Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item 2. Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read this discussion together with
the Financial Statements, related Notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Form 10-Q. All references to “we,”
“us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to Dominari Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation and its consolidated
subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q (“Quarterly Report”) contains statements that the Company believes are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation,
statements relating to expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for the Company’s business.
These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of the Company. Although the Company believes that its plans,
intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot provide assurance
that it will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking
statements, and are not guarantees of performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical
or current facts. When used in this Quarterly Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,”
“continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,”
“may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,”
“seek,” “should,” “strive,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar
expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety
by this paragraph. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision
to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Should one or more of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect,
the Company’s actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements.
Overview
Dominari Holdings Inc.
(“Dominari”) is a holding company that, through its various subsidiaries, is engaged in wealth management, investment banking,
sales and trading and asset management. In addition to capital investment, Dominari provides management support to the executive
teams of its subsidiaries, helping them to operate efficiently and reduce cost under a streamlined infrastructure. Dominari and its
subsidiaries are collectively referred to herein as “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us.”
Dominari Financial Inc.
(“Dominari Financial”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dominari Holdings Inc., executes the Company’s growth strategy
in the financial services industry. In addition to organic growth, Dominari Financial seeks partnership opportunities and acquisitions
of third-party financial assets such as registered investment advisors and businesses, broker dealers, asset management and fintech firms,
and insurance brokers. Our first transaction in furtherance of our growth in the financial services industry, the acquisition of 100%
of a dually-registered broker dealer and investment advisor from Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust (“Fieldpoint”), was consummated
on March 27, 2023. The newly acquired dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser was renamed Dominari Securities LLC (“Dominari
Securities”) and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dominari Financial.
The Company is in the
process of winding down its historical pipeline of biotechnology assets held by Aikido Labs, LLC. These biotechnology assets consist of
patented technology from leading universities and researchers, including prospective treatments for pancreatic cancer, acute myeloid leukemia,
SARS-CoV-2 and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
We prepare our condensed consolidated financial
statements in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires
us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the
reporting period. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances.
Our actual results could differ significantly from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.
There have been no material changes to our critical accounting estimates
as compared to the critical accounting estimates discussed in the Form 10-K.
Refer to Note 3 of the Annual Report for a discussion
of our significant accounting policies.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 to the unaudited condensed consolidated
financial statements for a discussion of recent accounting standards.
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended March 31, 2024, compared
to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
During the three months ended March 31, 2024,
we recognized approximately $1.4 million in revenue from operations, primarily driven by the commissions and underwriting revenue earned
by Dominari Securities. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we incurred a loss from operations of approximately $2.8
million and $3.8 million, respectively. The decrease in loss from operations was primarily general
and administrative expenses related to the process of winding down the assets held by Aikido Labs, LLC and was offset by a calendar year
loss of $1.3 million from operations in the operations of Dominari Securities.
i.
There is a $1.0 million decrease in net operating loss during the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to same period in 2023, which was driven by $2.3 million decrease in general and administrative expenses for Aikido segment and was offset by $1.3 million loss from operations Dominari Financial segment during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and
2023, other (expenses) income was approximately $(2.6) million and $72,000, respectively. The activity for the three months ended March
31, 2024 and 2023, is primarily a result of overall volatility in investment valuations due to macroeconomic uncertainty (i.e. inflation,
global tensions in the Ukraine and etc.) impacting marketable securities and the change in fair value of long-term equity investments.
Specifically:
i.
Marketable securities – we recognized a gain of approximately $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase of approximately $0.6 million in gains over the prior period is driven by both market improvement and an increase in sale activity resulting in more realized gains.
ii.
Notes receivable – the changes over the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 are a function of observable market transactions which resulted in an increase in unrealized loss of approximately $0.9 million on the adjusted fair value of our notes receivable during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
iii.
Long-term equity investments –the changes over the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023
are a function of observable market transactions which resulted in an increase in unrealized loss of approximately $2.5 million on the
adjusted fair value of the investments during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
We continue to incur ongoing administrative and
other expenses, including public company expenses. While we continue to implement our business strategy, we intend to finance our activities
through:
● managing current cash and cash
equivalents on hand from our past debt and equity offerings;
● seeking additional funds raised
through the sale of additional securities in the future; and
● seeking additional liquidity
through credit facilities or other debt arrangements.
Our ultimate success is dependent on our ability
to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our obligations on a timely basis. Our business may require significant amounts of capital to
sustain operations that we need to execute our longer-term business plan to support our transition into the financial services industry.
Our working capital amounted to approximately $23.8 million as of March 31, 2024. We believe our cash and cash equivalents and marketable
securities, together with the anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure
requirements for at least the next 12 months. In the event that cash flow from operations is not sufficient to fund our operations, as
expected, or if our plans or assumptions change, including if inflation begins to have a greater impact on our business or if we decide
to move forward with any activities that require more outlays of cash than originally planned, we may need to raise additional capital
sooner than expected. We may raise this additional capital by obtaining additional debt or equity financing, especially if we experience
downturns in our business that are more severe or longer than anticipated, or if we experience significant increases in expense levels
resulting from being a publicly traded company or from continuing operations.
Our ability to obtain capital to implement our
growth strategy over the longer term will depend on our future operating performance, financial condition and, more broadly, on the availability
of equity and debt financing. Capital availability will be affected by prevailing conditions in our industry, the global economy, the
global financial markets, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Specifically, as a result of recent volatility and
weakness in the public markets, due to, among other factors, uncertainty in the global economy and financial markets, it may be much more
difficult to raise additional capital, if and when it is needed, unless the public markets become less volatile and stronger at such time
that we seek to raise additional capital. In addition, any additional debt service requirements we take on could be based on higher interest
rates and shorter maturities and could impose a significant burden on our results of operations and financial condition, and the issuance
of additional equity securities could result in significant dilution to stockholders.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and
2023, net cash used in operations was approximately $8.6 million and $4.0 million, respectively. The cash used in operating activities
for the three months ended March 31, 2024, is primarily attributable to a net loss of approximately $5.4 million and changes in operating
assets and liabilities of $6.5 million, partially offset by approximately $2.5 million of change in fair value of long-term equity investment.
The cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023, is primarily attributable to a net loss of approximately
$3.8 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.5 million, partially offset by approximately $0.1 million in unrealized
losses on marketable securities and approximately $0.06 million of realized loss on marketable securities.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and
2023, net cash provided by (used in) investing activities was approximately $7.7 million and $(18.7) million, respectively. The cash used
in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily resulted from our sales of marketable securities of approximately
$8.8 million, partially offset by funds to employee forgivable loan of $1.3 million. The Company also collected approximately $0.3 million
in principal related to its short-term notes. The cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023, primarily
resulted from our purchase of marketable securities of approximately $17.5 million and the acquisition of FPS of approximately $1.1 million.
The Company also collected approximately $0.3 million in principal related to its short-term notes.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, there
is no cash flows from financing activities. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, cash used in financing activities was approximately
$0.9 million, which reflects the cost for purchase of treasury stock of approximately $0.9 million.
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