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Item 1.
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Legal Proceedings.
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Refer to Note 12, “Commitments and Contingencies,” in Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below before making a decision to buy our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or growth prospects could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. Risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and growth prospects.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We may experience significant quarterly fluctuations in our operating results due to a number of factors, which make our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.
Due to our limited operating history, our evolving business model and the unpredictability of our emerging industry, certain of our operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and may fluctuate significantly in the future. Many of the factors that cause these fluctuations are outside of our control. The amount we spend to acquire patent assets, the characteristics of the assets acquired and the timing of those acquisitions may result in significant quarterly fluctuations in our capital expenditures and our financial results, and the amount and timing of our membership sales may result in significant fluctuations in our cash flow on a quarterly basis. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. You should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance.
In addition to the factors described above and elsewhere in this Item 1A, other factors that may affect our operating results include:
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our lengthy and unpredictable membership sales cycle, including delays in potential clients’ decisions whether to subscribe to our solution;
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changes in our subscription fee rates or changes in our own pricing and discounting policies or those of our competitors;
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lower subscription fees from clients whose annual subscription fees decrease due to declining operating income or revenue of such clients or the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates;
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changes in patent law and regulations and other legislation, as well as United States Patent and Trademark Office procedures or court rulings, that reduce the value of our solution to our existing and potential clients;
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the addition or loss of discovery services clients and projects which are difficult to predict and may result in material changes in quarterly revenue and costs;
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decreases in our clients’ and prospective clients’ costs of litigating patent infringement claims;
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losses incurred as a result of claims made on insurance policies underwritten or assumed by us;
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non-renewals from existing clients for any reason;
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loss of clients, including through acquisitions or consolidations;
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our inability to acquire patent assets that are being asserted or may be asserted against our clients due to lack of availability, unfavorable pricing terms or otherwise;
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changes in the accounting treatment associated with our acquisitions of patent assets, how we amortize those patent assets and how we recognize revenue under subscription agreements;
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our acquisition of patent assets with a shorter estimated useful life that increases our near-term patent asset amortization expense and decreases our earnings;
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our inability to effectively develop and implement new solutions that meet client requirements in a timely manner;
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increases in the prices we need to pay to acquire patent assets;
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increases in operating expenses, including those attributable to additional headcount, the costs of new business initiatives, and our acquisition of Inventus;
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other matters related to our acquisition of Inventus and the expansion of our business into discovery management;
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our inability to retain key personnel;
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any significant changes in the competitive dynamics of our market, including new competitors or substantial discounting of services that are viewed by our target market as competitive to ours;
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gains or losses realized as a result of our sale of patents, including upon the exercise by any of our clients of their limited right to purchase certain of our patent assets for defensive purposes in the event of a patent infringement suit brought against such client by a third party;
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outstanding debt service obligations and repayment thereof; and
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adverse economic conditions in the industries that we serve, particularly as they affect the intellectual property risk management and/or litigation budgets of our existing or potential clients.
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If our operating results in a particular quarter do not meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors, our stock price could be substantially affected. In particular, if our operating results fall below expectations, our stock price could decline substantially.
The market for our patent risk management solution is evolving, and if our solution is not widely accepted or is accepted more slowly than we expect, our operating results will be adversely affected.
We have derived substantially all of our revenue from the sale of memberships to our patent risk management solution and we expect this will continue for the foreseeable future. As a result, widespread acceptance of this solution is critical to our future success. The market for patent risk management solutions is evolving and it is uncertain whether these solutions will achieve and sustain high levels of demand and market acceptance. Our success will depend, to a substantial extent, on the willingness of companies of all sizes to purchase and renew memberships as a way to reduce their patent litigation costs. If companies do not perceive the cost-savings benefits of patent risk management solutions, then wide market adoption of our solution will not develop, or it may develop more slowly than we expect. Either scenario would adversely affect our operating results in a significant way. Factors that may negatively affect wide market acceptance of our solution, as well as our ability to obtain new clients and renew existing clients, include:
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uncertainty about our ability to significantly reduce patent litigation costs for a particular company;
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reduced assertions from non-practicing entities ("NPEs") or decreased patent licensing fees owed to NPEs;
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limitations on the ability of NPEs to bring patent claims or limitations on the potential damages recoverable from such claims;
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reduced cost to our clients of defending patent assertion claims;
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lack of perceived relevance and value in our existing patent asset portfolio by existing or potential clients;
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concerns by existing or potential clients about our future ability to obtain rights to patent assets that are being or may be asserted against them;
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reduced incentives to renew memberships if clients have vested into perpetual licenses in all patent assets that they believe are materially relevant to their businesses;
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lack of sufficient interest by mid- and small-size companies in our patent risk management or insurance offerings;
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reduced incentive for companies to become clients because we do not assert our patent assets in litigation;
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concerns that we might change our current business model and assert our patent assets in litigation;
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budgetary limitations for existing or potential clients; and
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the belief that adequate coverage for the risks and expenses we attempt to reduce is available from alternative products or services.
