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NextNav (NN)
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Risk Overview Q3, 2024
Risk Distribution
27% Tech & Innovation
24% Finance & Corporate
16% Ability to Sell
14% Production
10% Legal & Regulatory
8% Macro & Political
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
NextNav 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 Q3, 2024
Main Risk Category
Tech & Innovation
With 13 Risks
Tech & Innovation
With 13 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
49
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
49
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
Number of Risk Changed
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 3
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of NextNav 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 49
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 13/49 (27%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D1 | 2.0%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
We may not be successful in the evolution of our TerraPoiNT technology to utilize 5G NR signals, which will increase our costs and may increase the challenge of adopting our services, and the time it takes us to evolve our service may differ from our estimates.Trade Secrets4 | 8.2%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
The failure to successfully obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights and defend against challenges to our intellectual property rights could adversely affect us.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
Our retention and use of our LMS licenses has been the subject of ongoing objections by third parties that could result in the revocation or non-renewal of our LMS licenses.The FCC's oversight of radio spectrum is conducted using a largely public process that is generally governed by the Administrative Procedure Act and the FCC's rules on public participation in spectrum allocation and licensing proceedings. As a result, our retention and use of our LMS licenses has been the subject of comments and objections from third parties, including other users of the 902-928 MHz frequencies and other current and former licensees of LMS spectrum. In the past, the FCC has regularly rejected and dismissed these objections to our retention and use of our LMS licenses, but no certainty exists that the FCC will continue to do so in the future. Certain of the previous objections remain pending before the FCC, meaning that the FCC could still act on them in a manner that is adverse to us. The pending objections include pleadings that were filed on July 8, 2013 by a number of businesses that use unlicensed radio spectrum in their operations and were asking the FCC to suspend our authority to use our LMS spectrum for commercial purposes. In addition, several affiliated companies controlled by a former licensee of LMS spectrum have filed numerous objections and adverse pleadings against our LMS licenses. A number of these adverse pleadings remain pending, including a petition, dated February 3, 2021, requesting the FCC to reallocate the 902-928 MHz band for other purposes. Although the FCC has consistently rejected the adverse pleadings that were filed by this individual in the past, no certainty exists that the FCC will continue to do so. If the FCC acts on any current or future objections by third parties, our LMS licenses could be revoked or not renewed, which will have a material adverse impact on our ability to expand TerraPoiNT as previously planned and our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Many of our LMS licenses are subject to end-of-term build-out requirements maintained by the FCC and no certainty exists that we will be able to comply with the build out requirements for all of our licenses.LMS licenses are subject to FCC rules that require licensees to make productive use of their licensed radio spectrum by a specific deadline and continue such use throughout the term of the licenses. If a licensee fails to satisfy its build-out deadlines, the FCC will declare its licenses to be null and void. Pursuant to orders issued by the FCC on January 1, 2017, July 19, 2020, and March 29, 2023, the end-of-term buildout deadlines for our FCC licenses were divided into two groups: a deadline of June 17, 2021 for our 82 licenses covering the 41 most populous Economic Areas ("EAs") in the United States and a deadline of April 3, 2023 for our 144 licenses covering our remaining 72 licensed EAs.
To comply with our build-out requirements on each of the deadlines, we were required to demonstrate for each of our LMS licenses either that the geographic area of our licensed network provides coverage of at least two-thirds of the population in each of the licensed areas or that we are providing substantial service to end users in each of our licensed areas. On February 2, 2021, we filed a waiver request with the FCC seeking approval to use a third option, demonstrating that the geographic area of our licensed network provides coverage of at least two-thirds of relatively tall buildings (those in excess of three stories) rather than two-thirds of the population. On March 29, 2023, the FCC approved the use of this tall building approach by issuing an order that concluded that two-thirds coverage of tall buildings is sufficient to qualify as substantial service.
We employed our tall building coverage approach with respect to the end-of-term build-out showings that we filed with the FCC for our 82 LMS licenses that were subject to a June 17, 2021 buildout deadline. On April 17 and 18, 2023, the FCC "accepted" (i.e., approved) the buildout showings for 78 of the 82 LMS licenses that were subject to a June 17, 2023 buildout deadline. The buildout showings for the remaining four LMS licenses that were subject to a June 17, 2023 buildout deadline remain pending before the FCC. The buildout showings for these four licenses employed a different methodology than the remaining 78 licenses. While we do not currently have reason to believe that the FCC will decline to accept these buildout showings, there is no certainty that the FCC will act favorably on these remaining four showings.
With respect to our 144 LMS licenses that were subject to an April 3, 2023 buildout deadline, for 64 of those licenses, we timely filed buildout showings demonstrating that the geographic area of our licensed network provides coverage of at least two-thirds of the relatively tall buildings (those in excess of three stories) in each of the 32 EAs covered by these licenses. These buildout showings are pending before the FCC. With respect to another eight LMS licenses covering four EAs, relatively brief extensions of the buildout deadline of between three to nine months were requested to address delays in the transmitter site permitting and construction process in those markets. Those delays have since been addressed and buildout showings for the eight LMS licenses were filed with the FCC prior to the conclusion of the three to nine month extensions that we requested for those licenses. These eight buildout showings are also pending before the FCC. Finally, with respect to the remaining 72 licenses covering many of the least populated EAs authorized by Progeny's LMS licenses, requests for a two-year extension, until April 3, 2025, of the buildout deadlines were submitted. The two-year extension requests were based on multiple justifications that have been deemed by the FCC to be sufficient to merit the grant of such extensions in comparable cases involving other FCC licensees, although no certainty exists that the FCC will conclude that Progeny's two-year extension requests will be similarly warranted.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
Our LMS licenses are subject to renewal by the FCC and no certainty exists that we will be able to secure ongoing renewals of our licenses.Our LMS licenses were issued by the FCC for renewable periods of ten years and the current term of our LMS licenses expired on July 19, 2020. The FCC's rules do not identify a specific threshold that must be demonstrated in order for us to secure renewal of our LMS licenses, which means the applicable threshold is the FCC's statutory obligation to grant a renewal of our licenses if it serves the public interest. Our LMS licenses were initially required to be renewed on July 19, 2010. We timely filed an application for renewal, which the FCC granted on January 17, 2017. The FCC's renewal grant was expressly conditioned on our compliance with build-out requirements, discussed further below. On July 7, 2020, we filed a second request for renewal of our LMS licenses, which is still pending before the FCC. If we secure the renewal of our LMS licenses, our license renewal applications thereafter will be subject to new FCC rules placing additional conditions on license renewal applications. Specifically, in order to secure a third renewal of our LMS licenses in 2030, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with additional requirements, including that we have satisfied its build-out construction requirements, that we use our network to provide service to the public, and that the service provided is at least at the same level of service that was demonstrated at the time of our build-out showing. No certainty exists that we will receive the currently applied for renewal or continue to meet the requirements of such renewal for future applications. If we fail to secure renewals for our LMS licenses, we will not be able to pursue our TerraPoiNT services as previously planned and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.
