

 

Goodwill – December 31, 2011

   91,765 

Additions

   117,541 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

   (487

Goodwill adjustments

   136 
  

 

 

 

Goodwill – December 31, 2012

  $208,955 
  

 

 

 

The details of our acquisition-related intangible assets are as follows (in thousands):

 

  December 31, 2012   December 31, 2015 
  Gross Carrying
Value
   Accumulated
Amortization
 Net Book Value   Gross Carrying
Value
   Accumulated
Amortization
   Net Book
Value
 

Developed technology

  $81,295   $(63,428 $17,867   $174,970    $(118,940  $56,030  

Trademarks, branding and domain names

   15,519    (4,012  11,507    16,290     (9,210   7,080  

Acquired lease intangibles

   5,707    (1,418  4,289    5,708     (4,802   906  
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $102,521   $(68,858 $33,663   $196,968    $(132,952  $64,016  
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 
  December 31, 2011   December 31, 2014 
  Gross Carrying
Value
   Accumulated
Amortization
 Net Book Value   Gross Carrying
Value
   Accumulated
Amortization
   Net Book
Value
 

Developed technology

  $63,702   $(40,510 $23,192   $151,376    $(94,560  $56,816  

Trademarks, branding and domain names

   10,537    (1,617  8,920    16,292     (7,861   8,431  

Acquired lease intangibles

   5,708     (4,094   1,614  
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $74,239   $(42,127 $32,112   $173,376    $(106,515  $66,861  
  

 

   

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

These assets were, and continue to be, amortized on a straight-line basis. As of December 31, 2015, the weighted-average remaining useful lives of all identified acquired intangible assets are 3.0 years for developed technology, 1.0 years for trademarks, branding, and domain names, and 3.3 years for acquired lease intangibles. Amortization expense of intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 20102013 were $42.3$27.4 million, $29.5$24.6 million and $8.8$12.2 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2012,2015, future amortization expense related to the intangible assets is expected to be recognized as shown below (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2013

  $12,286 

2014

   7,353 

2015

   3,470 

2016 and thereafter

   167 
  

 

 

 

Total

  $23,276 
  

 

 

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2016

  $29,084  

2017

   11,203  

2018

   7,634  

2019 and thereafter

   9,975  
  

 

 

 

Total

  $57,896  
  

 

 

 

7. Income Taxes

Income (loss) before income tax expense consists of the following for the periods shown below (in thousands):

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010   2015   2014   2013 

United States

  $(41,963 $(379,800 $141,401   $(83,432  $(132,281  $(56,215

International

   (117,612  (26,342  (14,342   (46,750   (100,947   (8,654
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

  $(159,575 $(406,142 $127,059   $(130,182  $(233,228  $(64,869
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following for the periods shown below (in thousands):

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011 2010   2015   2014   2013 

Current:

          

Federal

  $84,421  $(8,988 $34,092   $(30  $(132  $(15,712

State

   5,431   1,195   10,537    (2,863   (16   (134

Foreign

   3,862   1,600   304    3,817     2,777     3,206  
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total current tax expense

   93,714   (6,193  44,933    924     2,629     (12,640

Deferred:

          

Federal

   (40,331  4,687   (9,264   (8,818   (6,888   (14,357

State

   (2,821  441   2,209    (504   (353   (86

Foreign

   (689  (761  (1,414   (274   (2,715   (804
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total deferred tax expense/(benefit)

   (43,841  4,367   (8,469

Total deferred tax expense (benefit)

   (9,596   (9,956   (15,247
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Provision for / (benefit from) income taxes

  $49,873  $(1,826 $36,464 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

  $(8,672  $(7,327  $(27,887
  

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

The reconciliation of federal statutory income tax provision (benefit) to our effective income tax provision is as follows (in thousands):

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010 

Expected provision / (benefit) at U.S. federal statutory rate

  $(55,837 $(142,166 $44,452 

State income taxes—net of federal benefit

   (370  (6,340  7,841 

Income taxed at foreign rates

   48,427   6,338   3,894 

Stock-based compensation

   29,998   43,064   5,447 

Tax credits

   (8,026  (34,769  (14,231

Tax reserve for uncertain tax positions

   48,252   29,303   12,846 

Change in valuation allowance

   (8,005  101,489   (28,647

Impact of change in tax rates

   (566  (205  5,211 

Acquisition costs

   (4,960  397   700 

Other

   960   1,063   (1,049
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  $49,873  $(1,826 $36,464 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Before we began forming non-U.S. operating companies during 2010, the revenue from non-U.S. users was earned by our U.S. Company, resulting in virtually no foreign profit before tax. The new foreign entities, as start-up companies, generated operating losses in 2010 and 2011. During 2012, we completed the implementation of our international structure, which resulted in a significant loss outside of the U.S. During 2010, 2011, and 2012, the net tax impact of the losses generated in tax jurisdictions with lower statutory rates than the U.S. rate increased tax expense and the effective tax rate.

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2015  2014  2013 

Expected benefit at U.S. federal statutory rate

  $(45,564 $(81,630 $(22,704

State income taxes—net of federal benefit

   (2,863  (2,681  (1,503

Income taxed at foreign rates

   18,406    33,417    4,024  

Equity-based compensation

   1,125    2,865    6,741  

Tax credits

   —      —      (12,389

Tax reserve for uncertain tax positions

   1,827    19    2,224  

Change in valuation allowance

   17,526    37,202    14,705  

Change in earnings mix

   —      —      (16,306)��

Impact of change in tax rates

   (18  25    (1,530

Acquisition costs

   650    2,981    (1,480

Other

   239    475    331  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  $(8,672 $(7,327 $(27,887
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

We have not provided U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on the undistributed earnings of our profitable foreign subsidiaries as of December 31, 20122015 because we intend to permanently reinvest such earnings outside the United States. If these foreign earnings were to be repatriated in the future, the related U.S. tax

liability may be reduced by any foreign income taxes previously paid on these earnings. As of December 31, 2012,2015, the cumulative amount of earnings upon which U.S. income taxes have not been provided is approximately $4.4$19.7 million.

DeferredOur deferred tax assets and liabilities consist of the following(liabilities) are as follows (in thousands):

 

  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012 2011           2015                   2014         

Deferred tax assets:

       

Tax credit carryforwards

  $47,978    $40,501  

Net operating loss carryforwards

   44,551     30,381  

Equity based compensation

  $68,644  $106,333    24,930     28,263  

Tax credit carryforwards

   27,502   25,811 

Acquired intangible assets

   13,524     —    

Accrued expenses

   11,593     19,406  

Charitable contributions

   3,930     2,047  

State taxes

   2,321     2,933  

Other accrued compensation

   1,664     6,664  

Deferred revenue

   16,200   14,355    1,309     1,129  

Net operating loss carryforwards

   12,810   17,502 

Other

   434     1,956  

Deferred rent

   6,014   11,804    —       2,186  

Charitable contributions

   4,836   1,448 

Other accrued compensation

   5,031   6,089 

Accrued expenses

   2,764   5,532 

State taxes

   2,765   1,858 

Other

   1,926   615 

Valuation allowance

   (90,382  (113,352   (151,808   (127,917
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

Net deferred tax assets

   58,110   77,995   $426    $7,549  
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

       

Acquired intangible assets

  $—      $(1,654

Deferred rent

   (675   —    

Depreciation

   (52,252  (62,957   (5,777   (8,453

Acquired intangible assets

   —     (4,495

Prepaid expenses

   (320  (828
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

Net deferred tax liabilities

   (52,572  (68,280   (6,452   (10,107
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

Net deferred taxes

  $5,538  $9,715   $(6,026  $(2,558
  

 

  

 

   

 

   

 

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011 

Recorded as:

   

Current deferred tax assets

  $30,122  $23,515 

Other current assets

   —     150 

Other current liabilities

   —     —   

Non-current deferred tax liabilities

   (24,584  (13,950
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net deferred tax assets

  $5,538  $9,715 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

In determining the need for a valuation allowance, the Company weighs both positive and negative evidence in the various taxing jurisdictions in which it operatesDue to determine whetherour history of net operating losses, we believe it is more likely than not that itscertain federal, state, and foreign deferred tax assets are recoverable. In assessing the ultimate realizabilitywill not be realized as of its net deferred tax assets, the Company considers its past performance, available tax strategies, and expected future taxable income. At December 31, 20122015. The valuation allowance as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2011, the Company recorded a2014 was $151.8 million and $127.9 million, respectively. The increase in valuation allowance of $90.4 millionfor 2015 is primarily related to net operating losses generated and $113.3 million, respectively, against its net deferred tax assets, as it believes it is more likely than not that these benefits will be not be realized.acquired during the current year.

