Gen Digital Inc

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors

Gen Digital Inc.:

Opinions on the Consolidated Financial Statements and Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Gen Digital Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of March 29, 2024 and March 31, 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended March 29, 2024, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 29, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 29, 2024 and March 31, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended March 29, 2024, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of March 29, 2024 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Basis for Opinions

The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, 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 Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

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.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Sufficiency of audit evidence over net revenues

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s net revenues are principally derived from the sale of products and services directly to end-user customers through multiple partner distribution channels. The processing of customer orders through to the determination of net revenues to be recognized is reliant upon multiple information technology (IT) systems. The Company recorded $3,812 million of net revenues for the year ended March 29, 2024.

We identified the evaluation of sufficiency of audit evidence over net revenues as a critical audit matter. The evaluation of sufficiency of audit evidence over net revenues required a high degree of subjective auditor judgment due to the number of revenue-related IT systems involved. Specifically, judgment was required to evaluate that revenue data was captured and aggregated throughout various IT systems. Additionally, IT professionals with specialized skills and knowledge were required to evaluate the nature and extent of evidence obtained over net revenues.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We applied auditor judgment to determine the nature and extent of procedures to be performed over net revenues. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls related to the revenue process, including controls related to IT. We involved IT professionals with specialized skills and knowledge, who assisted in identifying and testing key IT configuration and IT interface controls for the various systems processing and recording revenue transactions. For a sample of transactions, we assessed the recorded revenue by comparing cash receipts to the revenue recognized. We evaluated the sufficiency of audit evidence obtained over net revenues by assessing the results of procedures performed.

Assessment of uncertain tax positions

As discussed in Notes 1 and 13 to the consolidated financial statements, as of March 29, 2024, the Company recognized unrecognized tax benefits. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions to determine whether it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. As of March 29, 2024, the Company has a liability for gross unrecognized tax benefits of $1,163 million.

We identified the assessment of uncertain tax positions as a critical audit matter. Complex auditor judgment, including the involvement of tax professionals with specialized skills and knowledge, was required to evaluate the Company’s determination of uncertain tax positions, which included assessing the Company’s interpretation and application of tax laws globally across multiple jurisdictions.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls over the Company’s uncertain tax positions process, including controls related to the determination of uncertain tax positions, which included assessing the Company’s interpretation and application of tax laws. We evaluated the Company’s ability to identify and determine its uncertain tax positions by comparing historical uncertain tax positions to actual outcomes upon conclusion of tax examinations. We involved tax professionals with specialized skills and knowledge, who assisted in:

● Obtaining an understanding of the Company’s overall tax structure across multiple jurisdictions and assessing the Company’s compliance with tax laws globally,

● Evaluating changes in tax law, and assessing the interpretation under the relevant jurisdictions’ tax law,

● Inspecting settlements with taxing authorities to assess the Company’s determination of its tax positions,

● Inspecting correspondence and agreements with taxing authorities, reading internal meeting minutes, and evaluating the status of income tax audits with relevant tax authorities, and

● Performing an assessment of the Company’s tax positions and comparing to the results of the Company’s assessment.

/s/ KPMG LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2002.

Santa Clara, California

May 15, 2024