Cyber Security2 | 4.1%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
We may become subject to litigation arising out of any security breaches, which may adversely affect our business.Cyber Security - Risk 2
Significant disruptions of our information technology systems or data security incidents, or the perceived failure to adequately protect personal information or other confidential or proprietary data, could trigger contractual and legal obligations, harm our reputation, subject us to liability, cause us to modify our business practices and otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.We are dependent on information technology systems and infrastructure to operate our business. We also rely on third parties to operate our business, whether because we have outsourced certain elements of our operations (including elements of our information technology infrastructure) to third parties, or may have incorporated third-party technology into our platform, or rely on third parties to incorporate our products and services into their offerings. As a result, a number of third parties may or could have access to our information technology systems (including our computer networks) or to our confidential information. In addition, many of those third parties in turn subcontract or outsource some of their responsibilities to third parties. As a result, our information technology systems, including the functions of third parties that are involved or have access to those systems, is large and complex. While all information technology operations are inherently vulnerable to inadvertent or intentional security breaches, incidents, attacks and exposures, the size, complexity, accessibility and distributed nature of our information technology systems, and personal or confidential information stored on those systems, make such systems potentially vulnerable to unintentional or malicious internal and external threats on our technology environment.
Vulnerabilities can be exploited from inadvertent or intentional actions of our employees, third-party vendors, business partners, or by malicious third parties. Attacks of this nature are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and are being conducted by sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of motives (including, but not limited to, industrial espionage) and expertise, including organized criminal groups, "hacktivists," nation-states and others. For example, despite our efforts to secure our information technology systems and the data contained in those systems, including any efforts to educate or train our employees, we remain vulnerable to phishing attacks.
In addition to the threat of unauthorized access or acquisition of sensitive or personal information, other threats could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware attacks, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Some of these external threats may be amplified by the nature of third-party web hosting or cloud computing services or by the integration of our product into a third party's offerings. Our systems may experience directed attacks intended to interrupt our operations; extract money from it; and/or obtain our data (including without limitation end user or employee personal information or proprietary information).
Although we have implemented certain systems, processes, and safeguards intended to protect our information technology systems and data from such threats and mitigate risks to our systems and data, we cannot be certain that threat actors will not have a material impact on our systems or services in the future. Our safeguards intended to prevent or mitigate certain threats may not be sufficient to protect our information technology systems and data due to the developing sophistication and means of attack in the threat landscape. Recent developments in the threat landscape include an increased number of cyber extortion and ransomware attacks, with increases in the amount of ransom demands and the sophistication and variety of ransomware techniques and methodology. Additionally, our third-party vendors or business partners' information technology systems may be vulnerable to similar threats and our business could be affected by those or similar third-party relationships. The risk of harm to our business caused by security incidents may also increase as we expand our product and service offerings and as we enter into new markets. Implementing, maintaining, and updating security safeguards require substantial resources now and will likely be an increasing and substantial cost in the future.
In the event we or one of our third-party providers were to suffer a security breach involving certain personal information, we would have legal obligations (whether pursuant to law or contractual obligation) to notify certain regulatory authorities, affected individuals, customers and/or other entities. Such statutory and contractual disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers or the public to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. Compliance with these obligations could delay or impede the development or distribution of new products and may cause reputational harm.
There is no way of knowing with certainty whether we have experienced any data security incidents that have not been discovered. While we have no reason to believe that we have experienced a data security incident that we have not discovered, attackers have become very sophisticated in the way they conceal their unauthorized access to systems, and many companies that have been attacked are not aware that they have been attacked. Any event that leads to unauthorized access, use or disclosure of personal information could disrupt our business, harm our reputation, compel us to comply with applicable federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to time-consuming, distracting and expensive litigation, regulatory investigation and oversight, mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents, or otherwise subject us to liability under laws, regulations and contractual obligations, including those that protect the privacy and security of personal information. This could result in increased costs to us and result in significant legal and financial exposure and/or reputational harm.
In addition, any actual or perceived failure by us or our vendors or business partners to comply with our privacy, confidentiality or data security-related legal or other obligations to third parties, or any security incidents or other unauthorized access events that result in the unauthorized access, release or transfer of sensitive information, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation, or public statements against us by advocacy groups or others, and could cause third parties, including current and potential partners, to lose trust in us including existing or potential customers' perceiving our platform, system or networks as less desirable. We could also be subject to claims by third parties that we have breached our privacy- or confidentiality-related obligations, which could harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business and prospects. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages.