Net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards as of December 31, 20122015 are as follows (in thousands):

 

  Amount   Expiration
years
   Amount   Expiration years

Net operating losses, federal

  $167,406    2028 - 2032    $372,373    2027 - 2035

Net operating losses, state

  $97,462    2021 - 2032     340,888    2017 - 2035

Tax credit, federal

  $33,966    2020 - 2022     82,111    2030 - 2035

Tax credits, state

  $33,546    2017 - indefinite     72,615    2019 - indefinite

Net operating losses, foreign

  $2,456    2017 - 2019     44,398    2033 - indefinite

Tax credits, foreign

  $46    2017 - 2018     443    indefinite

Pursuant to authoritative guidance, the benefit ofExcess tax benefits associated with stock options will only be recordedoption exercises and other equity awards are credited to stockholders’ equity whenin the period cash taxes payable areis reduced. As of December 31, 2012,2015, the portion of net operating loss carryforwards related to stock optionsawards is approximately $178.1$472.3 million, the benefit of which will be credited to additional paid-in capital when realized. The federal and state net operating loss carryforwards are subject to various annual limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.Code and similar state provisions.

A reconciliation of

The following table reflects changes in the beginning and ending amount ofgross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2009

  $1,528 

Additions based on tax positions related to 2010

   13,782 

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

   (127
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2010

   15,183 

Additions based on tax positions related to 2011

   30,841 

Additions for tax positions of prior years

   2,318 

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

   (9
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2011

   48,334 

Additions based on tax positions related to 2012

   51,222 

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

   (835
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2012

  $98,721 
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2012

  $98,721  

Additions based on tax positions related to 2013

   16,414  

Additions for tax positions of prior years

   18,356  
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2013

  $133,491  
  

 

 

 

Additions based on tax positions related to 2014

   7,738  

Additions for tax positions of prior years

   171  

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

   (511
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2014

  $140,889  
  

 

 

 

Additions based on tax positions related to 2015

   8,876  

Additions for tax positions of prior years

   82  

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

   (2,817

Decreases related to settlements of prior year tax positions

   (4,185
  

 

 

 

December 31, 2015

  $(142,845
  

 

 

 

AsDuring all years presented, we recognized interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the provision for income taxes on the consolidated statements of operations. The amount of interest and penalties accrued as of December 31, 2012, approximately $66.82015 and 2014 was $0.6 million representsand $0.7 million, respectively.

If the amountbalance of gross unrecognized tax benefits thatof $142.8 million as of December 31, 2015 was realized in a future period, this would if recognized, impactresult in a tax benefit of $8.5 million within our effectiveprovision of income tax rate.taxes at such time.

We classify uncertain tax positions as non-current income tax liabilities unless expected to be paid within one year or otherwise directly related to an existing deferred tax asset, in which case the uncertain tax position is recorded net of the asset on the balance sheet. These non-current income tax liabilities are classified in other non-current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. We do not anticipate a significant impact toAt December 31, 2015, $91.8 million of our gross unrecognized tax benefits withinwere recorded as a reduction of the next 12 months. We recognize interestrelated deferred tax assets and penaltiesthe remaining $51.0 million of our gross unrecognized tax benefits were recorded as long-term liabilities in income tax expense. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the totalour consolidated balance of accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions was $0.2 million and zero, respectively. sheets.

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction as well as many U.S. states and certain foreign jurisdictions. The material jurisdictions in which we are subject to potential examination include the United States, including various stateUnited Kingdom, and local jurisdictions. Our subsidiaries file tax returns in various foreign jurisdictions, including Canada, China, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, and UK.Ireland. We are subject to examination by U.S. federal, state or foreign tax authoritiesin these jurisdictions for all years since 2008.our inception in 2007. Fiscal years outside the normal statute of limitation remain open to audit by tax authorities due to tax attributes generated in those early years which have been carried forward and may be audited in subsequent years when utilized. We do not expect any material changes to our unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months.

8. Long-term Debt and Derivative Financial Instruments

In June, 2012, we entered into an agreement for a term loan of $100 million due June 30, 2017, at a variable interest rate of three month LIBOR plus 0.75 percent. Interest payments are made quarterly and the three month LIBOR will reset once per quarter. The amounts borrowed are collateralized by our corporate headquarters building and the loan will be used for general corporate purposes and we may prepay the term loan in full or in part at any time.

Concurrent with the execution of the loan agreement, to eliminate variability in interest payments, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement, such that the interest rate is fixed at two percent. We have designated the interest rate swap as a qualifying hedging instrument and accounted for it as a cash flow hedge in accordance with ASC 815,Derivatives and Hedging. If the hedged transactions become probable of not occurring, the corresponding amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income would be reclassified to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the interest rate swap was $2.4 million as of December 31, 2012 and was recorded in the consolidated balance sheets in other current and non-current liabilities. We initially record the gain or loss on the effective portion of the hedge as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and subsequently reclassify it to interest expense in other income (expense), net when the hedged transaction occurs which is once per quarter commensurate with the date of our interest payment. As of December 31, 2012, we expect to reclassify approximately $0.9 million net from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into other income (expense), net in the next 12 months, along with the earnings impact of the related forecasted hedged transactions.

Credit Facility

In July 2011, we executed a revolving credit agreement with certain lenders to borrow up to $1.0 billion in revolving loans. Per the terms of the credit agreement, we paid upfront fees of $2.5 million, which were capitalized and are to be amortized over the term of the credit agreement, and we are required to pay ongoing commitment fees of up to $0.6 million each quarter based on the portion of the credit facility that is not drawn down. The interest rate for the credit facility is determined based on a formula using certain market rates, as described in the credit agreement. As of December 31, 2012, we have not drawn down any funds under the terms of the credit agreement.

9. Other Current Liabilities

Other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

 

  December 31,   December 31,   December 31,
2015
   December 31,
2014
 
  2012   2011 

Customer deposits

  $25,671   $50,140 

Accrued accounts payable

  $31,700    $17,542  

Accrued compensation liability

   16,278     26,113  

Accrued restructuring liability

   9,859     7,214  

Other current liabilities

   19,854     20,955  

Accrued escrow for acquisitions

   32,568    7,242    —       47,906  

Other

   88,644    109,889 

Contingent consideration liability

   —       44,420  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total other current liabilities

  $146,883   $167,271   $77,691    $164,150  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Customer

Accrued compensation liability represents employee bonus and other payroll withholding expenses. Accrued restructuring liability represents amounts payable related to our restructuring plans. Other current liabilities include various expenses that we accrue for transaction taxes, customer deposits represent amounts received for unredeemed game cards as well as advanced payments from various customers.and accrued vendor expenses. Accrued escrow from acquisitions in 2014 mainly relates to amounts held in escrow under the terms of certain acquisition agreements. Contingent consideration liability in 2014 represents the estimated fair value of additional consideration payable in connection with our acquisition agreements. Other liabilities include various expenses that we accrue for transaction taxes, compensation liabilities, restructuring charges and accrued accounts payable.of Spooky Cool.

10.9. Restructuring

During the fourth quarter of 2012, we implemented certain cost reduction initiatives, including a workforce reduction of 155 employees and the consolidation of certain real estate facilities which resulted in our exit from certain facilities for which we had non-cancellable operating leases.

For the yeartwelve months ended December 31, 2012,2015, we recorded $7.9 million intotal restructuring charges in operating expensesof $36.5 million which were classified within our consolidated statement of operations as follows: Cost of Revenue $1.1 million, Research and Development $14.1 million, Sales and Marketing $0.8 million and General and Administrative $20.5 million.

Q2 2015 Restructuring Plan

During the three months ended June 30, 2015, our board of directors authorized, and we implemented a restructuring plan that included a reduction in work force as part of the overall plan to reduce the Company’s long-term cost structure. As a result of this restructuring, we recorded a charge of $33.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, which includesis included in operating expenses in our consolidated statement of operations. The $33.8 million restructuring charge is comprised of $10.7 million of employee severance costs of $7.0and $23.1 million related to lease and other expenses of $0.9 million. Thecontract termination costs. This restructuring charges above docharge does not include the impact of $6.9$0.4 million of net stock-based expense reversals associated with the net effect of forfeitures from employee terminationsterminations. The remaining liability related to our Q2 2015 restructuring plan as of December 31, 2015 was $26.4 million and is expected to be paid out over the next 6.4 years.

The following table presents the activity for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and September 30, 2015 and the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to the Q2 2015 restructuring plan (in thousands):

   

 

Three Months Ended

  Twelve Months
Ended
December 31,
2015
 
   June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  

Restructuring liability—beginning of period

  $—     $1,860   $491   $—    

Restructuring expense and adjustments

   12,282    367    21,200    33,849  

Cash payments

   (10,422  (1,736  4,715(1)   (7,443
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Restructuring liability (Q2 2015 Plan)—end of period

  $1,860   $491   $26,406   $26,406  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

(1)

Cash payments in the fourth quarter of 2015 include adjustments to restructuring expense that do not have an effect on the restructuring liability. These adjustments consist primarily of deferred items recognized, losses on the disposal of property and equipment and write-offs of prepaid licenses.

