Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our growth and profitability are dependent on a number of factors, and our historical growth may not be indicative of our future growth.
Our historic results since our Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) in May of 2017 should not be considered as indicative of our future performance. We may not be successful in executing our growth strategy, and even if we achieve our strategic plan, we may not be able to sustain profitability. In future periods, our revenue could continue to decline or grow more slowly than we expect. We also may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the following risks and the other risks described in this report, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors.
Significant deterioration in economic conditions, especially in our end-use markets in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, may have negative effects on our results of operations and cash flows.
For the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, 99.6% and 99.3%, respectively, of our total revenue came from sales in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Economic conditions, particularly in these countries, affect our sales volumes, pricing levels and overall profitability. Moreover, demand for many of our products depends on end-use markets. Our products are used primarily in residential construction and construction end-use markets and, to a lesser extent, in industrial, forestry and agricultural activity end-use markets. Weakness in our end-use markets, such as a decline in construction, residential construction and agriculture end-use markets or industrial activity may in the future lead to a decrease in the demand for our equipment or prices we can charge. Factors that may cause weakness in these countries and our end-use markets include:
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weakness in the economy, decreases in the market value of real estate or the onset of a recession;
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slowdowns in construction in these countries and the geographic regions in which we operate;
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reductions in spending levels by dealers and end-users;
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unfavorable credit markets affecting end-user access to capital;
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adverse changes in federal and local government infrastructure spending;
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an increase in the cost of construction materials;
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adverse weather conditions which may affect a particular region;
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oversupply of available commercial real estate in the markets we serve;
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increases in interest rates; and
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terrorism or hostilities involving the United States.
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In addition, the cyclicality of our industry makes it more difficult for us to forecast trends. Uncertainty regarding future product demand could cause us to maintain excess equipment inventory and increase our equipment inventory costs.
Challenging economic conditions may also impair the ability of dealers to pay for products they have purchased. As a result, our reserves for doubtful accounts and write-offs for accounts receivable may increase and there may be deterioration in the credit quality of dealers and the estimated residual value of our equipment. This could further negatively impact the ability of dealers to obtain the resources they need to make purchases of our equipment. Reduced credit availability will diminish dealers’ ability to invest in their businesses, refinance maturing debt obligations, and meet ongoing working capital needs. If dealers do not have sufficient access to
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credit, demand for our products will likely decline. Reduced access to credit and the capi
tal markets will also negatively affect our ability to invest in strategic growth initiatives such as acquisitions.
If our rubber-tracked CTLs do not continue to receive market acceptance, our operating results will be harmed.
Our success is dependent upon continued market acceptance of rubber-tracked CTLs in the markets in which our products compete. Most tracked vehicles that compete with our Posi-Track products utilize a different steel embed design. There can be no assurance that our products will gain sufficient market acceptance to enable us to sustain profitable operations.
Our business is sensitive to government spending.
Many dealers and end-users depend substantially on government spending, including highway construction and maintenance and other infrastructure projects by U.S. federal and state governments and governments in other nations. Any decrease or delay in government funding of highway construction and maintenance and other infrastructure projects could cause our revenues and profits to decrease.
Our net sales are attributed to a limited number of customers, including OEM customers and dealers, which may decrease or cease purchasing any time.
Our two largest customers accounted for 28% and 32% of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. We generally do not have long-term supply agreements with dealers or our OEM customers. Even if a multi-year contract exists, dealers and OEM customers are not required to commit to minimum purchases and can cease purchasing at any time. If we were to lose either a significant customer or several smaller customers, our operating results and cash flows would be adversely impacted.
Our level of indebtedness reduces financial flexibility and could impede our ability to operate.
As of December 31, 2018, our total debt was $29.4 million, which includes a revolving term credit facility and term debt.
Our level of debt affects our operations in several important ways, including the following:
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a significant portion of our cash flow from operations is likely to be dedicated to the payment of the principal and interest on our indebtedness;
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our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures or acquisitions may be limited;
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we may be unable to refinance our indebtedness on terms acceptable to us or at all;
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our cash flow may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments; and
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we may be unable to obtain additional loans as a result of covenants and agreements with existing debt holders.
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The interest rates under our credit facilities may be impacted by the phase-out of LIBOR.
LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate, is the basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the London interbank market and is widely used as a reference for setting the interest rates on loans globally. We generally use LIBOR as a reference rate to calculate interest rates under our credit facilities. In 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. It is unclear if LIBOR will cease to exist at that time or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), calculated using short-term repurchase agreements backed by Treasury securities. SOFR is observed and backward looking, unlike LIBOR under the current methodology, which is an estimated forward-looking rate and relies, to some degree, on the expert judgment of submitting panel members. Given that SOFR is a secured rate backed by government securities, it will be a rate that does not take into account bank credit risk (as is the case with LIBOR). SOFR also may be more volatile than LIBOR. Whether or not SOFR, or another alternative reference rate, attains market traction as a LIBOR replacement tool remains in question. If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to renegotiate our credit agreements to replace LIBOR with an agreed upon replacement index, and certain of the interest rates under our credit agreements may change. The new rates may not be as favorable to us as those in effect prior to any LIBOR phase-out. We may also find it desirable to engage in more frequent interest rate hedging transactions.
