urban-gro (UGRO) Risk Analysis

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. Volatility in the market price of our common stock, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, may prevent shareholders from being able to sell their shares at or above the price they paid for their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock. Shareholders may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their stock, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects, and shareholders could lose part or all of their investment. The price of our common stock has been, and could continue to be, subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, including those described elsewhere in this Report and others such as: - our ability to generate revenues sufficient to achieve profitability and positive cash flow;- competition in our industry and our ability to compete effectively;- our ability to attract, recruit, retain and develop key personnel and qualified employees;- reliance on significant clients and third-party suppliers;- our ability to successfully identify and complete acquisitions and effectively integrate those acquisitions into our operations;- our actual or anticipated operating and financial results, including how those results vary from the expectations of management, securities analysts and investors;- changes in financial estimates or publication of research reports and recommendations by financial analysts or actions taken by rating agencies with respect to us or other industry participants;- developments in our business or operations or our industry sectors generally;- any future offerings by us of our common stock;- any coordinated trading activities or large derivative positions in our common stock, for example, a "short squeeze" (a short squeeze occurs when a number of investors take a short position in a stock and have to buy the borrowed securities to close out the position at a time that other short sellers of the same security also want to close out their positions, resulting in a surge in stock prices, i.e., demand is greater than supply for the stock sold short);- legislative or regulatory changes affecting our industry generally or our business and operations specifically;- the operating and stock price performance of companies that investors consider to be comparable to us;- announcements of strategic developments, acquisitions, restructurings, dispositions, financings and other material events by us or our competitors;- actions by our current shareholders, including future sales of common shares by existing shareholders, including our directors and executive officers;- proposed or final regulatory changes or developments;- anticipated or pending regulatory investigations, proceedings, or litigation that may involve or affect us; and - the other factors described under Risk Factors in Part I, Item 1A of this Report. In response to any one or more of these events, the market price of shares of our common stock could decrease significantly. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management's attention and resources and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.

We were initially organized as a limited liability company in the State of Colorado on March 20, 2014. In March 2017, we converted into a corporation and on February 12, 2021, we completed an uplisting to Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "UGRO." The following is a summary of our recent historical operating performance: Our lack of a significant history and the evolving nature of the market in which we operate make it likely that there are risks inherent to our business that are yet to be recognized by us or others, or not fully appreciated, and that could result in us suffering further losses. As a result of the foregoing, an investment in our securities necessarily involves uncertainty about the stability of our operating results, cash flows and, ultimately, our prospects generally.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations involves significant legal and financial compliance costs, may make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and may increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management's attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our costs and expenses. In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management's time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be adversely affected. However, for as long as we remain an "emerging growth company," we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to public companies that are not "emerging growth companies" including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an "emerging growth company." December 31, 2023 was our last day as an emerging growth company, and we will no longer be eligible for these exemptions going forward. As a result of disclosure of information in this Report and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition are highly visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be adversely affected, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business and operating results.

We are broadening our market reach beyond the legal cannabis industry and are placing a substantial sales effort on expansion into the rapidly growing non-cannabis CEA vertical farming sector as well as the Commercial sector. However, on a historic basis, the majority of our clients to whom we provide facility architecture and engineering design services and sell equipment systems prior to the facility becoming operational have primarily been in the legal cannabis industry. In addition to selling directly to these clients, we also sell our equipment solutions to third parties, such as general contractors and other intermediaries, like equipment leasing companies. The majority of these solutions have been resold into the legal cannabis industry. A significant decrease in demand in the legal cannabis industry could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and the success of our business.

Our success depends, in large degree, on the skills of our management team and our ability to retain, recruit and motivate key officers and employees. Our senior executive leadership team has significant experience, and their knowledge and relationships would be difficult to replace. Leadership changes will occur from time to time, and we cannot predict whether significant resignations will occur or whether we will be able to recruit additional qualified personnel. Competition for senior executives and skilled personnel in the horticulture industry is intense, which means the cost of hiring, paying incentives and retaining skilled personnel may continue to increase. We need to continue to attract and retain key personnel and to recruit qualified individuals to succeed existing key personnel to ensure the continued growth and successful operation of our business. In addition, as a provider of custom-tailored horticulture solutions, we must attract and retain qualified personnel to continue to grow our business, and competition for such personnel can be intense. Our ability to effectively compete for senior executives and other qualified personnel by offering competitive compensation and benefit arrangements may be restricted by cash flow and other operational restraints. The loss of the services of any senior executive or other key personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, to attract and retain personnel with appropriate skills and knowledge to support our business, we may offer a variety of benefits, which could reduce our earnings or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.