Q1 2015 Restructuring Plan

During the three months ended March 31, 2015, our board of directors authorized, and we implemented a restructuring plan that included a reduction in work force and closure of the Beijing, China office as part of the overall plan to reduce the Company’s long-term cost structure. As a result of ourthis restructuring, we recorded a charge of $3.8 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, which were recognizedis included in operating expenses withinin our consolidated statementsstatement of operations.

In The $3.8 million restructuring charge in the first halftwelve months ended December 31, 2015 is comprised of 2013, we expect to incur approximately an additional $2$2.5 million of restructuring expenseemployee severance costs and $1.3 million related to our 2012 restructuring.lease and contract termination costs. This restructuring charge does not include the impact of $0.1 million of net stock-based expense reversals associated with the net effect of forfeitures from employee terminations.

The following table presents the activity for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and June 30, 2015, and the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to the Q1 2015 Restructuring plan (in thousands):

   

 

Three Months Ended

   Twelve Months
Ended
December 31,
2015
 
   March 31,
2015
   June 30,
2015
   

Restructuring liability—beginning of period

  $—      $330    $—    

Restructuring expense and adjustments

   3,241     542     3,783  

Cash payments

   (2,911   (872   (3,783
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Restructuring liability (Q1 2015 Plan)—end of period

  $330    $—      $—    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

There is no remaining liability for the Q1 2015 restructuring plan as of December 31, 2015.

11.Q1 2014 Restructuring Plan

The following table presents the activity for the three months ended March 31, 2015, June 30, 2015, September 30, 2015 and the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to the Q1 2014 restructuring plan (in thousands):

  

 

Three Months Ended

  Twelve
Months
Ended
December 31,
2015
 
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  

Restructuring liability—beginning of period

 $10,009   $8,082   $6,663   $5,205   $10,009  

Restructuring expense and adjustments

  189    30    33    (1,466)(2)   (1,214

Cash payments

  (2,116  (1,449  (1,491  (1,449  (6,505
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Restructuring liability (Q1 2014 Plan)—end of period

 $8,082   $6,663   $5,205   $2,290   $2,290  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

(2)

A $1.5 million adjustment was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015 to reduce our restructuring liability as a result of executing a sublease agreement with a new tenant in a data center facility we had previously vacated in the first quarter of 2014.

The remaining liability of $2.3 million is expected to be paid out in 2016.

Other Plans

The following table presents the activity for the three months ended March 31, 2015, June 30, 2015, September 30, 2015 and the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015 related to all other remaining historical restructuring plans from prior years (in thousands):

  

 

Three Months Ended

  Twelve Months
Ended
December 31,
2015
 
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  

Restructuring liability—beginning of period

 $2,857   $1,957   $1,933   $784   $2,857  

Restructuring expense and adjustments

  31    —      19    8    58  

Cash payments

  (931  (24  (1,168  (460  (2,583
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Restructuring liability (2013 Plan)—end of period

 $1,957   $1,933   $784   $332   $332  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

The remaining liability of $0.3 million is expected to be paid out over the next 1.8 years.

10. Stockholders’ Equity

Common Stock

Our three classes of common stock are Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock. The following are the rights and privileges of our classes of common stock:

Dividends. The holders of outstanding shares of our Class A, Class B and Class C common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available at the times and in the amounts that our boardBoard of directorsDirectors (the “Board”) may determine.

Voting Rights. Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share, holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to seven votes per share and holders of our Class C common stock are entitled to 70 votes per share. In general, holders of our Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, unless otherwise required by law. Delaware law could require either our Class A common stock, Class B common stock or our Class C common stock to vote separately as a single class in the following circumstances:

 

If we were to seek to amend our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of a class of stock, or to increase or decrease the par value of a class of stock; and

 

If we were to seek to amend our Certificate of Incorporation in a manner that altered or changed the powers, preferences or special rights of a class of stock in a manner that affected its holders adversely.

Liquidation.Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders would be distributable ratably among the holders of our Class A, Class B and Class C common stock after payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of our preferred stock.

Preemptive or Similar Rights. None of our Class A, Class B or Class C common stock is entitled to preemptive rights, and neither is subject to redemption.

Conversion. Our Class A common stock is not convertible into any other shares of our capital stock. Each share of our Class B common stock and Class C common stock is convertible at any time at the option of the holder into one share of our Class A common stock. In addition, after the closing of the initial public offering, upon sale or transfer of shares of either Class B common stock or Class C common stock, whether or not for value, each such transferred share shall automatically convert into one share of Class A common stock, except for certain transfers described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including, without limitation, transfers for tax and estate planning purposes, so long as the transferring holder continues to hold sole voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares transferred.incorporation. Our Class B common stock and Class C common stock will convert automatically into Class A common stock on the date on which the number of outstanding shares of Class B common stock and Class C common stock together represent less than 10% of the aggregate combined voting power of our capital stock. Once transferred and converted into Class A common stock, the Class B common stock and Class C common stock may not be reissued.

Stock Repurchases

In October 2012,2015, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $200 million of our outstanding Class A common stock. The timing and amount of any stock repurchases will be determined based on market conditions, share price and other factors. The program does not require us to repurchase program. We initiated purchases under this program in December 2012. Asany specific number of December 31, 2012, we had repurchased $11.8 millionshares of our Class A common stock, under ourand may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without notice. The stock repurchase program andwill be funded from existing cash on hand. In connection with the remaining authorized amountshare repurchase program, the Company may adopt one or more plans pursuant to the provisions of stockRule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Share repurchases thatunder these authorizations may be made through a variety of methods, which may include open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, block trades, accelerated share repurchase transactions, or by any combination of such methods. Repurchases of our Class A

common stock in the open market could result in increased volatility in our stock price. There is no guarantee that we will do any share repurchases under this plan was $188.2 million. the program or otherwise in the future.

In 2012,the fourth quarter of 2015, we spent a total of $11.8 million to repurchase 5.0repurchased 37.9 million shares of our Class A common stock under the repurchase program at ana weighted average purchase price of $2.36$2.60 per share.

Warrants

During 2010, concurrent withshare for a total of $98.9 million. In the salefourth quarter of 23.32015, $88.4 million shares of Series B-2 convertible preferred stock, we granted an investor a contingent right to a warrant to purchase 7.8 million shares of Class B common stock at an exercise price of $0.005 per share. The amount allocated to the contingent warrant right, based on fair value, of $4.6 million wasshare repurchases were recorded to additional paid-in capital on the dateconsolidated statement of cash flow as an outflow of cash associated with financing activities. The remaining $10.5 million of share repurchases were recorded in accounts payable and other current liabilities in the right was grantedamounts of $3.5 million and accounted for as a beneficial conversion feature. Because$7.0 million, respectively, and will be paid in the Series B-2 shares have no stated redemption date, the discount was immediately charged to retained earnings as a deemed dividend. In April 2011, a distribution agreement was executed and the investor’s right to receive the warrant was extinguished.

In June 2011, in connection with a service arrangement with a related party, we issued a warrant to purchase 1.0 million sharesfirst quarter of 2016. The program expired upon completion of our Class B common stock at an exercise price of $0.05 perauthorized share to a service provider. The warrant vests ratably over an eight quarter service term beginningrepurchase program in April 2010 and the warrant expires in April 2012. We determined the fair value of the warrant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. We revalued this warrant each period as services were performed and expensed the portion of the warrant that vested each period. In 2011, we recorded $14.0 million of expense related to this warrant, which related to services that were performed from April 2010 through December 31, 2011. In the year ended December 31, 2012, we recognized $1.7 million of expense related to the warrant. In June 2011, the service provider fully exercised the warrant, and in April 2012, the warrant fully vested.February 2016.

Equity Incentive Plans and Stock-Based Expense

In 2007, we adopted the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan”) for the purpose of granting stock options and ZSUs to employees, directors and non-employees. Concurrent with the effectiveness of our initial public offering on December 15, 2011, we adopted the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”), and all remaining common shares reserved for future grant or issuance under the 2007 Plan were added to the 2011 Plan. The 2011 Plan was adopted for purposes of granting stock options and ZSUs to employees, directors and non-employees. The maximum number of shares of our Class A common stock that may be issued under our 2011 Plan is 42.5 million shares and excludes the number of shares still available under our 2007 Plan as of the date of our initial public offering in addition to any other stock-based awards granted under the 2007 Plan that otherwise expire or terminate without having been exercised. The number of shares of our Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2011 Plan will automatically increase on January 1 of each year, beginning on January 1, 2012, and continuing through and including January 1, 2021, by 4% of the total number of shares of our capital stock outstanding as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.