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We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and our products could infringe on the intellectual
property of others, which could harm our future success and competitive position.
Our future success and competitive position depend in part upon our ability to obtain and maintain certain proprietary technologies used in our principal products. We may not always be successful in preventing the unauthorized use of our existing intellectual property rights by our competitors. We may not be able to discover unauthorized use of our proprietary technologies in the future or be able to receive any payments therefor. If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property, it may result in the loss of valuable technologies or require us to make payments to other companies for infringing on their intellectual property rights. We generally rely on patent, trade secret and copyright laws as well as confidentiality agreements with other parties to protect our technologies; however, some of our technologies may not be protected. Confidentiality agreements may be breached or terminated, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. A third party could copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology without authorization. Additionally, third parties may assert infringement or other intellectual property claims against us based on their patents or other intellectual property rights. Litigation may be necessary for us to defend against claims of infringement or to protect our intellectual property rights and could result in substantial cost to us and diversion of our efforts. Further, we might not prevail in such litigation, which could harm our business and could result in us having to obtain a license to sell our products or pay substantial royalties. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We believe that we have patent protection relating to certain existing products, specifically with respect to our proprietary Posi-Track undercarriage and suspension. We may also apply for and receive patent protection for our products in the future. We may not accurately predict all of the countries where patent protection will ultimately be desirable and currently have only filed for protection in the United States and Canada. If we have failed to timely file a patent application in other countries, we may be precluded from doing so at a later date. Further, competitors may infringe on our patents and we may not have adequate resources to enforce our patents. We may also have any of the following occur:
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any of our patents could be invalidated, circumvented or challenged;
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any of our pending or future patent applications could fail to be issued within the scope of the claims sought by us, if at all, and patents issued from such applications may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial advantage;
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others may develop technologies that are similar or superior to our technologies, duplicate our technologies or design around our patents; or
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steps taken by us to protect our technologies may not prevent misappropriation of such technologies.
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In addition, the key patent related to our Posi-Track undercarriage and suspension expires in 2023. Approximately 78.3% and 73.6% of our revenues for 2018 and 2017, respectively, excluding parts sales, were related to this key patent. The technology underlying our proprietary Posi-Track products can be used by any third party, including competitors, once the applicable patent terms expire. This may subject us to increased competition and reduce or eliminate our opportunity to generate revenues from the Posi-Track system and we cannot at this time estimate the financial impact on our business of the expiration of this patent.
We also own or have rights to various trademark registrations and trademark registration applications in the United States, Canada and Australia that we use in connection with our business. Monitoring unauthorized use of our trademarks is difficult and expensive, and we may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our trademark rights in all jurisdictions, particularly in countries other than the United States.
Changes in our product mix could materially and adversely affect our business.
The margins on our revenues from some of our product offerings are higher than the margins on some of our other product offerings. In particular, the margins vary between sales of equipment as compared to sales of our replacement parts, between our smaller and larger machines, and between our CTL and SSL machines. A decrease in demand for our higher margin products offerings, such as our larger machines and parts, could have a negative impact on our profitability. Our margins can also fluctuate based upon competition, alternative products and services, operating costs and contractual factors. In addition, we may not be able to accurately estimate the margins of some of our new and developing products and new products and services may have lower margins than our current products and services.
Our inability to satisfy orders on a timely basis could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and the conversion of our backlog and open orders into revenue may occur at a slower rate than historical trends.
Our backlog as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, was $30.2 million and $12.7 million, respectively. This backlog is based upon the value of received orders. Certain of our equipment are produced after a price has been agreed to, an order has been received and a
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deposit has been paid by a dealer or OEM customer and generally require delivery within a specified period of time. If we are unsuccessful in recruiting skilled labor, experience delays in purchase component d
eliveries or experience changes in specifications on ordered equipment, the rate at which backlog or open orders are converted into revenue may be slower than we have historically experienced. If it takes longer than expected to realize revenue, our result
s of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, any failure to deliver products on a timely basis could result in dealers or OEM customers cancelling their orders, requesting discounts or ceasing to do busine
ss with us altogether. The historical relationship of backlog to sales revenues actually realized by us, should not be considered indicative of future results.
Some dealers rely on financing with third parties to purchase our products, and the unavailability to them of financing on favorable terms could reduce our revenues.
