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Anghami Inc. (ANGH)
NASDAQ:ANGH
Risk Overview Q4, 2023
Risk Distribution
43% Finance & Corporate
17% Ability to Sell
13% Legal & Regulatory
10% Tech & Innovation
10% Macro & Political
8% Production
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.
Risk Change Over Time
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Anghami Inc. Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2023
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 31 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 31 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
72
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 31
72
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
4Risks added
1Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2023
4Risks added
1Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2023
Number of Risk Changed
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 2
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 2
See the risk highlights of Anghami Inc. in the last period.
Risk Word Cloud
The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 72
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 31/72 (43%)Above Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights18 | 25.0%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
The trading price of our ordinary shares has been and will likely continue to be volatile.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
An active and liquid trading market for our ordinary shares may not develop, the market price may be volatile, and investors may suffer a loss.Prior to the Business Combination, there was no public market for our ordinary shares. In connection with the Business Combination, our shares were listed on Nasdaq on February 4, 2022. However, there can be no assurance that an active and liquid trading market for our ordinary shares will develop or be maintained. Active, liquid trading markets generally result in lower price volatility and more efficient execution of buy and sell orders for investors. The actual market price of the ordinary shares may fluctuate because of several factors, including those described in this section "Risk Factors," may not reflect our actual operating performance and may be lower than the price investors paid to purchase the ordinary shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
There can be no assurance that our warrants will be in-the-money at any time, and they may expire worthless.The exercise price for our public, service and private placement warrants is $11.50 per ordinary share. There can be no assurance that our warrants will be in-the-money at any time that our warrants are exercisable and prior to their expiration, and as such, our warrants may expire worthless. We cannot provide assurance that the trading price of our ordinary shares will be attractive to exercise our outstanding warrants.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
The exercise of our warrants would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our shareholders.As of December 31, 2023, we had 10,000,000 public warrants outstanding and 872,800 private placement warrants. To the extent our warrants are exercised, additional ordinary shares will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of ordinary shares and potentially increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market, which could cause a decline in the price of our ordinary shares. Sales of substantial numbers of ordinary shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and warrants. See "Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of our ordinary shares and/or warrants being offered by us or our existing securityholders may cause the market price of such securities to decline significantly."
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of our ordinary shares and/or warrants being offered by us or our existing securityholders may cause the market price of such securities to decline significantly.The sale of substantial amounts of our ordinary shares or warrants, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our ordinary shares and warrants. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. We believe that the likelihood that warrant holders will exercise their warrants, and therefore the amount of cash proceeds that we would receive, is dependent upon the market price of our ordinary shares. If the market price for our ordinary shares is less than the exercise price of the warrants (on a per share basis), we believe warrant holders will be unlikely to exercise the warrants.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Certain of our security holders acquired their shares at a price that is less than the market price of our ordinary shares as of the date of this report, may earn a positive rate of return even if the price of our ordinary shares declines and may be willing to sell their shares at a price less than shareholders that acquired our shares in the public market.Certain of our securityholders may have purchased their respective ordinary shares and/or warrants at prices lower than current market prices and may therefore experience a positive rate of return on their investment, even if our public securityholders experience a negative rate of return on their investment. In particular, prior to the consummation of VMAC's IPO, Sponsor purchased 2,875,000 Class B shares of VMAC ("Founder Shares"), which were converted into ordinary shares at the closing of the Business Combination, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.009 per share. Of these Founder Shares, 375,000 were forfeited by our Sponsor due to the underwriters' not exercising the over-allotment option in connection with the IPO. As a result, the Sponsor and other shareholders are able to recognize a greater return on their investment than shareholders or holders of warrants that purchased VMAC common stock or VMAC warrants in VMAC's IPO, in the public market thereafter, or our ordinary shares after the closing of the Business Combination. Furthermore, such shareholders may earn a positive rate of return even if the price of our ordinary shares and/or warrants declines significantly. As a result, such security holders may be willing to sell their shares and/or warrants at a price less than shareholders that acquired our shares on the public market or at higher prices than the price paid by such security holders. The sale or possibility of sale of these ordinary shares and/or warrants, including those pursuant to this prospectus, could have the effect of increasing the volatility in ordinary share and warrant price or putting significant downward pressure on the price of ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
Offers or availability for sale of a substantial number of shares of our ordinary shares may cause the price of our ordinary shares to decline and could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future.If our shareholders sell or may sell substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market upon the expiration of any statutory holding period or lockup agreements or issued upon the exercise of outstanding warrants or other convertible securities, it could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an "overhang" and in anticipation of which the market price of our ordinary shares could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
We may redeem your unexpired public warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your Warrants worthless.We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on each of 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption, and provided further that there is an effective registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the 30-day redemption period, or we have elected to require the exercise of the warrants on a "cashless basis," and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force holders (i) to exercise the warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so, (ii) to sell the warrants at the then-current market price when the holder might otherwise wish to hold its warrants, or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of the warrants. Certain warrants held by Sponsor, or its permitted transferees are not redeemable by us so long as they continue to be held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
If we do not maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of our warrants, then holders may only be able to exercise the warrants on a "cashless basis."If we do not maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to our ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of our warrants, at the time that holders wish to exercise such warrants, then they may only be able to exercise them on a "cashless basis" to the extent permitted by the terms of the warrant agreement. As a result, the number of ordinary shares that holders will receive upon exercise of the warrants will be fewer than it would have been had such holders exercised their warrants for cash. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so in a timely manner or at all. If we are unable to continue to maintain a current and effective prospectus, and there is a right existing under the terms of the warrant agreement to exercise the warrants on a cashless basis, the potential "upside" of the holder's investment in the Company may be reduced.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
We are a "controlled company" within the meaning of the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC and, as a result, can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.Added
We are a "controlled company" as defined under the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC since OSN Streaming Limited beneficially owns more than 50% of our total voting power as of April 1, 2024. For so long as we remain a controlled company under this definition, we are permitted to elect to rely on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including: an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors; an exemption from the rule that we have a compensation committee; and an exemption from the rule that our director nominees must be selected or recommended solely by independent directors.
As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11
Provisions in our articles of association may delay or prevent our acquisition by a third party.Our articles of association contain provisions that may make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire control of us without the approval of our board of directors and, if required, our shareholders. These provisions also may delay, prevent, or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest, or other transaction that might otherwise result in our shareholders receiving a premium over the market price for their ordinary shares. The provisions of our articles of association could discourage potential takeover attempts and reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay for our ordinary shares in the future, which could reduce the trading price of our ordinary shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.We are an exempt company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The right of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands.
The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder's derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a corporation incorporated in the United States.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 13
It may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us or our directors and officers outside the United States, or to assert U.S. securities law claims outside of the United States.A number of our directors and executive officers are not residents of the United States, and the majority of our assets and the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for investors to effect service of process upon us within the United States or other jurisdictions, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. Additionally, it may be difficult to assert U.S. securities law claims in actions originally instituted outside of the United States. Foreign courts may refuse to hear a U.S. securities law claim because foreign courts may not be the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. Even if a foreign court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that the law of the jurisdiction in which the foreign court resides, and not U.S. law, is applicable to the claim. Further, if U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process, and certain matters of procedure would still be governed by the law of the jurisdiction in which the foreign court resides.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 14
As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.We are a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and our ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. Nasdaq market rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of our home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.
Among others, we are not required to: (i) have a majority of the board be independent; (ii) have a compensation committee consisting entirely of independent directors; (iii) have a minimum of three members on the audit committee; (iv) obtain shareholders' approval for issuance of securities in certain situations; or (v) have regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 15
Provisions in our governance documents may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for ordinary shares and could entrench management.Our governance documents contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of the board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual general meetings. We may issue additional shares without shareholder approval and such additional shares could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The ability for us to issue additional shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise that could involve the payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for ordinary shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 16
The JOBS Act permits "emerging growth companies" like us to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.We currently qualify as an "emerging growth company" as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, which we refer to as the "JOBS Act." As such, we take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including the exemption from the auditor attestation requirements with respect to internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they deem important.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the exemption from complying with new or revised accounting standards provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act as long as we are an emerging growth company. An emerging growth company can therefore delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, but any such election to opt out is irrevocable.