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Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects, and potential clients may have concerns regarding the effectiveness of our business model in the future. If companies do not continue to subscribe to our solution, our business and operating results will be adversely affected.
We acquired our first patent assets in September 2008, sold our first membership in October 2008, and sold our first insurance policy in August 2012. In addition, we acquired Inventus and its litigation discovery services business in January 2016. The litigation discovery services business is a new business for us. Therefore, we have not only a limited operating history, but also a limited track record in executing our business model. Our future success depends on acceptance of our solutions by companies we target to become clients and successfully integrating our acquisition of Inventus. Our efforts to sell our products to new and existing clients may not continue to be successful. We evaluate our business model from time to time in order to address the evolving needs of our clients and prospective clients, particularly in an industry that continues to develop and change. Our limited operating history may also make it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects. We have encountered and will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by companies in rapidly changing industries. If we do not manage these risks successfully, our business and operating results will be adversely affected.
If the market for our solutions develops more slowly than we anticipate, or if competitors introduce new solutions that compete with ours, we may be unable to renew our memberships, sell insurance policies or attract new clients at favorable prices based on the same pricing model we have historically used. In the future, it is possible that competitive dynamics in our market may require us to change our pricing model, reduce our subscription fee rates, or consider adding new pricing programs or discounts, which would likely harm our operating results. If we introduce a higher rate card for our subscription business in the future, it may be more difficult for us to attract new clients. In order to attract new clients and retain existing clients, in certain cases we have previously offered, and may in the future offer, discounts or other contractual incentives to clients who execute multi-year subscription agreements or who make client referrals.
Our subscription fees from clients may decrease due to factors outside of our control. Any reduction in subscription fees could harm our business and operating results.
Subscription fees are typically reset annually based on a client’s reported revenue and operating income measured as of the end of its last fiscal year. If a client who is not already paying the minimum due under our rate card experiences reduced operating results, its subscription fee for the next year will decline. As a result, our revenue stream may be affected by conditions outside of our control that impact the operating results of our clients.
Our rate cards generally provide that our subscription fee as a percentage of the client’s operating income decreases as their operating income goes up. In addition, many of our clients’ rate cards are subject to an annual cap. As a result, if one of our clients acquires another client, our future revenue could be reduced as a result of the application of our rate card to the combined entity rather than to each entity separately. Any reduction in subscription fees could harm our business and operating results.
Our membership sales cycles can be long and unpredictable, and our membership sales efforts require considerable time and expense. As a result, our membership sales are difficult to predict and will vary substantially from quarter to quarter, which may cause our cash flow to fluctuate significantly.
Because we operate in a relatively new and unproven market, our membership sales efforts involve educating potential clients about the benefit of our solution, including potential cost savings to a company. Potential clients typically undergo a lengthy decision-making process that has, in the past, generally resulted in a lengthy and unpredictable sales cycle. Mid- and small-size companies are generally subject to less patent litigation and we expect even lengthier sales cycles for such companies. We spend substantial time, effort and resources in our membership sales efforts without any assurance that our efforts will produce any membership sales. In addition, subscriptions are frequently subject to budget constraints, multiple approvals, and unplanned administrative, processing and other delays. As a result of these factors, our membership sales in any period are difficult to predict and will likely vary substantially between periods, which may cause our cash flow to fluctuate significantly between periods.
The success of our business depends on clients renewing their subscription agreements, and we do not have an adequate operating history to predict the rate of membership renewals. Any significant decline in our membership renewals could harm our operating results.
Our clients have no obligation to renew their subscriptions after the expiration of their initial membership period. We have limited historical data with respect to rates of subscription renewals, so we cannot accurately predict renewal rates. As of
September 30, 2016
, the weighted-average term of our subscription agreements with our current clients since the inception of those agreements was 2.7 years. As our overall membership base grows, we expect our rate of client renewals to decline compared to our historical rate. Our clients may choose not to renew their memberships or, if they do renew, may choose to do so for shorter terms or seek a reduced subscription fee. Many of our subscription agreements provide for automatic one-year renewal periods. As a result, as more of our clients are in renewal periods, the weighted-average term of our subscription agreements has decreased and may continue to decrease further. If our clients do not renew their subscriptions or renew for shorter terms or if we allow them to renew at reduced subscription fees, our revenue may decline and our business may be adversely affected.
Upon initial subscription, our clients receive a term license for the period of their membership to substantially all of the patent assets in our portfolio at the time of subscription. In addition, clients receive term licenses to substantially all of the patent assets we acquire during the period of their membership. Our subscription agreements also typically include a vesting provision that converts a client’s term licenses into perpetual licenses on a delayed, rolling basis as long as the company remains a client. Accordingly, clients who continue to subscribe to our solution receive perpetual licenses to an increasing number of our patent assets over time. If we are unable to adequately show clients that we are continuing to obtain additional patent assets that are being or may be asserted against them, clients may choose not to renew their subscriptions once they have vested into a perpetual license to all patent assets they believe are materially relevant to their businesses.
Because we generally recognize revenue from membership subscriptions over the term of the membership, upturns or downturns in membership sales may not be immediately reflected in our operating results. As a result, our future operating results may be difficult to predict.