Significant portions of our sales are financed by third-party finance companies on behalf of our dealers. The availability of financing by third parties is affected by general economic conditions, the creditworthiness of dealers and the estimated residual value of our equipment. Deterioration in the credit quality of dealers or the estimated residual value of our equipment could negatively impact the ability of dealers to obtain the resources they need to purchase our equipment and reduce demand for new equipment. There can be no assurance that third party finance companies will continue to extend credit to dealers in terms dealers find favorable or at all.
Some dealers have been unable to obtain the credit they need to buy our equipment. As a result, in the future some dealers may need to cancel existing orders. Given the lack of liquidity, dealers may be compelled to sell their equipment at less than fair value to raise cash, which could have a negative impact on residual values of our equipment. These economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on demand for our products and on our financial condition and operating results.
Increases in interest rates in the United States may negatively impact our sales and create other supply chain inefficiencies.
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates in December 2016, March, June and December 2017 and March, June, September and December 2018 from the historically low levels with which we had operated in previous years. Interest rate changes affect dealers’ ability to finance machine purchases, can change the optimal time to keep machines in a fleet and can impact the ability of our suppliers to finance the production of parts and components necessary to manufacture and support our products. Interest rate changes also affect overall economic growth, which affects demand for residential and nonresidential structures which in turn affects sales of our products that serve these activities. Increases in interest rates could negatively impact our sales and create supply chain inefficiencies.
We may experience losses in excess of our recorded reserves for accounts receivable.
As of December 31, 2018, and 2017, we had accounts receivable of $18.5 million and $18.3 million, respectively. We evaluate the collectability of open accounts receivable based on a combination of factors and establish reserves based on our estimates of probable losses. In circumstances where we believe it is probable that a specific dealer or OEM customer will have difficulty meeting its financial obligations, a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the receivable to the amount we expect to recover. We also establish additional reserves based upon our perception of the quality of the current receivables, the current financial position of dealers and OEM customers and past collections experience. Continued economic uncertainty could result in additional requirements for specific reserves, which could have a negative impact on our consolidated financial position.
We are dependent upon third-party suppliers, making us vulnerable to supply shortages.
We obtain materials and manufactured components, including rubber track components used in our products, from third-party suppliers, including Kubota, Perkins, Cummins and Deutz. Some components may not be easily interchanged with components from alternative suppliers and have been designed into our products. Any delay in the ability of our suppliers to provide us with necessary materials and components may affect our capabilities at a number of our manufacturing locations or may require us to seek alternative supply sources. Delays in obtaining supplies may result from a number of factors affecting our suppliers including capacity constraints, labor disputes, the impaired financial condition of a particular supplier, suppliers’ allocations to other purchasers, weather emergencies or acts of war or terrorism. Any delay in receiving supplies could impair our ability to deliver products to dealers and OEM customers and, accordingly, could have a material adverse effect on business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, we purchase material and services from suppliers on extended terms based on our overall credit rating. Negative changes in our credit rating may impact suppliers’ willingness to extend terms and increase the cash requirements of the business.
Price increases in materials could affect our profitability.
Our products contain a large amount of steel, rubber and other materials. In the past, market prices of some of our materials, including steel, increased significantly. If we experience future significant increases in material costs, including steel, we may not be able to
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reduce product cost in oth
er areas or pass future material price increases on to dealers and our margins could be adversely affected.
The prices we pay for raw materials used in our products may be impacted by tariffs.
In March
2018, the Trump Administration signed an order that im
pose
d
an import tariff of 25% on steel
(Section 232 Tariff), and in September 2018 a further 10% on many other products
imported
from China (Section 301 Tariff)
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An additional 15% increase to the Section 301 Tariff proposed to be effective March 1, 2019, h
as currently been indefinitely delayed.
As a result of th
e
s
e
tariff
s
, if we are unable to obtain raw materials, including steel, at historical prices or unable to pass any material price increases on to dealers, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The quality and performance of our equipment are, in part, dependent on the quality of our equipment’s component parts that we obtain from various suppliers, which makes us susceptible to performance issues that could materially and adversely affect our business, reputation and financial results.
Our construction equipment is sophisticated and complex, and the success of our equipment is dependent, in part, upon the quality and performance of key components, such as rubber track components, engines, fuel systems, hydraulic pumps and hoses, tires and wheels, breakers, and complex electrical components and associated software. There can be no assurance that these parts and components will not have performance issues from time to time, and the warranties provided by our suppliers may not always cover the potential performance issues. We may face disputes with our suppliers with respect to those performance issues and their warranty obligations, and dealers or OEM customers could claim damages as a result of such performance issues.
If any of the component parts we obtain from our suppliers are defective, we may incur liabilities for warranty claims. The supplier in any such case may not fully compensate us for any such liabilities. We may also be responsible for obtaining replacement parts and incur liability related thereto.