Technology6 | 12.2%
Technology - Risk 1
Our services are available within defined network footprints, and if we are not able to deploy new infrastructure, we will not be able to expand our service area.Technology - Risk 2
Our business depends on the use of location by a wide range of applications, including public safety and E911 applications, and which may include mobile marketing applications in the future. Privacy concerns relating to location data, generally, and our technology could damage our reputation and deter current and potential users from using our products and applications.Our business depends on the use of location by a wide range of applications, including public safety and E911 and which may include mobile marketing applications in the future. User perception about the sharing of location data and concerns, more broadly, about the collection of location data, or about our specific practices or the mobile applications that use our location services with regard to the collection, use, disclosure, or security of location information or other privacy related matters, even if unfounded, could damage its reputation and operating results, and could result in default and/or termination of agreements we have with various counterparties.
Technology - Risk 3
Our business depends on access to radio spectrum to provide certain of our location services and access to such spectrum on a nationwide basis is not a certainty.Certain of our location services depend on our ability to use portions of the radio spectrum licensed by the FCC. Through our wholly owned affiliate, Progeny LMS, LLC, we hold licenses issued by the FCC to use radio spectrum for location services within the 902-928 MHz band, identified by the FCC as LMS licenses. Our LMS licenses provide coverage of most areas of the U.S. and the vast majority of populated areas within the U.S. Our licenses, however, do not provide nationwide coverage, which we are likely to need to provide certain of our location services on a nationwide basis. Most of the geographic areas where we lack spectrum are generally rural in character, although we do not hold licensed spectrum assets in two well populated locations, Minneapolis and Sacramento. Therefore, we may need to secure additional spectrum licenses from the FCC or other LMS license holders for additional frequencies within the 902-928 MHz band or in other frequencies in order to achieve nationwide coverage or to serve every major city. Radio spectrum is a scarce public resource and no certainty exists that we will be able to obtain additional licenses to provide nationwide coverage or obtain them at a reasonable cost. Very few private entities hold LMS licenses that we could acquire in a private transaction. Although the FCC regularly issues new spectrum licenses, the FCC has not issued new LMS licenses for spectrum within the 902-928 MHz band since 2001 and it could decide to refrain from issuing any additional LMS licenses because the 902-928 MHz frequencies are also used by other services on a shared basis, including by certain unlicensed devices used in homes and for such enterprise services as utility meter reading. If the FCC does issue additional LMS licenses, the FCC is likely to distribute those licenses through an auction process, requiring us to participate and compete with other bidders in such an auction, with no certainty of winning. If we are unable to secure additional LMS licenses or suitable alternative spectrum in a different frequency band, our ability to expand certain of our services nationwide may be negatively impacted, which may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Technology - Risk 4
Our hybrid architecture, which depends on the use of our transmitters and our ability to calibrate signals transmitted by third parties, is unproven, may not perform well and may cost significantly more than our initial estimates.We are currently planning to augment or provide our resilient PNT service through a "hybrid" architecture that relies in part on our signal (whether compatible with GPS/GNSS or 5G NR), and in part on signals radiated by cellular operators and other third parties that are calibrated by us. If we are not able to calibrate the signals radiated by cellular operators and other third parties, then the performance of our hybrid system may not be sufficient to meet customer requirements, and the market for our services may be diminished. Our hybrid architecture may also not result in the cost savings estimated by us, which would substantially increase our future capital and operating expenditures.
Technology - Risk 5
Pinnacle z-axis is a new capability, and adoption may be delayed by our potential customers' unfamiliarity with 3D position, a lack of ecosystem support (e.g., specific device sensors, 3D routing) and/or other factors.We do not sell our Pinnacle z-axis solutions directly to end users. Instead, we provide location technology that integrates with devices and applications that are created or distributed by third parties. Accordingly, our future growth significantly depends on third parties choosing to incorporate our technology into smartphone devices, applications and other new device types and markets that utilize location. We also depend on our customers, resellers and licensees to develop products and services with value-added features to drive sales and demand. Because GPS has been viewed in the marketplace as a reliable geolocation service provided for free to end users, our customers may not see a business need to integrate our solutions into our devices and applications. Despite efforts to educate customers about the need for z-axis geolocation services, there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful and as a result, a market for our solutions may not be created.
Technology - Risk 6
Our services may not continue to be adopted or retained by wireless carriers and device vendors for E911.We have expended significant resources developing, testing and licensing software and solutions targeted towards E911 services, the primary customers for which are wireless carriers. Certain of these wireless carriers were the subject of an enforcement action by the FCC regarding their lack of compliance with rules requiring the provision of vertical location services in the top 25 cellular market areas ("CMAs") by April 3, 2021. On June 3, 2021, the FCC adopted consent decrees with each of the named wireless carriers that effectively provided an extension of one year to the April 3, 2021 compliance date in the top 25 CMAs, but also required the carriers to begin delivering any z-axis information that was available to them and to provide interim reports on their ongoing testing and deployment efforts. While we are currently providing service to Verizon, are under contract with a second national carrier and provide services to devices operating on other carriers' networks as customers for E911 services, our ability to retain these customers or sell our z-axis service to additional wireless carriers or device vendors for E911 in our coverage area, a service we believe to exceed the current FCC accuracy requirement, is dependent upon the continued willingness of these carriers and device vendors to use our service to comply with FCC mandates. This willingness was impacted by the FCC's one year extension and may continue to be impacted by the development and testing of competing solutions to our technology.. In June of 2022, the CTIA filed a statement with the FCC that solutions provided by certain competitors meet these FCC requirements. If the FCC accepts this statement, or if our service is not able to meet future performance, geographic or other customer requirements, then the market for our services for E911 may be reduced.
