Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The nature of the business activities conducted by the Company subjects us to certain hazards and risks. The following is a summary of some of the material risks relating to the Company’s business activities. Other risks are described in “Item 1. Business,” “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.” Prospective and existing investors are strongly urged to carefully consider the various cautionary statements and risks set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings.
We face many business risks, including those related to our financial performance, investments in our common stock, operating our business and legal matters. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of these risks occur, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the market price of the Company’s common stock could decline.
Our sales cycle may be lengthy, and the timing of sales, along with additional services such as warehousing, inventory management, installation and implementation of our products within our customers’ networks, may extend over more than one period, which can make our operating results difficult to predict.
We experience difficulty in accurately predicting the timing of the sale of products and amounts of revenue generated from sales of our products, primarily in developing countries. The establishment of a business relationship with a potential customer is a lengthy process, usually taking several months or more. Following the establishment of the relationship, the negotiation of purchase terms can be time-consuming, and a potential customer may require an extended evaluation and testing period. Once a purchase agreement has been executed, the timing and amount of revenue, if applicable, may remain difficult to predict. Our typical product sales cycle, which results in our products being designed into our customers’ networks, can take 12 to 24 months. A number of factors contribute to the length of the sales cycle, including technical evaluations of our products, the design process required to integrate our products into our customers’ networks and warehousing and inventory management services that may be requested by certain large customers. The completion of services such as installation and testing of the customer’s networks and the completion of all other suppliers’ network elements are subject to the customer’s timing and efforts and other factors outside our control, each of which may prevent us from making predictions of revenue with any certainty and could cause us to experience substantial period-to-period fluctuations in our operating results.
Additionally, in anticipation of product orders, we may incur substantial costs before the sales cycle is complete and before we receive any customer payments. Specifically, warehousing and inventory management services can affect our operating results in any period due to the costs associated with providing such services and the fact that the timing of the revenue recognition may be delayed. In the event that a sale is not completed or is canceled or delayed, we may have already incurred substantial expenses, making it more difficult for us to become profitable or otherwise negatively impacting our financial results. Because of the challenges of our lengthy sales cycle, our recognition of revenue from our selling efforts may be substantially delayed, our ability to forecast our future revenue may be more limited and our revenue may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.
Due to the volume of our international sales, we may be susceptible to a number of political, economic and geographic risks that could harm our business.
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We are highly dependent on sales to customers outside the U.S. In fiscal 2020, our sales to international customers accounted for 38% of total revenue. Significant portions of our international sales are in less developed countries. Our international sales are likely to continue to account for a large percentage of our products and services revenue for the foreseeable future. As a result, the occurrence of any international, political, economic or geographic event could result in a significant decline in revenue. In addition, compliance with complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business in international jurisdictions. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include internal control and disclosure rules, data privacy and filtering requirements, anti-corruption laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials, and anti-competition regulations, among others. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries, and could also materially affect our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business, and our operating results. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, or agents will not violate our policies.
Some of the risks and challenges of doing business internationally include:
• unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
• fluctuations in international currency exchange rates including its impact on unhedgeable currencies and our forecast variations for hedgeable currencies;
• imposition of tariffs and other barriers and restrictions;
• management and operation of an enterprise spread over various countries;
• the burden of complying with a variety of laws and regulations in various countries;
• application of the income tax laws and regulations of multiple jurisdictions, including relatively low-rate and relatively high-rate jurisdictions, to our sales and other transactions, which results in additional complexity and uncertainty;
• the conduct of unethical business practices in developing countries;
• general economic and geopolitical conditions, including inflation and trade relationships;
• restrictions on travel to locations where we conduct business, including those imposed due to COVID-19;
• war and acts of terrorism;
• kidnapping and high crime rate;
• natural disasters;
• availability of U.S. dollars especially in countries with economies highly dependent on resource exports, particularly oil; and
• changes in export regulations.
While these factors and the impacts of these factors are difficult to predict, any one or more of them could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future.
The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the current respiratory illness caused by novel coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, as a pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in government authorities implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, and business shutdowns. Our global operations expose us to risks associated with public health crises and epidemics/pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and is expected to continue to have, an impact on our operations, supply chains and distribution systems. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our business, prospects and results of operations will depend on future developments, many of which are highly uncertain, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the pandemic, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating activities can resume. Management is actively monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry, and workforce.
Our first priority remains the health and safety of our employees and their families. Employees whose tasks can be done off-site have been instructed to work from home. Our sites support essential businesses and remain operational. We
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are maintaining social distancing for workers on-site and have enhanced cleaning protocols and usage of personal protective equipment, where appropriate. There is no certainty that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19, and our ability to perform critical functions could be harmed as a result.
The impact to our supply chain lead times and ability to fulfill orders was minimal for the second half of fiscal 2020. However, depending on pandemic-related factors like the uncertain duration of temporary manufacturing restrictions as well as our ability to perform field services during shelter in place orders, we could/may continue to experience constraints and delays in fulfilling customer orders in future periods.
While the ultimate effects of the pandemic on our business are uncertain, the pandemic and related government actions, including restrictions on travel, temporary closure of businesses and stay at home orders have, and are likely to continue to have, an adverse impact on global economic conditions and consumer confidence and spending, which could materially affect demand for our products. Our customers could become more conservative in response to the pandemic and economic conditions and may seek to reduce their purchases. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with existing customers, our ability to attract new customers and the financial condition of our customers. Decreases in demand for our products without a corresponding decrease in costs would negatively impact our operating margins and financial results.