The following table presents the weighted-average grant date fair value of stock options and the related assumptions used to estimate the fair values of the stock options grantedvalue in our consolidated financial statements:

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010 

Expected term, in years

   6   6   6 

Risk-free interest rates

   0.67  2.04  2.70

Expected volatility

   62  64  73

Dividend yield

   —      —      —    

Fair value of common stock

  $2.80  $6.44 - 17.09   $6.44 

   Year Ended December 31, 
     2015      2014      2013   

Expected term, in years

   6    5    7  

Risk-free interest rates

   1.65  1.31  2.05

Expected volatility

   53  56  49

Dividend yield

   —      —      —    

Weighted-average estimated fair value of options granted during the year

  $1.51   $3.44   $1.82  

We recorded stock-based expense related to grants of employee and consultant stock options, warrants, restricted stock and restricted stock units (“ZSUs”)ZSUs in our consolidated statements of operations as follows (in thousands):

 

  Twelve Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2015   2014   2013 

Cost of revenue

  $12,116   $17,660   $2,128   $4,547    $4,623    $468  

Research and development

   200,640    374,920    10,242    94,548     83,673     61,931  

Sales and marketing

   24,684    81,326    7,899    7,501     5,927     8,079  

General and administrative

   44,546    126,306    5,425    24,979     35,010     13,915  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total stock-based expense

  $281,986   $600,212   $25,694   $131,575    $129,233    $84,393  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

In the twelve months endedAs of December 31, 2012 we recognized $204.7 million of stock-based expense associated with ZSUs. Unamortized2015, total unamortized stock-based compensation relating to ZSUs amounted to $312.7$168.3 million as of December 31, 2012 over a weighted-average recognition period of 2.722.4 years.

In March 2012, we donated one million shares of Class A common stock to Zynga.org, an unaffiliated non-profit organization that was formedNo performance-based ZSUs were granted in March 2012 to support charitable causesconnection with our executive compensation plan in the communities in which we conduct business. Zynga.org is a separate legal entity in which we have no financial interest and do not exercise control and, accordingly, is not consolidated in our consolidated financial statements. For our contribution of Class A common stock we recorded $13.1twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

In connection with the 2015 employee bonus program, the company recognized $4.4 million of stock-based expense which is included in generalfor the twelve months ended December 31, 2015. This amount was accrued based on certain performance criteria and administrative expenses, equalthe passage of time and recognized as a liability based on the estimated fair value as of the reporting date. Upon settlement, according to the fair valueconditions specified in the agreement, approximately 4.2 million shares would be issued for an estimated total liability of the shares$11.2 million based upon Company’s closing stock price as of Class A common stock issued.December 31, 2015 of $2.68.

As of December 31, 2012,2015, total unrecognized stock-based expense of $44.3$7.6 million and $35.3$20.6 million related to unvested stock options and restricted shares of common stock, respectively, is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average recognition period of approximately 3.271.25 and 2.741.13 years, respectively.

The following table shows stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 20122015 (in thousands, except weighted-average exercise price and remaining contractual term):

 

  Outstanding Options   Outstanding Options 
  Stock Options Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   Aggregate
Intrinsic Value of
Stock Options
Outstanding
   Weighted-
Average
Contractual Term
(in years)
   Stock Options Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   Aggregate
Intrinsic Value of
Stock Options
Outstanding
   Weighted-
Average
Contractual Term
(in years)
 

Balance as of December 31, 2011

   102,314  $0.69   $892,135    7.04 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

   39,460   $2.22    $47,347     6.74  

Granted

   29,401   2.80        305    2.99      

Forfeited and cancelled

   (10,337  1.48         (12,510  3.37      

Exercised

   (40,559  0.36        (4,040  0.42      
  

 

  

 

       

 

      

Balance as of December 31, 2012

   80,819  $1.52   $100,225    7.43 

Balance as of December 31, 2015

   23,215   $1.93    $35,949     5.36  
  

 

  

 

       

 

      

As of December 31, 2012

       

As of December 31, 2015

       

Exercisable options

   43,810  $0.53   $85,591    6.31    20,076   $1.30    $33,252     5.01  

Vested and expected to vest

   72,297  $1.20   $98,867    7.29    22,825   $1.40    $35,834     5.31  

The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011,2015, 2014, and 20102013 was $222.4$9.1 million, $78.2$25.1 million, and $110.6$85.9 million, respectively. The total grant date fair value of options that vested during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011,2015, 2014, and 20102013 was $7.6$10.2 million, $17.5$6.6 million, and $12.9$12.8 million, respectively.

The following table shows a summary of ZSU activity for the year ended December 31, 20122015 (in thousands, except weighted-average fair value and remaining term):

 

  Outstanding ZSUs   Outstanding ZSUs 
  Shares Weighted-
Average

Grant  Date
Fair Value
   Aggregate
Intrinsic Value of
Unvested ZSUs
   Shares Weighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
   Aggregate
Intrinsic Value of
Unvested ZSUs
 

Unvested as of December 31, 2011

   79,818  $11.24   $751,090 

Unvested as of December 31, 2014

   69,883   $3.64    $185,889  

Granted

   29,614   8.28      51,962    2.70    

Vested

   (28,427  11.16      (29,106  3.71    

Forfeited and cancelled

   (24,357  11.65      (30,303  3.14    
  

 

  

 

     

 

    

Unvested as of December 31, 2012

   56,648  $9.56   $133,690 

Unvested as of December 31, 2015

   62,436   $3.06    $167,328  
  

 

  

 

     

 

    

2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Our 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“2011 ESPP”), was approved by our board of directorsBoard in September 2011 and by our stockholders in November 2011 and amended in August 2012. TheOn December 31, 2015, the maximum

number of shares of our Class A common stock that maywere authorized to be issued under our 2011 ESPP is 8,500,000was 73.3 million shares. The number of shares of our Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2011 ESPP will automatically increase on January 1 of each year, beginning on January 1, 2012, and continuing through and including January 1, 2021, by (i) the lesser of 2% of the total number of shares of our capital stock outstanding as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year or (ii) 25,000,000 shares.

Our 2011 ESPP permits participants to purchase shares of our Class A common stock through payroll deductions up to 15% of their earnings. Unless otherwise determined by the administrator, the purchase price of the shares will be 85% of the lower of the fair market value of our Class A common stock on the first day of an offering or on the date of purchase. The ESPP offers a twelve monthtwelve-month look-back. The ESPP contains an automatic reset feature such that if the fair market value of our Class A common stock has decreased from the original offering date, the offering will automatically terminate and all participants will be re-enrolled in the new, lower-priced offering. Participants may end their participation at any time during an offering and will be refunded their accrued contributions that have not yet been used to purchase shares. Participation ends automatically upon termination of employment with us.employment.

As of December 31, 2012,2015, there were $4.7$2.1 million of employee contributions withheld by the Company. In 2012,2015, the Company recognized $5.5$2.7 million of stock-based expense related to the 2011 ESPP.

Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance

As of December 31, 2012,2015, we had reserved shares of common stock for future issuance as follows (in thousands):

 

   December 31, 20122015

Common stock warrants

695 

Stock options outstanding

   80,81923,215  

ZSUs outstanding

   56,64862,436  

2011 Equity Incentive Plan

   61,580101,834  

2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

   21,20562,868  
  

 

 

 
   220,947250,353  
  

 

 

 

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (loss)

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes, were as follows (in thousands):

 

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2012  2011  2010 

Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities

  $649  $(91 $117 

Unrealized gains (losses) on derivative investments

   (2,423  —     —   

Foreign currency translation

   327   453   (3
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

  $(1,447 $362  $114 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
   Foreign
Currency
Translation
  Unrealized
Gains (Losses)  on
Available-for-

Sale Securities
  Total 

Balance as of December 31, 2013

  $(1,259 $213   $(1,046

Other comprehensive income before reclassifications

   (27,522  (615  (28,137

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income

   —      8    8  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net current-period other comprehensive income

   (27,522  (607  (28,129
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

  $(28,781 $(394 $(29,175
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income before reclassifications

   (23,480  307    (23,173

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income

   —      (40  (40
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net current-period other comprehensive income

   (23,480  267    (23,213
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2015

  $(52,261 $(127 $(52,388
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

12.11. Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

We compute net income (loss) per share of common stock using the two-class method required for participating securities. Prior to the date of the initial public offering, we considered all series of our convertible preferred stock to be participating securities due to their non-cumulative dividend rights. Additionally, we consider shares issued upon the early exercise of options subject to repurchase and unvested restricted shares to be participating securities, because holders of such shares have non-forfeitable dividend rights in the event we declare a dividend for common shares. In accordance with the two-class method, net income allocated to these participating securities, which include participation rights in undistributed net income, is subtracted from net income (loss) to determine total net income (loss) to be allocated to common stockholders.

Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. In computing diluted net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders, net income (loss) is re-allocated to reflect the potential impact of dilutive securities, including stock options, warrants, unvested restricted stock and unvested ZSUs. Diluted net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, including potential dilutive securities. For periods in which we have generated a net loss or there is no income attributable to common stockholders, we do not include stock options, warrants and unvested ZSUs in our calculation of diluted net income (loss) per share, as the impact of these awards is anti-dilutive.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share of common stock (in thousands, except per share data):

 

  Twelve Months Ended December 31, 
  2012  2011  2010 
  Class A  Class B  Class C  Class A  Class B  Class C  Class A  Class B  Class C 

BASIC:

         

Net income (loss)

 $(109,643 $(94,007 $(5,798 $(8,522 $(367,051 $(28,743 $—    $82,293  $8,302 

Deemed dividend to a Series B-2 convertible preferred stockholder

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     (4,169  (421

Net income attributable to participating securities

  —     —     —     —     —     ���     —     (52,785  (5,325
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

 $(109,643 $(94,007 $(5,798 $(8,522 $(367,051 $(28,743 $—    $25,339  $2,556 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding

  387,995   332,665   20,517   6,083   261,999   20,517   —     203,364   20,517 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Basic net income (loss) per share

 $(0.28 $(0.28 $(0.28 $(1.40 $(1.40 $(1.40 $—    $0.12  $0.12 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

DILUTED:

         

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders-basic

 $(109,643 $(94,007 $(5,798 $(8,522 $(367,051 $(28,743 $—    $25,339  $2,556 

Reallocation of net income attributable to participating securities

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     6,860   —   

Reallocation of net income (loss) as a result of conversion of Class C shares to Class B and Class A shares

  (5,798  —     —     (28,743  —     —     —     2,556   —   

Reallocation of net income (loss) as a result of conversion of Class B shares to Class A shares

  (94,007  —     —     (367,051  —     —     —     —     —   

Reallocation of net income (loss) to Class B and Class C shares

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     —     (390
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders-diluted

 $(209,448 $(94,007 $(5,798 $(404,316 $(367,051 $(28,743 $—    $34,755  $2,166 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted -average common shares outstanding-basic

  387,995   332,665   20,517   6,083   261,999   20,517   —     203,364   20,517 

Conversion of Class C to Class A common shares outstanding

  20,517   —     —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Conversion of Class C to Class B common shares outstanding

  —     —     —     20,517   —     —     —     20,517   —   

Conversion of Class B to Class A common shares outstanding

  332,665   —     —     261,999   —     —     —     —     —   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average effect of dilutive securities:

         

Stock options

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     94,301   —   

Warrants

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —     11,074   —   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding-diluted

  741,177   332,665   20,517   288,599   261,999   20,517   —     329,256   20,517 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Diluted net income (loss) per share

 $(0.28 $(0.28 $(0.28 $(1.40 $(1.40 $(1.40 $—    $0.11  $0.11 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2015  2014  2013 
  Class A  Class B  Class C  Class A  Class B  Class C  Class A  Class B  Class C 

BASIC:

         

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

 $(103,628 $(15,153 $(2,729 $(189,732 $(30,869 $(5,300 $(29,082 $(6,951 $(949

Weighted-average common shares outstanding

  779,071    113,923    20,517    734,493    119,499    20,517    628,947    150,330    20,517  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Basic net income (loss) per share

 $(0.13 $(0.13 $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.26 $(0.26 $(0.05 $(0.05 $(0.05
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

DILUTED:

         

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders-basic

 $(103,628 $(15,153 $(2,729 $(189,732 $(30,869 $(5,300 $(29,082 $(6,951 $(949

Reallocation of net income (loss) as a result of conversion of Class C shares to Class A shares

  (2,729  —      —      (5,300  —      —      (949  —      —    

Reallocation of net income (loss) as a result of conversion of Class B shares to Class A shares

  (15,153  —      —      (30,869  —      —      (6,951  —      —    
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders-diluted

 $(121,510 $(15,153 $(2,729 $(225,900 $(30,869 $(5,300 $(36,982 $(6,951 $(949
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding-basic

  779,071    113,923    20,517    734,493    119,499    20,517    628,947    150,330    20,517  

Conversion of Class C to Class A common shares outstanding

  20,517    —      —      20,517    —      —      20,517    —      —    

Conversion of Class B to Class A common shares outstanding

  113,923    —      —      119,499    —      —      150,330    —      —    
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding-diluted

  913,511    113,923    20,517    874,509    119,499    20,517    799,794    150,330    20,517  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Diluted net income (loss) per share

 $(0.13 $(0.13 $(0.13 $(0.26 $(0.26 $(0.26 $(0.05 $(0.05 $(0.05
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

The following weighted-average employee equity awards were excluded from the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

  Twelve Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2015   2014   2013 

Stock options

   86,054    103,565    5,235 

Stock options and employee stock purchase plan

   29,412     42,454     61,154  

Warrants

   695    17,215    —      —       —       579  

Restricted shares

   14,185    —      —      8,716     12,624     4,203  

ZSUs

   71,290    47,392    —      63,764     59,141     63,794  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total

   172,224    168,172    5,235    101,892     114,219     129,730  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

��

 

   

 

 

13.12. Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

We have entered into operating leases for facilities, primarily for data center space.facilities. As of December 31, 2012,2015, future minimum lease payments related to these leases are as follows (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2013

  $33,166 

2014

   33,138 

2015

   30,415 

2016

   24,807 

2017

   15,213 

2018 and thereafter

   45,982 
  

 

 

 
  $182,721 
  

 

 

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2016

  $4,348  

2017

   3,154  

2018

   1,693  

2019

   1,458  

2020

   174  

2021 and thereafter

   44  
  

 

 

 
  $10,871  
  

 

 

 

Rent expense on operating leases for facilities, excluding data center hosting expense, for the years ended December 31, 2012, 20112015, 2014 and 20102013 totaled $11.2$4.5 million, $14.4$4.5 million, and $7.0$7.3 million, respectively.

Credit Facility

In June 2013, we amended our existing revolving credit agreement which we originally executed in July 2011, reducing our maximum available credit from $1.0 billion to $200 million, and extending the term through June 2018. Per the terms of our amended agreement, we paid additional up-front fees of $0.3 million to be amortized over the remaining extended term of the loan. The interest rate for the amended credit facility is determined based on a formula using certain market rates, as described in the amended credit agreement. Additionally, our minimum quarterly commitment fee was reduced from $0.6 million per quarter to $0.1 million per quarter based on the portion of the credit facility that is not drawn down. The agreement requires us to comply with certain covenants, including maintaining a minimum capitalization ratio, and maintaining a minimum cash balance. As of December 31, 2015, we had not drawn down any amounts under the credit facility and were in compliance with these covenants.

Other Purchase Commitments

We have entered into several service contracts for hosting of data systems and payment processing.licensed intellectual property. Future minimum purchase commitments that have initial or remaining non-cancelable terms as of December 31, 2012,2015, are as follows (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2013

  $2,489 

2014

   1,699  

2015

   471  
  

 

 

 
  $4,658 
  

 

 

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2016

  $19,749  

2017

   13,441  

2018

   722  

2019 and thereafter

   270  
  

 

 

 
  $34,182  
  

 

 

 

Legal Matters

On July 30, 2012, a purported securities class action captioned DeStefano v. Zynga Inc. et al.al., Case No. 3:12-cv-04007-JSW, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against the Company, and certain of our current and former directors, officers, and executives. Additional purported securities class actions containing similar allegations have since beenwere filed in the Northern District. On September 26, 2012,

the court consolidated various of the class actions as In re Zynga Inc. Securities Litigation,,

Lead Case No. 12-cv-04007-JSW. On January 23, 2013, the court entered an order appointing a lead plaintiff and approving lead plaintiff’s selection of lead counsel. In addition,On April 3, 2013, the lead plaintiff and another named plaintiff filed a securities class action captioned Reyes v. Zynga Inc., et al. wasconsolidated complaint. On February 25, 2014, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint and provided plaintiffs leave to file an amended complaint.

The lead plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint on August 1, 2012 in San Francisco County Superior Court, the action was removed to the Northern District on September 28, 2012, and an order remanding the action to San Francisco County Superior Court was entered on January 23, 2013.March 31, 2014. The various class action complaints allegeFirst Amended Complaint alleges that the defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing false or misleading statements regarding the Company’s business and financial projections. The various plaintiffs seek to represent a class of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the Company’s securities between December 16, 2011February 14, 2012 and July 25, 2012. The complaints assertFirst Amended Complaint asserts claims for unspecified damages, and an award of costs and expenses to the putative class, including attorneys’ fees. On March 25, 2015, the Court issued an order denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint. On April 28, 2015, the Court denied the defendants’ motion for leave to seek reconsideration of that order.