Our ability to offer our service for E911 is also influenced by the willingness of wireless device manufacturers to incorporate our software or services into their device platforms. Apple and Google exert significant market power over services on their respective platforms, and there is no assurance that they will approve or adopt our software or services in connection with their respective platforms. If Apple and/or Google do not provide such approval, there could be a material adverse impact to our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 12/49 (24%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights5 | 10.2%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
We are subject to the reporting requirements of federal securities laws, compliance with which involves significant time, expense and expertise.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.Certain of our executive officers, directors and stockholders own a significant percentage of our outstanding capital stock. As of December 31, 2023, our executive officers, directors, holders of 5% or more of our capital stock and their respective affiliates beneficially owned approximately 56% of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. Accordingly, our directors, executive officers and certain stockholders have significant influence over our affairs due to their substantial stock ownership coupled with their positions on our management team. For example, these stockholders may be able to control or influence elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. This concentration of ownership may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our Common Stock that some of our stockholders may believe is in their best interest.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
If we issue and sell additional shares of our Common Stock in the future, our existing stockholders will be diluted and our stock price could fall.Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 shares of Common Stock, of which, as of December 31, 2023, 111,132,222 shares were outstanding, 8,231,360 shares were reserved for issuance under our stock incentive plans or other outstanding options and 44,267,686 shares were issuable upon the exercise of warrants. As a result, we have a large number of shares of Common Stock that are authorized for issuance and are not outstanding or otherwise reserved and could be issued at the discretion of our board of directors (our "Board"). We expect to seek additional financing in the future in order to fund our operations, and if we issue additional shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock, our existing stockholders will be diluted. Our Board may also choose to issue shares of our Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for our Common Stock to acquire assets or companies, for compensation to employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisors, to fund capital expenditures and to enter into strategic partnerships. Additionally, shares of Common Stock could be issued for anti-takeover purposes or to delay or prevent changes in control or management of the Company. Our Board may determine to issue shares of our Common Stock on terms that our stockholders do not believe enhance stockholder value, or that may ultimately have an adverse effect on our business or the trading price of our Common Stock. Further, the issuance of any such shares may cause further dilution to the ownership interest of our current stockholders, reduce the book value per share of our Common Stock and may contribute to a reduction in the market price for our Common Stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.The trading market for our Common Stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Certain of our Warrants are exercisable, which could increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.Outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 18,749,990 shares of Common Stock became exercisable on November 27, 2021 (the 30th day following the closing of the Business Combination) in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement governing those securities. These warrants consist of 10,999,460 public warrants and 7,750,530 private placement warrants, related to Spartacus' initial public offering and financing. The 7,750,530 private placement warrants have been registered pursuant to the Registration Statement and are included on this Post-Effective Amendment. Each warrant entitles its holder to purchase one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share and will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York time, on October 28, 2026 (five years after the completion of the Business Combination), or earlier upon redemption of our Common Stock or our liquidation. To the extent warrants are exercised, additional shares of Common Stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to our then existing stockholders and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market.
Moreover, in conjunction with the issuance of the Notes in 2023 (Refer to Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information), we issued 18,518,520 warrants (the "Initial Warrants") at an exercise price of $2.16 per share and, with the issuance of the Additional Notes on July 6, 2023, we issued an additional 7,407,407 warrants at an exercise price of $2.16 per share to purchase shares of our Common Stock to certain of the purchasers thereof (the "Additional Warrants" and, together with the Initial Warrants, the "Debt Warrants"). The Debt Warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York time, on June 1, 2027. Sales of substantial numbers of shares of our Common Stock underlying the Debt Warrants in the public market could depress the market price of our Common Stock.
Accounting & Financial Operations4 | 8.2%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We have never paid dividends on our capital stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Our Pinnacle service in smartphones relies on the availability of barometric pressure measurements and 2D location being made available to us or our customers.In order for our customers to be able to utilize our Pinnacle service in smartphones, we and our customers must have access to barometric pressure measurements and 2D location information, both of which are made available by APIs provided by Google and Apple. If either Google or Apple meaningfully change their terms of service related to the use of this measurement and location data, choose not to provide this data to us or our customers, or choose not to incorporate location sensors in their devices, our ability to offer our Pinnacle service to our customers on these platforms will likely be impacted.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter.We have been focused on developing the next generation of geolocation services utilizing vertical (z-axis) location services and in order for us to be profitable, our services require substantial adoption across disparate industries. We have only recently begun to commercially market our services, so it is difficult, in consideration of our limited operating history, to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter. Risks and challenges we have faced or expect to face include our ability to:
- forecast our revenue and budget for and manage our expenses;- attract new customers and retain existing customers;- effectively manage our growth and business operations, including planning for and managing capital expenditures for our current and future infrastructure, and managing our supply chain and supplier relationships related to our services;- effectively manage our spending on sales and marketing in order to address a disparate set of industries;- comply with existing and new or modified laws and regulations applicable to our business;- anticipate and respond to macroeconomic changes and changes in the markets in which we operate;- maintain and enhance the value of our reputation and brand;- develop and protect intellectual property; and - hire, integrate and retain talented people at all levels of its organization.
There is ongoing volatility in the financial and capital markets. If our access to capital is restricted or associated borrowing costs increase as a result of developments in financial markets, our operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
If we fail to address the risks and difficulties that we face, including those associated with the challenges listed above as well as those described elsewhere in this "Risk Factors" section, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Further, because we have limited historical financial data and operate in a rapidly evolving market, any predictions about our future revenue and expenses may not be as accurate as they would be if we had a longer operating history or operated in a more developed market. Forecasting the revenue potential of our services is made more difficult by the fact that legacy location technologies, such as GPS, were developed by the U.S. Federal Government and made available to commercial users without charge. As a result, one of the adoption hurdles that must be overcome is convincing enterprise customers that the additional accuracy and security made available by our services justifies paying for them. We have encountered in the past, and we will encounter in the future, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies with limited operating histories in rapidly changing industries. If our assumptions regarding these risks and uncertainties, which we use to plan and operate our business, are incorrect or change, or if we do not address these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect to incur losses in the future, may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability, and may need to raise additional capital to maintain our operations in the future.We have incurred significant losses since inception and until the second quarter of 2021 had not widely commercially sold our solutions. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we incurred net losses of $71.7 million, $40.1 million and $144.7 million, respectively. Furthermore, any expansion of our TerraPoiNT services will result in increased operating costs. As a result, our losses are expected to continue and we may not achieve profitability when expected, or at all. Even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability.