We are monitoring, assessing and adapting to the situation and have prepared for implications to our business, supply chain and customer demand. We expect these challenges to continue until business and economic activities return to more normal levels. The financial results for the fiscal year reflect some of the reduced activity experienced during the period in various locations around the world and are not necessary indicative of the results for the next fiscal period or fiscal year.
To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect the global economy, and/or adversely affects our business, operations or financial performance, it may also have the effect of increasing the likelihood and/or magnitude of other risks described in the “Risk Factors” set forth in this Item 1A.
The negative effects of COVID-19 on the global economy may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business and operating results are affected by the global business environment and economic conditions, including changes in interest rates, availability of capital from credit providers, consumer confidence, rates of inflation, geopolitical issues and other macro-economic factors. The United States and global economies continue to experience a period of economic and financial uncertainty, in part due to COVID-19 and the related public health actions taken by many governments and businesses. The pandemic is negatively affecting, and is expected to continue to negatively affect, at least in the short term, global economic conditions, and a continued economic downturn could lead to decreased customer demand, inability to execute installs and/or service, or the inability of our customers to pay for our products, the inability of suppliers to deliver the components necessary to manufacture our products, and reduced access to capital from credit providers and through the capital markets, among other things, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, a prolonged economic downturn may exacerbate certain other risks described in the “Risk Factors” set forth in this Item 1A that affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Natural disasters or other catastrophic events could have an adverse effect on our business.
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and floods, could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. Such events could result in physical damage to one or more of our facilities, the temporary closure of one or more of our facilities or those of our suppliers, a temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market, a temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of products from local or overseas suppliers, a temporary disruption in the transport of goods from overseas, and delays in the delivery of goods. Public health issues, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, could disrupt our operations, disrupt the operations of suppliers or customers, or have an adverse impact on customer demand. As a result of any of these events, we may be required to suspend operations in some or all of our locations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. These events could also reduce demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible to receive components from suppliers. Although we maintain business interruption insurance and other insurance intended to cover some or all of these risks, such insurance may be inadequate, whether because of coverage amount, policy limitations, the financial viability of the insurance companies issuing such policies, or other reasons.
Tension in U.S.-China trade relations may adversely impact our supply chain operations and business.
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The U.S. government has taken certain actions that change U.S. trade policies, including recently-imposed tariffs affecting certain products manufactured in China. Some components manufactured by our Chinese suppliers are subject to tariffs if imported into the United States. In addition, the Chinese government has taken certain reciprocal actions, including recently imposed tariffs affecting certain products manufactured in the United States. Certain of our products manufactured in our U.S. operations have been included in the tariffs imposed on imports into China from the United States. Although some of the products and components we import are affected by the tariffs, at this time, we do not expect these tariffs to have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. It is unknown whether and to what extent additional new tariffs (or other new laws or regulations) will be adopted that increase the cost of importing and/or exporting products and components from China to the United States and vice versa. Further, the effect of any such new tariffs or retaliatory actions on our industry and customers is unknown and difficult to predict. As additional new tariffs, legislation and/or regulations are implemented, or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated or if China or other affected countries take retaliatory trade actions, such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
We may undertake further restructuring activities, which may adversely impact our operations, and we may not realize all of the anticipated benefits of these activities or any potential future restructurings. Any restructuring activities may harm our business.
We continue to evaluate our business to determine the potential need to realign our resources as we continue to transform our business in order to achieve desired cost savings in an increasingly competitive market. In prior years, we have undertaken a series of steps to restructure our operations involving, among other things and depending on the year, reductions of our workforce, the relocation of our corporate headquarters and the reduction and outsourcing of manufacturing activities. We incurred restructuring charges of $4.0 million, $0.7 million and $1.3 million in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
We have based our restructuring efforts on assumptions and plans regarding the appropriate cost structure of our business based on our product mix and projected sales, among other factors. Some of our assumptions include the elimination of jobs and the outsourcing of certain functions to reduce our operating expenses. These assumptions may not be accurate and we may not be able to operate in accordance with our plans. Should this occur we may determine that we must incur additional restructuring charges in the future. Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will realize all of the anticipated benefits of our restructuring actions or that we will not further reduce or otherwise adjust our workforce or exit, or dispose of, certain businesses and product lines. Any decision to further limit investment, exit, or disposal of businesses or product lines may result in the recording of additional restructuring charges. Consequently, the costs actually incurred in connection with the restructuring efforts may be higher than originally planned and may not lead to the anticipated cost savings and/or improved results. For example, if we consolidate additional facilities in the future, we may incur additional restructuring and related expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We must increase our revenues and/or reduce costs if we hope to maintain profitability.
As measured under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), we recorded net income attributable to our stockholders of $0.3 million in fiscal 2020, compared to $9.7 million in fiscal 2019 and $1.8 million in fiscal 2018. We generated cash from operations of $17.5 million, $2.9 million and $8.2 million in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Throughout fiscal 2020, we experienced strong price competition for new business in all regions while major customer consolidations from prior years also put pressure on revenue and gross margin. In addition, we saw pricing pressures in all markets, particularly in international markets. Customer consolidation may have an increasing negative impact on our revenue if Aviat is not selected as a vendor for the products and/or services we provide. In order to counter pricing pressures, we invested heavily in product improvements to reduce unit costs and enhance product features, decreased overall company expenses, and worked with our vendors to attain more favorable pricing. If we are unable to reduce product unit costs associated with enhanced product features, including payments to contract manufacturers and other suppliers, or achieve the projected cost reductions, we may not achieve profitability.
