EPLUS INC

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This update expands annual and interim disclosure requirements for reportable segments, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This update is effective for annual periods beginning in our fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and interim periods beginning in the first quarter of our fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that this update will have on our financial statement disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. This update requires disaggregated information about a reporting entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation as well as information on income taxes paid. This update is effective for annual periods beginning in our fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that this update will have on our financial statement disclosures.

REVENUES

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND CONTRACT ASSETS

Our balance in accounts receivable—trade, net includes our accounts receivable recognized from contracts with customers and contract assets. Contract assets represent our right to consideration in exchange for goods or services that we transferred to a customer when that right is conditioned on something other than the passage of time.

The following table provides a disaggregation of our balance in accounts receivable—trade, net (in thousands):

In addition, we had $60.3 million and $44.6 million of receivables from contracts with customers included within financing receivables as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively.

CONTRACT LIABILITIES

Contract liabilities represent our obligation to transfer goods or services to a customer for which we received consideration, or the amount is due from the customer. The following table provides our total balance of contract liabilities (in thousands):

Revenue recognized from the beginning contract liability balance was $24.8 million and $97.3 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, and $15.5 million and $70.1 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

PERFORMANCE OBLIGATIONS

The following table includes revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations, primarily non-cancelable contracts fore Plus managed services, that are unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied at the end of the reporting period (in thousands):

The table does not include the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less, and (ii) contracts where we recognize revenue at the amount that we have the right to invoice for services performed.

FINANCING RECEIVABLES AND OPERATING LEASES

Our financing receivables and operating leases consist of our financing receivables from notes receivable and sales-type leases and the carrying value of our assets that we are leasing to our customers on leases that are classified as operating leases. We generally lease IT, communication, and medical equipment. Our lease terms generally range from 2 to 6 years, with most terms ranging between 3 to 4 years. Our leases often provide the lessee the option to purchase the underlying asset at the end of the lease term. Often, our leases provide the lessee a bargain purchase option. We classify our leases as either sales-type leases or operating leases. Additionally, we finance purchases of third-party software and third-party services for our customers, which we classify as notes receivable.

The following table provides the profit recognized for sales-type leases at their commencement date, including modifications that are recognized on a net basis, for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):

The following table provides interest income in aggregate on our sales-type leases and lease income on our operating leases for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):

FINANCING RECEIVABLES—NET

The following tables provide a disaggregation of our financing receivables – net (in thousands):

(1)

Includes unguaranteed residual values of $4,751 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable.

(2)

Refer to Note 7, “Allowance for Credit Losses” for details.

(1)

Includes unguaranteed residual values of $3,718 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable.

(2)

Refer to Note 7, “Allowance for Credit Losses” for details.

OPERATING LEASES—NET

Operating leases—net represents leases that do not qualify as sales-type leases. The components of the operating leases—net are as follows (in thousands):

(1)

Amounts include estimated unguaranteed residual values of $946 thousand and $1,346 thousand as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively.

TRANSFERS OF FINANCIAL ASSETS

We enter into arrangements to transfer the contractual payments due under financing receivables and operating lease agreements.

For transfers accounted for as a secured borrowing, the corresponding investments serve as collateral for non-recourse notes payable. As of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, we had financing receivables of $34.4 million and $45.8 million, respectively, and operating leases of $0.8 million and $2.8 million, respectively, which were collateral for non-recourse notes payable. See Note 8, “Notes Payable and Credit Facility.”

For transfers accounted for as a sale, we derecognize the carrying value of the asset transferred plus any liability and recognize a net gain or loss on the sale, which are presented within net sales in the consolidated statement of operations. During the three months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, we recognized net gains of $8.5 million and $8.1 million, respectively, and total proceeds from these sales were $192.6 million and $422.1 million, respectively. For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, we recognized net gains of $24.3 million and $16.3 million, respectively, and total proceeds from these sales were $517.6 million and $704.3 million, respectively.

When we retain servicing obligations in transfers accounted for as sales, we allocate a portion of the proceeds to deferred revenue, which is recognized as we perform the services. As of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, we had deferred revenue of $0.3 million and $0.4 million, respectively, for servicing obligations.