Since becoming a public company, our operating expenses have increased, and we expect our operating expenses to continue to increase over the next several years as we scale our operations, increase research and development efforts relating to new offerings and technologies, hire more employees, and operate as a public company. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in meaningful revenue or growth in our business. Any failure to initiate and increase our revenue sufficiently to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or positive cash flow. If our future growth and operating performance fail to meet investor or analyst expectations, or if we have future negative cash flow or losses resulting from expanding our operations, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2023 will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs, including all contractual commitments, beyond the next 12 months. We expect to meet longer term expected future cash requirements and obligations through a combination of cash flows from operations and issuance of equity securities or debt offerings. However, this determination is based upon internal financial projections of operating cash flows and is subject to changes in market and business conditions. Our ability to obtain debt financing and/or issue equity securities on acceptable terms, or at all, will depend on, among other things, our financial performance and credit ratings, general economic factors, including inflation and then-current interest rates, the condition of the credit and capital markets and other events, some of which may be beyond our control.
Debt & Financing1 | 2.0%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
The Indenture governing our senior secured notes contains restrictions and other provisions regarding events of default that may make it more difficult to execute our strategy or to effectively compete, or that could materially and adversely affect our financial position.Corporate Activity and Growth2 | 4.1%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
Strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, involve significant risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and equity.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We have acquired and may in the future acquire other businesses, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and harm our business, revenue and financial results.As part of our business strategy, we have made and intend to make acquisitions. Our previous and future acquisitions may not achieve our goals, and we may not realize benefits from acquisitions we make in the future. Any integration process will require significant time and resources, and we may not be able to manage the process successfully. If we fail to successfully integrate acquisitions, or the personnel or technologies associated with those acquisitions, the business, revenue and financial results of the combined company could be harmed. Our acquisition strategy may change over time and future acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by our stockholders or other parties with whom we do business. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology and accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition, including accounting charges. We may also incur unanticipated liabilities that we assume as a result of acquiring companies. We may have to pay cash, incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition, each of which could affect our financial condition or the value of our securities. In the future, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 8/49 (16%)Below Sector Average
Competition2 | 4.1%
Competition - Risk 1
We face competition from multiple sources.Competition - Risk 2
We face intense competition in our market, especially from competitors that offer their location services for free, which could make it difficult for us to acquire and retain customers and end users.The market for development, distribution and sale of location services is highly competitive. Many of our competitors have strong name recognition, sizable customer bases and significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, public relations, sales, distribution and other resources than we do. These competitors often offer competing services for free and have the financial capabilities to continue to improve upon their location services offering without charging a fee. Certain of our competitors are already vying for market share in the 3D location space through their participation in a federal regulatory proceeding involving the FCC in which wireless carriers are being required to enter into relationships with 3D location vendors in order to enable accurate 3D location information to be conveyed to E911 emergency dispatchers with each wireless call made to E911 emergency services. Although our services currently offer an improved functionality over the services offered for free, there is no certainty that we will be able to achieve broad market appeal for our 3D location services. In addition, there is no guarantee that our services will be as reliable and with the same geographic coverage as the currently available geolocation services, which may impact our ability to attract new or retain existing customers to utilize our products over the free services offered by our competitors. The performance of our services may vary based on ambient conditions, both physical and environmental, which may impact the timing and location accuracy of the system. If our services are not meaningfully superior to those available at lower or no cost, we may have difficulty selling our services, achieving widespread adoption of our services and our business, financial position and results of operations may be harmed.
Demand1 | 2.0%
Demand - Risk 1
Mass-market adoption of our TerraPoiNT service will require integration into devices, which may require both hardware and software upgrades.Sales & Marketing5 | 10.2%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
There is no guarantee that Federal and state government resilient PNT programs will result in procurements that result in the adoption of our services or revenue to us, and the process that may result in such adoption or revenue may be delayed.Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
There is no guarantee that TerraPoiNT service will be sold to commercial users, additional government users, or achieve broad commercial support in the United States or internationally.Our TerraPoiNT services have not been implemented for broad commercial use and there is no guarantee that TerraPoiNT services will be widely adopted. Further, there is no certainty that one of our competitors will not develop and commercialize a different solution in the meantime supplanting our market. In addition, our ability to sell TerraPoiNT service may be impacted by political or technological preferences. Foreign countries, especially those with significant resources, may prefer solutions that originated in their country or region, which may limit our global growth potential. There is no certainty that our agreements and/or pending discussions with international strategic partners will result in operational systems, from which we derive revenue or other economics, in other countries. If we are unable to sell TerraPoiNT commercially, to additional government users, or to an international market, this will have a negative impact on our business.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
Distribution and marketing of, and access to, our services in smartphones are contingent on our distribution partners' and customers' access to a variety of third-party platforms, in particular, mobile application stores. If these third parties limit, prohibit, or otherwise interfere with or change their policies in any material way, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.Our customers market and distribute our products (including related mobile applications) through a variety of third-party distribution channels. Our ability to achieve broad market reach is in part dependent on the ability of our distribution partners and customers to utilize mobile application stores, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Both Apple and Google have broad discretion to change their policies regarding their mobile operating systems and app stores in ways that may limit, eliminate or otherwise interfere with our customers' ability to distribute or market their applications through such stores. To the extent our customers are unable to maintain a productive relationship with either or both of them, our relationships with these customers may be impacted and our ability to achieve broad market reach will be impacted and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
We rely, in part, on AT&T for distribution of our services to FirstNet customers.We entered into a services agreement with AT&T that was to expire in October 2022, with no renewal terms. Thereafter, we amended the agreement by extending it until January 7, 2024, and the agreement has been further extended to October 24, 2025. This AT&T agreement, as amended, continues our relationship in which AT&T purchases, markets and sells our services to its FirstNet subscribers. We have no contractual right to require AT&T to continue its relationship with us, and AT&T may decide not to renew our services contract prior to the end of the extended term. If we are not able to secure a further renewal or extension of our services agreement with AT&T, our ability to sell or market products to FirstNet and other public safety customers may be impacted, and our business, financial and results of operations may be harmed.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
The majority of our business plan depends on selling services that must be licensed and integrated into our customers' platforms for sales to end users, and we typically only generate revenue from the arrangements when end users access those third-party platforms and utilize our services.Our business plans are dependent in part on the sale of location services to our customers, which are third-party developers who use our services to create applications for use in mobile devices, on vehicles and in other platforms. For these types of contracts, we recognize revenue when end users access and use our customers' applications. Contracts of this type do not contain purchase commitments and our limited operating history makes estimating the future variable volume and revenue associated with these contracts difficult. If our customers take longer than expected to integrate our services into their applications or are unable to sell their applications in the volumes or timeframes we expect, then the use of our services by end users and the related recognition of revenue could be delayed or may never occur.