We cannot be certain that these actions or others that we may take will allow us to maintain operating profitability or net income as determined under U.S. GAAP in the future.
Our quarterly results may be volatile, which can adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
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Our quarterly operating results may vary significantly for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside our control. These factors could harm our business and include, among others:
• seasonality in the purchasing habits of our customers;
• the volume and timing of product orders and the timing of completion of our product deliveries and installations;
• our ability and the ability of our key suppliers to respond to changes on demand as needed;
• margin variability based on geographic and product mix;
• our suppliers’ inability to perform and deliver on time as a result of their financial condition, component shortages or other supply chain constraints;
• retention of key personnel;
• the length of our sales cycle;
• litigation costs and expenses;
• continued timely rollout of new product functionality and features;
• increased competition resulting in downward pressure on the price of our products and services;
• unexpected delays in the schedule for shipments of existing products and new generations of the existing platforms;
• maintaining appropriate inventory levels and purchase commitments;
• failure to realize expected cost improvement throughout our supply chain;
• order cancellations or postponements in product deliveries, including due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in delayed revenue recognition;
• restructuring and streamlining of our operations;
• war and acts of terrorism;
• natural disasters;
• diseases or pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and corresponding governmental actions;
• the ability of our customers to obtain financing to enable their purchase of our products;
• fluctuations in international currency exchange rates;
• regulatory developments including denial of export and import licenses;
• general economic conditions worldwide that affect demand and financing for microwave and millimeter wave telecommunications networks; and
• the timing and size of future restructuring plans and write-offs.
Our quarterly results are expected to be difficult to predict and delays in product delivery or closing a sale can cause revenue, margins and net income or loss to fluctuate significantly from anticipated levels. A substantial portion of our contracts are completed in the latter part of a quarter and a significant percentage of these are large orders. Because a significant portion of our cost structure is largely fixed in the short term, revenue shortfalls tend to have a disproportionately negative impact on our profitability and can increase our inventory. The number of large new transactions also increases the risk of fluctuations in our quarterly results because a delay in even a small number of these transactions could cause our quarterly revenues and profitability to fall significantly short of our predictions. In addition, we may increase spending in response to competitive actions or in pursuit of new market opportunities. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurances that we will be able to achieve profitability in the future or that if profitability is attained, that we will be able to sustain profitability, particularly on a quarter-to-quarter basis.
We cannot guarantee that our stock repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value.
In May 2018, our Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program for the repurchase of up to $7.5 million. The repurchase program has been suspended temporarily since February 2020. Our repurchase program even if fully implemented, may not enhance long-term stockholder value. During fiscal 2020 and 2019, we repurchased $1.8 million and $2.3 million of our common stock in the open market respectively. As of July 3, 2020, $3.4 million remained available for repurchase under our stock repurchase program.
Our success will depend on new products introduced to the marketplace in a timely manner, successfully completing product transitioning and achieving customer acceptance.
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The market for our products and services is characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. Our future success will depend, in part, on continuous, timely development and introduction of new products and enhancements that address evolving market requirements and are attractive to customers. If we fail to develop or introduce, on a timely basis, new products or product enhancements or features that achieve market acceptance, our business may suffer. Additionally, we work closely with a variety of third-party partners to develop new product features and new platforms. Should our partners face delays in the development process, then the timing of the rollout of our new products may be significantly impacted which may negatively impact our revenue and gross margin. Another factor impacting our future success is the growth in the customer demand of our new products. Rapidly changing technology, frequent new product introductions and enhancements, short product life cycles and changes in customer requirements characterize the markets for our products. We believe that successful new product introductions provide a significant competitive advantage because of the significant resources committed by customers in adopting new products and their reluctance to change products after these resources have been expended. We have spent, and expect to continue to spend, significant resources on internal research and development to support our effort to develop and introduce new products and enhancements.
As we transition to new product platforms, we face significant risk that the development of our new products may not be accepted by our current customers or by new customers. To the extent that we fail to introduce new and innovative products that are adopted by customers, we could fail to obtain an adequate return on these investments and could lose market share to our competitors, which could be difficult or impossible to regain. Similarly, we may face decreased revenue, gross margins and profitability due to a rapid decline in sales of current products as customers hold spending to focus purchases on new product platforms. We could incur significant costs in completing the transition, including costs of inventory write-downs of the current product as customers transition to new product platforms. In addition, products or technologies developed by others may render our products non-competitive or obsolete and result in significant reduction in orders from our customers and the loss of existing and prospective customers.
Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, and could require a significant expenditure of time, attention and resources, especially by senior management.
Our accounting and financial reporting policies conform to U.S. GAAP, which are periodically revised and/or expanded. The application of accounting principles is also subject to varying interpretations over time. Accordingly, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or comply with revised interpretations that are issued from time to time by various parties, including accounting standard setters and those who interpret the standards, such as the FASB and the SEC and our independent registered public accounting firm. New financial accounting standards which may be adopted by FASB could result in significant changes to our accounting and/or financial reporting practices that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our average sales prices may decline in the future.
