ITEM 1A – RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all other information contained in this report before purchasing our securities. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose some or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Financial Results and Financing Plans

We have a history of losses and may continue to incur losses in the future.

We have a history of losses and may continue to incur losses in the future, which could negatively impact the trading value of our common stock. We incurred losses from operations of $2,539,657 for the year ended December 31, 2018, $1,200,593 for the seven months ended December 31, 2017 and $4,761,829 for the year ended May 31, 2017. In addition, we incurred a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $1,847,380 for the year ended December 31, 2018, $1,803,758 for the seven months ended December 31, 2017 and $6,812,879 for the year ended May 31, 2017. We may continue to incur operating and net losses in future periods. These losses may increase and we may never achieve profitability for a variety of reasons, including increased competition, decreased growth in the unified communications industry and other factors described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section. If we cannot achieve sustained profitability, our stockholders may lose all or a portion of their investment in our company.

If we are unable to sustain our recent revenue growth rates, we may never achieve or sustain profitability.

In the telecommunications sector we experienced consistent growth in recent years. To become profitable, we must, among other things, continue to increase our revenues. We experienced significant growth in recent years, primarily due to our strategic acquisitions. Our total revenues increased to $34,549,152 in the year ended December 31, 2018 from $5,872,457 in the seven months ended December 31, 2017 and $1,069,917 in the year ended May 31, 2017. In order to become profitable and maintain our profitability, we must, among other things, continue to increase our revenues. We may be unable to sustain our recent revenue growth, particularly if we are unable to develop and market our telecommunications, increase our sales to existing customers or develop new customers. However, even if our revenues continue to grow, they may not be sufficient to exceed increases in our operating expenses or to enable us to achieve or sustain profitability.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to meet our payment obligations.

As of December 31, 2018, we had total indebtedness of $8,793,327, consisting of $4,842,391, net of debt discounts of convertible debentures, $3,637,078 of notes payable, and $313,858 of related-party indebtedness. All of this debt is due within the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to our stockholders. For example, it could: 

A high level of indebtedness would increase the risk that we may default on our debt obligations. Our ability to meet our debt obligations and to reduce our level of indebtedness will depend on our future performance. General economic conditions and financial, business and other factors affect our operations and our future performance. Many of these factors are beyond our control. We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows to pay the interest on our debt and future working capital, borrowings or equity financing may not be available to pay or refinance such debt. Factors that will affect our ability to raise cash through an offering of our capital stock or a refinancing of our debt include our ability to access the public equity and debt markets, financial market conditions, the value of our assets and our performance at the time we need capital.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our inability to obtain additional capital may prevent us from completing our acquisition strategy and successfully operating our business; however, additional financings may subject our existing stockholders to substantial dilution.

Due to our continued telecommunication organic growth path and associate amount of revenue generated, we expect to finance our anticipated future strategic acquisitions through public or private equity offerings or debt financings. Additional funds may not be available when we need them on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate one or more strategic acquisitions or business plans. To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience significant dilution. In addition, debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants. We may seek to access the public or private capital markets whenever conditions are favorable, even if we do not have an immediate need for additional capital at that time. Our access to the financial markets and the pricing and terms we receive in the financial markets could be adversely impacted by various factors, including changes in financial markets and interest rates.

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, the costs and timing of our future acquisitions.

A failure to successfully execute our strategy of acquiring other businesses to grow our company could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We intend to continue pursuing growth through the acquisition of companies or assets to expand our product offerings, project skill-sets and capabilities, enlarge our geographic markets, and increase critical mass to enable us to bid on larger contracts. However, we may be unable to find suitable acquisition candidates or to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. Moreover, any completed acquisition may not result in the intended benefits. For example, while the historical financial and operating performance of an acquisition target are among the criteria we evaluate in determining which acquisition targets we will pursue, there can be no assurance that any business or assets we acquire will continue to perform in accordance with past practices or will achieve financial or operating results that are consistent with or exceed past results. Any such failure could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, any completed acquisition may not result in the intended benefits for other reasons and our acquisitions will involve a number of other risks, including:

Any of these risks could prevent us from executing our acquisition growth strategy, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our engagements can require longer implementations and other professional services engagements.