On June 12, 2015, the Court entered a scheduling order setting certain pretrial deadlines leading up to a hearing on any dispositive motions scheduled for May 12, 2017. On June 24, 2015, pursuant to a stipulation among the parties, the consolidated class actions were reassigned to Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for all further proceedings.

Pursuant to court order, a mediation session was conducted before the Honorable Edward Infante (Ret.) on August 4, 2015. The parties reached an agreement in principle to settle In re Zynga Inc. Securities Litigation as to all defendants for $23.0 million. The parties negotiated and executed a final stipulation of settlement and on October 2, 2015, lead plaintiff’s counsel filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the settlement. In response to issues raised by the Court at an October 8, 2015 hearing and in an October 9, 2015 order, on October 15, 2015, lead plaintiff’s counsel revised the papers in support of preliminary approval and filed a supplemental submission in support of lead plaintiff’s unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the settlement. On October 27, 2015, the Court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement. On February 11, 2016, the court conducted a final fairness hearing and entered an order granting the motion for final approval of the settlement. The settlement was funded entirely by insurance and will result in the dismissal of all claims against the defendants. Accordingly there will be no impact to Zynga’s financial statements.

In addition, a purported securities class action captioned Reyes v. Zynga Inc., et al. was filed on August 1, 2012, in San Francisco County Superior Court. Subsequent to various proceedings, on February 11, 2015, the court granted plaintiff’s request for voluntary dismissal of the action with prejudice as to the named plaintiff’s claims and without prejudice as to the claims of any other members of the proposed class.

On April 4, 2013, a purported class action captioned Lee v. Pincus, et al. was filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against the Company, and certain of our current and former directors, officers, and executives. The complaint alleges that the defendants breached fiduciary duties in connection with the release of certain lock-up agreements entered into in connection with the Company’s initial public offering. The plaintiff seeks to represent a class of certain of the Company’s shareholders who were subject to the lock-up agreements and who were not permitted to sell shares in an April 2012 secondary offering. On January 17, 2014, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint. On March 6, 2014, the defendants filed motions to dismiss the amended complaint and a motion to stay discovery while the motions to dismiss were pending. On November 14, 2014, the court denied the motion to dismiss brought by Zynga and the directors and granted the motion to dismiss brought by the underwriters who had been named as defendants.

On June 24, 2015, certain of the defendants filed a motion for relief from the court’s November 14, 2014 decision denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint. Briefing on the motion for relief from the court’s November 14, 2014 decision is complete. A hearing date has not been set. On August 19, 2015 the parties agreed to voluntarily dismiss three individual director defendants from the case.

Plaintiff filed a motion for class certification on July 13, 2015, and, after briefing was completed, the court held a hearing on plaintiff’s motion on November 20, 2015. On December 30, 2015, the court granted plaintiff’s motion for class certification. The court has not yet entered a schedule for further proceedings in this action.

Although it is reasonably possible that our assessment of the possibility of loss could change in the near term due to one or more confirming events, the Company believes it has meritorious defenses in the Lee v. Pincus class action and will vigorously defend these actions.this action. Furthermore, given that we are in the early stages of the litigation process, we are unable to estimate the range of potential loss, if any.

Since August 3, 2012, eightnine stockholder derivative lawsuits have been filed in State or Federal courts in California and Delaware purportedly on behalf of the Company against certain current and former directors and executive officers of the Company. The derivative plaintiffs allege that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties and violated California Corporations Code section 25402 in connection with our initial public offering in December 2011, secondary offering in April 2012, and allegedly made false or misleading statements regarding the Company’s business and financial projections.

Beginning on August 3, 2012, three of the actions were filed in San Francisco County Superior Court. On October 2, 2012, the court consolidated those three actions as In re Zynga Shareholder Derivative Litigation,, Lead Case CGC-12-522934. On March 14, 2013, the plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint in that consolidated California state action. On March 21, 2013, the court endorsed a stipulation among the parties staying the action pending the ruling on the motion to dismiss in the federal securities class action described above. On March 24, 2014, the court endorsed a stipulation among the parties staying the action pending a ruling on a motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint in the federal securities class action. April 24, 2015, the court endorsed a stipulation among the parties staying the action until the Delaware Chancery Court rules on the defendants’ motion to stay or dismiss (discussed below).

Beginning on August 16, 2012, four stockholder derivative actions were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and oneCalifornia. On December 3, 2012, the court consolidated these four actions as In re Zynga Inc. Derivative Litigation, Lead Case No. 12-CV-4327-JSW. On March 11, 2013, the court endorsed a stipulation among the parties staying the action pending the ruling on the motion to dismiss in the federal securities class action described above. On March 21, 2014, the court issued an order continuing the stay pending a ruling on a motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint in the federal securities class action. On April 27, 2015, the court endorsed a stipulation among the parties staying the action until the Delaware Chancery Court rules on the defendants’ motion to stay or dismiss (discussed below).

On April 4, 2014, a derivative action was filed in the United States District Court forof Chancery of the District of Delaware. The plaintiff in the DistrictState of Delaware action voluntarily dismissedentitled Sandys v. Pincus, et al. Case No. 9512-CB. On December 9, 2014, the actiondefendants filed a motion to stay or dismiss the action. Briefing on the motion to stay or dismiss is complete and a hearing on the motion was held on November 19, 2012. 17, 2015. The court has not yet issued a decision on the motion.

The derivative actions include claims for, among other things, unspecified damages in favor of the Company, certain corporate actions to purportedly improve the Company’s corporate governance, and an award of costs and expenses to the derivative plaintiffs, including attorneys’ fees. We believe that the plaintiffs in the derivative actions lack standing to pursue litigation on behalf of Zynga.

In February 2013, Because the partiesderivative actions are in the actions described above expect to negotiate and submit pleading and briefing schedules for court approval. There has been no discovery or other substantive proceedings inearly stages of the actions to date. Accordingly,litigation process, we are not in a position to assess whether any loss or adverse effect on our financial condition is probable or remote or to estimate the range of potential loss, if any.

On February 10, 2012, an action entitledPersonalized Media Communications, LLC v. Zynga Inc., Case No. 2:12-cv-68 was filed against the Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff alleges infringement of four patents by 39 games and seeks an undisclosed amount of damages. On January 25, 2013, the court denied the Company’s motion to transfer the action to the Northern District of California. The matter is scheduled to be called for trial on November 4, 2013. Discovery is ongoing and the parties are in the process of patent claim construction. The Company believes it has meritorious defenses and will vigorously defend this action. Given that the patent claims have not yet been construed and the Company’s defenses have not yet been heard, we are not in a position to assess whether any loss or adverse effect on our financial condition is probable or remote or to estimate the range of potential loss, if any.

The Company is, at various times, also party to various other legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of business. In addition, we may receive notificationnotifications alleging infringement of patent or other intellectual property rights. Adverse results in any such litigation, legal proceedings or claims may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements, or orders preventing us from offering certain games, features, or services, and may also result in changes in our business practices, which

could result in additional costs or a loss of revenue for us and could otherwise harm our business. Although the results of such litigation cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the amount or range of reasonably possible losses related to such pending or threatened litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows, or financial condition should such litigation be resolved unfavorably. We recognize legal expenses as incurred.

14.13. Geographical Information

The following represents our revenue based on the geographic location of our players (in thousands):

 

Revenue  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2015   2014   2013 

United States

  $757,299   $734,469   $402,010   $506,268    $426,906    $519,819  

All other countries(1)

   523,968    405,631    195,449 

All other countries(1)

   258,449     263,504     353,447  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total revenue

  $1,281,267   $1,140,100   $597,459   $764,717    $690,410    $873,266  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

(1)

No country exceeded 10% of our total revenue for any periods presented.

The following represents our property and equipment, net by location (in thousands):

 

Property and equipment, net  Year Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31, 
  2012   2011   2010   2015   2014   2013 

United States

  $459,906   $242,552   $73,649   $269,721    $294,708    $345,598  

All other countries

   6,168    4,188    1,310    3,500     3,211     3,195  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total property and equipment, net

  $466,074   $246,740   $74,959   $273,221    $297,919    $348,793  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

14. Related Party Transactions

On June 15, 2015, Zynga acquired substantially all of the assets and liabilities of SF Incubator, LLC and super.io, Inc., entities wholly owned by Mark Pincus, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement. The purchase price paid by Zynga pursuant to the asset purchase agreement was $1 plus assumed liabilities of approximately $0.4 million. As of June 30, 2015 the Company recorded a net $0.1 million in stockholder’s equity and $0.1 million in other current liabilities related to this transaction.

15. Subsequent Events

Zindagi Acquisition

On January 1, 2015, we acquired Zindagi Games, a provider of social games for $15.0 million in cash and contingent consideration of up to $60 million, payable based on the achievement of certain performance milestones over the next three years. We will record the preliminary purchase price allocation for this business combination in the first quarter of 2016, which will include an estimate of the fair value of the contingent consideration liability. Subsequent changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration will be recorded within operating expenses in our consolidated statement of operations.