We are experiencing, and are likely to continue to experience, declining sales prices. This price pressure is likely to result in downward pricing pressure on our products and services. As a result, we are likely to experience declining average sales prices for our products. Our future profitability will depend upon our ability to improve manufacturing efficiencies, to reduce the costs of materials used in our products and to continue to introduce new lower-cost products and product enhancements and if we are unable to do so, we may not be able to respond to pricing pressures. If we are unable to respond to increased price competition, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed. Because customers frequently negotiate supply arrangements far in advance of delivery dates, we may be required to commit to price reductions for our products before we are aware of how, or if, cost reductions can be obtained. As a result, current or future price reduction commitments and any inability on our part to respond to increased price competition could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Credit and commercial risks and exposures could increase if the financial condition of our customers declines.
A substantial portion of our sales are to customers in the telecommunications industry. These customers may require their suppliers, including the Company, to provide extended payment terms, direct loans or other forms of financial support as a condition to obtaining commercial contracts. In addition, if local currencies cannot be hedged, we have an inherent exposure in our ability to convert monies at favorable rates from or to U.S. dollars. More generally, we expect to routinely enter into long-term contracts involving significant amounts to be paid by our customers over time. Pursuant to these contracts, we may deliver products and services representing an important portion of the contract price before receiving any significant payment from the customer. As a result of the financing that may be provided to customers and our commercial risk exposure under long-term contracts, our business could be adversely affected if the
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financial condition of our customers erodes. Over the past few years, certain of our customers have filed with the courts seeking protection under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of the applicable jurisdiction or have experienced financial difficulties. Our customers’ financial conditions face additional challenges in many emerging markets, where our customers are being affected not only by recession, but by deteriorating local currencies and a lack of credit and, more broadly, by the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic effects. Upon the financial failure of a customer, we may experience losses on credit extended to such customer, losses relating to our commercial risk exposure and the loss of the customer’s ongoing business. If customers fail to meet their obligations to us, we may experience reduced cash flows and losses in excess of reserves, which could materially adversely impact our results of operations and financial position.
We may not be able to obtain capital when desired on favorable terms, if at all, or without dilution to our stockholders.
We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, the available line of credit under our credit facility and future cash collections from customers will be sufficient to provide for our anticipated requirements for working capital and capital expenditures for the next 12 months and the foreseeable future. However, it is possible that we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or otherwise have the capital resources to meet our longer-term capital needs. If this occurs, we may need to sell assets, reduce capital expenditures, or obtain additional equity or debt financing. We have no assurance that additional financing will be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on acceptable terms if and when needed, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.
If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership of our existing stockholders could be significantly diluted, and these newly-issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing stockholders.
Our restructuring actions could harm our relationships with our employees and impact our ability to recruit new employees.
Employees, whether or not directly affected by any restructuring actions that we undertake, may seek employment with our business partners, customers or competitors. We cannot assure that the confidential nature of our proprietary information will not be compromised by any such employees who terminate their employment with us. Further, we believe that our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel. We may have difficulty attracting and retaining such personnel as a result of a perceived risk of future workforce reductions, and we may terminate the employment of employees as part of a restructuring and later determine that such employees were important to the success of the ongoing business.
Our business could be adversely affected if we are unable to attract and retain key personnel.
Our success and ability to invest and grow depend largely on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled technical, professional, managerial, sales and marketing personnel. Historically, competition for these key personnel has been intense. The loss of services of any of our key personnel, the inability to retain and attract qualified personnel in the future, delays in hiring required personnel, particularly engineering and sales personnel, or the loss of key personnel to competitors could make it difficult for us to meet key objectives, such as timely and effective product introductions and financial goals.
We face strong competition for maintaining and improving our position in the market, which can adversely affect our revenue growth and operating results.
The wireless access, interconnection and backhaul business is a specialized segment of the wireless telecommunications industry and is extremely competitive. Competition in this segment is intense, and we expect it to increase. Some of our competitors have more extensive engineering, manufacturing and marketing capabilities and significantly greater financial, technical and personnel resources than we have. In addition, some of our competitors have greater name recognition, broader product lines, a larger installed base of products and longer-standing customer relationships. Our competitors include established companies, such as Ericsson, Huawei, NEC and Nokia, as well as a number of other public and private companies, such as Ceragon and SIAE. Some of our competitors are OEMs or systems integrators through whom we market and sell our products, which means our business success may depend on these competitors to some extent. One or more of our largest customers could internally develop the capability to manufacture products similar to those manufactured or outsourced by us and, as a result, the demand for our products and services may decrease.
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In addition, we compete for acquisition and expansion opportunities with many entities that have substantially greater resources than we have. Our competitors may enter into business combinations in order to accelerate product development or to compete more aggressively and we may lack the resources to meet such enhanced competition.
Our ability to compete successfully will depend on a number of factors, including price, quality, availability, customer service and support, breadth of product lines, product performance and features, rapid time-to-market delivery capabilities, reliability, timing of new product introductions by us, our customers and competitors, the ability of our customers to obtain financing and the stability of regional sociopolitical and geopolitical circumstances, and the ability of large competitors to obtain business by providing more seller financing especially for large transactions. We can give no assurances that we will have the financial resources, technical expertise, or marketing, sales, distribution, customer service and support capabilities to compete successfully, or that regional sociopolitical and geographic circumstances will be favorable for our successful operation.