We depend on our information technology systems. If our information technology systems do not perform in a satisfactory manner or if the security of them is breached, it could be disruptive and adversely affect our operations and results of operations.
We depend on our information technology systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information and personally identifiable data relating to employees, dealers and other business partners), and to manage or support a variety of critical business processes and activities. If our information technology systems do not perform in a satisfactory manner, it could be disruptive and adversely affect our operations and results of operations, including our ability to report accurate and timely financial results.
Furthermore, our information technology systems may be damaged, disrupted or shut down due to attacks by computer hackers, computer viruses, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication or utility failures, catastrophes or other unforeseen events, and in any such circumstances our system redundancy and other disaster recovery planning may be ineffective or inadequate. A failure of or breach in information technology security could expose us and our dealers, distributors and suppliers to risks of misuse of information or systems, the compromise of confidential information, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes and operations disruptions. In addition, such breaches in security could result in litigation, regulatory action and potential liability, as well as the costs and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
We may be subject to information technology system failures, network disruptions, breaches in data security and computer crime and cyber-attacks.
Information technology system failures, network disruptions, breaches of data security and sophisticated and targeted computer crime and cyber-attacks could disrupt our operations by impeding the manufacture or shipment of products, the processing of transactions or reporting of financial results, or by causing an unintentional disclosure of confidential information. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data on our networks, including IP, proprietary business information, and personal information of our business partners and employees. Despite our efforts to protect sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, our facilities and systems and those of our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to security breaches, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors that could potentially lead to the compromising of sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, improper use of our systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations. While management has taken steps to address these concerns by employee training, implementing certain data and system redundancy, comprehensive monitoring of our networks and systems, maintenance of backup and protective systems and other internal control measures, there can be no assurance that the measures we have implemented to date would be sufficient in the event of a system
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failure, loss of data or
security breach. As a result, in the event of such a failure, loss of data or security breach, our financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.
We may require additional funding, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all.
Our future capital requirements will depend on the amount of cash generated or required by our current operations and the successful implementation of our strategy for the future, as well as additional funds which may be needed to finance future acquisitions. Future cash needs are subject to substantial uncertainty.
We cannot guarantee that adequate funds will be available when needed, and if we do not receive sufficient capital, we may be required to alter or reduce the scope of our operations or to forego making future acquisitions. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, existing stockholders may be diluted.
We may face limitations on our ability to integrate acquired businesses.
From time to time, we may engage in acquisitions involving risks, including the possible failure to successfully integrate and realize the expected benefits of these acquisitions. We anticipate making acquisitions in the future and our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of these transactions, including the expected combination benefits, will depend, largely on our ability to integrate acquired businesses.
The risks associated with future acquisitions may include:
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the business culture of the acquired business may not match well with our culture;
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technological and product synergies, economies of scale and cost reductions may not occur as expected;
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we may acquire or assume unexpected liabilities;
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faulty assumptions may be made regarding the integration process;
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unforeseen difficulties may arise in integrating operations and systems;
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we may fail to retain, motivate and integrate key management and other employees of the acquired business;
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higher than expected finance costs may arise due to unforeseen changes in tax, trade, environmental, labor, safety, payroll or pension policies in any jurisdiction in which the acquired business conducts its operations; and
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we may experience problems in retaining dealers or OEM customers of the acquired business.
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The successful integration of any newly acquired business would also require us to implement effective internal control processes in the acquired business. We cannot ensure newly acquired companies will operate profitably, the intended beneficial effect from these acquisitions will be realized or that we will not encounter difficulties in implementing effective internal control processes in these acquired businesses, particularly when the acquired business operates in foreign jurisdictions and/or was privately owned.
Our business depends on attracting and retaining qualified management personnel.
The unanticipated departure of any key member of our management team could have an adverse effect on our business. Given our relative size and the breadth of our operations, there are a limited number of qualified management personnel to assume the responsibilities of management level employees should there be management turnover. Our success depends to a significant extent upon a number of key employees, including members of senior management. The loss of the services of one or more of these key employees could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and prospects. In addition, because of the specialized and technical nature of our business, our future performance depends on the continued service of, and our ability to attract and retain qualified management, and commercial and technical personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may be unable to continue to attract or retain such personnel to support our growth and operational initiatives and replace executives who retire or resign. Failure to retain our leadership team and attract and retain other important management and technical personnel could place a constraint on our growth and operational initiatives, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, results of operations and product development efforts and eventually result in a decrease in profitability.
We operate in a highly competitive industry and we are particularly subject to the risks of such competition.