Our implementations can involve a longer period of delivery of telecommunication and infrastructure services and technologies. In addition, existing customers for other professional services projects often retain us for those projects sometime beyond an initial implementation. A successful implementation or other professional services project requires a close working relationship between us, the customer and often third- party consultants and systems integrators who assist in the process. These factors may increase the costs associated with completion of any given project award/sale, increase the timeline risks of collection of amounts due during implementations or other professional services projects, and increase risks of delay of such projects. Delays in the completion of an implementation or any other professional services project may require that the revenues associated with such implementation or project be recognized over a longer period than originally anticipated, or may result in disputes with customers, third-party consultants or systems integrators regarding performance as originally anticipated. Such delays in the implementation may cause material fluctuations in our operating results. In addition, customers may defer implementation projects or portions of such projects and such deferrals could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our future success is substantially dependent on third-party relationships.

An element of our strategy is to establish and maintain alliances with other companies, such as suppliers of products and services for construction and maintenance. These relationships enhance our status in the marketplace, which generates new business opportunities and marketing channels and, in certain cases, additional revenue and profitability. To effectively generate revenue out of these relationships, each party must coordinate and support required hence the sales and marketing efforts of the other, often including making a sizable investment in such sales and marketing activity. Our inability to establish and maintain effective alliances with other companies could impact our success in the marketplace, which could materially and adversely impact our results of operations. In addition, as we cannot control the actions of these third-party alliances, if these companies suffer business downturns or fail to meet their objectives, we may experience a resulting diminished revenue and decline in results of operations.

If we do not accurately estimate the overall costs when we bid on a contract that is awarded to us, we may achieve a lower than anticipated profit or incur a loss on the contract.

A portion of our telecommunications revenues from our engineering and professional services offerings are derived from fixed unit price contracts that require us to perform the contract for a fixed unit price irrespective of our actual costs. We bid for these contracts based on our estimates of overall costs, but cost overruns may cause us to incur losses. The costs incurred and any net profit realized on such contracts can vary, sometimes substantially, from the original projections due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

These factors may cause actual reduced profitability or losses on projects, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our contracts may require us to perform extra or change order work, which can result in disputes and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our contracts generally require us to perform extra or change order work as directed by the customer, even if the customer has not agreed in advance on the scope or price of the extra work to be performed. This process may result in disputes over whether the work performed is beyond the scope of the work included in the original project plans and specifications or, if the customer agrees that the work performed qualifies as extra work, the price that the customer is willing to pay for the extra work. Even when the customer agrees to pay for the extra work, we may be required to fund the cost of such work for a lengthy period of time until the change order is approved by the customer and we are paid by the customer.

To the extent that actual recoveries with respect to change orders or amounts subject to contract disputes or claims are less than the estimates used in our financial statements, the amount of any shortfall will reduce our future revenues and profits, and this could adversely affect our reported working capital and results of operations. In addition, any delay caused by the extra work may adversely impact the timely scheduling of other project work and our ability to meet specified contract milestone dates.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from a few customers and the loss of one of these customers, or a reduction in their demand for our services, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our customer base on the telecommunication sector is highly concentrated. Due to the size and nature of our contracts, one or a few customers have represented a substantial portion of our consolidated revenues and gross profits in any one year or over a period of several consecutive years. Our top four customers accounted for approximately 68% of our revenue in the year ended December 31, 2018, 64% in the seven months ended December 31, 2017 and 72% of our total revenues from in the year May 31, 2017. Revenues under our contracts with significant customers may continue to vary from period to period depending on the timing or volume of work that those customers order or perform with in-house service organizations. A limited number of customers may continue to comprise a substantial portion of our revenue for the foreseeable future.

Because we do not maintain any reserves for payment defaults, a default or delay in payment on a significant scale could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We could lose business from a significant customer for a variety of reasons, including:

Since many of our customer contracts allow our customers to terminate the contract without cause, our customers may terminate their contracts with us at will, which could impair our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our failure to adequately expand our direct sales force will impede our growth.