We generally recognize subscription fees received from clients ratably over the period of time to which those fees apply. Most of our clients are invoiced annually, and thus their fees are recognized as revenue over the course of 12 months. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed subscriptions in any one quarter will not be fully reflected in that quarter’s revenue and will negatively affect our revenue in future quarters. In addition, we may be unable to adjust our cost structure quickly to reflect this reduced revenue. Accordingly, the effect of either significant downturns in membership sales or rapid market acceptance of our solution may not be fully reflected in our results of operations in the period in which such events occur. Our membership subscription model also makes it difficult for us to rapidly increase our revenue through additional sales in any period, as subscription fees from new clients must generally be recognized over the applicable membership term.
We recently acquired Inventus, and may acquire or invest in other companies or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders, and otherwise disrupt our operations and harm our operating results. We may also be unable to realize the expected benefits and synergies of any acquisitions.
We have in the past and may in the future seek to acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our client offerings, enhance our technical capabilities or otherwise offer growth opportunities. We may not be able to integrate the acquired personnel, operations, and technologies successfully or effectively manage the combined business. The pursuit of potential acquisitions may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable acquisitions, whether or not they are consummated.
In addition, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits from the Inventus or another acquisition due to a number of factors, including:
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difficulties in integrating operations, technologies, services and personnel;
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the need to integrate the operations, systems (including accounting, management, information, human resources and other administrative systems), technologies, products, and personnel of each acquired company, which is an inherently risky and potentially lengthy and costly process;
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the need to implement or improve controls, procedures, and policies appropriate for a public company at companies that prior to our acquisition may have lacked such controls, procedures, and policies or whose controls, procedures, and policies did not meet applicable legal and other standards;
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our dependence on the accounting, financial reporting, operating metrics and similar systems, controls and processes of an acquired business, and the risk that errors or irregularities in those systems, controls, and processes will lead to errors in our consolidated financial statements or make it more difficult to manage the acquired business;
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the potential loss of key customers, vendors, and other business partners of the companies we acquire following the announcement of our transaction plans;
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the inefficiencies and lack of control that may result if such integration is delayed or not implemented, and unforeseen difficulties and expenditures that may arise as a result;
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derivative lawsuits resulting from the acquisition;
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risks associated with our expansion into new international markets;
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unanticipated costs or liabilities associated with the acquisition;
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incurrence of acquisition-related costs;
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diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
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potential loss of key employees;
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additional legal, financial and accounting challenges and complexities in areas such as tax planning and cash management;
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use of resources that are needed in other parts of our business; and
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use of substantial portions of our available cash to consummate the acquisition.
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Future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, if an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, our operating results, business and financial condition may suffer.
We have very limited flexibility to change the pricing of our solution for existing clients and may not be able to respond effectively to changes in our market. This limited flexibility could have an adverse effect on our operating results.
Under many of our existing subscription agreements, our annual subscription fee is based on published rate cards applicable to all of our clients that commence their membership while that rate card is in effect. Clients under such agreements are able to renew their memberships perpetually under the rate card in effect at the time that they became members with periodic adjustments by us only based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. This means that any increases to our rate card generally apply only to clients that join after such increase. Accordingly, we have limited ability to change the economics of our business model with respect to existing clients in response to changes in the market in which we operate. This limited flexibility could have an adverse effect on our operating results. For example, if we increase our operating expenses as a result of changes in our market, we would have very limited ability to increase the subscription fees we charge to our existing clients to offset the increased operating expenses, and our operating results could be adversely affected.
We rely on various actuarial models in pricing our insurance product and estimating the frequency and severity of related loss events, but actual results could differ materially from the model outputs. Incurring losses that exceed our predictions could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We employ various predictive modeling, stochastic modeling and/or actuarial techniques to analyze and estimate losses and the risks associated with insurance policies that we underwrite or reinsure. We use the modeled outputs and related analyses to assist us in making underwriting, pricing and reinsurance decisions. The modeled outputs and related analyses are subject to numerous assumptions, uncertainties and the inherent limitations of any statistical analysis. Consequently, modeled results may differ materially from our actual experience. If, based upon these models or otherwise, we under price our products or underestimate the frequency and/or severity of loss events, our results of operations or financial condition may be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. If, based upon these models or otherwise, we over price our products or overestimate the risks we are exposed to, new business growth and retention of our existing business may be adversely affected.
If we are unable to successfully expand our membership base to include small and mid-size companies, we may not be able to maintain our growth and our business and results of operations may be harmed.
Many of our current clients are very large companies. The number of companies of that size is limited and, in order for us to continue our growth, we need to expand our membership base to include small and mid-size companies. There is no guarantee that we will be successful in those efforts. Small and mid-size companies often have more limited budgets available for solutions of the type we offer compared to large companies. Furthermore, small and mid-size companies are generally not subject to as much patent litigation as large companies and, therefore, may not perceive that the benefits of our solution justify its cost. They may also have concerns that we will focus our patent acquisition efforts on patent assets that are of more benefit to our larger clients who pay us higher subscription fees. If we are unable to successfully expand our membership base to include an increased number of companies, our growth may slow, and our business may be harmed.