Our ability to sell our products and compete successfully is highly dependent on the quality of our customer service and support, and our failure to offer high quality service and support could have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
Once our products are delivered, our customers depend on our service and support to resolve any issues relating to our products. Our support personnel includes employees in various geographic locations, who provide general technical support to our customers. A high level of support is important for the successful marketing and sale of our products. If we do not effectively help our customers quickly resolve issues or provide effective ongoing support, it could adversely affect our ability to sell our products to existing customers as well as demand for maintenance and renewal contracts and could harm our reputation with existing and potential customers.
If we fail to accurately forecast our manufacturing requirements or customer demand, we could incur additional costs, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements or forecast customer demand, we may incur additional costs of manufacturing and our gross margins and financial results could be adversely affected. If we overestimate our requirements, our contract manufacturers may experience an oversupply of components and assess us charges for excess or obsolete components that could adversely affect our gross margins. If we underestimate our requirements, our contract manufacturers may have inadequate inventory or components, which could interrupt manufacturing and result in higher manufacturing costs, shipment delays, damage to customer relationships and/or our payment of penalties to our customers. Our contract manufacturers also have other customers and may not have sufficient capacity to meet all of their customers’ needs, including ours, during periods of excess demand.
The effects of global financial and economic conditions in certain markets has had, and may continue to have, significant effects on our customers and suppliers, and has in the past, and may in the future have, a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price.
The effects of global financial and economic conditions in certain markets include, among other things, significant reductions in available capital and liquidity from banks and other providers of credit, substantial reductions and/or fluctuations in equity and currency values worldwide.
Economic conditions in certain markets have adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect our customers’ access to capital and/or willingness to spend capital on our products, and/or their levels of cash liquidity and/or their ability and/or willingness to pay for products that they will order or have already ordered from us, or result in their ceasing operations. Further, we have experienced an increasing number of our customers, principally in emerging markets, requesting longer payment terms, lease or vendor financing arrangements, longer terms for the letters of credit securing purchases of our products and services, which could potentially negatively impact our orders, revenue conversion cycle, and cash flows.
In seeking to reduce their expenses, we have also seen significant pressure from our customers to lower prices for our products as they try to improve their operating performance and procure additional capital equipment within their reduced budget levels. To the extent that we lower prices on our products and services, our orders, revenues, and gross margins may be negatively impacted. Additionally, certain emerging markets are particularly sensitive to pricing as a key differentiator. Where price is a primary decision driver, we may not be able to effectively compete, or we may choose not to compete due to unacceptable margins.
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In addition, economic conditions in certain markets could materially adversely affect our suppliers’ access to capital and liquidity with which to maintain their inventories, production levels, or product quality, could cause them to raise prices or lower production levels, or result in their ceasing operations. Further, with respect to our credit facility discussed under “Liquidity, Capital Resources and Financial Strategies” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, if continued uncertain economic conditions adversely affect Silicon Valley Bank, our ability to access the funds available under our credit facility could be materially adversely affected.
The potential effects of these economic factors are difficult to forecast and mitigate. As a consequence, our operating results for a particular period are difficult to predict and prior results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in future periods. Any of the foregoing effects could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition and could adversely affect our stock price.
If we fail to effectively manage our contract manufacturer relationships, we could incur additional costs or be unable to timely fulfill our customer commitments, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations and, in the event of an inability to fulfill commitments, would harm our customer relationships.
We outsource all of our manufacturing and a substantial portion of our repair service operations to independent contract manufacturers and other third parties. Our contract manufacturers typically manufacture our products based on rolling forecasts of our product needs that we provide to them on a regular basis. The contract manufacturers are responsible for procuring components necessary to build our products based on our rolling forecasts, building and assembling the products, testing the products in accordance with our specifications and then shipping the products to us. We configure the products to our customer requirements, conduct final testing and then ship the products to our customers. There can be no assurance that we will not encounter problems with our contract manufacturer related to these manufacturing services or that we will be able to replace a contract manufacturer that is not able to meet our demand.
In addition, if we fail to effectively manage our relationships with our contract manufacturers or other service providers, or if they do not fully comply with their contractual obligations or should experience delays, disruptions, component procurement problems or quality control problems, then our ability to ship products to our customers or otherwise fulfill our contractual obligations to our customers could be delayed or impaired which would adversely affect our business, financial results and customer relationships.
We depend on sole or limited sources for some key components and failure to receive timely delivery of any of these components could result in deferred or lost sales.
In some instances, we are dependent upon one or a few sources, either because of the specialized nature of a particular item or because of local content preference requirements pursuant to which we operate on a given project. Examples of sole or limited sourcing categories include metal fabrications and castings, for which we own the tooling and therefore limit our supplier relationships, and MMICs (a type of integrated circuit used in manufacturing microwave radios), which we procure at a volume discount from a single source. Our supply chain plan includes mitigation plans for alternative manufacturing sources and identified alternate suppliers. However, if these alternatives cannot address our requirements when our existing sources of these components fail to deliver them on time, we could suffer delayed shipments, canceled orders and lost or deferred revenues, as well as material damage to our customer relationships. Should this occur, our operating results, cash flows and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Changes in tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements, or their interpretation in any country in which we operate; the loss of a major tax dispute; a successful challenge to our operating structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries; or other factors could cause volatility in our effective tax rate and could adversely affect our operating results.