We will need to continue to expand and optimize our sales infrastructure in order to grow our customer base and our business. We plan to continue to expand our account management/sales force, both domestically and internationally. Identifying and recruiting qualified personnel and training them requires significant time, expense and attention. If we are unable to hire, develop and retain talented account management/sales personnel or if the personnel are unable to achieve desired productivity levels in a reasonable period of time, we may not be able to realize the intended benefits of this investment or increase our revenue.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified executive officers and managers, we will be unable to operate efficiently, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We depend on the continued efforts and abilities of our management, as well as the senior management of our subsidiaries, to establish and maintain our customer relationships and identify strategic opportunities. The loss of any one of them could negatively affect our ability to execute our business strategy and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Competition for managerial talent with significant industry experience is high and we may lose access to executive officers for a variety of reasons, including more attractive compensation packages offered by our competitors. Although we have entered into employment agreements with certain of our senior level management, we cannot guarantee that any of them or other key management personnel will remain employed by us for any length of time.

We derive a significant portion of our telecommunications sector revenues from master service agreements that may be cancelled by customers on short notice, or which we may be unable to renew on favorable terms or at all.

During the years ended December 31, 2018 and seven months ended December 31, 2017 we derived approximately 90%, of our revenues from master service agreements and long-term contracts, none of which require our customers to purchase a minimum amount of services. The majority of these contracts may be cancelled by our customers upon minimal notice (typically 60 days), regardless of whether or not we are in default. In addition, many of these contracts permit cancellation of particular purchase orders or statements of work without any notice.

These agreements typically do not require our customers to assign a specific amount of work to us until a purchase order or statement of work is signed. Consequently, projected expenditures by customers are not assured until a definitive purchase order or statement of work is placed with us and the work is completed. Furthermore, our customers generally require competitive bidding of these contracts. As a result, we could be underbid by our competitors or be required to lower the prices charged under a contract being rebid. The loss of work obtained through master service agreements and long-term contracts or the reduced profitability of such work could adversely affect our business or results of operations.

Unanticipated delays due to adverse weather conditions, global climate change and difficult work sites and environments may slow completion of our contracts, impair our customer relationships and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Because some of our work in the telecommunication sector is performed outdoors, our business is impacted by extended periods of inclement weather and is subject to unpredictable weather conditions, which could become more frequent or severe if general climatic changes occur. Generally, inclement weather is more likely to occur during the winter season, which falls during our first and fourth fiscal quarters. Additionally, adverse weather conditions can result in project delays or cancellations, potentially causing us to incur additional unanticipated costs, reductions in revenues or the payment of liquidated damages. In addition, some of our contracts require that we assume the risk that actual site conditions vary from those expected. Significant periods of bad weather typically reduce profitability of affected contracts, both in the current period and during the future life of affected contracts, which can negatively affect our results of operations in current and future periods until the affected contracts are completed.

Some of our projects involve challenging engineering, procurement and construction phases that may occur over extended time periods, sometimes up to several years. We may encounter difficulties in engineering, delays in designs or materials provided by the customer or a third party, equipment and material delivery delays, schedule changes, delays from customer failure to timely obtain rights-of-way, weather-related delays, delays by subcontractors in completing their portion of the project and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, but which may impact our ability to complete a project within the original delivery schedule. In some cases, delays and additional costs may be substantial, and we may be required to cancel a project and/or compensate the customer for the delay. We may not be able to recover any of these costs. Any such delays, cancellations, defects, errors or other failures to meet customer expectations could result in damage claims substantially in excess of revenue associated with a project. These factors could also negatively impact our reputation or relationships with our customers, which could adversely affect our ability to secure new contracts.