We cannot predict if investors will find ordinary shares or warrants less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find ordinary shares or warrants less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market and the share price for ordinary shares may be more volatile. When we cease to qualify as an emerging growth company, we may incur increased legal, accounting and compliance costs associated with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 17
If a United States person is treated as owning at least 10% of our shares, such person may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.If a United States person is treated as owning (directly, indirectly or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of our shares, such person may be treated as a "United States shareholder" with respect to each of us and our direct and indirect subsidiaries ("Anghami Inc. Group") that is a "controlled foreign corporation." If the Anghami Inc. Group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, under recently enacted rules, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be treated as controlled foreign corporations regardless of whether we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation (although there are currently proposed Treasury Regulations that may significantly limit the application of these rules).
A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to report annually and include in our U.S. taxable income our pro rata share of the controlled foreign corporation's "Subpart F income" and (in computing our "global intangible low-taxed income") "tested income" and a pro rata share of the amount of U.S. property (including certain stock in U.S. corporations and certain tangible assets located in the United States) held by the controlled foreign corporation regardless of whether such controlled foreign corporation makes any distributions. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations (or related tax payment obligations) may subject such United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such United States shareholder's U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting (or payment of tax) was due from starting. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist holders in determining whether any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a controlled foreign corporation or whether any holder is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to any of such controlled foreign corporations or furnish to any holder information that may be necessary to comply with reporting and tax paying obligations.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 18
Warrant holders may not elect to exercise any of their warrants, which could significantly reduce the amount of cash we could receive from the exercise of the warrants.Our warrants are exercisable for one ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per ordinary share. The closing price of our ordinary shares on the Nasdaq on March 31, 2024 was $1.97 per ordinary share. As of such date, because the exercise price exceeded the price of our ordinary shares, our warrants were "out-of-the-money," and we believe that it is unlikely that any warrant holder would exercise any warrants at a time when the warrants are out-of-the-money. The exercise of our warrants is discretionary by the warrant holder. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the warrant holders will elect to exercise any or all of the warrants. To the extent that any of the warrant holders elect not to exercise their warrants or their warrants are exercised on a "cashless basis," as may be permitted in certain circumstances, the amount of cash we would receive from the exercise of the warrants will decrease. It is also possible that we may receive no money from the exercise of our warrants.
Accounting & Financial Operations7 | 9.7%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal controls covering financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately or timely report our financial results or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our shares may be materially and adversely impacted.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
We have incurred significant operating losses in the past, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to be profitable, or to generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis. In addition, our revenue growth rate may decline.Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses and as of December 31, 2023, had an accumulated deficit of $12,923,856. For the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, our operating losses were $14,198,442 and $17,379,187, respectively. We have incurred significant costs to license content and continue to pay royalties to music labels, publishers, and other copyright owners for such content. We cannot assure you that we will generate sufficient revenue from the sale of our services to offset the cost of our content and these royalty expenses. If we cannot successfully earn revenue at a rate that exceeds the operational costs, including royalty expenses, associated with our services, we will not be able to achieve or sustain profitability or generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis.
In the future, our revenue growth rate may decline because of a variety of factors, including increased competition and the maturation of our business. We cannot assure you that our revenue will continue to grow or will not decline. You should not consider our historical revenue growth or operating expenses as indicative of our future performance. If our revenue growth rate declines or our operating expenses exceed our expectations, our financial performance will be adversely affected.
Additionally, we also expect our costs to increase in future periods, which could negatively affect our future operating results and ability to achieve profitability. We expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:
- securing top quality audio and video content from leading music labels, distributors, aggregators, as well as the publishing right to the underlying musical compositions;- creating new forms of original content;- our technology infrastructure, including website architecture, development tools, scalability, availability, performance, security, and disaster recovery measures;- research and development, including investments in our research and development team and the development of new features;- sales and marketing, including a significant expansion of our field sales organization;- international expansion in an effort to increase our member base, engagement, and sales; and - general administration, including legal and accounting expenses, related to being a public company.
These investments may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. If we fail to continue to grow our revenue and overall business, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Our user metrics and other estimates are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics may seriously harm and negatively affect our reputation and business.We regularly review key metrics related to the operation of our business, including, but not limited to, active users, Premium subscribers and conversion, Premium average revenue per user, unit economics and EBITDA, Premium user churn rate, Arabic content and originals content creation to evaluate growth trends, measure performance, and make strategic decisions. These metrics are calculated using internal company data and have not been validated by an independent third party. These numbers were not prepared with a view toward public disclosure or compliance with the published guidelines of the SEC, or the applicable guidelines for the preparation and presentation of financial statements. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our service is used across large populations globally. For example, we believe that there are individuals who have multiple Anghami accounts, which can result in an overstatement of active users. Errors or inaccuracies in metrics or data could result in incorrect business decisions and inefficiencies.
In addition, advertisers generally rely on third-party measurement services to calculate our metrics, and these third-party measurement services may not reflect our true audience. Some of our demographic data also may be incomplete or inaccurate because users self-report their names and dates of birth. If advertisers, partners, or investors do not perceive our user, geographic, or other demographic metrics to be accurate representations of our user base, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our user, geographic, or other demographic metrics, our reputation may be seriously harmed. See "Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Operations- We rely on advertising revenue from our Ad-Supported Free service, and any failure to convince advertisers of the benefits of our Ad-Supported Free service in the future could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition," "- We are at risk of artificial manipulation of stream counts and failure to effectively manage and remediate such fraudulent streams could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition," and "- We are at risk of attempts at unauthorized access to our service and failure to effectively prevent and remediate such attempts could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition."
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
We may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to be profitable, or to generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis. In addition, our revenue growth rate may decline.If we cannot successfully earn revenue at a rate that exceeds the operational costs, including royalty and other licensing expenses, associated with our platform, we will not be able to achieve or sustain profitability or generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis.
Furthermore, we cannot assure you that the growth in revenue we have experienced over the past few years will continue at the same rate or even continue to grow at all. We expect that, in the future, our revenue growth rate may decline because of a variety of factors, including increased competition and the maturation of our business. You should not consider our historical revenue growth or operating expenses as indicative of our future performance. If our revenue growth rate declines or our operating expenses exceed our expectations, our financial performance may be adversely affected.
Additionally, we also expect our costs to increase in future periods, which could negatively affect our future operating results and ability to achieve profitability. We expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:
- securing top quality audio and video content from leading record labels, distributors, aggregators, and podcast creators, as well as the publishing right to any underlying musical compositions;- creating new forms of original content;- our technology infrastructure, including website architecture, development tools, scalability, availability, performance, security, and disaster recovery measures;- research and development, including investments in our research and development team and the development of new features;- sales and marketing, including a significant expansion of our field sales organization;- international operations in an effort to maintain and increase our member base, engagement, and sales;- capital expenditures that we will incur to grow our operations and remain competitive; and - general administration, including legal and accounting expenses.
These investments may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. If we fail to continue to grow our revenue and overall business, our business, operating results, and financial condition will be harmed.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
Our operating results may fluctuate, which makes our results difficult to predict.Our revenue and operating results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition to other risk factors discussed herein, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly and annual results include:
- Our ability to retain current user base, increase the number of Ad-Supported Free service users and Premium service users, and increase users' time spent streaming content;- Our ability to effectively manage growth;- Our ability to attract and retain existing advertisers and prove that our advertising products are effective enough to justify a pricing structure that is profitable;- the effects of increased competition on our business;- Our ability to keep pace with changes in technology and competitors;- lack of accurate and timely reports and invoices from rights holders and partners;- interruptions in service, whether or not we are responsible for such interruptions, and any related impact on our reputation;- Our ability to pursue and appropriately time our entry into new geographic or content markets and, if pursued, our management of this expansion;- costs associated with defending any litigation, including intellectual property infringement litigation;- the impact of general economic conditions on our revenue and expenses; and - changes in regulations affecting our business.