Production
Total Risks: 7/49 (14%)Below Sector Average
Employment / Personnel2 | 4.1%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We depend on key members of our senior management team; our performance could be adversely impacted if they depart and we cannot find suitable replacements.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
We depend on the availability of personnel with the requisite level of technical expertise in the telecommunications industry.Our ability to develop and maintain our solutions and execute our business plan is dependent on the availability of technical engineering, information technology, service delivery and monitoring, product development, sales, management, finance and other key personnel within our geographic location. The specialized engineers and other personnel required for our growth are in high demand by companies with greater resources, so we may have difficulty hiring and retaining critical personnel to develop and operate our services, which will have a negative impact on our ability to grow and achieve widespread customer and user acceptance.
Supply Chain4 | 8.2%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
Our results could be adversely impacted as a result of increased inflation and supply chain pressure impacting our or our vendors' expenses and availability of resources and components.Supply Chain - Risk 2
We rely on a limited number of key vendors for timely supply of components or services for our service offerings. If these vendors experience problems, we could fail to obtain the equipment and services we require to operate our business successfully.The components required for our Pinnacle altitude stations and our TerraPoiNT beacons are not available in high volume and are produced by a small number of vendors. We also depend on certain third-party services, in addition to those described elsewhere, for the provision of our services. If we are unable to procure these components or services or design or obtain effective alternatives, we may be unable to produce additional Pinnacle altitude stations or TerraPoiNT beacons, or provide services to our customers, each of which will have a significant impact on our ability to achieve mass-market adoption of our services. As a result, we are reliant upon a limited number of suppliers of these components and services. In the event it becomes necessary to seek alternative vendors, we may be unable to obtain satisfactory replacement vendors on economically attractive terms on a timely basis, or at all, which could increase costs and may negatively impact our ability to expand our service offering or cause disruption in service.
If vendors of our equipment or providers of services on which we rely experience financial difficulties, service or billing interruptions, patent litigation or other problems, our growth and operating results could be negatively impacted.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
We rely upon Amazon Web Services to operate our cloud platform and any disruption of or interference with our use of Amazon Web Services or the need for additional cloud support would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.We outsource our cloud infrastructure to Amazon Web Services ("AWS"). Customers of our products need to be able to access our platform at any time, without interruption or degradation of performance. AWS runs its own platform that we access, and we are, therefore, vulnerable to service interruptions at AWS. We have experienced and we expect that in the future we may experience interruptions, delays and outages in service and availability from time to time due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions and capacity constraints. Capacity constraints could be due to a number of potential causes including technical failures, natural disasters, fraud or security attacks. In addition, if our security, or that of AWS, is compromised, our products or platform are unavailable or our users are unable to use our products within a reasonable amount of time or at all, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In some instances, we may not be able to identify the cause or causes of these performance problems within a period of time acceptable to our customers. To the extent that we do not effectively address capacity constraints and cost considerations, either through AWS or alternative cloud infrastructure, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. In addition, any changes in service levels from AWS may adversely affect our ability to meet our customers' requirements. Further, our customers may require it to support additional cloud platforms beyond AWS, which would result in additional costs to our business.
Any of the above circumstances or events may harm our reputation, possibly move customers to stop using our products, impair our ability to increase revenue from existing customers, effectively manage costs, impair our ability to grow our customer base, subject us to financial penalties and liabilities under our service level agreements and otherwise harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
Our Pinnacle network infrastructure is dependent on a hosting arrangement with AT&T.We entered into an equipment hosting agreement with AT&T, expiring in 2026 (subject to earlier termination after three years in certain circumstances), and there is no assurance that the agreement will be renewed. This AT&T agreement provides for such important capabilities as the hosting of our Pinnacle network at AT&T's wireless sites, the provision of power to the Pinnacle network equipment and AT&T data service to enable the Pinnacle network equipment to communicate with us. We have no contractual right to require AT&T to continue its relationship with us beyond the existing term of the equipment hosting agreement and AT&T may elect not to renew our contracts or we and AT&T may not be able to come to an agreement on renewal or extension terms at or before the end of agreement term. If we cannot secure a renewal or extension of the equipment hosting agreement, we may have to construct a new Pinnacle network prior to expiration of the equipment hosting agreement. Constructing a new network would require significant time and resources that we may not be able to secure. In addition, if there is a delay in our ability to build a new network, our Pinnacle services may experience lengthy disruptions and outages. If we are unable to maintain our relationship with AT&T, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed. Our ability to transmit data is dependent on AT&T's wireless data network and on the associated power supply available within that network. We have experienced temporary and geographically limited service outages due to issues with the AT&T wireless data network.