Environmental and other regulatory matters could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and could require expenditures that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our operations are subject to laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and worker health that, among other things, regulate employee exposure to hazardous substances. While immigration laws require us to take certain steps intended to confirm the legal status of our immigrant labor force, we may nonetheless unknowingly employ illegal immigrants. Violations of laws and regulations could subject us to substantial fines and penalties, cleanup costs, third- party property damage or personal injury claims. In addition, these laws and regulations have become, and enforcement practices and compliance standards are becoming, increasingly stringent. Moreover, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of legislation or regulatory requirements that could be imposed, or how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted, with respect to products or activities to which they have not been previously applied. Compliance with more stringent laws or regulations, as well as more vigorous enforcement policies of the regulatory agencies, could require us to make substantial expenditures for, among other things, pollution control systems and other equipment that we do not currently possess, or the acquisition or modification of permits applicable to our activities.

Fines, judgments and other consequences resulting from our failure to comply with regulations or adverse outcomes in litigation proceedings could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

From time to time, we may be involved in lawsuits and regulatory actions, including class action lawsuits that are brought or threatened against us in the ordinary course of business. These actions may seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, workers’ compensation, violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws, employment discrimination, breach of contract, property damage, punitive damages, civil penalties, and consequential damages or other losses, or injunctive or declaratory relief. Any defects or errors, or failures to meet our customers’ expectations could result in large damage claims against us. Claimants may seek large damage awards and, due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings. Any failure to properly estimate or manage cost, or delay in the completion of projects, could subject us to penalties. 

The ultimate resolution of these matters through settlement, mediation or court judgment could have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Regardless of the outcome of any litigation, these proceedings could result in substantial cost and may require us to devote substantial resources to defend ourselves. When appropriate, we establish reserves for litigation and claims that we believe to be adequate in light of current information, legal advice and professional indemnity insurance coverage, and we adjust such reserves from time to time according to developments. If our reserves are inadequate or insurance coverage proves to be inadequate or unavailable, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may suffer.

If we are required to reclassify independent contractors as employees, we may incur additional costs and taxes which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We use a significant number of independent contractors in our operations for whom we do not pay or withhold any federal, state or provincial employment tax. There are a number of different tests used in determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor and such tests generally take into account multiple factors. There can be no assurance that legislative, judicial or regulatory (including tax) authorities will not introduce proposals or assert interpretations of existing rules and regulations that would change, or at least challenge, the classification of our independent contractors. Although we believe we have properly classified our independent contractors, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or other U.S. federal or state authorities or similar authorities of a foreign government may determine that we have misclassified our independent contractors for employment tax or other purposes and, as a result, seek additional taxes from us or attempt to impose fines and penalties. If we are required to pay employer taxes or pay backup withholding with respect to prior periods with respect to or on behalf of our independent contractors, our operating costs will increase, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our dependence on subcontractors and suppliers could increase our cost and impair our ability to complete contracts on a timely basis or at all.

We rely on third-party subcontractors to perform some of the work on our contracts. We also rely on third-party suppliers to provide materials needed to perform our obligations under those contracts. We generally do not bid on contracts unless we have the necessary subcontractors and suppliers committed for the anticipated scope of the contract and at prices that we have included in our bid. Therefore, to the extent that we cannot engage subcontractors or suppliers, our ability to bid for contracts may be impaired. In addition, if a subcontractor or third-party supplier is unable to deliver its goods or services according to the negotiated terms for any reason, we may suffer delays and be required to purchase the services from another source at a higher price. We sometimes pay our subcontractors and suppliers before our customers pay us for the related services. If customers fail to pay us and we choose, or are required, to pay our subcontractors for work performed or pay our suppliers for goods received, we could suffer an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover all significant risk exposures.

We will be exposed to liabilities that are unique to the services we provide. While we intend to maintain insurance for certain risks, the amount of our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover all claims or liabilities, and we may be forced to bear substantial costs resulting from risks and uncertainties of our business. It is also not possible to obtain insurance to protect against all operational risks and liabilities. The failure to obtain adequate insurance coverage on terms favorable to us, or at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

A portion of our Telecommunication sector operations are subject to hazards that may cause personal injury or property damage, thereby subjecting us to liabilities and possible losses, which may not be covered by insurance.