We are investing management time and resources into developing products designed to provide insurance against patent infringement claims. We have limited prior experience in designing or providing insurance products. If we are not successful in selling a significant amount of these insurance products, we will not realize the anticipated benefit of these investments, which could have an adverse effect on our growth prospects, and our business may be harmed.
We are investing management time and financial resources in the development of products designed to provide insurance against some of the costs resulting from patent claims. We are providing capital to develop and operate this business. We have limited prior experience in designing insurance products, operating an insurance business, attracting policyholders or establishing the pricing or terms of insurance policies and selling insurance policies in combination with membership subscriptions. We cannot assure you that our patent insurance products will appeal to a sufficient number of our existing clients or attract enough new clients to build a sustainable insurance business. If we are unsuccessful in managing this business, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of our investments of capital and management attention, which could have an adverse effect on our financial performance and growth prospects and our business may be harmed.
If we are unable either to identify patent assets that are being asserted or that could be asserted against existing and potential clients or to obtain such assets at prices that are economically supportable within our business model, we may not be able to attract or retain sufficient clients and our operating results would be harmed.
Our ability to attract new clients and renew the subscription agreements of existing clients depends on our ability to identify and acquire patent assets that are being asserted or that could be asserted against our existing or potential clients. There is no guarantee that we will be able to adequately identify those types of patent assets on an ongoing basis and, even if identified, that we will be able to acquire rights to those patent assets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. As new technological advances
occur, some or all of the patent assets we have acquired may become less valuable or obsolete before we have had the opportunity to obtain significant value from those assets.
Our approach to acquiring patent assets generally involves acquiring ownership or a license at a fixed price. Other companies, such as NPEs, often offer contingent payments to sellers of patents that may provide the seller the opportunity to receive greater amounts in the future for the sale of its patents as compared to the fixed price we generally pay. As a result, we may not be able to compete effectively for the acquisition of certain patent assets.
If clients do not perceive that the patent assets we acquire are relevant to their businesses, we will have difficulty attracting new clients and retaining existing clients, and our operating results will be harmed. Similarly, if clients are not satisfied with the amount of capital we deploy to acquire patent assets, they may choose not to renew their subscriptions. These risks are greater if we elect to invest a significant amount of our capital in only a few acquisitions of patent assets.
We may not be able to compete effectively against others to attract new clients or acquire patent assets. Any failure to compete effectively could harm our business and results of operations.
In our efforts to attract new clients and retain existing clients, we compete primarily against established patent risk management strategies employed by those companies. Companies can choose from a variety of other strategies to attempt to manage their patent risk, including internal buying or licensing programs, cross-licensing arrangements, patent-buying consortiums or other patent-buying pools and engaging legal counsel to defend against patent assertions. As a result, we spend considerable resources educating our existing and prospective clients on the potential benefits of our solution and the value and cost savings it may provide.
In addition to competing for new clients, we also compete to acquire patent assets. Our primary competitors in the market for patent assets are varied and include other entities that seek to accumulate patent assets, including NPEs such as Acacia Research, Intellectual Ventures and IP Navigation. Many of our current or potential competitors have longer operating histories and significantly greater financial resources than we have. In addition, many NPEs that compete with us to acquire patent assets have complicated corporate structures that include a large number of subsidiaries, so it is difficult for us to know who the ultimate parent entity is and how much capital the related entities have available to acquire patent assets. We also face competition for patent assets from operating companies, including operating companies that are current or prospective clients. Many of these operating companies have significantly greater financial resources than we have and can acquire patent assets at prices that we may not be able to pay.
We expect to face more direct competition in the future in both our patent risk management business and litigation discovery services business from other established and emerging companies. In addition, as a relatively new company in the patent risk management market and litigation discovery services market, we have limited insight into trends that may develop and affect our businesses. As a result, we may make errors in predicting and reacting to relevant business trends, making us unable to compete effectively against others.
Our current or potential competitors in both our patent risk management business and litigation discovery services businesses vary widely in size and in the scope and breadth of the products and services they offer. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources and a larger client base and sales and marketing teams. The competition we face now and in the future could result in increased pricing pressure, reduced margins, increased sales and marketing expenses and a failure to increase, or the loss of, market share. We may not be able to maintain or improve our competitive position against our current or future competitors, and our failure to do so could seriously harm our business.
Certain of our acquisitions of patent assets are time consuming, complex and costly, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Certain of our acquisitions of patent assets are time consuming, complex and costly to consummate. We utilize many different transaction structures in our acquisitions and the terms of the acquisition agreements tend to be very heavily negotiated. As a result, we may incur significant operating expenses during the negotiations even when the acquisition is ultimately not consummated. Even if we successfully acquire particular patent assets, there is no guarantee that we will generate sufficient revenue related to those patent assets to offset the acquisition costs. While we conduct confirmatory due diligence on the patent assets we are considering for acquisition, we may acquire patent assets from a seller who does not have proper title to those assets. In those cases, we may be required to spend significant resources to defend our interests in the patent assets and, if we are not successful, our acquisition may be invalid, in which case we could lose part or all of our investment in the assets.