We operate in multiple jurisdictions and our profits are taxed pursuant to the tax laws of these jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rate may be adversely affected by a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:
• the jurisdictions in which profits are determined to be earned and taxed;
• adjustments to estimated taxes upon finalization of various tax returns;
• increases in expenses not deductible for tax purposes, including write-offs of acquired in-process research and development and impairment of goodwill in connection with acquisitions;
• our ability to utilize net operating loss;
• changes in available tax credits;
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• changes in share-based compensation expense;
• changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
• changes in domestic or international tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements or the interpretation of such tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements, including the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017;
• the resolution of issues arising from tax audits with various tax authorities, including the loss of a major tax dispute;
• local tax authority challenging our operating structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries;
• the tax effects of purchase accounting for acquisitions and restructuring charges that may cause fluctuations between reporting periods; and
• taxes that may be incurred upon a repatriation of cash from foreign operations.
Any significant increase in our future effective tax rates could impact our results of operations for future periods adversely.
O ur ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes and other tax benefits may be limited.
Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) imposes an annual limitation on the amount of taxable income that may be offset if a corporation experiences an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Code. An ownership change occurs when a company’s “five-percent shareholders” (as defined in Section 382 of the Code) collectively increase their ownership in the company by more than 50 percentage points (by value) over a rolling three-year period. Additionally, various states have similar limitations on the use of state net operating losses (“NOL”) following an ownership change.
If we experience an ownership change, our ability to use our NOLs, any loss or deduction attributable to a “net unrealized built-in loss” and other tax attributes (collectively, the “Tax Benefits”) could be substantially limited, and the timing of the usage of the Tax Benefits could be substantially delayed, which could significantly impair the value of the Tax Benefits. There is no assurance that we will be able to fully utilize the Tax Benefits and we could be required to record an additional valuation allowance related to the amount of the Tax Benefits that may not be realized, which could adversely impact our result of operations.
We believe that these Tax Benefits are a valuable asset for us. On March 3, 2020, the Board approved a Tax Benefit Preservation Plan (the “Plan”) in an effort to protect our Tax Benefits during the effective period of the Plan. Further, on March 3, 2020, the Board adopted certain rights to the agreement which are intended to preserve the Tax Benefits by restricting certain transfers of our common stock. The Company expects to submit the Plan to a stockholder vote at the Company’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Although the Plan and the Charter Amendments are intended to reduce the likelihood of an “ownership change” that could adversely affect us, there is no assurance that the restrictions on transferability in the Plan and the Charter Amendments will prevent all transfers that could result in such an “ownership change.” There also can be no assurance that the transfer restrictions in the Charter Amendments will be enforceable against all of our stockholders absent a court determination confirming such enforceability. The transfer restrictions may be subject to challenge on legal or equitable grounds.
The Plan and the Charter Amendments could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from acquiring, us or a large block of our common stock. A third party that acquires 4.9% or more of our common stock could suffer substantial dilution of its ownership interest under the terms of the Plan through the issuance of common stock or common stock equivalents to all stockholders other than the acquiring person. The acquisition may also be void under the Charter Amendments.
The foregoing provisions may adversely affect the marketability of our common stock by discouraging potential investors from acquiring our stock. In addition, these provisions could delay or frustrate the removal of incumbent directors and could make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us, or impede an attempt to acquire a significant or controlling interest in us, even if such events might be beneficial to us and our stockholders.
Our customers may not pay for products and services in a timely manner, or at all, which would decrease our cash flows and adversely affect our working capital.
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Our business requires extensive credit risk management that may not be adequate to protect against customer nonpayment. A risk of non-payment by customers is a significant focus of our business. We expect a significant amount of future revenue to come from international customers in developing countries. We do not generally expect to obtain collateral for sales, although we require letters of credit or credit insurance as appropriate for international customers. For information regarding the percentage of revenue attributable to certain key customers, see the risks discussed in the following risk factor. Our historical accounts receivable balances have been concentrated in a small number of significant customers. Unexpected adverse events impacting the financial condition of our customers, bank failures or other unfavorable regulatory, economic or political events in the countries in which we do business may impact collections and adversely impact our business, require increased bad debt expense or receivable write-offs and adversely impact our cash flows, financial condition and operating results, which could also result in a breach of our bank covenants.
Because a significant amount of our revenue may come from a limited number of customers, the termination of any of these customer relationships may adversely affect our business.
Sales of our products and services historically have been concentrated in a small number of customers. Principal customers for our products and services include domestic and international wireless/mobile service providers, OEMs, as well as private network users such as public safety agencies; government institutions; and utility, pipeline, railroad and other industrial enterprises that operate broadband wireless networks. During fiscal 2019 and 2018, we had one customer in Africa, MTN Group, that accounted for 11% and 13% of our total revenue, respectively. No customer accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue in fiscal 2020. Although we have a large customer base, during any given quarter a small number of customers may account for a significant portion of our revenue.