In a limited number of transfers accounted for as sales, we indemnified the assignee if the lessee elects to early terminate the lease. As of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, the total potential payments that could result from these indemnities was immaterial.

LESSEE ACCOUNTING

We lease office space for periods of up tosix years and lease warehouse space for periods of up toten years, and we have some lease options that can be exercised to extend beyond those lease term limits. We recognize our right-of-use assets as part of property, equipment, and other assets. We recognize the current and long-term portions of our lease liability as part of other current liabilities and other liabilities, respectively. We recognize operating lease cost as part of selling, general and administrative expenses. We recognized operating lease cost of $1.8 million and $1.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively, and $4.7 million and $4.4 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

GOODWILL

The following table summarizes the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill in each segment for the nine months ended December 31, 2024 (in thousands):

(1)

Balance is net of $8,673 thousand in accumulated impairments that were recorded in segments that preceded our current segment organization.

Goodwill represents the premium paid over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets that are individually identified and separately recognized in business combinations.

We added $41.3 million in goodwill from our acquisition of Bailiwick Services, LLC (“Bailiwick”) that closed on August 19, 2024. Please refer to Note 15, “Business Combinations” for details of the Bailiwick acquisition.

We test goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, as of the first day of our third fiscal quarter, and between annual tests if an event occurs, or circumstances change, that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value.

In our annual test as of October 1, 2024, we performed a qualitative assessment of goodwill and concluded that, more likely than not, the fair value of our product, professional services, and managed services reporting units continued to exceed their carrying value.

OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Our other intangible assets consist of purchased intangible assets and capitalized software development. The following table provides the composition of our purchased intangible assets on December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024 (in thousands):

Our customer relationships, trade names, and other purchased intangibles are generally amortized between 5 to 10 years.

Total amortization expense for purchased intangibles was $6.0 million and $3.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively, and $14.2 million and $11.3 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

Our capitalized software development had a carrying value of $0.1 million and $0.2 million on December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively.

ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

The following table provides the activity in our allowance for credit losses for the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):

We evaluate our customers using an internally assigned credit quality rating “CQR.” The CQR categories of our financing receivables are:

●

High CQR: This rating includes accounts with excellent to good business credit, asset quality and capacity to meet financial obligations. Loss rates in this category are generally less than 1%.

●

Average CQR: This rating includes accounts with average credit risk that are more susceptible to loss in the event of adverse business or economic conditions. Loss rates in this category are in the range of 1% to 8%.

●

Low CQR: This rating includes accounts that are impaired or may become impaired due to marginal credit and other events or risks that may impact collection. The loss rates in this category in the normal course are greater than 8% and up to 100%.

The following table provides the amortized cost basis of our financing receivables by CQR and by credit origination year as of December 31, 2024 (in thousands):

(1) Excludes unguaranteed residual values of $4,751 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable.

(2) Transfers consist of receivables that have been transferred to third-party financial institutions on a non-recourse basis.

The following table provides the amortized cost basis of our financing receivables by CQR and by credit origination year as of March 31, 2024 (in thousands):

(1) Excludes unguaranteed residual values of $3,718 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable.

(2) Transfers consist of receivables that have been transferred to third-party financial institutions on a non-recourse basis.

The following table provides an aging analysis of our financing receivables as of December 31, 2024 (in thousands):

The following table provides an aging analysis of our financing receivables as of March 31, 2024 (in thousands):

Our financial assets on nonaccrual status were not significant as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024.

8. NOTES PAYABLE AND CREDIT FACILITY

CREDIT FACILITY

We finance the operations of our subsidiariesePlus Technology, inc.,ePlus Technology Services, inc., and SLAIT Consulting, LLC (collectively, the “Borrowers”) in our technology business through a credit facility with Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance, LLC (“WFCDF”). The WFCDF credit facility (the “WFCDF Credit Facility”) has a floor plan facility and a revolving credit facility.

Our credit facility is provided by a syndicate of banks for which WFCDF acts as administrative agent and consists of a discretionary senior secured floor plan facility in favor of the Borrowers in the aggregate principal amount of up to $500.0 million, together with a sublimit for a revolving credit facility for up to $200.0 million.