Completion of Share Repurchase Program

From January 1, 2016 to February 2, 2016 we repurchased 42.2 million shares of our Class A common stock at an average price of $2.40, for a total of $101.9 million, exhausting the repurchase plan put in place during the fourth quarter of 2015. In aggregate, 80.2 million shares were repurchased under the plan at an average price of $2.50 for a total of $200 million.

Losses Resulting from Winding Down Licensing Agreements

At the time of our Q2 2015 Restructuring Plan, we held licensing agreements requiring future contractual commitments for games in categories we decided to exit (“Exited Games”) as part of that plan. During the three months ended June 30, 2015, we recognized a loss of $1.2 million associated with the Exited Games, which consisted of $0.9 million for the write-off of prepaid licenses and $0.3 million in estimated contract reassignment fees, both of which were recorded as restructuring expense within research and development. At the time and as of December 31, 2015, we were engaged in negotiations with third parties to reassign those licensing agreements (the “Negotiations”), resulting in those third parties assuming the future contractual commitments. On or about February 12, 2016, the Negotiations ended unfavorably and resulted in a material change to our original estimates. As a result, we recognized an additional loss of $4.3 million, which consisted of $3.7 million in estimated contract termination fees and $0.6 million for the write-off of prepaid licenses. This loss has been classified as restructuring expense within research and development and included in our consolidated statement of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

ITEM 9.CHANGES9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A.CONTROLS9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2012,2015, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework inInternal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.Commission (2013 Framework). Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2012.2015. Management reviewed the results of its assessment with our Audit Committee. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 20122015 has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report which is included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in management’s evaluation pursuant to Rules 13a-15(d) or 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act during the quarter ended December 31, 20122015 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures

In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

ITEM 9B.OTHER9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

PartPART III

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to Zynga’s Proxy Statement for its 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

Our board of directors has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to all officers, directors and employees, which is available on our website (www.zynga.com)(www.zynga.com) under “Corporate Governance.” We will provide a copy of these documents to any person, without charge, upon request, by writing to us at Zynga Inc., Investor Relations Department, 699 Eighth Street, San Francisco, California 94103. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our website at the address and the location specified above.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to Zynga’s Proxy Statement for its 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to Zynga’s Proxy Statement for its 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to Zynga’s Proxy Statement for its 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to Zynga’s Proxy Statement for its 20132016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2015.

PartPART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

We have filed the following documents as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

 

1. Consolidated Financial Statements

   Page No.  

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   6673  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

   6875  

Consolidated Statements of Operations

   6976

Consolidated Statements Comprehensive Income (Loss)

77  

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)

70

Consolidated Statements of Stockholder’sStockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

   7178  

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

   7479  

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   7580  
2. Financial Statement Schedules

2. Financial Statement Schedules

Schedule II: Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Sales Credits

  Balance at
Beginning of
Year
   Charged to
Expenses/
Against Revenue
   Write-Offs
Net of
Recoveries
  Balance at
End of Year
 

Year Ended December 31, 2012

  $163     —     $(3 $160  

Year Ended December 31, 2011

  $325     —     $(162 $163  

Year Ended December 31, 2010

  $356    $9    $(40 $325  

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Sales Credits

  Balance at
Beginning of
Year
   Charged to
Expenses/
Against Revenue
   Write-Offs
Net of
Recoveries
  Balance at
End of Year
 

Year Ended December 31, 2015

  $—       —      $—     $—    

Year Ended December 31, 2014

  $—       —      $—     $—    

Year Ended December 31, 2013

  $160     —      $(160 $—    

All other schedules have been omitted because they are not required, not applicable, or the required information is otherwise included.

 

 3.Exhibits

See the Exhibit Index immediately following the signature page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 15.Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

 

(a)Exhibits.

 

     Incorporated by Reference     Incorporated by Reference   

Exhibit
No.

  

Description of Exhibit

  Form   File No.   Exhibit   Filing Date   Filed
Herewith
 

Description of Exhibit

 Form File No. Exhibit Filing Date Filed
Herewith
 
3.1  Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Zynga Inc.   S-1/A     333-175298     3.2     11/17/2011     Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Zynga Inc.  8-K    001-35375    3.1    06/11/2014   
3.2  Amended and Restated Bylaws of Zynga Inc.   S-1/A     333-175298     3.4     11/17/2011     Amended and Restated Bylaws of Zynga Inc.  S-1/A    333-175298    3.4    11/17/2011   
4.1  Form of Zynga Inc. Class A Common Stock Certificate   S-1/A     333-175298     4.1     11/4/2011     Form of Zynga Inc. Class A Common Stock Certificate  S-1/A    333-175298    4.1    11/4/2011   
10.1  Fifth Amended and Restated Investor Rights Agreement, by and between Zynga Inc., the investors listed on Schedule A thereto and Mark Pincus, dated February 18, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.1     8/11/2011     Fifth Amended and Restated Investor Rights Agreement, by and between Zynga Inc., the investors listed on Schedule A thereto and Mark Pincus, dated February 18, 2011  S-1/A    333-175298    10.1    8/11/2011   
10.2+  Zynga Inc. 2007 Equity Incentive Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.2     12/2/2011     Zynga Inc. 2007 Equity Incentive Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.2    12/2/2011   
10.3+  Forms of Stock Option Agreement and Stock Option Exercise Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.3     11/17/2011     Forms of Stock Option Agreement and Stock Option Exercise Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.3    11/17/2011   
10.4+  Forms of Notice of Restricted Stock Unit Award and Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.26     11/17/2011     Forms of Notice of Restricted Stock Unit Award and Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.26    11/17/2011   
10.5+  Zynga Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.4     11/17/2011     Zynga Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.4    11/17/2011   
10.6+  Forms of Stock Option Grant Notice and Option Agreement under 2011 Equity Incentive Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.5     11/17/2011     Forms of Stock Option Grant Notice and Option Agreement under 2011 Equity Incentive Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.5    11/17/2011   
10.7+  Forms of Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2011 Equity Incentive Plan   10-Q     333-35375     10.3     5/8/2012     Forms of Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2011 Equity Incentive Plan  10-Q    001-35375    10.3    5/8/2012   
10.8+  Zynga Inc. 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.20     12/2/2011     Form of 2011 Equity Incentive Plan Performance Cash Award Agreement  8-K    001-35375    10.1    4/4/2013   
10.9+  Form of Indemnification Agreement made by and between Zynga Inc. and each of its directors and executive officers   S-1/A     333-175298     10.6     11/17/2011     Zynga Inc. 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan  S-1/A    333-175298    10.20    12/2/2011   
10.10+  Zynga Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy   10-Q     001-35375     10.5     5/8/2012     Form of Indemnification Agreement made by and between Zynga Inc. and each of its directors and executive officers  S-1/A    333-175298    10.6    11/17/2011   
10.11+  Zynga Inc. Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan   S-1/A     333-175298     10.23     11/17/2011     Zynga Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy  10-Q    001-35375    10.1    11/7/2014   
10.12+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Steven Chiang, dated October 26, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.7     11/17/2011     Zynga Inc. Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan      X  

      Incorporated by Reference    

Exhibit
No.

  

Description of Exhibit

  Form   File No.   Exhibit   Filing Date   Filed
Herewith
10.13+  Offer Letter between Zynga Inc. and Barry Cottle, dated January 5, 2012   S-1/A     333-180078     10.28     3/23/2012    
10.14+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Reginald D. Davis, dated October 26, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.8     11/17/2011    
10.15+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter between Zynga Inc. and Jeff Karp, dated October 25, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.25     11/17/2011    
10.16+  Transition and Separation Agreement between Zynga Inc. and Jeff Karp, dated September 10, 2012   10-Q     001-35375     10.1     10/26/2012    
10.17+  Offer Letter between Zynga Inc. and David Ko dated September 21, 2010   10-Q     001-35375     10.4     7/30/2012    
10.18+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Cadir Lee, dated October 21, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.9     11/17/2011    
10.19+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Mark Pincus, dated November 16, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.10     11/17/2011    
10.20+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and John Schappert, dated July 22, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.11     11/17/2011    
10.21+  Transition Letter Agreement, between Zynga Inc. and Owen Van Natta, dated November 16, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.12     11/17/2011    
10.22+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Mark Vranesh, dated October 25, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.24     11/17/2011    
10.23+  Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and David M. Wehner, dated November 16, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.13     11/17/2011    
10.24+  2012 Compensation Information for Executive Officers   8-K     001-35375       3/15/2012    
10.25  Office Lease by and between 650 Townsend Associates LLC and Zynga Inc., dated September 24, 2010; First Amendment to Lease dated February 17, 2011; Second Amendment to Lease dated March 25, 2011; and Third Amendment to Lease dated September 27, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.14     11/4/2011    
10.26  Lease Termination Agreement between Zynga Inc. and Big Dog Holdings LLC dated April 2, 2012   8-K     001-35375     10.1     4/6/2012    
Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit

No.