Seasonal variations in user and marketing behavior also may cause fluctuations in our financial results. We expect to experience some effects of seasonal trends in user behavior due to increased internet usage and sales of streaming service subscriptions and devices during holiday periods, such as New Year's Eve, Eid, and Christmas. We also may experience higher advertising sales during such increased usage periods and incur greater marketing expenses as we attempt to attract new users and convert Ad-Supported Free service users to Premium service users. In addition, expenditures by advertisers tend to be cyclical and are often discretionary in nature, reflecting overall economic conditions, the economic prospects of specific advertisers or industries, budgeting constraints and buying patterns, and a variety of other factors, many of which are outside our control.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 6
We do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our share capital. We currently intend to retain any future earnings for working capital and general corporate purposes and do not expect to pay dividends or other distributions on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our ordinary shares if you sell some or all of your ordinary shares after the trading price of our ordinary shares increases. You may not receive a gain on your investment when you sell your ordinary shares, and you may lose the entire amount of the investment.
Moreover, we are a holding company and have no material assets other than our direct and indirect ownership of shares in our subsidiaries. Our ability to pay any future dividends is subject to restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us, including the laws of the relevant jurisdiction in which the subsidiaries are organized or located, as well as any restrictions in the future indebtedness of our subsidiaries or on our ability to receive dividends or distributions from our subsidiaries. Since we are expected to rely primarily on dividends from our direct and indirect subsidiaries to fund our financial and other obligations, restrictions on our ability to receive such funds may adversely impact our ability to fund our financial and other obligations.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 7
Reports published by analysts, including projections in those reports that differ from our actual results, could adversely affect the price and trading volume of our shares.Securities research analysts may establish and publish their own periodic projections for Anghami. These projections may vary widely and may not accurately predict the results we actually achieve. Our share price may decline if our actual results do not match the projections of these securities research analysts. Similarly, if one or more of the analysts who write reports on us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, our share price or trading volume could decline.
Debt & Financing3 | 4.2%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We do business in locations where we are exposed to a greater-than-average risk of adverse sovereign action.Debt & Financing - Risk 2
Our royalty payment arrangements are complex, and it is difficult to estimate the amount payable under license agreements.Under our license agreements, we have to pay a royalty to record labels, music publishers, and other copyright owners in order to stream content. The determination of the amount and timing of such payments is complex and subject to a number of variables, including the revenue generated, the type of content streamed and the country in which it is streamed, the service tier such content is streamed on, identification of the appropriate license holder, size of user base, ratio of Ad-Supported Free service users to Premium service users, and any applicable advertising fees, app stores and telecom operators fees and discounts, among other variables.
Additionally, for new licensing agreements, we have certain arrangements because of which royalty costs are paid in advance or are subject to minimum guaranteed amounts. An accrual is estimated at the higher of the actual royalty costs to be incurred during a contractual period or the minimum guarantee.
Additionally, we also have license agreements that include so-called "most favored nations" provisions that require that the material terms of such agreements are the most favorable material terms provided to any music licensor, which, if triggered, could cause our royalty payments under those agreements to escalate substantially. An accrual and expense are recognized when it is probable that we will make additional royalty payments under these terms. Historically, we never incurred additional provisions relating to most favored nations provisions.
Determining royalty payments is complex. As a result, we may underpay or overpay the royalty amounts payable to record labels, music publishers, and other copyright owners. Underpayment could result in (i) litigation or other disputes with record labels, music publishers, and other copyright owners, (ii) the unexpected payment of additional royalties in material amounts, and (iii) damage to business relationships with record labels, music publishers, other copyright owners, and artists and/or artist groups. If we overpay royalties, we may be unable to reclaim such overpayments, and our profits will suffer. Failure to accurately pay royalties may adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
We may require additional capital to fund our operations and support business growth and objectives, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new features or enhance our existing services, expand into additional markets around the world, improve infrastructure, or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage, and have engaged, in equity and debt financing to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through future issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing shareholders could suffer additional significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our common shares. Any debt financing we secure in the future also could contain restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when required, our ability to continue to fund our operations and support business growth, acquire or retain users, and respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired.
Corporate Activity and Growth3 | 4.2%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, operating results, and financial condition may suffer.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We may not be able to successfully integrate the OSN+ business or to realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction.Added
On April 1, 2024, the group closed a previously announced transaction with OSN Streaming Limited ("OSN"), an affiliate of Panther Media Group Limited, which operated the digital streaming service known as "OSN+" through another of its subsidiaries, Gulf DTH FZ-LLC, pursuant to that certain Transaction Agreement, dated as of November 21, 2023, by and between Anghami and OSN. The successful integration of OSN+ into our business will depend substantially on the Company's ability to successfully consolidate operations, technology, systems and procedures. We may encounter difficulties during integration, such as: the loss of key personnel and customers; the disruption of operations and businesses; inconsistencies in standards, control procedures and policies; and unexpected issues with costs, operations, personnel, technology.
Integration activities have and will continue to divert resources from regular operations. Achieving the anticipated benefits of the transaction is subject to a number of uncertainties, including whether the Company integrates the OSN+ business in an efficient and effective manner, as well as general competitive factors in the marketplace. Failure to achieve or delays in achieving these anticipated benefits could result in a share price reduction as well as increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues, and diversion of management's time and energy and could materially and adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
Our business emphasizes rapid innovation and prioritizes long-term user engagement over short-term financial condition or results of operations. That strategy may yield results that sometimes do not align with the market's expectations. If that happens, our stock price may be negatively affected.Our business is growing and becoming more complex, and our success depends on our ability to quickly develop and launch new and innovative products. We believe our culture fosters this goal. Our focus on innovations and quick reactions could result in unintended outcomes or decisions that are poorly received by our users, advertisers, or partners. We have made, and expect to continue to make, significant investments to develop and launch new products, services, and initiatives, which may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including the fact that such offerings may not be commercially viable for an indefinite period of time or at all, or may not result in adequate return of capital on our investments. No assurance can be given that such new offerings will be successful and will not adversely affect our reputation, operating results, and financial condition. Our culture also prioritizes our long-term user engagement over short-term financial condition or results of operations. We frequently make decisions that may reduce our short-term revenue or profitability if we believe that the decisions benefit the aggregate user experience and will thereby improve our financial performance over the long term. These decisions may not produce the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case our user growth and engagement, our relationships with advertisers and partners, as well as our business, operating results, and financial condition could be seriously harmed.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 12/72 (17%)Above Sector Average
Competition2 | 2.8%
Competition - Risk 1
We face and will continue to face competition for Ad-Supported Free service users, Premium service users, and user listening time.Competition - Risk 2
We face significant competition from companies that operate in the steaming video-based industry and entertainment video business generally and we compete with these companies for users, content providers and advertisers.Added
We face significant competition primarily from companies that operate in the streaming video-based industry and entertainment video business generally. Through new and existing distribution channels, consumers have increasing options to access entertainment video. The various economic models underlying these channels include subscription, transactional, ad-supported and piracy-based models. All of these have the potential to capture meaningful segments of the entertainment video market. Traditional providers of entertainment video, including broadcasters and cable network operators, as well as internet based e-commerce or entertainment video providers are increasing their streaming video offerings. Many of these competitors have long operating histories, large customer bases, strong brand recognition, exclusive rights to certain content, large content libraries, and significantly greater financial resources than we do, and in turn may be able to attract and retain more users, content partners and advertisers. Our competitors may compete with us in a variety of ways, including by obtaining exclusive distribution rights for popular content, conducting brand promotions and other marketing activities, and making acquisitions. If we are unable to successfully or profitably compete with current and new competitors, our business will be adversely affected, and we may not be able to increase or maintain market share, revenues or profitability
Demand1 | 1.4%
Demand - Risk 1
Emerging industry trends in digital advertising may pose challenges for our ability to forecast or optimize our advertising inventory, which may adversely impact the Ad-Supported Free service revenue.Sales & Marketing7 | 9.7%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We are subject to a number of risks related to other payment solution providers.Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
We are subject to a number of risks related to credit card and debit card payments we accept.We accept payments using a variety of methods, including credit and debit card transactions. For credit and debit card payments, we pay interchange and other transaction fees, which may increase over time. An increase in those fees would require us to either increase the prices we charge for our Premium Service, which could cause us to lose Premium service users and subscription revenue or suffer an increase in our costs without a corresponding increase in the price we charge for our Premium Service, either of which could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.