Our workers are subject to hazards associated with providing construction and related services on construction sites. For example, some of the work we perform is underground. If the field location maps supplied to us are not accurate, or if objects are present in the soil that are not indicated on the field location maps, our underground work could strike objects in the soil containing pollutants that could result in a rupture and discharge of pollutants. In such a case, we may be liable for fines and damages. These operating hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, damage to or destruction of property, plant and equipment and environmental damage. Even though we believe that the insurance coverage we maintain is in amounts and against the risks that we believe are consistent with industry practice, this insurance may not be adequate to cover all losses or liabilities that we may incur in our operations. To the extent that we experience a material increase in the frequency or severity of accidents or workers’ compensation claims, or unfavorable developments on existing claims, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, or OSHA, establishes certain employer responsibilities, including the maintenance of a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury, compliance with standards promulgated by the Occupational Health and Safety and Health Administration and various recordkeeping, disclosure and procedural requirements. While we have invested, and will continue to invest, substantial resources in occupational health and safety programs, serious accidents or violations of OSHA rules may subject us to substantial penalties, civil litigation or criminal prosecution, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. However our record to date has had no incidents or losses and we are in full compliance with a 100% safety record.

Defects in our specialty contracting services may give rise to claims against us, increase our expenses, or harm our reputation.

Our specialty contracting services are complex and our final work product may contain defects. We have not historically accrued reserves for potential claims as they have been immaterial. The costs associated with such claims, including any legal proceedings, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Our industry is highly competitive, with a variety of larger companies with greater resources competing with us, and our failure to compete effectively could reduce the number of new contracts awarded to us or adversely affect our market share and harm our financial performance.

The contracts on which we bid are generally awarded through a competitive bid process, with awards generally being made to the lowest bidder, but sometimes based on other factors, such as shorter contract schedules, larger scale to complete projects or prior experience with the customer. Within our markets, we compete with many national, regional, local and international service providers, including Dycom Industries, Inc., Goodman Networks, Inc., Ericsson, Nokia and MasTec, Inc. Price is often the principal factor in determining which service provider is selected by our customers, especially on smaller, less complex projects. As a result, any organization with adequate financial resources and access to technical expertise may become a competitor. Smaller competitors are sometimes able to win bids for these projects based on price alone because of their lower costs and financial return requirements. Additionally, our competitors may develop the expertise, experience and resources to provide services that are equal or superior in price to our services, and we may not be able to maintain or enhance our competitive position.

Some of our competitors have already achieved greater market penetration than we have in the markets in which we compete, and some have greater financial and other resources than we do. A number of national companies in our industry are larger than we are and, if they so desire, could establish a presence in our markets and compete with us for contracts. As a result of this competition, we may need to accept lower contract margins in order to compete against competitors that have the ability to accept awards at lower prices or have a pre-existing relationship with a customer. If we are unable to compete successfully in our markets, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

Many of the industries we serve are subject to consolidation and rapid technological and regulatory change, and our inability or failure to adjust to our customers’ changing needs could reduce demand for our services.

We derive, and anticipate that we will continue to derive, a substantial portion of our revenue from customers in the telecommunications and utilities industries. The telecommunications and utilities industries are subject to rapid changes in technology and governmental regulation. Changes in technology may reduce the demand for the services we provide. For example, new or developing technologies could displace the wireline systems used for the transmission of voice, video and data, and improvements in existing technology may allow telecommunications providers to significantly improve their networks without physically upgrading them. Alternatively, our customers could perform more tasks themselves, which would cause our business to suffer. Additionally, the telecommunications and utilities industries have been characterized by a high level of consolidation that may result in the loss of one or more of our customers. Our failure to rapidly adopt and master new technologies as they are developed in any of the industries we serve or the consolidation of one or more of our significant customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Further, many of our telecommunications customers are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, and other international regulators. The FCC and other regulators may interpret the application of their regulations in a manner that is different than the way such regulations are currently interpreted and may impose additional regulations, either of which could reduce demand for our services and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Economic downturns could cause capital expenditures in the industries we serve to decrease, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The demand for our services has been, and will likely continue to be, cyclical in nature and vulnerable to general downturns in the United States economy. The United States economy after the election cycle is showing signs of recovering from a recession, and growth in United States economic activity has remained slow until this year. It is uncertain when these conditions will significantly improve. The wireless and wireline telecommunications industry are cyclical in nature and vulnerable to general downturns in the United States and international economies. Our customers are affected by economic changes that decrease the need for or the profitability of their services. This can result in a decrease in the demand for our services and potentially result in the delay or cancellation of projects by our customers. Slow-downs in real estate, fluctuations in commodity prices and decreased demand by end-customers for services could affect our customers and their capital expenditure plans. As a result, some of our customers may opt to defer or cancel pending projects. A downturn in overall economic conditions also affects the priorities placed on various projects funded by governmental entities and federal, state and local spending levels.