Under the accounts payable floor plan facility, we had an outstanding balance of $115.7 million and $105.1 million as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively. On our balance sheet, our liability under the accounts payable floor plan facility is presented as accounts payable – floor plan.

We use the floor plan to facilitate the purchase of inventory from designated suppliers. WFCDF pays our suppliers and provides us extended payment terms. We pay down the floor plan facility onthree specified dates each month, generally 45 to 60 days from the invoice date. We do not incur any interest or other incremental expenses for the floor plan facility. We are not involved in establishing the terms or conditions of the arrangements between our suppliers and WFCDF.

Under the revolving credit facility, we hadno balance outstanding as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024.

The fair value of the outstanding balances under the WFCDF Credit Facility were approximately equal to their carrying value as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024.

The amount of principal available is subject to a borrowing base determined by, among other things, the Borrowers’ accounts receivable and inventory, each pursuant to a formula and subject to certain reserves. Loans accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to Term SOFR Rate plus a Term SOFR Adjustment of 0.10% plus an Applicable Margin of 1.75%.

Our borrowings under the WFCDF Credit Facility are secured by the assets of the Borrowers. Additionally, the WFCDF Credit Facility requires a guaranty of $10.5 million by ePlus inc.

Under the WFCDF Credit Facility, the Borrowers are restricted in their ability to pay dividends to ePlus inc. unless their available borrowing meets or met certain thresholds. As of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, their available borrowing met the thresholds such that there were no restrictions on their ability to pay dividends.

The WFCDF Credit Facility has an initial one-year term, which automatically renews for successiveone-year terms thereafter. However, either the Borrowers or WFCDF may terminate the WFCDF Credit Facility at any time by providing a written termination notice to the other party no less than 90 days prior to such termination.

The loss of the WFCDF Credit Facility could have a material adverse effect on our future results as we currently rely on this facility and its components for daily working capital and liquidity for our technology business and as an operational function of our accounts payable process.

NON-RECOURSE NOTES PAYABLE

Non-recourse notes payable consists of borrowings that, in the event of a default by a customer, the lender generally only has recourse against the customer, and the assets serving as collateral, but not against us. As of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, we had $33.8 million and $36.2 million, respectively, of non-recourse borrowings that were collateralized by investments in notes and leases. Principal and interest payments are generally due periodically in amounts that are approximately equal to the total payments due from the customer under the leases or notes receivable that collateralize the notes payable. The weighted average interest rate for our non-recourse notes payable was 6.40% and 6.49%, as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively.

9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are subject to various legal proceedings, as well as demands, claims and threatened litigation, that arise in the normal course of our business and have not been fully resolved. The ultimate outcome of any litigation or other legal dispute is uncertain. When a loss related to a legal proceeding or claim is probable and reasonably estimable, we accrue our best estimate for the ultimate resolution of the matter. If one or more legal matters are resolved against us in a reporting period for amounts above our expectations, our financial condition and operating results for that period may be adversely affected. As of December 31, 2024, we do not believe that there is a reasonable possibility that any material loss exceeding the amounts already recognized for these proceedings and matters, if any, has been incurred. Any outcome, whether favorable or unfavorable, may materially and adversely affect us due to legal costs and expenses, diversion of management attention and other factors. We expense legal costs in the period incurred. We cannot assure that additional contingencies of a legal nature or contingencies having legal aspects will not be asserted against us in the future, and these matters could relate to prior, current, or future transactions or events.

10. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net earnings available to common shareholders by the basic weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net earnings available to common shareholders by the basic weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding plus common stock equivalents during each period.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used to calculate basic and diluted net income per common share as disclosed on our unaudited consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively (in thousands, except per share data).

11. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

SHARE REPURCHASE PLAN

On May 18, 2024, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 1,250,000 shares of our outstanding common stock, over a 12-month period beginning May 28, 2024. Previously, on March 22, 2023, our board of directors had authorized the repurchase of up to 1,000,000 shares of our outstanding common stock, over a 12-month period beginning May 28, 2023. Under both authorized share repurchase programs, purchases may be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability and the plan terms. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2024, we purchased 380,522 shares of our outstanding common stock at a value of $30.0 million under the share repurchase plan; we also purchased 52,450 shares of common stock at a value of $3.8 million to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2023, we purchased 131,263 shares of our outstanding common stock at a value of $6.7 million under the share repurchase plan; we also purchased 53,945 shares of common stock at a value of $3.0 million to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.

12. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

SHARE-BASED PLANS

As of December 31, 2024, we had share-based awards outstanding under the following plans: (1) the 2017 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2017 Director LTIP”), (2) the 2024 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2024 Director LTIP”) and (3) the 2021 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2021 Employee LTIP”).

On September 12, 2024, our shareholders approved the 2024 Director LTIP. The 2024 Director LTIP replaces the 2017 Director LTIP. Beginning September 12, 2024, we permanently ceased issuing any additional shares under the 2017 Director LTIP. The maximum aggregate number of shares that may be issued as restricted shares under the 2024 Director LTIP is 300,000 shares.

These share-based plans define fair market value as the closing sales price of a share of common stock as quoted on any established stock exchange for such date or the most recent trading day preceding such date if there were no trades on such date.

RESTRICTED STOCK ACTIVITY

For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, we granted 729 restricted shares of our stock under the 2017 Director LTIP,6,628 restricted shares of our stock under the 2024 Director LTIP, and 121,097 restricted shares of our stock under the 2021 Employee LTIP. For thenine months ended December 31, 2023, we granted 13,120 shares of our stock under the 2017 Director LTIP, and 152,865 restricted shares of our stock under the 2021 Employee LTIP. A summary of our restricted stock activity is as follows:

PERFORMANCE STOCK UNITS

Beginning with the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, we granted Performance Stock Units (“PSUs”) to our executive officers under our 2021 Employee LTIP. The PSUs will vest based on the achievement of certain performance goals at the end of athree-year performance period. The PSUs represent the right to receive shares of our common stock at the time of vesting. The total number of PSUs that vest range from 0% to 200% of the target number of PSUs based on our achievement of certain performance targets.

The following table provides a summary of the nonvested PSUs for the nine months ended December 31, 2024:

EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

We provide eligible employees the opportunity to purchase shares of our stock through the 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). Under this plan, eligible employees may purchase up to an aggregate of 2.50 million shares of our stock. Employees in this plan contribute part of their earnings over asix-month offering period. At the end of each offering period, employees purchase our shares using their contributions at a discount off the lesser of the closing market price on the first or the last trading day of each offering period. During the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, we issued 58,064 shares at a weighted average price of $62.61 per share and 70,715 shares at a weighted average price of $42.69 per share, respectively, under the ESPP. As of December 31, 2024, there were 2.37 million shares remaining under the ESPP.

COMPENSATION EXPENSE

The following table provides a summary of our total share-based compensation expense, including for restricted stock awards, PSUs, our ESPP, and the related income tax benefit for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively (in thousands):

We recognized the income tax benefit as a reduction to our provision for income taxes. As of December 31, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock was $13.0 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 30 months.

We also provide our employees with a contributory 401(k) profit sharing plan (the “401(k) plan”), to which we may contribute from time to time at our sole discretion. Employer contributions to the 401(k) plan are always fully vested. Our estimated contribution expense to the 401(k) plan for the three months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, were $1.5 million and $1.0 million, respectively. For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, our estimated contribution expense for the plan was $4.2 million and $3.6 million, respectively.

13. INCOME TAXES

Our provision for income tax expense was $8.0 million and $30.2 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $11.1 million and $36.1 million for the same three-and nine-month periods in the prior year. Our effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, was 25.0% and 26.7% respectively, compared with 29.0% and 27.8%, respectively, for the same three- and nine-month periods in the prior year. Our effective income tax rate for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, was lower compared to the same three- and nine-month periods in the prior year primarily due to lower state taxes. The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, differed from the US federal statutory rate of 21.0% primarily due to state and local income taxes.

14. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The following table summarizes the fair value hierarchy of our financial instruments as of December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024 (in thousands):

15. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

BAILIWICK SERVICES, LLC

On August 19, 2024, our subsidiary,ePlus Technology, inc., acquired 100% of the membership interests of Bailiwick. Based near Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bailiwick is a provider of professional and managed services with nearly 30 years in the business. Bailiwick specializes in serving enterprise customers that operate large store, branch, and campus footprints predominantly in the retail, financial services, restaurant, and hospitality markets.