We occasionally identify patent assets that cost more than we are prepared to spend of our own capital resources or that may be relevant only to a very small number of clients. In these circumstances, we may structure and coordinate a transaction in which
certain of our clients contribute funds that are in addition to their subscription fees in order to acquire those patent assets. These syndicated acquisitions are complex and can be large and high profile. We may incur significant costs to organize and negotiate a syndicated acquisition that does not ultimately result in an acquisition of any patent assets. These higher costs could adversely affect our operating results. Our roles in structuring the acquisition and managing the acquisition entity, if one is used, may expose us to financial and reputational risks.
New legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents could reduce the value of our solution to clients or potential clients and harm our business and operating results.
If Congress, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or courts implement additional legislation, regulations or rulings that impact the patent enforcement process or the rights of patent holders, these changes could negatively affect the operating results and business model for NPEs. This, in turn, could reduce the value of our solution to our current and potential clients. For example, limitations on the ability to bring patent enforcement claims, limitations on potential liability for patent infringement, lower evidentiary standards and new procedures for invalidating patents, increased difficulty for parties making patent assertions to obtain injunctions, reductions in the cost to resolve patent disputes and other similar developments could negatively affect an NPE’s ability to assert its patent rights successfully, decrease the revenue associated with asserting or licensing an NPE’s patent rights and increase the cost or risk of bringing patent enforcement actions. As a result, assertions and the threat of assertions by NPEs may decrease. If this occurs, companies may seek to resolve patent claims on an individual basis and be less willing to subscribe to our solution or renew their memberships. Furthermore, even if companies are interested in subscribing to our solution or maintaining their memberships, companies may be unwilling to pay the subscription fees that we propose. Any of these events could result in a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
If we are not perceived as a trusted defensive patent aggregator, our ability to gain wide market acceptance will be harmed, and our operating results could be adversely affected.
Our reputation, which depends on earning and maintaining the trust of existing and potential clients, is critical to our business. Our reputation is vulnerable to many threats that can be difficult or impossible to control and costly or impossible to remediate. For our business to be successful, we must continue to educate potential clients about our role as a trusted intermediary in the patent market. If our reputation is harmed, we may have more difficulty attracting new clients and retaining existing clients, and our operating results could be adversely affected.
Our business model requires estimates and judgments by our management. Our estimates and judgments are subject to changes that could adversely affect our operating results.
Our patent risk management business model is relatively new and therefore our accounting and tax treatment has limited precedent. The determination of patent asset amortization expense for financial and income tax reporting requires estimates and judgments on the part of management. Some of our patent asset acquisitions are complex, requiring additional estimates and judgments on the part of our management. From time to time, we evaluate our estimates and judgments; however, such estimates and judgments are, by their nature, subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and factors may arise that lead us to change our estimates or judgments. If this or any other changes occur, our operating results may be adversely affected. Furthermore, if the accounting or tax treatment is challenged, we may be required to spend considerable time and expense defending our position and we may be unable to successfully defend our accounting or tax treatment, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
If we are unable to enhance our current solution or to develop or acquire new solutions to provide additional value to our clients and potential clients, we may not be able to maintain our growth, and our business may be harmed.
In order to attract new clients and retain existing clients, we need to enhance and improve our existing solution and introduce new solutions that meet the needs of our clients. We have in the past, and may in the future, seek to acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our service offerings, enhance our technical capabilities or otherwise offer growth opportunities. For example, in June 2014 we acquired DCML Services Corporation, a provider of data, intelligence and consulting on NPEs.
The development and implementation of new solutions, particularly our litigation discovery services solution, will continue to require substantial time and resources, as well as require us to operate businesses that would be new to our organization. These or any other new solutions may not be introduced in a timely manner or at all. If we do introduce these or any other solutions, we may be unable to implement such solutions in a cost-effective manner, achieve wide market acceptance, meet client expectations or generate revenue sufficient to recoup the cost of developing such solutions. Any new solutions we introduce may expose us to additional laws, regulations and risks. If we are unable to develop these or other solutions successfully and enhance our existing solution to meet client requirements or expectations, we may not be able to attract or retain clients, and our business may be harmed.
We plan to continue to increase our operating expenses to support and expand our operations, and those increased expenses may negatively impact our profitability.
We expect to increase future expenditures to develop and expand our business, including making substantial expenditures to develop new solutions. For example, in March 2014 we formed a reinsurance company to bear some underwriting risk on insurance policies that we issue on behalf of a Lloyd’s of London underwriting syndicate. We began placing new policies under the reinsurance model in May 2014. In January 2016 we acquired Inventus and expanded our business into the litigation discovery services market, which is a new business for us. Developing and offering these new solutions may cause us to incur substantial additional operating expenses. Our efforts to develop this and other new solutions will result in an increase in our operating expenses with no assurance that such solutions will result in additional revenue that is sufficient to offset the additional expenses we incur.