In general, economic uncertainty makes it difficult to estimate our customers’ requirements for our services. Our plan for growth depends on expanding our company both in the United States and internationally. If economic factors in any of the regions in which we plan to expand are not favorable to the growth and development of the telecommunications industries in those countries, we may not be able to carry out our growth strategy, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Other Risks Relating to Our Company and Results of Operations

Our operating results may fluctuate due to factors that are difficult to forecast and not within our control.

Our past telecommunications operating results may not be accurate indicators of future performance, and you should not rely on such results to predict our future performance.

Our operating results have fluctuated and could fluctuate in the future. Factors that may contribute to fluctuations include:

Actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions that we use to prepare our financial statements.

To prepare financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions as of the date of the financial statements that affect the reported values of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Areas requiring significant estimates by our management include:

At the time the estimates and assumptions are made, we believe they are accurate based on the information available. However, our actual results could differ from, and could require adjustments to, those estimates.

We exercise judgment in determining our provision for taxes in the Canada, United States and Puerto Rico that are subject to tax authority audit review that could result in additional tax liability and potential penalties that would negatively affect our net income.

The amounts we record in intercompany transactions for services, licenses, funding and other items affects our potential tax liabilities. Our tax filings are subject to review or audit by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state, local and foreign taxing authorities. We exercise judgment in determining our worldwide provision for income and other taxes and, in the ordinary course of our business, there may be transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Examinations of our tax returns could result in significant proposed adjustments and assessment of additional taxes that could adversely affect our tax provision and net income in the period or periods for which that determination is made.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our common stock price has fluctuated in recent years, and the trading price of our common stock is likely to continue to reflect changes, which could result in losses to investors and litigation.

In addition to changes to market prices based on our results of operations and the factors discussed elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, the market price of and trading volume for our common stock may change for a variety of other reasons, not necessarily related to our actual operating performance. The capital markets have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. In addition, the average daily trading volume of the securities of small companies can be very low, which may contribute to future volatility. Factors that could cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly include:

Any of these factors, as well as broader market and industry factors, may result in large and sudden changes in the trading volume of our common stock and could seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. This may prevent stockholders from being able to sell their shares at or above the price they paid for shares of our common stock, if at all. In addition, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders often institute securities class action litigation against that company. Our involvement in any class action suit or other legal proceeding, including the existing lawsuits filed against us and described elsewhere in this report, could divert our senior management’s attention and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and could impair our future ability to raise capital through common stock offerings. As of December 31, 2018, we had 7,708,684 shares of common stock issued and 7,087,426 shares outstanding, of which 5,530,000 shares were restricted securities pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated by the SEC. The sale of these shares into the open market may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In addition, at December 31, 2018, we also had outstanding $6,685,041 million aggregate principal amount of convertible notes that were convertible into 35,654,000 shares of common stock on that date. However, we cannot currently determine the total number of shares of our common stock that may be issued upon the conversion or repayment of our convertible notes because the total number of shares and the conversion prices or the prices at which we can issue our common stock to pay down the principal of and interest on our convertible notes depend on a number of factors, including the prices and nature of any equity securities we may issue in the future and the market prices of our common stock in the periods leading up to any particular amortization payment date on which we elect to make amortization payments on our convertible notes in shares of our common stock. See Note 10, Convertible Debentures, to the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this report. For conversions completed between January 1 and March 19, 2019, see Note 19, Subsequent Events, to the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this report. As of December 31, 2018, there were also outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,715,177 shares of our common stock at a weighted-average exercise price of $2.14 per share, all of which warrants were exercisable as of such date. The conversion of a significant principal amount of our outstanding convertible debt securities into shares of our common stock, our repayment of a significant amount of principal, interest or other amounts payable under such debt securities in shares of our common stock or the exercise of outstanding warrants at prices below the market price of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. The market price of our common stock also may be adversely affected by our issuance of shares of our capital stock or convertible securities in connection with future acquisitions, or in connection with other financing efforts.