We compete in a highly competitive industry and the competition that we encounter has an effect on our product prices, market share, revenues and profitability. Because certain competitors have substantially greater financial, production, research and development resources and substantially greater name recognition than us, we are particularly subject to the risks inherent in competing with them
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and may be put at a competitive disadvantage. To compete successfully, our products must excel in te
rms of quality, price, product line, ease of use, safety and comfort, and we must also provide excellent customer service. The greater financial resources of our competitors may put us at a competitive disadvantage. If competition in our industry intensifi
es or if our current competitors enhance their products or lower their prices for competing products, we may lose sales or be required to lower our prices. This may reduce revenue from our products and services, lower our gross margins or cause us to lose
market share. We may not be able to differentiate our products from those of competitors, successfully develop or introduce less costly products, offer better performance than competitors or offer purchasers of our products payment and other commercial ter
ms as favorable as those offered by competitors.
The success of our business depends on our ability to develop, produce and market quality products that meet the needs of dealers, OEM customers and end-users.
Our business relies on continued demand for our brands and products from our key markets in North America, Australia and New Zealand. To achieve our business goals, we must develop and sell products that appeal to our dealers and the end-users of our products. This is dependent on a number of factors, including our ability to maintain key relationships, our ability to produce products that meet the quality, performance and price expectations of our dealers and the end-users of our products, and our ability to develop effective sales, advertising and marketing programs. In addition, our continued success in selling products that appeal to dealers, our OEM customers and end-users is dependent on leading-edge innovation, with respect to both products and operations, and on the availability and effectiveness of legal protection for our innovation. Failure to continue to deliver high quality, innovative, competitive products to the marketplace, to supply products that meet applicable regulatory requirements, including engine exhaust emission requirements, or to predict market demands for, or gain market acceptance of, our products, could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may be unable to effectively respond to technological change, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and business.
The markets served by us are not historically characterized by rapidly changing technology. Nevertheless, our future success will depend in part upon our ability to enhance our current products and to develop and introduce new products. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to competitors’ product improvements and new production introductions that incorporate improved technology, future results of operations and financial condition will be negatively affected.
Our business is subject to the inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers.
We sell finished products primarily through an independent dealer network and are subject to risks relating to their inventory management decisions and operational and sourcing practices. Dealers carry inventories of finished products as part of ongoing operations and adjust those inventories based on their assessments of future needs. Such adjustments may impact our results positively or negatively. If the inventory levels of our dealers are higher than they desire, they may postpone product purchases from us, which could cause our sales to be lower than the end-user demand for our products and negatively impact our results. Similarly, our results could be negatively impacted through the loss of time-sensitive sales if our dealers do not maintain inventory levels sufficient to meet end-user demand or if dealers decide to discontinue carrying our products.
Costs associated with lawsuits or investigations or adverse rulings in enforcement or other legal proceedings may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We face an inherent business risk of exposure to various types of claims, lawsuits and government investigations. From time to time, we are involved in various intellectual property, product liability, product warranty and environmental claims and lawsuits and other legal proceedings that arise in and outside of the ordinary course of our business. The industries in which we operate are also periodically reviewed or investigated by regulators, which could lead to enforcement actions, fines and penalties or the assertion of private litigation claims. It is not possible to predict with certainty the outcome of claims, investigations and lawsuits, and we could in the future incur judgments, fines or penalties or enter into settlements of lawsuits and claims that could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition in any particular period.
The nature of our operations means that the risk of legal proceedings, regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and related fines and penalties, and private litigation claims will continue to exist and that additional legal proceedings and other contingencies, the outcome of which cannot be predicted with certainty, will arise from time to time. In addition, subsequent developments in legal proceedings may affect our assessment and estimates of loss contingencies recorded as a reserve and require us to make payments in excess of our reserves, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
The Company maintains insurance coverage for product liability exposures, certain exposures related to general, workers’ compensation and automobile liability, catastrophic losses as well as those risks required to be insured by law or contract. Any material liabilities not covered by insurance could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
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We may be unable to manufacture our products if any
of our manufacturing facilities is damaged, destroyed or becomes otherwise inoperable.
We manufacture products at our manufacturing facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. If this manufacturing facility were to be damaged or destroyed or become otherwise inoperable, we may be unable to manufacture our products for sale until the facility is either repaired or replaced, either of which could take a considerable period of time. Although we maintain business interruption insurance, there can be no assurance that our insurance would adequately compensate us for the losses we would sustain in the event that our manufacturing facility was unavailable for any reason.
We may be adversely impacted by work stoppages and other labor matters, including an adverse outcome in a proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board.