Costs1 | 2.0%
Costs - Risk 1
We maintain insurance policies to cover certain losses relating to our information technology systems, but there is no certainty that our policy limits will be sufficient to cover all liabilities that we may face as the result of security incident and there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our current policies or secure new policies in the future.Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 5/49 (10%)Below Sector Average
Regulation3 | 6.1%
Regulation - Risk 1
Even if we are able to convert our signal transmissions to 5G NR platform, the FCC may not permit us to realize all of the benefits of our 5G NR architecture, including the additional transmission of high-throughput non-PNT-related voice and data alongside our PNT data.Regulation - Risk 2
We are subject to stringent U.S. export control and economic sanctions laws and regulations. Unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or U.S. government licensing policies, our failure to secure timely U.S. government authorizations under these laws and regulations, or our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Our business plans are based in part on the distribution of our equipment, software and services world-wide. We are required to comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the EAR administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security and the foreign asset control regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Pursuant to these foreign trade control laws and regulations, we are required, among other things, to (i) determine the proper licensing jurisdiction and export classification of products, software, and technology, (ii) obtain licenses or other forms of U.S. government authorization, or qualify for exceptions, to export our products, software, and technology outside the United States, and (iii) avoid engaging in unauthorized transactions with certain sanctioned countries, territories, entities, and individuals. Violations of applicable export control and sanctions laws and related regulations, which are enforced on a strict liability basis, could result in criminal and administrative penalties, including fines and possible denial of export privileges. U.S. export licenses or license exceptions are required to transfer or make accessible certain of our software source code and technology to our non-U.S. employees (deemed exports).
In addition, U.S. export control laws and related licensing policies continue to change, further regulating the export and re-export of our products, services, and technology from the U.S. and abroad, and increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorization. For example, should exceptions or exemptions under the EAR be changed, our activities otherwise authorized via these mechanisms may become unavailable and could result in the need for additional export authorizations.
Additionally, changes to the administrative implementation of export control laws at the agency level may suddenly change as a result of geopolitical events, which could result in existing or proposed export authorization applications being viewed in unpredictable ways, or potentially rejected, as a result of the changed agency level protocol. Increasing trade tensions with China and Russia, in particular, may affect our supply chain, increase direct and indirect compliance costs, or significantly impact relations with business partners. The extensive and changing nature of these export control laws and related licensing policies may diminish our ability to market our solutions in the certain markets.
Regulation - Risk 3
Our business is subject to a wide variety of additional extensive and evolving government laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to our wireless location services, employment and labor, health care, tax, privacy and data security, health and safety, customs and government contracting. Laws and regulations at the foreign, federal, state and local levels frequently change, especially in relation to new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future regulatory or administrative changes. We monitor these developments and devote a significant amount of management's time and external resources towards compliance with these laws, regulations and guidelines, and such compliance places a significant burden on management's time and other resources, and it may limit our ability to develop new business channels. Moreover, changes in law, the imposition of new or additional regulations or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts our business could require us to change the way we operate and could have a material adverse effect on our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.
Failure to comply with these laws or regulations or failure to satisfy any criteria or other requirement under such laws or regulations, such as with respect to obtaining and maintaining licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits critical for the operation of our business, may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or result in a delay or the denial, suspension or revocation of licenses, certificates, authorizations or permits, which would prevent us from operating our business.
Additionally, regulation of our industry is still evolving, and new or different laws or regulations could affect our operations and increase direct compliance costs. Application of these laws to our business may negatively impact our performance in various ways, limiting the collaborations we may pursue and increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorization. The adoption of a multi-layered regulatory approach to any one of the laws or regulations to which we are or may become subject, particularly where the layers are in conflict, could require alteration of our services or operational parameters, which may adversely impact our business. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times and, even when we believe we are in complete compliance, a regulatory agency may determine that we are not.
Environmental / Social2 | 4.1%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
We and our service providers collect, process, transmit, and store personal information, which creates legal obligations and may give rise to additional costs and liability. Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection could adversely affect our business and its financial condition.Environmental / Social - Risk 2
Our FCC licenses authorize the use of radio frequencies that are shared with other radio services, which could result in harmful interference and impairment to our use of our licensed spectrum.Our LMS licenses authorize us to use the upper portion of the 902-928 MHz band. This spectrum is a shared frequency band that is used for a number of purposes both by individuals, businesses and the federal government. Other services that are authorized to use these frequencies include federal radiolocation systems; industrial, scientific and medical devices; licensed amateur radio operations; and certain unlicensed devices. Our use of the spectrum is subject to FCC requirements that our operations must accept harmful interference from other uses of the spectrum that have more senior rights to the spectrum. We have been successful thus far in using our LMS spectrum to operate location services without experiencing material impairment of our location services caused by more senior spectrum uses, but no certainty exists that we will be able to continue to do so. Moreover, for certain specialized uses, including non-PNT-related two-way voice and data uses, the use of our spectrum would be subject to additional regulatory review, approvals and/or limitations. More senior uses of the 902-928 MHz band could become more numerous or could alter the characteristics of their transmissions in ways that could increase the interference to our location services, resulting in diminished coverage, consistency and accuracy of our location services.