We also plan to incur additional operating expenses as we hire new personnel. Because we intend to continue to hire, we expect our operating expenses to increase. If we are not successful in generating additional revenue that is sufficient to offset these operating expense increases, our operating results may be harmed.
Following the launch of insurance products for NPE patent infringement claims, we now face the risks associated with operating an insurance business. If we fail to manage these risks, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
In August 2012, we began to offer insurance products for patent claims, and therefore face new risks associated with the operation of an insurance business. We have no prior experience in operating an insurance business, which includes assuming underwriting and reinsurance risk and setting premiums. There are many estimates and forecasts involved in predicting underwriting and reinsurance risk and setting premiums, many of which are subject to substantial uncertainty and which could cause our expenses and earnings to vary significantly from quarter to quarter. If we do not estimate our underwriting and reinsurance risks and set our premiums successfully, we may incur larger losses on our policies than we expect, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, while premiums earned from our insurance policies are recognized ratably, losses are recognized as incurred. This will increase the variability of our operating results until such time as our insurance business operates at scale. Furthermore, the insurance market is highly regulated, so operation of an insurance business will expose us to additional laws and regulations. Compliance with such laws and regulations may be costly, which could affect our results of operations.
We may become involved in patent or other litigation proceedings related to our clients. Our involvement could cause us to expend significant resources. It could also require us to disclose information related to our clients, which could cause such clients not to renew their subscriptions with us.
The patent market is heavily impacted by litigation. As a result, we may be required, by subpoena or otherwise, to participate in patent or other litigation proceedings related to our clients. Our participation in any such proceedings could require us to expend significant resources and could also be perceived as adverse to the interests of our clients or potential clients if we are required to disclose any information about our clients that we have gathered in the course of their memberships. These additional expenditures and potential disclosures could make it more difficult for us to attract new clients and retain existing clients, and our results of operations could be harmed. We may incur significant costs in defending claims made against us and the result may not be favorable. An unfavorable outcome of any claim could result in proliferation of similar claims against us. The expense and disclosure associated with our involvement in litigation could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, operating results and cash flows.
Interpretations of current laws and the passage of future laws could harm our business and operating results.
Because of our presence in an emerging industry, the application to us of existing United States and foreign laws is unclear. Many laws do not contemplate or address the specific issues associated with our patent risk management solution or other products and services we may provide in the future. It is possible that courts or other governmental authorities will interpret existing laws regulating risk management and insurance, competition and antitrust practices, taxation, the practice of law and patent usage and transfers in a manner that is inconsistent with our business practices. Our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed if our operations are found to be in violation of any existing laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us. Additionally, existing laws and regulations may restrict our ability to deliver services to our clients, limit our ability to grow and cause us to incur significant expenses in order to comply with such laws and regulations. Even if our business practices are ultimately not affected, we may incur significant cost to defend our actions, incur negative publicity and suffer substantial diversion of management time and effort. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, we face risks from laws that could be passed or changed in the future, including in the United Kingdom as a result of Brexit. Since a significant portion of the regulatory framework in the United Kingdom is derived from EU directives and
regulations, Brexit could materially affect the regulatory regime in the United Kingdom. Changes in laws and regulations regarding data protection, privacy, network security, or encryption may affect our discovery management solution. It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed, or whether any of the proposals will become law. Compliance with any new or existing laws or regulations could be difficult and expensive, affect the manner in which we conduct our business and negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We receive a significant amount of our revenues from a limited number of clients, and if we are not able to obtain membership renewals from these clients, our revenue may decrease substantially.
We receive a significant amount of our revenue from a limited number of clients. For example, during the
nine
months ended
September 30, 2016
, our 10 highest revenue-generating clients accounted for approximately
28%
of our total revenue. We expect that a significant portion of our revenue will continue to come from a relatively small number of clients for the foreseeable future. If any of these clients chooses not to renew its membership, or if our subscription fees from one of these clients decline, our revenue may correspondingly decrease and our operating results may be adversely affected.
Any failure to maintain or protect our patent assets or other intellectual property rights could impair our ability to attract or retain clients and maintain our brand and could harm our business and operating results.
Our business is dependent on our ability to acquire patent assets that are valuable to our existing and potential clients. Following the acquisition of patent assets, we expend significant time and resources to maintain the effectiveness of those assets by paying maintenance fees and making filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In some cases, the patent assets we acquire include patent applications which require us to invest resources to prosecute the applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If we fail to maintain or prosecute our patent assets properly, the value of those assets to our clients would be reduced or eliminated, and our business would be harmed.
If the Inventus security measures are breached, our discovery services solution may be perceived as not being secure, clients may curtail or stop using our discovery services, and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure.
We process, store, and transmit large amounts of data, including personal information, for our discovery services clients, and a security breach would expose us to a risk of loss of this information, litigation, and potential liability. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures.
If we fail to develop widespread brand awareness cost-effectively, we may not attract new clients and our business and operating results may suffer.