We rely on third-party service providers for payment processing services. Our business could be materially disrupted if these third-party service providers become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. If we or our service providers for payment processing services have problems with our billing software, or the billing software malfunctions, it could have a material adverse effect on our user satisfaction and could cause one or more of the major credit card companies to disallow our continued use of their payment products. In addition, if our billing software fails to work properly and, as a result, we do not automatically charge our Premium service user's credit cards on a timely basis or at all, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements, and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it more difficult for us to comply. Any failure to comply with these rules or requirements may subject us to higher transaction fees, fines, penalties, damages, and civil liability, and may result in the loss of our ability to accept credit and debit card payments. Further, there is no guarantee that, even if we are in compliance with such rules or requirements, such compliance will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss, or misuse of data pertaining to credit and debit cards, credit and debit card holders, and credit and debit card transactions. Certain payment card associations have proposed additional requirements for trial offers for automatic renewal subscription services, which may hinder our ability to attract or retain Premium service users.
If we fail to adequately control fraudulent credit card transactions, we may face civil liability, diminished public perception of our security measures, and significantly higher credit card-related costs, each of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. If we are unable to maintain our chargeback rate or refund rates at acceptable levels, credit card and debit card companies may increase our transaction fees or terminate their relationships with us. The termination of our ability to process payments on any major credit or debit card would significantly impair our ability to operate our business.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses. This would subject us to U.S. GAAP reporting requirements which may be difficult for us to comply with.As a "foreign private issuer," we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and related rules and regulations. Under those rules, the determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2024.
In the future, we could lose our foreign private issuer status if a majority of our ordinary shares are held by residents in the United States and we fail to meet any one of the additional "business contacts" requirements. Although we intend to follow certain practices that are consistent with U.S. regulatory provisions applicable to U.S. companies, our loss of foreign private issuer status would make such provisions mandatory. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws if we are deemed a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we will be required to file periodic reports and prospectuses on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. For example, we would become subject to the Regulation FD, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. We also may be required to modify certain of our policies to comply with good governance practices associated with U.S. domestic issuers. Such conversion and modifications will involve additional costs. In addition, we may lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq that are available to foreign private issuers. For example, Nasdaq's corporate governance rules require listed companies to have, among other things, a majority of independent board members and independent director oversight of executive compensation, nomination of directors, and corporate governance matters. Nasdaq rules also require shareholder approval of certain share issuances, including approval of equity compensation plans. As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow home country practice in lieu of the above requirements. As long as we rely on the foreign private issuer exemption to certain of Nasdaq's corporate governance standards, a majority of the directors on our board of directors are not required to be independent directors, our remuneration committee is not required to be comprised entirely of independent directors and we will not be required to have a nominating and corporate governance committee. Also, we would be required to change our basis of accounting from IFRS as issued by the IASB to U.S. GAAP, which may be difficult and costly for us to comply with. If we lose our foreign private issuer status and fails to comply with U.S. securities laws applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, we may have to de-list from Nasdaq and could be subject to investigation by the SEC, Nasdaq and other regulators, among other materially adverse consequences.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
If our efforts to attract prospective users, retain existing users, and effectively monetize our products and services are not successful, our growth prospects and revenue will be adversely affected.Our ability to grow our business and generate revenue depends on retaining, expanding, and effectively monetizing our total user base, including by increasing the number of Premium service users and the number of users of our free ("Ad-Supported") service and finding ways to monetize content across the platform. We must convince prospective users of the benefits of our platform and our existing users of the continuing value of our platform. Our ability to attract new users, retain existing users, and convert Ad-Supported Free service users to Premium service users depends in large part on our ability to continue to offer exceptional technologies and products, compelling content, superior functionality, and an engaging user experience. Some of our competitors, including Apple, Google, and Amazon, have developed, and are continuing to develop, devices for which their music streaming services are preloaded, which puts us at a significant competitive disadvantage. As consumer tastes and preferences change on the internet and with mobile devices and other internet-connected products, we will need to enhance and improve our existing service, introduce new features, and maintain our competitive position with additional technological advances and an adaptable platform. If we fail to keep pace with technological advances or fail to offer compelling product offerings and state-of-the-art delivery platforms to meet consumer demands, our ability to grow or sustain the reach of our service, attract and retain users, and increase Premium service users may be adversely affected.
In addition, in order to increase advertising revenue, we also seek to increase the listening time that our Ad-Supported Free service users spend on the Ad-Supported Free service. The more content we stream under this service, the more advertising inventory we will have to sell. Generally, any increase in Ad-Supported Free service user base increases the size and scope of user pools targeted by advertisers, which improves our ability to deliver relevant advertising to those users in a manner that maximizes our advertising customers' return on investment. This, in turn, illustrates the effectiveness of our advertising solutions and justifies our pricing structure. If we fail to grow our Ad-Supported Free service user base, the amount of content streamed, and the listening time spent by these users, we may be unable to grow Ad-Supported revenue. Moreover, since we primarily source Premium service users from the conversion of our Ad-Supported Free service users, any failure to grow the Ad-Supported Free service user base or convert them to Premium service users may negatively impact our revenue.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
We rely on advertising revenue from our Ad-Supported Free service, and any failure to convince advertisers of the benefits of the Ad-Supported Free service in the future could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.Our ability to attract and retain advertisers, and ultimately to generate advertising revenue, depends on a number of factors, including:
- increasing the number of hours Ad-Supported Free service users spend listening to music or otherwise engaging with content;- increasing the number of Ad-Supported Free service users;- keeping up with advancements in technology;- competing effectively for advertising dollars from other online and mobile music streaming and media companies;- maintaining and growing relationships with marketers, agencies, and other demand sources who purchase advertising inventory from us; and - continuing to develop and diversify our advertisement platform, which currently includes delivery of advertising products through multiple delivery channels, including traditional computers, mobile, and other connected devices.