Our preliminary sum for consideration transferred is $124.9 million, which consists of $126.2 million paid in cash at closing, less $1.5 million cash acquired, plus $0.2 million paid in December 2024 to the sellers based on adjustments to a determination of the total net assets delivered. Our preliminary allocation of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is presented below (in thousands):

The identified intangible assets of $58.0 million consists of customer relationships of $49.3 million with an estimated useful life often years and trade name of $8.7 million with a preliminary useful life ofseven years.

We recognized goodwill related to this transaction of $41.3 million, which was assigned to our professional services and product segments. The goodwill recognized in the Bailiwick acquisition is attributable to the acquired assembled workforce and expected synergies, none of which qualify for recognition as a separate intangible asset. The total amount of goodwill expected to be deductible for tax purposes is $44.4 million.

The amount of revenues and earnings of the acquiree since the acquisition date are not material. Likewise, the impact to the revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period as though the acquisition date had been April 1, 2024, is not material.

NETWORK SOLUTIONS GROUP (“NSG”)

On April 30, 2023, our subsidiary,ePlus Technology, inc., acquired certain assets and liabilities of NSG, formerly a business unit of CCI Systems, Inc., a Michigan-based provider of networking services and solutions. This acquisition is helping to drive additional growth for us in the service provider end-markets with enhanced engineering, sales, and services delivery capabilities specific to the industry.

Our sum for consideration transferred was $48.6 million, which consists of $59.6 million paid in cash at closing minus $11.0 million that was paid back to us during the quarter ended September 30, 2023, by the sellers based on adjustments to a determination of the total net assets delivered. Our allocation of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is presented below (in thousands):

The identified intangible asset of $30.0 million consists of customer relationships with an estimated useful life ofseven years. The fair value of acquired accounts receivable equals the gross contractual amounts receivable. We expect to collect all acquired accounts receivable.

We recognized goodwill related to this transaction of $22.1 million, of which $19.7 million and $2.4 million were assigned to our product and professional services reporting segments, respectively. The goodwill recognized in the acquisition is attributable to the acquired assembled workforce and expected synergies, none of which qualify for recognition as a separate intangible asset. The total amount of goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

The amount of revenues and earnings of the acquiree since the acquisition date are not material. Likewise, the impact to the revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period as though the acquisition date had been April 1, 2024, is not material.

16. SEGMENT REPORTING

We manage and report our operating results through four operating segments: product, professional services, managed services, and financing.

We refer to the product segment, professional services segment, and managed services segment collectively as our technology business. Our product segment includes sales of IT products, third-party software, and third-party maintenance, software assurance, and other third-party services. Our professional services segment includes our advanced professional services, staff augmentation, project management services, cloud consulting services and security services. With our acquisition of Bailiwick, our professional services segment also includes projects supporting digital signage, electric vehicle (“EV”) charging solutions, loss prevention and security, store openings, and store closings. Our managed services segment includes our advanced managed services, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted services, cloud managed services and managed security services.

Our financing business segment leases IT equipment, medical equipment, and other equipment, and sells the off-lease equipment at the end of the lease. Additionally, our financing business segment finances purchases of third-party software licenses, software assurance, maintenance, and other services.

We measure the performance of the segments within our technology business based on gross profit, while we measure our financing business segment based on operating income. We do not present asset information for our reportable segments as we do not provide asset information to our chief operating decision maker.

The following table provides reportable segment information (in thousands):

The following tables provide a disaggregation of net sales by source and further disaggregates our revenue recognized from contracts with customers by timing and our position as principal or agent (in thousands):

TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS DISAGGREGATION OF REVENUE

The following table provides a disaggregation of our revenue from contracts with customers for our technology business by customer end market and by type (in thousands):

We do not disaggregate sales by customer end market beyond the technology business.

FINANCING BUSINESS SEGMENT DISAGGREGATION OF REVENUE

We analyze our revenues within our financing business segment based on the nature of the arrangement. Our financing revenue generally consists of portfolio income, transactional gains, and post-contract earnings including month-to-month rents and the sales of off-lease equipment. All our revenues from contracts with customers within our financing business segment are from the sales of off-lease equipment.