As of December 31, 2018, we employed 179 people. Future issues with our employees or labor unions may not be resolved favorably or we may encounter future strikes, further unionization efforts or other types of conflicts with labor unions or our employees. Six of our employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 647 under a collective bargaining agreement that expires on May 10, 2019. In addition, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers brought a proceeding against us before the National Labor Relations Board in May 2014 regarding alleged unfair labor practices at our Grand Rapids, Minnesota facility. The union alleged, among other things, that we unlawfully violated the prohibition against interference, restraint and coercion of employees under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) with respect to the employees’ right to engage in concerted activities and collective bargaining under the NLRA and that we unlawfully violated the prohibition in Section 8(a)(3) of the NLRA against retaliatory termination related to union activities. In June 2015, a federal administrative judge found that we violated Section 8(a)(1) in connection with speeches and statements made by management in connection with a union election and Section 8(a)(3) in connection with terminations that followed the same election. The administrative judge entered an order in favor of the union that requires, among other things, that we offer reinstatement to 13 terminated employees and make such employees whole for loss of earnings and benefits (including a gross up for adverse tax consequences for lump-sum back pay). Under this order, we are also required to bargain with the union as a representative of the assembly employees at our Grand Rapids, Minnesota facility and post informational notices at our facility. We appealed the June 2015 decision. On August 21, 2018, the NLR Board affirmed the administrative judge’s rulings, findings and conclusions, although it amended the judge’s tax compensation and Social Security reporting remedy and adopted a modified order which, among other things, retains the requirements to bargain with the union as a representative of the assembly employees. On September 13, 2018 we filed a request for reconsideration of the NLR Board’s decision regarding the recognition of the assembly union, as the legal standard on which the NLR Board relied was overruled and not considered in the decision. We do not know whether we will be successful in our reconsideration request and the outcome may result in additional unionization at our Grand Rapids, Minnesota facility.
We may not be able to satisfactorily renegotiate our existing collective bargaining agreement or a new collective bargaining agreement, and we could encounter strikes or work stoppages or other types of conflicts with labor unions as a result. We may also be subject to general country strikes or work stoppages unrelated to our business or our collective bargaining agreement. A work stoppage or other limitations on production at our facilities for any reason could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, many dealers and suppliers have unionized work forces. Strikes or work stoppages experienced by dealers or suppliers could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Compliance with environmental regulations could be costly and require us to make significant expenditures.
We generate hazardous and nonhazardous wastes in the normal course of our manufacturing operations. As a result, we are subject to a wide range of environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern actions that may have adverse environmental effects and require compliance with certain practices when handling and disposing of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes. Some environmental laws impose strict, retroactive and joint and several liability for the remediation of the release of hazardous substances, which could subject us to liability without regard to whether we were negligent or at fault. Failure to comply with environmental laws could expose us to substantial fines or penalties and to civil and criminal liability. These liabilities, sanctions, damages and remediation efforts related to any non-compliance with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
In addition, increasing laws and regulations dealing with environmental aspects of the products we manufacture can result in significant expenditures in designing and manufacturing new forms of equipment that satisfy such new laws and regulations. In particular, climate change is receiving increasing attention worldwide. Many scientists, legislators and others attribute climate change to increased levels of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, which has led to significant legislative and regulatory efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Increased regulation of emissions would likely increase our compliance expenditures, which would negatively affect our business, operations or financial results.
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Our international sales expose us to additional ri
sks and challenges associated with conducting business internationally.
The international expansion of our sales may expose us to risks inherent in conducting foreign sales. These risks include:
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challenges associated with managing geographically diverse operations, which require an effective organizational structure and appropriate business processes, procedures and controls;
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the increased cost of doing business with foreign dealers in foreign jurisdictions, including compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international sales;
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potentially adverse tax consequences;
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complexities and difficulties in obtaining protection and enforcing our intellectual property;
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compliance with additional regulations and government authorities in a highly regulated business; and
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general economic and political conditions internationally.
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The risks that we face with our international sales may continue to intensify as we further develop and expand our international sales.
Our financial performance is subject to risks associated with changes in the value of the U.S. dollar versus local currencies.
Our sales to dealers in international markets are denominated and reported in U.S. dollars. Therefore, weakening of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may cause dealers to increase the price in foreign currency sales to end-users in those markets, potentially reducing demand for our products to such dealers and end-users. We do not use derivative instruments, such as foreign currency forward and option contracts, to hedge certain exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and should we choose to enter into such derivative instruments in the future, they may not adequately protect against such exposures.
We may have unanticipated tax liabilities that could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to various types of taxes in the U.S., as well as foreign jurisdictions into which we supply our products. The determination of our provision for income taxes and other tax accruals involves various judgments, and therefore the ultimate tax determination is subject to uncertainty. Also, changes in tax laws, regulations, or rules may adversely affect our future reported financial results, may impact the way in which we conduct our business, or may increase the risk of audit by the Internal Revenue Service or other tax authority. In addition, in our normal course of business, we are subject to Internal Revenue Service audits or other audits by state, local and foreign tax authorities. The final determinations of any tax audits in the U.S. or abroad could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. If any taxing authority disagrees with the positions taken by us on our tax returns, we could incur additional tax liabilities, including interest and penalties.