We believe that developing and maintaining widespread awareness of our brand in a cost-effective manner is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our solution and is an important element in attracting new clients. Furthermore, we believe that the importance of brand recognition will increase as competition in our market develops. Brand promotion activities may not generate client awareness or yield increased revenue, and even if they do, any increased revenue may not offset the expenses we incurred in building our brand. If we fail to promote and maintain our brand successfully, or if we incur substantial expenses in an unsuccessful attempt to promote and maintain our brand, we may fail to attract or retain clients to the extent necessary to realize a sufficient return on our brand-building efforts.
We are dependent on our management team, and the loss of any key member of this team may prevent us from implementing our business plan, which could harm our future growth and operating results.
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key personnel. We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers or other key management personnel that require them to remain our employees. Therefore, they could terminate their employment with us at any time without penalty. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our employees. The loss of one or more of our key employees could seriously harm our business.
Our inability to identify, attract, train, integrate and retain highly qualified employees would harm our business.
Our future success depends on our ability to identify, attract, train, integrate and retain highly qualified technical, sales and marketing, managerial and administrative personnel. In particular, our ability to increase our revenue is dependent on our ability to hire personnel who can identify and acquire valuable patent assets and attract new clients. Competition for highly skilled sales, business development and technical individuals is intense, and we continue to face difficulty identifying and hiring qualified personnel in some areas of our business. We may not be able to hire and retain such personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Many of the companies with which we compete for hiring experienced employees have greater resources than we have. If we fail to identify, attract, train, integrate and retain highly qualified and
motivated personnel, our reputation could suffer, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements could be impaired, which could adversely affect our operating results, our ability to operate our business and investors’ views of us.
Ensuring that we have internal financial and accounting controls and procedures adequate to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. We have in the past discovered, and may in the future discover, areas of our internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that need improvement. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and our independent registered public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our compliance with Section 404 requires that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management time on compliance-related issues. While neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm have identified deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, there can be no assurance that material weaknesses will not subsequently be identified. During the audit of the financial statements of our recently-acquired, wholly-owned subsidiary Inventus for the year ended December 31, 2015, we concluded the subsidiary's controls were not effectively designed and did not operate at the appropriate level of precision to record the valuation of deferred tax assets in the appropriate period, resulting in the restatement of Inventus's consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014. Inventus’s management concluded that this control deficiency constituted a material weakness as of December 31, 2015. If we are unable to effectively remediate control deficiencies which are identified or are otherwise unable to maintain adequate internal controls over Inventus’s financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to prepare reliable financial statements and comply with our reporting obligations on a timely basis, which could materially adversely affect our business and subject us to legal and regulatory action.
Global economic conditions may adversely affect demand for our solution or fees payable under our subscription agreements, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
Our operations and performance depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions, and the United States and world economies have recently and may continue to experience weak economic conditions. In particular, the economics of countries in Europe have been experiencing weakness associated with high sovereign debt levels, weakness in the banking sector, and uncertainty over the future of the Euro zone, including instability surrounding Brexit. Uncertainty about global economic conditions poses a risk as businesses may postpone spending in response to tighter credit, negative financial news and declines in income or asset values. This response could have a material negative effect on the demand for our solution. Furthermore, if our clients experience reduced operating income or revenues as a result of economic conditions or otherwise, it would reduce their subscription fees because those fees are generally reset annually based on the clients’ operating income or revenue. If the subscription fees payable under our subscription agreements are reduced substantially, it would have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations has increased, and will likely continue to increase, our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. 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. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters, higher administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention. Further, if our compliance efforts differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed. Being a public company that is subject to these rules and regulations also makes it more expensive for us to obtain and retain director and officer liability insurance, and we may in the future be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain or retain adequate coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board of Directors and qualified executive officers.
We might require additional capital to support our business growth and future patent asset acquisitions, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.
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 acquire patent assets, develop new solutions or enhance our existing solution, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit agreements to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve 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 to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We have taken on significant debt, which will decrease our business flexibility and increase our interest expense.
On February 26, 2016, we entered into the Credit Agreement which provided for the Term Facility the Revolving Credit Facility. As of
September 30, 2016
, the total balance outstanding on the Term Facility is
$97.5 million
, and the Revolving Credit Facility remains undrawn.
This debt, together with certain covenants imposed on us in connection with incurring this debt, among other things, limits how we conduct our business, reduces our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and increases our interest expense. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully. We may also need to refinance a portion of our outstanding debt as it matures. There is a risk that we may not be able to refinance existing debt or that the terms of any refinancing may not be as favorable as the terms of our existing debt. Furthermore, if prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, then the interest expense relating to that refinanced indebtedness would increase. In addition, the covenants in our debt limit our ability to, among other things, obtain additional financing, make acquisitions or other investments, repurchase our stock or pay dividends, or dispose of patent assets. These limitations could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our results of operations could vary as a result of the methods, estimates and judgments we use in applying our accounting policies.
The methods, estimates and judgments we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations, including the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, patent assets, other investments, income taxes, litigation and other intangibles, and other contingencies. Such methods, estimates and judgments are, by their nature, subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and factors may arise over time that lead us to change our methods, estimates and judgments. In addition, actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Changes in those methods, estimates and judgments could significantly affect our results of operations.