Description of Exhibit

FormFile No.ExhibitFiling DateFiled
Herewith
10.13+Offer Letter between Zynga Inc. and Don A. Mattrick, dated June 30, 20138-K001-3537510.17/3/2013
10.14+Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Mark Pincus, dated November 16, 2011S-1/A333-17529810.1011/17/2011
10.15+Amended and Restated Offer Letter, between Zynga Inc. and Mark Vranesh, dated October 25, 2011S-1/A333-17529810.2411/17/2011
10.16+Offer Letter between Zynga Inc. and Clive Downie, dated October 21, 201310-K001-3537510.162/21/2014
10.17+Offer letter between Zynga Inc. and Devang Shah, dated December 4, 201310-K001-3537510.172/21/2014
10.18+Offer letter between Zynga Inc. and David Lee, dated April 7, 20148-K001-3537510.14/10/2014
10.19†Developer addendum by and between Facebook, Inc, and Zynga Inc. dated May 14, 2010 and Amendment No.1 to Developer Addendum, dated October 13, 2011S-1/A333-17529810.1511/17/2011
10.20†Amendment No. 2 to Developer Addendum by and between Facebook, Inc. and Zynga Inc., dated April 25, 201210-Q001-3537510.17/30/2012
10.21#Amendment No. 3 to Developer Addendum by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited, Zynga Inc., Zynga Game Ireland Limited and Zynga Luxembourg S.àr.L, dated November 28, 201210-K001-3537510.3002/25/2013
10.22†Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated December 26, 2010S-1/A333-17529810.1611/4/2011
10.23†Amendment No. 1 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated June 12, 201210-Q001-3537510.27/30/2012
10.24†Amendment No. 2 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated July 2, 201210-Q001-3537510.37/30/2012

      Incorporated by Reference     

Exhibit
No.

  

Description of Exhibit

  Form   File No.   Exhibit   Filing Date   Filed
Herewith
 
10.27  Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions between 650 Townsend Associates LLC and Zynga Inc. dated February 29, 2012   8-K     001-35375     2.1     3/5/2012    
10.28†  Developer Addendum by and between Facebook, Inc. and Zynga Inc., dated May 14, 2010 and Amendment No. 1 to Developer Addendum, dated October 13, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.15     11/17/2012    
10.29†  Amendment No. 2 to Developer Addendum by and between Facebook, Inc. and Zynga Inc., dated April 25, 2012   10-Q     001-35375     10.1     7/30/2012    
10.30#  Amendment No. 3 to Developer Addendum by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited, Zynga Inc., Zynga Game Ireland Limited and Zynga Luxembourg S.àr.L, dated November 28, 2012           X  
10.31†  Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated December 26, 2010   S-1/A     333-175298     10.16     11/4/2011    
10.32†  Amendment No. 1 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated June 12, 2012   10-Q     001-35375     10.2     7/30/2012    
10.33†  Amendment No. 2 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited and Zynga Inc., dated July 2, 2012   10-Q     001-35375     10.3     7/30/2012    
10.34#  Amendment No. 3 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited, Zynga Inc. and Zynga Game Ireland Limited, dated November 28, 2012           X  
10.35  Warrant to Purchase Class B Common Stock, dated July 31, 2009, issued to Allen & Company LLC.   S-1/A     333-175298     10.18     7/18/2011    
10.36  Revolving Credit Agreement, dated July 21, 2011, among Zynga Inc., Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Bank of America, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N..A. and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as administrative agent.   S-1/A     333-175298     10.21     8/11/2011    
    Incorporated by Reference    

Exhibit

No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 Form  File No.  Exhibit  Filing Date  Filed
Herewith
 
10.25# Amendment No. 3 to Developer Addendum No. 2 by and between Facebook, Inc., Facebook Ireland Limited, Zynga Inc. and Zynga Game Ireland Limited, dated November 28, 2012  10-K    001-35375    10.34    02/25/2013   
10.26 Warrant to Purchase Class B Common Stock, dated July 31, 2009, issued to Allen & Company LLC.  S-1/A    333-175298    10.18    7/18/2011   
10.27 Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of July 21, 2011 and amended and restated as of June 20, 2013, among Zynga Inc., as Borrower, the Lenders party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent  8-K    001-35375    10.1    6/24/2013   
10.28 First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of July 1, 2015, among Zynga Inc., as Borrower, the Lenders party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent  8-K    001-35375    10.1    7/2/2015   
10.29 Office Lease by and between Chip Factory Commercial LLC and Zynga Inc., dated January 2008; Amendment to Lease, dated November 1, 2008; and Amendment to Lease, dated February 1, 2011  S-1/A    333-175298    10.22    8/11/2011   
10.30 2013 Compensation Information for Executive Officers  8-K    001-35375     4/4/2013   
21.1 List of subsidiaries      X  
23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm      X  
24.1 Power of Attorney (included in signature page)      X  
31.1 Certification of the Chief Executive Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to rule 13a-14 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934      X  
31.2 Certification of the Chief Financial Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to rule 13a-14 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934      X  

     Incorporated by Reference     

Exhibit
No.

 

Description of Exhibit

  Form   File No.   Exhibit   Filing Date   Filed
Herewith
 
10.37 Office Lease by and between Chip Factory Commercial LLC and Zynga Inc., dated January 2008; Amendment to Lease, dated November 1, 2008; and Amendment to Lease, dated February 1, 2011   S-1/A     333-175298     10.22     8/11/2011    
21.1 List of subsidiaries           X  
23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm           X  
24.1 Power of Attorney (included in signature page)           X  
31.1 Certification of the Chief Executive Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to rule 13a-14 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934           X  
31.2 Certification of the Chief Financial Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to rule 13a-14 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934           X  
32.1• Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002           X  
101.INS*(1) XBRL Instance Document          
101.SCH*(1) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document          
101.CAL*(1) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document          
101.DEF*(1) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document          
101.LAB*(1) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document          
101.PRE*(1) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document          
Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit

No.

Description of Exhibit

FormFile No.ExhibitFiling DateFiled
Herewith
32.1•Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Zynga Inc. pursuant to18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002X
101.INS*(1)XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*(1)XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*(1)XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*(1)XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB*(1)XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document
101.PRE*(1)XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

+Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
Confidential treatment has been granted for certain information contained in this exhibit. Such information has been omitted and was filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
#Confidential treatment has been requested for certain information contained in this exhibit. Such information has been omitted and will be provided separately to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The certifications attached as Exhibit 32.1 accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and shall not be deemed “filed” by the Registrant for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(1)

Pursuant to applicable securities laws and regulations, the Registrant is deemed to have complied with the reporting obligation relating to the submission of interactive data files in such exhibits and is not subject to liability under any anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws as long as the Registrant has made a good faith attempt to comply with the submission requirements and promptly amends the interactive data files after becoming aware that the interactive data files fails to comply with the submission requirements. These interactive data files are deemed not filed or part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise are not subject to liability under these sections.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on February 22, 2013.19, 2016.

 

ZYNGA INCINC.

By:

 

/s/ Mark VraneshMichelle Quejado

 

Mark VraneshMichelle Quejado

Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer

(On behalf of Registrant)

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Mark VraneshMichelle Quejado and Reginald D. Davis,Devang Shah, and each of them, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for her or him and in her or his name, place, and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as she or he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that all said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

 

Signature

 

Title

  

Date

/s/ Mark Pincus

Mark Pincus

 Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and DirectorChairman of the Board(Principal Executive Officer)  February 22, 201319, 2016

/s/ Mark VraneshMichelle Quejado

Mark VraneshMichelle Quejado

 Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)  February 22, 201319, 2016

/s/ John Doerr

John Doerr

DirectorFebruary 19, 2016

/s/ Regina E. Dugan

Regina E. Dugan

DirectorFebruary 19, 2016

/s/ Frank Gibeau

Frank Gibeau

DirectorFebruary 19, 2016

/s/ William “Bing” Gordon

William “Bing” Gordon

 Director  February 22, 201319, 2016

/s/ Reid HoffmanLouis J. Lavigne, Jr.

Reid HoffmanLouis J. Lavigne, Jr.

 Director  February 21, 2013

/s/ Jeffrey Katzenberg

Jeffrey Katzenberg

DirectorFebruary 21, 2013

/s/ Stanley J. Meresman

Stanley J. Meresman

DirectorFebruary 21, 201319, 2016

/s/ Sunil Paul

Sunil Paul

 Director  February 21, 201319, 2016

/s/ Ellen F. Siminoff

Ellen F. Siminoff

 Director  February 21, 2013

/s/ Owen Van Natta

Owen Van Natta

DirectorFebruary 21, 201319, 2016

 

110119