Changes in accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in applying accounting policies could adversely affect us.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported value of our assets or liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions, estimates or judgments were incorrectly made, we could be required to correct and restate prior-period financial statements.
We have significant intangible assets and future impairment could have a material impact on our financial results.
At December 31, 2018, our intangible assets were approximately $20.7 million, which represented approximately 23.7% of our total assets. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we review our amortizable intangible assets for impairment when events or changes indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Events that may adversely impact the value of our assets and require impairment charges may include, but are not limited to, declines in sales and operating profit that do not meet our current and forecasted operating budget, strategic decisions made in response to changes in economic and competitive conditions, the impact of the economic environment on dealers and end-users, a material adverse change in our relationship with significant dealers or OEM customers or other business partners, or a sustained decline in our stock price. Because of the significance of our intangible assets, any future impairment of these assets could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
The amount of any impairment could be significant and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the charge is taken.
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Risks Related to Our Relationship with Manitex and Terex
Our principal stockholders currently own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval while that ownership continues.
As of December 31, 2018, Manitex and Terex together beneficially own approximately 45% of our outstanding voting stock and have the ability to exert significant influence over us through this ownership position. Manitex and/or Terex, if they retain a significant portion of their shares of common stock, will retain the ability to exert significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including with respect to elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may feel are in your best interest as one of our stockholders. The interests of Manitex and Terex may not always coincide with your interests or the interests of other stockholders and they may act in a manner that advances their best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders.
If a substantial number of shares of our common stock are sold in a short period of time, the market price of our common stock could decline.
As of December 31, 2018, we have 9,851,186 shares of common stock outstanding. Manitex and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terex collectively hold 4,430,000 shares of our common stock. Pursuant to a registration rights agreement, we have granted registration rights to Manitex and the subsidiary of Terex with respect to their shares of common stock. In connection with our recent IPO, the Company registered the resale of all 2,080,000 shares of our common stock held by Manitex, which represents approximately 21.2% of our outstanding common stock, and all 3,350,000 shares of our common stock held by the subsidiary of Terex, which represents approximately 34.2% of our outstanding common stock. On February 26, 27 and 28, 2018, pursuant to our resale registration, Manitex sold an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of our common stock in separately negotiated transactions with unrelated purchasers.
If Manitex or the subsidiary of Terex sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or if our other stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decrease significantly as the perception in the public market that our existing stockholders are selling shares of common stock could depress our market price. A decline in the price of shares of our common stock might impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or other equity securities.
We must incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management must devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a privately held joint venture between Manitex and Terex. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and Nasdaq. Our management and other personnel must devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have substantially increased our legal and financial compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. The increased costs have negatively impacted our results of operations, and we expect they will continue to do so. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the sufficient coverage. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors (“Board”), committees or as executive officers.
Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC regulations and Nasdaq rules are creating uncertainty for public companies. We are presently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to new and proposed rules and cannot predict or estimate the amount of the additional compliance costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. These new or changed laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by courts and regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. Maintaining appropriate standards of corporate governance and public disclosure will result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. In addition, if we fail to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business and financial condition.
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We have no sign
ificant recent operating history as an independent company upon which you can evaluate our performance and, accordingly, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks that any newly independent company encounters.
Following the acquisition of A.S.V., Inc. by Terex in 2008, we operated as part of Terex, and following the establishment of the Joint Venture, we operated as a majority-owned subsidiary of Manitex. Accordingly, except for the period since May 2017, we have no recent experience operating as an independent company and performing various corporate functions which were previously undertaken on a centralized basis by Terex and/or Manitex, including human resources, tax administration, legal, investor relations, internal audit, insurance and information technology. Our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties encountered by companies in the early stages of independent business operations, particularly companies such as ours in highly competitive markets.
Further, our historical financial statements and financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report have been created using our historical results of operations and bases of assets and liabilities as a joint venture between Manitex and Terex. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements, we made estimates, assumptions and allocations based on current facts and historical experience. The historical financial information included in this report may not necessarily reflect the financial condition, results of operations or cash flows we would have achieved as a stand-alone company during the periods presented or that we will achieve in the future, including due to the following factors:
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our historical combined financial statements may not reflect the expenses for support functions such as human resources, tax administration, legal, investor relations, internal audit, insurance and information technology, that we would have actually incurred, or will incur in the future, as a stand-alone company;
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increases will occur in our cost structure as a result of being a stand-alone public company, including costs related to public company reporting, investor relations and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
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Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as a stand-alone company could have a material adverse effect on our business and share price.