We may not succeed in capturing a greater share of our advertisers' core marketing budgets, particularly if we are unable to achieve the scale, reach, products, and market penetration necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of our advertising solutions, or if our advertising model proves ineffective or not competitive when compared to other alternatives and platforms through which advertisers choose to invest their budgets. Failure to grow the Ad-Supported Free service user base and to effectively demonstrate the value of our Ad-Supported Free service to advertisers could result in loss of, or reduced spending by, existing or potential future advertisers, which would materially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 6
If we fail to accurately predict, recommend, and play music that our users enjoy, we may fail to retain existing users and attract new users in sufficient numbers to meet investor expectations for growth or to operate our business profitably.Our system for predicting user music preferences and selecting music tailored to our users' individual music tastes is based on advanced data analytics systems and proprietary algorithms. While we have invested, and will continue to invest, significant resources in refining these technologies; however, these investments may not yield an attractive return and such refinements may not be effective. The effectiveness of our ability to predict user music preferences and select music tailored to our users' individual music tastes depends in part on our ability to gather and effectively analyze large amounts of user data. In addition, our ability to offer users songs that they have not previously heard and impart a sense of discovery depends on our ability to acquire and appropriately categorize additional songs that will appeal to each user's diverse and changing tastes. Although we have a large catalogue of songs available to stream, we may not be able to effectively identify and analyze additional songs that our users will enjoy. Our ability to predict and select music content that our users enjoy is critical to our service and failure to make accurate predictions could materially adversely affect our ability to adequately attract and retain users, increase hours spent by users consuming video and audio content on our app ("Content Hours"), and sell advertising to meet investor expectations for growth or to operate the business profitably.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 7
Failure to successfully monetize and generate revenues from podcasts and other non-music content could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.Delivering podcasts and other non-music content involves numerous risks and challenges, including increased capital requirements, competition, and the need to develop strategic relationships. Growth in these areas may require additional changes to our existing business model and cost structure, modifications to our infrastructure, and exposure to new regulatory, legal and reputational risks, including infringement liability, any of which may require additional expertise that we currently do not have. See "-We may be subject to disputes or liabilities associated with content made available on our platform." There is no guarantee that we will be able to generate sufficient revenue from podcasts or other non-music content to offset the costs of creating or acquiring this content. Failure to successfully monetize and generate revenues from such content, including failure to obtain or retain rights to podcasts or other non-music content on acceptable terms, or at all, or to effectively manage the numerous risks and challenges associated with such expansion, could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
In addition, we enter into multi-year commitments for original content that we produce or commission. Given the multiple-year duration and largely fixed-cost nature of such commitments, if our user growth and retention do not meet our expectations, our margins may be adversely impacted. Payment terms for certain content that we produce or commission will typically require more upfront cash payments than other content licenses or arrangements whereby we do not pay for the production of such content. To the extent our user and/or revenue growth do not meet our expectations, our liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of such content commitments. The long-term and fixed-cost nature of certain original content commitments may also limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business, as well as our ability to adjust our content offering if our users do not react favorably to the content we produce. Any such event could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.
To secure the rights to stream sound recordings and the musical compositions embodied therein, we enter into license agreements to obtain licenses from rights holders such as record labels, music publishers, performing rights organizations, collecting societies, and other copyright owners or their agents, and pays royalties to such parties or their agents around the world. We work diligently to obtain all necessary licenses to stream sound recordings and the musical compositions embodied therein, however, there is no guarantee that the licenses available to us now will continue to be available in the future at rates and on terms that are favorable or commercially reasonable or at all. The terms of these licenses, including the royalty rates that we are required to pay pursuant to them, may change as a result of changes in our bargaining power, changes in the industry, changes in the law, or for other reasons. Increases in royalty rates or changes to other terms of these licenses may materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.
We have entered into license agreements to obtain rights to stream sound recordings, including from the major international record labels who hold the rights to stream a significant number of sound recordings such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, as well as regional record labels, such as Rotana Music. If we fail to retain these licenses, the size and quality of our catalogue may be materially impacted and our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially harmed.
We generally obtain licenses for two types of rights with respect to musical compositions: mechanical rights and public performance rights. We obtain mechanical and performance licenses for musical compositions either through local collecting societies representing publishers or from publishers directly, or a combination thereof.
With respect to mechanical rights, in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and UAE (together, our "MENA Operating Area"), we pay various rights owners through a ratemaking process conducted on a case-by-case basis based on negotiating each deal. There are cases of publishing deals which are represented by bodies which combine both mechanical and public performance rights, such as SOLAR which represents mechanical rights of Sony Music Publishing and public performance rights from PRS and International Copyright Enterprise Services Limited among others. Since in many countries in the Middle East & North Africa ("MENA Region"), there are no collection societies, we cannot guarantee that our licenses with the existing few collecting societies and/or our direct licenses with publishers provide full coverage for all of the musical compositions we make available to our users in such countries. As such there is a fragmented copyright licensing landscape which leads to publishers, songwriters, and other rights holders choosing not to be represented by collecting societies and that adversely impacts our ability to secure favorable licensing arrangements in connection with musical compositions that such rights holders own or control, including increasing the costs of licensing such musical compositions, or subjecting us to significant liability for copyright infringement.
In the United States, the rates we incur for mechanical rights are a function of ratemaking procedure conducted by an administrative agency, Copyright Royalty Board. The most recent proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Board (the "Phonorecords IV Proceedings") set the rates for the Section 115 compulsory license for calendar years 2023 to 2027. The Copyright Royalty Board issued its initial written determination on January 26, 2018, and set up the Mechanical Licensing Collective (the "MLC"). The MLC is a nonprofit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to the Music Modernization Act of 2018. In January 2021, the MLC began administering blanket mechanical licenses to eligible streaming and download services (digital service providers or DSPs) in the United States, which we opted for and obtained a blanket license for mechanical rights in the U.S. The MLC collects the royalties due under those licenses from the DSPs and pay songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers. We currently believe that the current rates will not materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition in the U.S. as although the U.S. is our biggest market outside of the MENA Operating Area, it is currently not a significant market. However, if we do decide to expand our business (with both Arabic and international music) in the U.S., and we do not grow in revenues and users as expected or if the rates are modified to be higher than the proposed rates, our content acquisition costs could increase and impact our ability to obtain content on pricing terms favorable, which could negatively harm our business, operating results, and financial condition and hinder our ability to provide interactive features in our services, or cause one or more of our services not to be economically viable in U.S.
In the U.S., performing rights organizations ("PROs") generally provide public performance rights, which negotiate blanket licenses with copyright users for the public performance of compositions, collect royalties, and distribute those royalties to rights owners. The royalty rates that apply to us today may be subject to changes in the future. Licenses provided by two of these PROs, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc. are governed by consent decrees which are subject to terms which could be unfavorable to us in the future. This could affect our financial viability in the future in the U.S.
We cannot guarantee that our licenses with collecting societies and our direct licenses with publishers provide full coverage for all of the musical compositions that we make available on our platform.
There also is no guarantee that we have or will have all of the licenses we need to stream content, as the process of obtaining such licenses involves many rights holders, some of whom are unknown, and myriad complex legal issues across many jurisdictions, including open questions of law as to when and whether particular licenses are needed. Additionally, there is a risk that aspiring rights holders, their agents, or legislative or regulatory bodies will create or attempt to create new rights that could require us to enter into license agreements with, and pay royalties to, newly defined groups of rights holders, some of which may be difficult or impossible to identify. See also "Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business Model, Strategy, and Performance- Difficulties in obtaining accurate and comprehensive information necessary to identify the compositions embodied in sound recordings on our platform and the ownership thereof may impact our ability to perform our obligations under our licenses, affect the size of our catalogue, impact our ability to control content acquisition costs, and lead to potential copyright infringement claims."
Further, we cannot guarantee that such agreements will continue to be renewed indefinitely. For example, from time to time, license agreements with certain rights holders and/or their agents may expire while we are still negotiating their renewals, and, per industry custom and practice, we may enter into brief contract extension (for example, month-, week-, or even days-long) and/or continue to operate as if the license agreement had been extended. During these periods, we may not have assurance of long-term access to such rights holders' content, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and could lead to potential copyright infringement claims. It also is possible that such agreements will never be renewed at all. The lack of renewal, or termination, of one or more of our license agreements, or the renewal of a license agreement on less favorable terms, also could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Brand / Reputation2 | 2.8%
Brand / Reputation - Risk 1
Our business depends on a strong brand, and any failure to maintain, protect, and enhance the brand would hurt our ability to retain or expand our base of Ad-Supported Free service users, Premium service users, and advertisers.Brand / Reputation - Risk 2
Negative media coverage could adversely affect our business.We receive a high degree of media coverage in the MENA Operating Area. Unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, payments to music labels, publishers, artists, and ther copyright owners, our privacy practices, terms of service, service changes, service quality, litigation or regulatory activity, government surveillance, the actions of our advertisers, the actions of our developers whose services are integrated with our service, the use of our service for illicit, objectionable, or illegal ends, the actions of any users, the quality and integrity of content shared on our service, or the actions of other companies that provide similar services to it, could materially adversely affect our reputation. Such negative publicity also could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of our user base and result in decreased revenue, which would materially adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 9/72 (13%)Below Sector Average
Regulation2 | 2.8%
Regulation - Risk 1
We are subject to a variety of laws around the world. Government regulation of the internet is evolving and any changes in government regulations relating to the internet or other areas of our business or other unfavorable developments may adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.Regulation - Risk 2
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of U.S. securities laws and rules promulgated thereunder and are permitted to publicly disclose less information than U.S. public companies must. This may limit the information available to holders of the ordinary shares.We currently qualify as a foreign private issuer, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC, and, consequently, we are not subject to all of the disclosure requirements applicable to companies organized within the United States. For example, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") that regulate disclosure obligations and procedural requirements related to the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations applicable to a security registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and "short swing" profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. For example, some of our key executives may sell a significant amount of ordinary shares and such sales will not be required to be disclosed as promptly as companies organized within the United States would have to disclose. Accordingly, once such sales are eventually disclosed, the price of ordinary shares may decline significantly. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. public companies. We are also not subject to Regulation FD under the Exchange Act, which would prohibit us from selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to certain persons without concurrently making a widespread public disclosure of such information. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning our company than there is for U.S. public companies.