In addition, the telecommunications industry has experienced significant consolidation among its participants, and we expect this trend to continue. Some operators in this industry have experienced financial difficulty and have filed, or may file, for bankruptcy protection. Other operators may merge and one or more of our competitors may supply products to the customers of the combined company following those mergers. This consolidation could result in purchasing decision delays and decreased opportunities for us to supply products to companies following any consolidation. This consolidation may also result in lost opportunities for cost reduction and economies of scale, and could generally reduce our opportunities to win new customers to the extent that the number of potential customers decreases. Furthermore, as our customers become larger, they may have more leverage to negotiate better pricing which could adversely affect our revenues and gross margins.
It is possible that a significant portion of our future product sales could become even more concentrated in a limited number of customers due to the factors described above. Product sales to major customers have varied widely from period to period. The loss of any existing customer, a significant reduction in the level of sales to any existing customer, the consolidation of existing customers, or our inability to gain additional customers could result in declines in our revenue or an inability to grow revenue.
We continually evaluate strategic transaction opportunities which could involve merger, restructuring, divestiture, sale and/or acquisition activities that could disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.
Our growth depends upon market growth, our ability to enhance our existing products and our ability to introduce new products on a timely basis. We intend to continue to address the need to develop new products and enhance existing products through acquisitions, or “tuck-ins,” product lines, technologies, and personnel. Strategic transactions involve numerous risks, including the following:
• difficulties in integrating the operations, systems, technologies, products, and personnel of the combined companies, particularly companies with large and widespread operations and/or complex products;
• diversion of management’s attention from normal daily operations of the business and the challenges of managing larger and more widespread operations resulting from business combinations, sales, divestitures and /or restructurings;
• potential difficulties in completing projects associated with in-process research and development intangibles;
• difficulties in entering markets in which we have no or limited direct prior experience and where competitors in each market have stronger market positions;
• initial dependence on unfamiliar supply chains or relatively small supply partners;
• insufficient revenue to offset increased expenses associated with acquisitions; and
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• the potential loss of key employees, customers, resellers, vendors and other business partners of our company or the companies with which we engage in strategic transactions following and continuing after announcement of an anticipated strategic transaction.
Strategic transactions may also cause us to:
• issue common stock that would dilute our current stockholders or cause a change in control of the combined company;
• use a substantial portion of our cash resources, or incur debt;
• significantly increase our interest expense, leverage and debt service requirements if we incur additional debt to pay for an acquisition;
• assume material liabilities;
• record goodwill and non-amortizable intangible assets that are subject to impairment testing on a regular basis and potential periodic impairment charges;
• incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets;
• incur tax expenses related to the effect of acquisitions on our intercompany R&D cost sharing arrangement and legal structure;
• incur large and immediate write-offs and restructuring and other related expenses; and
• become subject to intellectual property or other litigation.
Mergers, restructurings, sales and acquisitions of high-technology companies are inherently risky and subject to many factors outside of our control. No assurance can be given that any future strategic transactions will be successful and will not materially adversely affect our business, operating results or financial condition. Failure to manage and successfully complete a strategic transaction could materially harm our business and operating results. Even when an acquired or acquiring company has already developed and marketed products, there can be no assurance that product enhancements will be made in a timely fashion or that pre-acquisition due diligence will have identified all possible issues that might arise with respect to such products.
If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, we may be deprived of legal recourse against those who misappropriate our intellectual property.
Our ability to compete will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology in the U.S. and internationally. We rely upon a combination of trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, patents and contractual rights to protect our intellectual property. In addition, we enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and enter into non-disclosure agreements with our suppliers and appropriate customers so as to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. We cannot give assurances that any steps taken by us will be adequate to deter misappropriation or impede independent third-party development of similar technologies. In the event that such intellectual property arrangements are insufficient, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed. We cannot provide assurances that the protection provided to our intellectual property by the laws and courts of particular nations will be substantially similar to the protection and remedies available under U.S. law. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurances that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us based on intellectual property rights and laws in other nations that are different from those established in the U.S.
If we fail to develop and maintain distribution and licensing relationships, our revenue may decrease.
Although a majority of our sales are made through our direct sales force, we also market our products through indirect sales channels such as independent agents, resellers, OEMs and systems integrators. These relationships enhance our ability to pursue major contract awards and, in some cases, are intended to provide our customers with easier access to financing and a greater variety of equipment and service capabilities, which an integrated system provider should be able to offer. We may not be able to maintain our current relationships or develop new ones. If additional relationships are developed, they may not be successful. Furthermore, as we consider increasing licensing revenue based on upgraded technology, we may not be successful in transitioning customers to the planned software upgrades. Our inability to establish or maintain these distribution and licensing relationships could restrict our ability to market our products and thereby result in significant reductions in revenue. If these revenue reductions occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.
If sufficient radio frequency spectrum is not allocated for use by our products, or we fail to obtain regulatory approval for our products, our ability to market our products may be restricted.
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We may be affected by the allocation and auction of the radio frequency spectrum by governmental authorities both in the U.S. and internationally. The unavailability of sufficient radio frequency spectrum may inhibit the future growth of wireless communications networks. In addition, to operate in a jurisdiction, we must obtain regulatory approval for our products and each jurisdiction in which we market our products has its own regulations governing radio communications. If we are unable to obtain sufficient allocation of radio frequency spectrum by the appropriate governmental authority or obtain the proper regulatory approval for our products, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.
Our business is subject to changing regulation of corporate governance, public disclosure and anti-bribery measures which have resulted in increased costs and may continue to result in additional costs or potential liabilities in the future.