Prior to the acquisition of A.S.V., Inc. in 2008, we were required to maintain internal control over financial reporting in a manner that met the standards of publicly traded companies as required by Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. However, since that time, we have not had to independently comply with Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Since the completion of our initial public offering, we are required to meet these standards in the course of preparing our financial statements, and our management will be required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Additionally, once we are no longer an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company, our independent registered public accounting firm will be required pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation.
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 in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. We are currently in the process of reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control over financial reporting, and although we expect to be in compliance with the requirements of Section 404(a), we may be unable to meet such requirements. We may encounter problems or delays in implementing any changes necessary to make a favorable assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, we may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any requested improvements and receiving a favorable attestation in connection with the attestation to be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm after we cease to be an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company. If we cannot favorably assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide an unqualified attestation report on our internal controls after we cease to be an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company, investors could lose confidence in our financial information and the price of our shares could decline.
Additionally, the existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency would require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and management may not be able to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in a timely manner. The existence of any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting could also result in errors in our financial statements that could require us to restate our financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause stockholders to lose confidence in our reported financial information, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business and share price.
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Our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud and we may be unable to accurately and timely report our financial results or file our periodic repor
ts in a timely manner.
As a public company, we are subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, including the requirement to maintain disclosure controls and procedures. We designed our disclosure controls and procedures to reasonably assure that information we must disclose in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, and recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well-conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.
These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Stock
An active, liquid and orderly trading market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained and, as a result, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares of our common stock.
Before our initial public offering in May 2017, no market for shares of our common stock existed and an active trading market for our shares may never develop or, if developed, may not be sustained. The market value of our common stock may decrease significantly from the initial public offering price or from the current market price. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair market value of your shares. Furthermore, an inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock and may impair our ability to enter into strategic collaborations or acquire companies or products by using our shares of common stock as consideration.
The market price of our stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
The trading price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which neither we nor the selling stockholders can control. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report, these factors include:
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the success of competitive products or technologies;
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regulatory actions with respect to our products or our competitors’ products;
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actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;
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announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
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developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
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the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
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actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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fluctuations in the valuation of companies perceived by investors to be comparable to us;
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share price and volume fluctuations attributable to inconsistent trading volume levels of our shares;
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announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;
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sales of our common stock by us, our officers, directors, or their affiliated funds or our other stockholders;
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rumors or new announcements by third parties, including competitors; and
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general economic, industry and market conditions.
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In addition, the stock market in general, and The Nasdaq Capital Market specifically, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The
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realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the m
arket price of our common stock.
If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our common stock, the price of our common stock could decline.
The trading market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. We do not control these analysts. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity analysts downgrade our common stock or if analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.
The market price of our common stock may be volatile, and in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and will be able to avail ourselves of reduced disclosure requirements, which could make our common stock less attractive to investors and adversely affect the market price of our common stock
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements including:
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the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requiring that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting;
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the “say on pay” provisions (requiring a non-binding stockholder vote to approve compensation of certain executive officers) and the “say on golden parachute” provisions (requiring a non-binding stockholder vote to approve golden parachute arrangements for certain executive officers in connection with mergers and certain other business combinations) of the Dodd-Frank Act and some of the disclosure requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to compensation of our executives;
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the requirement to provide detailed compensation discussion and analysis in proxy statements and reports filed under the Exchange Act, and instead provide a reduced level of disclosure concerning executive compensation; and
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any rules that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board may adopt requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report on the financial statements.
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We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We would cease to be an “emerging growth company” upon the earliest of: (i) the first fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering; (ii) the first fiscal year after our annual gross revenues are $1.07 billion or more; (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt securities; or (iv) as of the end of any fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of the end of the second quarter of that fiscal year. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company,” which may increase the risk that material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting go undetected. Likewise, so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company,” we may elect not to provide you with certain information, including certain financial information and certain information regarding compensation of our executive officers, that we would otherwise have been required to provide in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, which may make it more difficult for investors and securities analysts to evaluate the Company.
In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of some accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption and, therefore, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, which may mean that our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with all public company accounting standards.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile and may decline.
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We have never paid dividends on our capital stock and we do not anticipate paying any
dividends in the foreseeable future. Consequently, any profits from an investment in our common stock will depend on whether the price of our common stock increases.
We have not paid dividends on any of our classes of capital stock to date and we currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would benefit our stockholders and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us or remove our current management, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions include:
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creating a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;
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authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, the terms of which we may establish and shares of which we may issue without stockholder approval;
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prohibiting cumulative voting in the election of directors, which would otherwise allow for less than a majority of stockholders to elect director candidates;
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prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
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eliminating the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders;
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requiring a supermajority vote to remove directors or to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation; and
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establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings.
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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, who are responsible for appointing the members of our management. Because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, which may discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Under the DGCL, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, our Board has approved the transaction.
Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change of control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.