As a foreign private issuer, we are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the close of each fiscal year ended December 31 and furnish reports on Form 6-K relating to certain material events promptly after we publicly announce these events. However, because of the above exemptions for foreign private issuers, our shareholders may not always be afforded the same information generally available to investors holding shares in public companies that are not foreign private issuers.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities1 | 1.4%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
We operate in regions where corrupt behavior exists that could impair our ability to do business in the future or result in significant fines or penalties.Taxation & Government Incentives4 | 5.6%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
If we were a passive foreign investment company for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, U.S. holders of ordinary shares could be subject to adverse United States federal income tax consequences.Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
The IRS may not agree that we should be treated as a non-U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.A corporation is generally considered for U.S. federal income tax purposes to be a tax resident in the jurisdiction of our organization or incorporation. Accordingly, under the generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rules, we, since we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, would be classified as a non-U.S. corporation (and, therefore, not a U.S. tax resident) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Section 7874 of the Code provides an exception to this general rule under which a non-U.S. incorporated entity may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we were to be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could be subject to substantial liability for additional U.S. income taxes, and the gross amount of any dividend payments to our non-U.S. holders could be subject to U.S. withholding tax.
Further, the rules for determining ownership under Section 7874 are complex, unclear and the subject of ongoing regulatory change. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not assert a contrary position to those described above or that such an assertion would not be sustained by a court in the event of litigation.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 3
We are a multinational company that faces complex taxation regimes in various jurisdictions. Audits, investigations, and tax proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.We are subject to income and non-income taxes in numerous jurisdictions. Income tax accounting often involves complex issues, and judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities, if any. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax reserves as well as tax liabilities going forward. In addition, the application of withholding tax, value added tax, goods and services tax, sales taxes and other non-income taxes is not always clear, and we may be subject to tax audits relating to such withholding or non-income taxes. We believe that our tax positions are reasonable and that the tax reserves are adequate to cover any potential liability. However, tax authorities in certain jurisdictions may disagree with our position, including the propriety of our related party arm's length transfer pricing policies and the tax treatment of corresponding expenses and income. If any of these tax authorities were successful in challenging our positions, we may be liable for additional income tax and penalties and interest related thereto in excess of any reserves established therefor, which may have a significant impact on our results and operations and future cash flow. Additionally, changes in tax laws, treaties, or regulations or their interpretation or enforcement are unpredictable. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations and financial condition.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 4
If we do not receive previously agreed financial incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, the results of our operations could be adversely affected.Our headquarters are in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, at the Abu Dhabi Global Market ("ADGM"). The Abu Dhabi Investment Office ("ADIO"), being the Abu Dhabi government's investment attraction and development hub, has committed to providing financial incentives to support the establishment, growth and development of our technology and research and development center in Abu Dhabi. Pursuant to the incentive program agreement entered into between ADIO and us, dated December 23, 2020, we will be entitled to receive these financial incentives, in the form of rebates, only upon meeting certain performance metrics and conditions. These include establishing the project plan (which includes setting up the new global headquarters in Abu Dhabi and moving personnel to such office), certain employment commitments and investment commitments. Based on these achievements, we will have to submit quarterly financial reports and ADIO has the right to approve these reports and determine applicable rebates payable for such quarter. If we are unable to meet these performance metrics or conditions in any quarter, or otherwise fail to receive the financial incentive payments, the results of our operations could be adversely affected. An amendment has been made to the agreement in May 2023 where certain rebate amounts have been reclassified between categories that are eligible for incentives.
Environmental / Social2 | 2.8%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
Various regulations related to privacy and data security concerns pose the threat of lawsuits and other liability, require us to expend significant resources, and may harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.Environmental / Social - Risk 2
Difficulties in obtaining accurate and comprehensive information necessary to identify the compositions embodied in sound recordings on our platform and the ownership thereof may impact our ability to perform our obligations under our licenses, affect the size of our catalogue, impact our ability to control content acquisition costs, and lead to potential copyright infringement claims.Comprehensive and accurate ownership information for the musical compositions embodied in sound recordings is often unavailable to us or difficult or, in some cases, impossible for us to obtain, often times because it is withheld by the owners or administrators of such rights. We currently rely on the assistance of third parties to determine this information. If the information provided to us or obtained by such third parties does not comprehensively or accurately identify the ownership of musical compositions, or if we are unable to determine which musical compositions correspond to specific sound recordings, it may be difficult or impossible to identify the appropriate rights holders to whom to pay royalties. This may make it difficult to comply with the obligations of any agreements with those rights holders.
These challenges, and others concerning the licensing of musical compositions embodied in sound recordings on our service, may subject us to significant liability for copyright infringement, breach of contract, or other claims.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 7/72 (10%)Below Sector Average
Trade Secrets2 | 2.8%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
Failure to protect our intellectual property could substantially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
Assertions by third parties of infringement or other violation by us of their intellectual property rights could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.Third parties have asserted, and may in the future assert, that we have infringed, misappropriated, or otherwise violated their copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights, and as we face increasing competition, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims against us grows.
Our ability to provide our service is dependent upon our ability to license intellectual property rights to sound recordings and the musical compositions embodied therein, as well as related content such as album cover art and artist images. Various laws and regulations govern the copyright and other intellectual property rights associated with sound recordings and musical compositions. Existing laws and regulations are evolving and subject to different interpretations, and various legislative or regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws or regulations. See "Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business Model, Strategy, and Performance- Difficulties in obtaining accurate and comprehensive information necessary to identify the compositions embodied in sound recordings on our service and the ownership thereof may impact our ability to perform our obligations under our licenses, affect the size of our catalogue, impact our ability to control content acquisition costs, and lead to potential copyright infringement claims."
In addition, music, internet, technology, and media companies are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property rights. Many companies in these industries, including many of our competitors, have substantially larger patent and intellectual property portfolios than we do. Various "non-practicing entities" that own patents and other intellectual property rights often attempt to aggressively assert claims in order to extract value from technology companies. Further, from time to time we may introduce new products and services, including in territories where we currently do not have an offering, which could increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims from competitors and non-practicing entities. It is difficult to predict whether assertions of third-party intellectual property rights or any infringement or misappropriation claims arising from such assertions will substantially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. If we are forced to defend against any infringement or misappropriation claims, whether they are with or without merit, are settled out of court, or are determined in our favor, we may be required to expend significant time and financial resources on the defense of such claims. Furthermore, an adverse outcome of a dispute may require us to pay significant damages, which may be even greater if we are found to have willfully infringed upon a party's intellectual property; cease exploiting copyrighted content that we have previously had the ability to exploit; cease using solutions that are alleged to infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property of others; expend additional development resources to redesign our solutions; enter into potentially unfavorable royalty or license agreements in order to obtain the right to use necessary technologies, content, or materials; indemnify our partners and other third parties; and/or take other actions that may have material effects on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Moreover, we rely on software programmers to design our proprietary technologies, and we regularly contribute software source code under "open source" licenses and have made technology we developed available under open-source licenses. We cannot assure you that our efforts to prevent the incorporation of licenses that would require us to disclose code and/or innovations in our products will always be successful, as we do not exercise complete control over the development efforts of our programmers, and we cannot be certain that our programmers have not used software that is subject to such licenses or that they will not do so in the future. In the event that portions of our proprietary technology are determined to be subject to licenses that require us to publicly release the affected portions of our source code, re-engineer a portion of our technologies, or otherwise be limited in the licensing of our technologies, we may be forced to do so, each of which could materially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Finally, some of the content offered on our service is generated by our users or other content creators, subjecting us to heightened risk of claims of intellectual property infringement by third parties if such users and content creators do not obtain the appropriate authorizations from rights holders.