We are subject to rules and regulations of federal and state regulatory authorities, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) and financial market entities charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and foreign and domestic legislative bodies. During the past few years, these entities, including the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the SEC, NASDAQ and several foreign governments, have issued requirements, laws and regulations and continue to develop additional requirements, laws and regulations, most notably the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”), and recent laws and regulations regarding bribery and unfair competition. Our efforts to comply with these requirements and regulations have resulted in, and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of substantial management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs potentially necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. Finally, if we are unable to ensure compliance with such requirements, laws, or regulations, we may be subject to costly prosecution and liability, and resulting reputational harm, from such noncompliance.
There are inherent limitations on the effectiveness of our controls.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well-designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. The design of a control system must reflect the fact that resource constraints exist, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Further, because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple errors or mistakes. Controls can also be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management’s override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of controls to future periods are subject to risks. Over time, controls may become inadequate due to changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures. If our controls become inadequate, we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations, our reputation may be adversely affected, our business and operating results could be harmed, and the market price of our stock could decline.
Our products are used in critical communications networks which may subject us to significant liability claims.
Because our products are used in critical communications networks, we may be subject to significant liability claims if our products do not work properly. We warrant to our current customers that our products will operate in accordance with our product specifications. If our products fail to conform to these specifications, our customers could require us to remedy the failure or could assert claims for damages. The provisions in our agreements with customers that are intended to limit our exposure to liability claims may not preclude all potential claims. In addition, any insurance policies we have may not adequately limit our exposure with respect to such claims. Liability claims could require us to spend significant time and money in litigation or to pay significant damages. Any such claims, whether or not successful, would be costly and time-consuming to defend, and could divert management’s attention and seriously damage our reputation and our business.
We may be subject to litigation regarding our intellectual property. This litigation could be costly to defend and resolve and could prevent us from using or selling the challenged technology.
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The wireless telecommunications industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights, which has resulted in often protracted and expensive litigation. Any litigation regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and could divert our management and key personnel from our business operations. The complexity of the technology involved and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation increase these risks. Such litigation or claims could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources. In the event of an adverse result in any such litigation, we could be required to pay substantial damages, cease the use and transfer of allegedly infringing technology or the sale of allegedly infringing products and expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or obtain licenses for the infringing technology. We can give no assurances that we would be successful in developing such non-infringing technology or that any license for the infringing technology would be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. This could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operation, financial condition, competitive position and prospects.
System security risks, data protection breaches, and cyber attacks could compromise our proprietary information, disrupt our internal operations and harm public perception of our security products, which could cause our business and reputation to suffer and adversely affect our stock price.
In the ordinary course of business, we store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and proprietary information of our customers, suppliers and business partners, on our networks. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Increasingly, companies, including ours, are subject to a wide variety of attacks on their networks on an ongoing basis. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to penetration or attacks by computer programmers and hackers, or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks, creating system disruptions or slowdowns and exploiting security vulnerabilities of our products, and the information stored on our networks could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen, which could subject us to liability to our customers, suppliers, business partners and others, and cause us reputational and financial harm. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we produce or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of our networks. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased number of our employees are working from home and connecting to our networks remotely, which we believe may further increase the risk of, and our vulnerability to, a cyber-attack or breach on our network.
If an actual or perceived breach of network security occurs in our network or in the network of a customer of our security products, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to our products, the market perception of the effectiveness of our products could be harmed. Because the techniques used by computer programmers and hackers, many of whom are highly sophisticated and well-funded, to access or sabotage networks change frequently and generally are not recognized until after they are used, we may be unable to anticipate or immediately detect these techniques. This could impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions. In addition, the economic costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software systems and security vulnerabilities could be significant and may be difficult to anticipate or measure because the damage may differ based on the identity and motive of the programmer or hacker, which are often difficult to identify.
As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, the need to develop our infrastructure to secure our business can lead to increased cybersecurity protection costs. Such costs may include making organizational changes, deploying additional personnel and protection technologies, training employees, and engaging third party experts and consultants. These efforts come at the potential cost of revenues and human resources that could be utilized to continue to enhance our product offerings, and such increased costs may adversely affect our operating margins.
Additionally, certain of our suppliers have in the past and may in the future experience cybersecurity attacks that can constrain their capacity and ability to meet our product demands. If our contract manufacturers and suppliers suffer future cyberattacks, our ability to ship products to our customers or otherwise fulfill our contractual obligations to our customers could be delayed or impaired which would adversely affect our business, financial results and customer relationships.
Anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law, the Plan, and provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and Amended and Restated Bylaws could make a third-party acquisition of us difficult.
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Because we are a Delaware corporation, the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the change in control would be supported by our stockholders. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, which prohibits us from engaging in certain business combinations, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. In addition, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and Amended and Restated Bylaws also contain certain provisions that may make a third-party acquisition of us difficult, including the ability of the Board to issue preferred stock and the requirement that nominations for directors and other proposals by stockholders must be made in advance of the meeting at which directors are elected or the proposals are voted upon.
In addition, the Plan and the Charter Amendments could make an acquisition of us more difficult, and certain acquisitions may also be void under the Charter Amendments. The risks associated with the Plan and the Charter Amendments are described in more detail above under the heading “Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes and other tax benefits may be limited.”
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.