In addition, we are required to refrain from causing unacceptable levels of harmful interference to unlicensed wireless devices. The FCC issued a decision in 2013 that concluded that, based on field tests, we had successfully demonstrated that our location services did not cause unacceptable levels of harmful interference to such unlicensed wireless devices. Third-party challenges to the FCC decision, are still pending. Further, changes in our operations could alter the transmission characteristics of our location services, potentially requiring us to provide further demonstrations that our location services do not cause unacceptable levels of harmful interference to those unlicensed devices. No certainty exists that the FCC would conclude in the future that we remained successful in making such a demonstration a second time. If we are unable to make this demonstration to the satisfaction of the FCC, we may not be able to make changes to our operating characteristics, potentially preventing the future implementation of desirable innovations.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 4/49 (8%)Below Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment3 | 6.1%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Military action in different regions of the world, including Ukraine and the Middle East, and the resulting geopolitical effects beyond those regions may directly or indirectly increase our risks from supply chain, cybersecurity, foreign currency fluctuations, or other factors.Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
A portion of our business plan targets government customers, which subjects us to risks, including early termination, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.One of our business strategies is to develop business relationships with U.S. government agencies for the provision of our products and services. We currently contract directly with U.S. government agencies, including NASA, and perform as a subcontractor to other contractors under U.S. government programs. As a U.S. government contractor, our business is subject to statutes and regulations applicable to companies doing business with the U.S. government, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, and NASA FAR Supplement, or NFS.
The funding of U.S. government programs is subject to annual U.S. Congressional appropriations. Long-term government contracts and related orders are subject to cancellation if appropriations for subsequent performance periods are not made. In addition, the U.S. government may modify, curtail or terminate its contracts and subcontracts without prior notice at its convenience and in that event, the counterparty to the contract may generally recover only its incurred or committed costs and settlement expenses and profit on work completed prior to the termination. If the government terminates a contract for default, the defaulting party may be liable for any extra costs incurred by the government in procuring undelivered items from another source. The termination of funding for a U.S. government program that we support, or any modification or curtailment of our U.S. government prime contracts or subcontracts, would result in a loss of anticipated future revenue attributable to that program, which could have an adverse effect on our operations, financial condition or U.S. government customer demand for our products and services.
In addition, U.S. government contracts normally contain additional requirements that may increase our costs of doing business, reduce our profits, and expose us to liability for failure to comply with these terms and conditions. These compliance costs might further increase in the future, reducing our margins, which could have a negative effect on our financial condition. These requirements include, for example:
- specialized disclosure and accounting requirements unique to U.S. government contracts;- financial and compliance audits;- public disclosures of certain contract and company information; and - mandatory socioeconomic compliance requirements, including labor requirements, non-discrimination and affirmative action programs and environmental compliance requirements.
Failure to comply with these U.S. government contracting regulations and requirements may result in potential price adjustments, recoupment of U.S. government funds after such funds have been spent, civil and criminal penalties, or administrative sanctions such as suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time and could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and ability to secure future U.S. government contracts.
Our government contract activities are subject to audits and investigations by U.S. government agencies, including agency Inspectors General, regarding our compliance with U.S. government contract requirements. If any audit, inquiry or investigation uncovers improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, suspension of payments, fines, and suspension or debarment from doing business with the U.S. government.
In addition, if we fail to comply with U.S. government contracting laws, regulations and contract requirements, our contracts may be subject to termination, and we may be subject to financial and/or other liability under our contracts, the Federal Civil False Claims Act (including treble damages and other penalties), or criminal law. In particular, the False Claims Act's "whistleblower" provisions also allow private individuals, including present and former employees, to sue on behalf of the U.S. government. Any penalties, damages, fines, suspension, or damages could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 3
We are exposed to risks related to geopolitical and economic factors, laws and regulations and our international business subjects us to numerous political and economic factors, legal requirements, cross-cultural considerations and other risks associated with doing business globally.Although our international business is still in its early stages, its development is subject to both U.S. and foreign laws and regulations, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to export/import controls (described above), sanctions, technology transfer restrictions, government contracts and procurement, data privacy and protection, anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, the anti-boycott provisions of the U.S. Export Administration Act, security restrictions and intellectual property. Failure by us, our employees, affiliates, partners or others with whom we work to comply with applicable laws and regulations could result in administrative, civil, commercial or criminal liabilities, including suspension or debarment from government contracts or suspension of our export/import privileges. New regulations and requirements, or changes to existing ones in the various countries in which we operate can significantly increase our costs and risks of doing business internationally.
Changes in laws, regulations, political leadership and environment, and/or security risks may dramatically affect our ability to conduct or continue to conduct business in international markets, including sales to customers and purchases from suppliers outside the U.S. We may also be impacted by U.S. and foreign national policies and priorities, political decisions and geopolitical relationships, any of which may be influenced by changes in the threat environment, political leadership, geopolitical uncertainties, world events, bilateral and multi-lateral relationships and economic and political factors, and any of which could impact our operations and/or export authorizations, or delay purchasing decisions or payments and the provision of supplies, goods and services. Global economic conditions and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could further impact our business. For example, the tightening of credit in financial markets outside of the U.S. could adversely affect the ability of our customers and suppliers to obtain financing and could result in a decrease in or cancellation of orders for our products and services or impact the ability of our customers to make payments.
We also are increasingly dependent on in-country suppliers and we face risks related to their failure to perform in accordance with the contracts and applicable laws, particularly where we rely on a sole source supplier. The services we provide internationally are sometimes in countries with unstable governments, economic or fiscal challenges, military or political conflicts and/or developing legal systems. This may increase the risk to our employees, subcontractors or other third parties, and/or increase the risk of a wide range of liabilities, as well as loss of property or damage to our products.
The occurrence and impact of these factors is difficult to predict, but one or more of them could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.
Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 2.0%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
Natural or man-made disasters or terrorist attacks could have an adverse effect on our business.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.