Cyber Security2 | 2.8%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
If our security systems are breached, we may face civil liability, and public perception of our security measures could be diminished, either of which would negatively affect our ability to attract and retain Premium service users, Ad-Supported Free service users, advertisers, content providers, and other business partners.Cyber Security - Risk 2
We are at risk of attempts at unauthorized access to our service and failure to effectively prevent and remediate such attempts could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.We are at risk of being impacted by attempts by third parties to manipulate and exploit our software for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to our service. If we have currently failed to successfully detect and address such issues or if in the future we fail to successfully detect and address such issues, it may have artificial effects on key performance indicators, which underlie, among other things, our contractual obligations with rights holders and advertisers, as well as harm our relationship with advertisers and rights holders. This may also impact our results of operations, particularly with respect to margins on our Ad-Supported Free service segment, by increasing the advertisement segment cost of revenue without a corresponding increase to our revenue from advertisement, and could expose us to claims for damages including, but not limited to, from rights holders, any of which could seriously harm our business. Moreover, once we detect and correct such unauthorized access and any key performance indicators it affects, investor confidence in the integrity of our key performance indicators could be undermined. These could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Technology3 | 4.2%
Technology - Risk 1
Interruptions, delays or discontinuations in service arising from our own systems or from third parties could impair the delivery of our service and harm our business.Technology - Risk 2
We are at risk of artificial manipulation of stream counts and failure to effectively manage and remediate such fraudulent streams could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.We have in the past been, and continues to be, impacted by attempts by third parties to artificially manipulate stream counts. Such attempts may, for example, be designed to generate revenue for rights holders or to influence placement of content on Anghami-created playlists or industry music charts. These potentially fraudulent streams also may involve the creation of non-bona fide user accounts or artists. We use a combination of algorithms and manual review by employees to detect fraudulent streams. However, it may not be successful in detecting, removing, and addressing all fraudulent streams (and any related user accounts). If we fail to successfully detect, remove, and address fraudulent streams and associated user accounts, it may result in the manipulation of our data, including the key performance indicators which underlie, among other things, our contractual obligations with rights holders and advertisers (which could expose us to the risk of litigation), as well as harm our relationships with advertisers and rights holders. In addition, once we detect, correct, and disclose fraudulent streams and associated user accounts and the key performance indicators they affect, investor confidence in the integrity of our key performance indicators could be undermined. These could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Technology - Risk 3
Streaming depends on effectively working with third-party platforms, operating systems, online platforms, hardware, networks, regulations, and standards that we do not control. Changes in our service or those operating systems, hardware, networks, regulations, or standards, and our limitations on our ability to access those platforms, operating systems, hardware, or networks may seriously harm our business.Our service requires high-bandwidth data capabilities and if the costs of data usage increase or access to data networks is limited, our business may be seriously harmed. Additionally, to deliver high-quality audio, video, and other content over networks, our services must work well with a range of technologies, systems, networks, regulations, and standards that we do not control.
We also rely on a variety of operating systems, online platforms, hardware, and networks to reach our customers. These platforms range from desktop and mobile operating systems and application stores to wearables and intelligent voice assistants. The owners or operators of these platforms may not share our interests and may restrict our access to them or place conditions on access that would materially affect our ability to access those platforms. In particular, where the owner of a platform also is our direct competitor, the platform may attempt to use this position to affect our access to customers and ability to compete. Online platforms also may unilaterally impose certain requirements that negatively affect our ability to convert users to the Premium service, such as conditions that limit our freedom to communicate promotions and offers to the users. Similarly, online platforms may force us to use the platform's payment processing systems which may be inferior to and more costly than other payment processing services available in the market. Online platforms frequently change the rules and requirements for services like our access to the platform, and such changes may adversely affect the success or desirability of our service. Online platforms may limit our access to information about customers, limiting our ability to convert and retain them. Online platforms also may deny access to application programming interfaces ("API") or documentation, limiting functionality of our service on the platform. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the requirements of those operating systems, online platforms, hardware, networks, regulations, and standards on which our service depends, and failure to do so could result in serious harm to our business.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 7/72 (10%)Above Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment5 | 6.9%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Global economic uncertainty and unfavorable global economic conditions caused by political instability, and conflicts, such as the Gaza and Russia-Ukraine conflicts, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.Added
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
We are subject to the economic and political conditions of operating in an emerging market and operates against a backdrop of continued instability and unrest in the Middle East.Our headquarters are in the UAE and, accordingly, our results of operations are, and will continue to be, generally affected by financial, economic and political developments in or affecting Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the Middle East. It is not possible to predict the occurrence of events or circumstances, such as war or hostilities, or the impact of such occurrences, and no assurance can be given that we would be able to sustain the operation of our business if adverse political events or circumstances were to occur. A general downturn or instability in certain sectors of the UAE or the regional economy could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Although economic growth rates in the UAE remain above those of many more developed, as well as regional, markets, the UAE has experienced volatile economic growth in recent years. Economic growth or performance in the UAE, in general, may not be sustained. The UAE's wealth remains largely based on oil and gas. Despite the UAE being viewed as being less vulnerable than some of our neighbors, due to the growth in the non-oil sector and the sizeable wealth of the government of Abu Dhabi, fluctuations in energy prices have an important bearing on economic growth. To the extent that economic growth or performance in the UAE subsequently declines, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, the implementation by the governments of the UAE of restrictive fiscal or monetary policies or regulations, including in respect of interest rates, or new legal interpretations of existing regulations and the introduction of taxation or exchange controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
While the UAE is seen as a relatively stable political environment, certain other jurisdictions in the Middle East are not and there is a risk that regional geopolitical instability could impact the UAE. Instability in the Middle East may result from a number of factors, including government or military regime change, civil unrest or terrorism
In addition, operating in Egypt and Lebanon also comes with potential political and economic risks. Egypt has a history of political instability, including protests and military coups, which can disrupt economic activities. The country also faces rising inflation and strain on the currency, which has significantly devalued in 2022, continuing into 2024. Meanwhile, Lebanon grapples with ongoing economic crises and political instability, resulting in soaring inflation. Furthermore, the ongoing conflict in Gaza has had a significant impact on businesses in the Middle East, particularly in the entertainment and media sectors, with disruptions to investments, advertising activities and live events. Any of the foregoing circumstances could have a material adverse effect on the political and economic stability of the Middle East in general and on the countries that we operate in and, consequently, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
It is not possible to predict the occurrence of events or circumstances such as terrorism, war or hostilities, or more generally the financial, political and economic conditions prevailing from time to time, or the impact of such occurrences or conditions, and no assurance can be given that we would be able to be profitable if adverse financial, political or economic events or circumstances were to occur. A general downturn or instability in certain sectors of the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon or the regional economy, or political upheaval therein, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Investors should also note that our business and financial performance could be adversely affected by political, economic or related developments both within and outside the MENA Region because of interrelationships within the global financial markets.