We may have insufficient authorized capital stock to issue common stock to all of the holders of our outstanding warrants and other convertible securities and may be required to reverse split our outstanding shares of common stock or to request our stockholders to authorize additional shares of common stock in connection with the exercise or conversion of such outstanding securities or subsequent equity finance transactions.

We are authorized to issue 750,000,000 shares of common stock, of which 7,087,426 shares were outstanding on December 31, 2018 and, primarily as a result of the conversion of convertible debt securities since December 31, 2018, 14,250,089 shares were issued and outstanding on March 18, 2019. At March 19, 2019, we had reserved 40,548,806 shares of common stock for issuance upon conversion of certain of our outstanding convertible debt securities and warrants. In addition, at such date, we had outstanding $6,486,075 aggregate principal amount of additional convertible debt securities for which we are not required to reserve a specific number of shares of common stock for conversions but that is convertible into an undeterminable number of shares of common stock based upon a discount to the then-current market price of our common stock. If all of these securities were converted or exercised, the total number of shares of our common stock that we would be required to issue would greatly exceed the number of our remaining authorized but unissued shares of common stock. 

As a result of such potential shortfall in the number of our authorized shares of common stock, it is likely that we will have insufficient shares of common stock available to issue in connection with the conversion or exercise of our outstanding options, warrants and convertible debt securities or any future equity finance transaction we may seek to undertake. Accordingly, we may be required to take steps at an annual or special meeting of stockholders to seek approval of an increase in the number of our authorized shares of common stock. However, we cannot assure you that our stockholders would authorize an increase in the number of shares of our common stock. Alternatively, we may be required to reverse split our outstanding shares of common stock to create additional authorized but unissued shares. Our failure to have a sufficient number of authorized shares of common stock for issuance upon future exercise or conversion of our outstanding options, warrants and convertible debt securities could create an event of default under such securities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we do not meet the listing standards of a national securities exchange our investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities will be limited and we will be subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our securities currently are traded over-the-counter on the OTC QB market and are not qualified to be listed on a national securities exchange, such as NASDAQ. Accordingly, we face significant material adverse consequences, including:

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Since our common stock is traded on the OTC Pink, our common stock is a covered security. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute allows the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. Further, if we were no longer traded over-the-counter, our common stock would not be a covered security and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Our shares of common stock are subject to penny stock regulations. Because our common stock is a penny stock, holders of our common stock may find it difficult or may be unable to sell their shares.

The SEC has adopted rules that regulate broker/dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ system, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange system). The penny stock rules require a broker/dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the SEC that provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker/dealer also must provide the customer with bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker/dealer, and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from such rules, the broker/dealer must make a special written determination that a penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in any secondary market for a stock that becomes subject to the penny stock rules, and accordingly, holders of our common stock may find it difficult or may be unable to sell their shares.

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock.

We have never paid cash dividends and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any earnings to finance our operations and growth. As a result, any short-term return on your investment will depend on the market price of our common stock, and only appreciation of the price of our common stock, which may never occur, will provide a return to stockholders. The decision whether to pay dividends will be made by our board of directors in light of conditions then existing, including, but not limited to, factors such as our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions, and covenants under any applicable contractual arrangements. Investors seeking cash dividends should not invest in our common stock.

If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our common stock, the market price of our common stock will likely decline.

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts, over whom we have no control, publish about us and our business. We may never obtain research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our company, the market price for our common stock could decline. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, the market price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity analysts downgrade our common stock or if those analysts issue unfavorable commentary, even if it is inaccurate, or cease publishing reports about us or our business.