We may not be able to continue offering an “A” rated insurance product.
In May 2014, we began offering an “A” rated insurance product. If we are unable to maintain our relationship with one or more “A” rated insurance companies, we may be unable to continue offering an “A” rated insurance product, which could have an adverse effect on new insurance business growth and retention of our existing insurance business.
Reinsurance coverage may not be available to us in the future at commercially reasonable rates or at all.
As of January 1, 2015, we had secured quota share reinsurance from third party reinsurers for 42% of the risk underwritten through our risk retention group and 40% of the risk underwritten for our insurance company business partner. The availability and cost of reinsurance that we purchase are subject to prevailing market conditions that are beyond our control. No assurances can be made that reinsurance will remain continuously available to us in amounts that we consider sufficient and at rates that we consider acceptable, which would cause us to increase the amount of risk we retain, reduce the amount of business we underwrite or look for alternatives to reinsurance. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations are subject to risks of natural disasters, acts of war, terrorism or widespread illness at our domestic and international locations, any one of which could result in a business stoppage and negatively affect our operating results.
Our business operations depend on our ability to maintain and protect our facility, computer systems and personnel, which are primarily located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Bay Area is in close proximity to known earthquake fault zones. Our facility and transportation for our employees are susceptible to damage from earthquakes and other natural disasters such as fires, floods and similar events. Should earthquakes or other catastrophes such as fires, floods, power outages, communication failures or similar events disable our facilities, we do not have readily available alternative facilities from which we could conduct our business, which stoppage could have a negative effect on our operating results. Acts of terrorism, widespread illness and war could also have a negative effect at our international and domestic facilities and on our operating results.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The trading price of our common stock has been volatile and is likely to be volatile in the future, and you might not be able to sell your shares at or above the price at which you purchased them.
Since our initial public offering in May 2011, our stock price has traded as high as $31.41 per share and as low as $8.55 per share. Further, our common stock has a limited trading history and an active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained in the future. The market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include those discussed in this “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and others such as:
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variations in our financial condition and operating results;
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the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;
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changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in recommendations by any securities analysts that elect to follow our common stock;
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addition or loss of significant clients;
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adoption or modification of laws, regulations, policies, procedures or programs applicable to our business, including those related to the enforcement of patent claims;
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announcements of technological innovations, new products and services, acquisitions, strategic alliances or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;
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recruitment or departure of members of our Board of Directors, management team or other key personnel;
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market conditions in our industry;
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the impact of macroeconomic, market, and political factors and trends, including in light of Brexit and other recent political developments;
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price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market or resulting from inconsistent trading volume levels of our shares;
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lawsuits threatened or filed against us;
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any change in our stock repurchase program;
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sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders;
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outstanding debt service obligations and repayment thereof; and
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the opening or closing of our employee trading window.
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In recent years, the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the changes in the operating performance of the companies whose stock is experiencing those price and volume fluctuations. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
Substantial future sales of shares by existing stockholders, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause our stock price to decline, even if our business is doing well.
If our existing stockholders, particularly our directors and executive officers, sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or are perceived by the public market as intending to sell substantial amounts of our common stock, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
In addition, shares that are subject to outstanding options or that may be granted in the future under our equity plans will be eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.
If any of these additional shares described are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
As a public company, our stock price has been volatile, and securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility of their stock price. Any such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of particular companies’ securities, securities class action litigation has been instituted against these companies. Our stock has been volatile and may continue to be volatile. If instituted against us, securities litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition and stock price.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company and may affect the trading price of our common stock.
We are a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change in control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws:
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authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our Board of Directors to thwart a takeover attempt;
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establish a classified Board of Directors, as a result of which the successors to the directors whose terms have expired will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following their election;
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require that directors only be removed from office for cause and only upon a majority stockholder vote;
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provide that vacancies on our Board of Directors, including newly created directorships, may be filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office;
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limit who may call special meetings of stockholders;
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prohibit stockholder action by written consent, requiring all actions to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders;
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do not provide stockholders with the ability to cumulate their votes;
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require supermajority stockholder voting to effect certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws; and
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require advance notification of stockholder nominations and proposals.
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Our stock repurchase program could affect the price of our common stock and increase volatility and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock.
In February 2015, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program of up to $75 million. In March 2016 and May 2016, our Board of Directors further increased the amount authorized to repurchase by $25 million and $50 million, respectively, to a total authorized amount to repurchase of $150 million. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, an assessment by management and our Board of Directors of cash availability and other market conditions. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice. Repurchases pursuant to our stock repurchase program could affect the price of our common stock and increase its volatility. The existence of our stock repurchase program could also cause the price of our common stock to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our common stock. There can be no assurance that any stock repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased such shares. Any failure to repurchase shares after we have announced our intention to do so may negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence in us and may negatively impact our stock price. Although our stock repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program's effectiveness.
We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, and consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after
price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments. There is no guarantee that shares of our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which our stockholders have purchased their shares.