Prospective investors should also be aware that investments in emerging markets, such as the UAE, are subject to greater risks than those in more developed markets. The economy of the UAE, like those of many emerging markets, has been characterized by significant government involvement through direct ownership of enterprises and extensive regulation of market conditions, including foreign investment, foreign trade and financial services. While the policies of the local and central governments of the UAE generally resulted in improved economic performance in previous years, there can be no assurance that these levels of performance can be sustained.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 3
Our business operations could be adversely affected by terrorist attacks and political instability, and other events beyond our control.Terrorist activity in the MENA Region stemming from the ongoing political instability and civil war in certain countries, including Syria and Iraq, has had an adverse effect on consumer appetite and demand in general. There have been a number of terrorist attacks in various countries, which are claimed to be conducted by the terrorist organization and despite the recent loss of military might and territory of such organization in Syria and Iraq, there is no assurance that no such attempts will be carried out in the near future. The MENA Region has generally also experienced domestic political instability caused by ethnic separatist groups. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be adversely affected if such terrorist activity heightens and spreads into cities where we operate.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 4
The impact of worldwide economic conditions may adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.Our financial performance is subject to worldwide economic conditions and their impact on levels of advertising spending. Expenditures by advertisers generally tend to reflect overall economic conditions, and to the extent that the economy continues to stagnate, reductions in spending by advertisers could have a material adverse impact on our business. Historically, economic downturns have resulted in overall reductions in advertising spending. Economic conditions may adversely impact levels of consumer spending, which could adversely impact the number of users who purchase our Premium services on our website and mobile application.
Consumer purchases of discretionary items generally decline during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected. To the extent that overall economic conditions reduce spending on discretionary activities, our ability to retain current and obtain new Premium service users could be hindered, which could reduce our subscription revenue and negatively impact our business.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 5
Continued hostilities and unrest in the MENA Region or changes in the economic, social and political environment in the MENA Region could have an adverse impact on our business.It is difficult for us to predict the consequences of any political and socio-economic change that may be brought about as a result of the unrest in several countries in the MENA Region, or what the implications of such changes will be on our operations given that legislative, tax and business environments can be altered quickly and dramatically. Accordingly, our ability to operate our businesses regularly and our willingness to commit new resources or investments may be affected or disrupted, potentially with corresponding reductions in revenue, more aggressive taxation policies, increases in other expenses, restrictions on repatriating funds and difficulties in recruiting staff. Such risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or prospects.
Additionally, as a substantial part of our assets and operations are currently located in jurisdictions which are, have been, or could in the future be subject to political, economic and social instability, our operating results were and will be affected by any economic, social and political developments that affect each of the countries in which we operate and, in particular, by the level of economic activity. Economic, social and political instability leads to uncertainty over future economic conditions and policy decisions. Prolonged disruptions of business operations due to any political or social instability could adversely affect our business.
Further incidents of political or social instability, terrorism, protests or violence may directly or indirectly affect the economies of the markets in which we operate, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
International Operations1 | 1.4%
International Operations - Risk 1
We face many risks associated with our international operations.Capital Markets1 | 1.4%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
If currency exchange rates fluctuate substantially in the future, the results of our operations could be adversely affected.Production
Total Risks: 6/72 (8%)Below Sector Average
Manufacturing1 | 1.4%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
Our products are highly technical and may contain undetected errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities, which could manifest in ways that could seriously harm our reputation and our business.Employment / Personnel1 | 1.4%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We depend on highly skilled key personnel to operate our business, and if we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel, our ability to develop and successfully grow our business could be harmed.Supply Chain4 | 5.6%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
Our ability to increase the number of users will depend in part on our ability to distribute our service, which may be affected by third-party interference beyond our control.Supply Chain - Risk 2
Minimum guarantees required under certain of our license agreements for sound recordings and underlying musical compositions may limit our operations and may adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.Certain of our license agreements for sound recordings and musical compositions (both for mechanical rights and public performance rights) contain minimum guarantees and/or require that we make minimum guarantee payments. Such minimum guarantees related to content acquisition costs are not always tied to our number of users, Premium service users, or the number of sound recordings and musical compositions used on our service. Accordingly, our ability to achieve and sustain profitability and operating leverage on our service depends, in part, on our ability to increase revenue through increased sales of Premium service and advertising sales on terms that maintain an adequate gross margin. The duration of license agreements that contain minimum guarantees is typically between one and two years, but Premium service users may cancel their subscriptions at any time. If our forecasts of Premium service user acquisition do not meet our expectations or the number or advertising sales decline significantly during the term of the license agreements, our margins may be materially and adversely affected. To the extent Premium service revenue growth or advertising sales do not meet our expectations, our business, operating results, and financial condition also could be adversely affected as a result of such minimum guarantees. In addition, the fixed cost nature of these minimum guarantees may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the market segments in which we operate.
We rely on estimates of the market share of licensable content controlled by each content provider, as well as its own user growth and forecasted advertising revenue, to forecast whether such minimum guarantees could be recouped against our actual content acquisition costs incurred over the duration of the license agreement. To the extent that this revenue and/or market share estimates underperform relative to our expectations, leading to content acquisition costs that do not exceed such minimum guarantees, our margins may be materially and adversely affected.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
We have no control over the providers of our content, and our business may be adversely affected if the access to music is limited or delayed. The concentration of control of content by our major providers means that even one entity, or a small number of entities working together, may unilaterally affect our access to music and other content.We rely on music rights holders, over whom we have no control, for the content we make available on our service. We cannot guarantee that these parties will always choose to license to it. The music industry has a high level of concentration, which means that one or a small number of entities may, on their own, take actions that adversely affect our business. For example, with respect to sound recordings, the music licensed to us under our agreements with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, constitutes a large portion of music consumed on our service. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this content accounted for more than 30% of streams.
Our business may be adversely affected if our access to music is limited or delayed because of deterioration in our relationships with one or more of these rights holders or if they choose not to license to us for any other reason. Rights holders also may attempt to take advantage of their market power to seek onerous financial terms from us, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, and from time to time, we have been subject to litigation relating to our licensing of music and other content.
Even if we are able to secure rights to sound recordings from record labels and other copyright owners, artists and/or artist groups may object and may exert public or private pressure on third parties to discontinue licensing rights to us, hold back content from it, or increase royalty rates. As a result, our ability to continue to license rights to sound recordings is subject to convincing a broad range of stakeholders of the value and quality of our service.
To the extent that we are unable to license a large amount of content or the content of certain popular artists, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
We are a party to many license agreements which are complex and impose numerous obligations upon us which may make it difficult to operate our business, and a breach of such agreements could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.Our license agreements are primarily complex and impose numerous obligations on it, including obligations to, among other things:
- meet certain user and conversion targets in order to secure certain licenses and royalty rates;- calculate and make payments based on complex royalty structures, which requires tracking usage of content on our service that may have inaccurate or incomplete metadata necessary for such calculation;- provide periodic reports on the exploitation of the content in specified formats;- represent that we will obtain all necessary publishing licenses and consents and pay all associated fees, royalties, and other amounts due for the licensing of musical compositions;- provide advertising inventory;- comply with certain marketing and advertising restrictions; and - comply with certain security and technical specifications.
Some of our license agreements grant the licensor the right to audit our compliance with the terms and conditions of such agreements. Some of the license agreements also include so-called "most favored nations" provisions which require that certain terms (including potentially the material terms) of such agreements are no less favorable than those provided to any similarly situated licensor. If triggered, these most favored nations provisions could cause our payments or other obligations under those agreements to escalate substantially. Additionally, some license agreements require consent to undertake certain business initiatives and without such consent, our ability to undertake new business initiatives may be limited and in turn could hurt our competitive position.
If we materially breach any of these obligations or any other obligations set forth in any of the license agreements, or if we use content in ways that are found to exceed the scope of such agreements, we could be subject to monetary penalties and our rights under such license agreements could be terminated, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.
FAQ
What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
1. Financial & Corporate
- Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
- Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
- Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
2. Legal & Regulatory
- Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
- Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
- Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
- Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
3. Production
- Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
- Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
- Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
- Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
4. Technology & Innovation
- Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
- Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
- Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
- Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
5. Ability to Sell
- Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
- Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
- Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
- Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
6. Macro & Political
- Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
- Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
- International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
- Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.