Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 _____________________________________ FORM 10-K _____________________________________ ý ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 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: 001-34387 _____________________________________ Medidata Solutions, Inc. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) _____________________________________ Delaware 13-4066508 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 350 Hudson Street, 9th Floor 10014 New York, New York (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (212) 918-1800 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) Securities registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC Securities registered under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ý Yes ¨ No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ¨ Yes ý No 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. ý Yes ¨ 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 (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ý Yes ¨ 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. ý 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,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one) Large accelerated filer ý Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ¨ Emerging growth company ¨ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ¨ Yes ý No As of June 29, 2018 , the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $4,106,357,167 based on the closing sale price for the registrant's common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on that date of $80.56 per share. For purposes of determining this number, all executive officers and directors of the registrant are considered to be affiliates of the registrant, as well as individual shareholders holding more than 10% of the registrant's outstanding common stock. This number is provided only for the purpose of this report on Form 10-K and does not represent an admission by either the registrant or any such person as to the status of such person. As of February 25, 2019 , the registrant had 62,276,965 shares of common stock outstanding. Documents Incorporated by Reference: Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K incorporates by reference certain information that will be set forth in the registrant's Proxy Statement in connection with the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of December 31, 2018 . Except with respect to information specifically incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, the Proxy Statement is not deemed to be filed as part of this Form 10-K. Table of Contents MEDIDATA SOLUTIONS, INC. ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART I Item 1. Business 2 Item 1A. Risk Factors 7 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 18 Item 2. Properties 18 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 18 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 18 PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 19 Item 6. Selected Financial Data 21 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 24 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 33 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 34 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 68 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 68 Item 9B. Other Information 70 PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 71 Item 11. Executive Compensation 71 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 71 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 71 Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 71 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 72 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 73 SIGNATURES 74 EXHIBIT INDEX 75 - i - Table of Contents PART I For purposes of this Annual Report, the terms “Medidata,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Medidata Solutions, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act, and is subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements reflect our current estimates, expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, the information concerning our possible future results of operations, business and growth strategies, financing plans, expectations that regulatory developments or other matters will not have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, our competitive position and the effects of competition, the projected growth of the industry in which we operate, the benefits and synergies to be obtained from our completed and any future acquisitions, and statements of management's goals and objectives, and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “appears,” “projects,” and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and/or management's good faith belief with respect to future events, and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. We urge you to consider the risks and uncertainties discussed in “ Risk Factors ” under Item 1A in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating our forward- looking statements. 1 Table of Contents Item 1. Business Company Overview Medidata is a global life sciences technology provider, dedicated to improving the way clinical research is designed, conducted, analyzed, and commercialized. Our cloud-based platform of solutions, data analytics, and AI enables efficiency and improves quality throughout clinical development programs by accelerating processes, enhancing decision-making, minimizing operational risk, reducing costs, and transforming trial strategies. Customers can utilize our entire platform or individual solutions, and can subscribe to our technology on a multi-study or single-study basis. Our revenue is comprised of subscription and professional services, which represent approximately 85% and 15% of our business, respectively. Our subscription business model provides us with a recurring revenue stream that we believe delivers greater revenue visibility than perpetual software licensing models. Our Platform: The Medidata Cloud The Medidata Cloud is the Intelligent Platform for Life Sciences , transforming clinical development and converting complex data into cutting-edge insights. It provides a unified platform for demonstrating treatment efficacy and safety, supporting regulatory approval, achieving peak revenue faster, improving outcomes for patients, providers, and payers, and paving the way for the increasingly more precise therapies of the future. It Starts With Data Capture and Management Our data capture, management, and reporting family of solutions is the cornerstone of the Medidata Cloud. Our technology captures data and patient feedback throughout the life cycle of a clinical trial. Rich Data Capture Leads to Pioneering Analytics Captured data goes on to inform the Medidata Enterprise Data Store ("MEDS") and AI family of solutions.