ENERGY FOCUS, INC/DE 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS Risks Associated with Our Business The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to have an adverse effect on our business. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy as federal, state and local governments react to this public health crisis, which continues to create significant uncertainties. These uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the adverse effect of the pandemic on the economy, our supply chain partners, transportation and logistics providers, our employees and customers. As the pandemic continues and infection rates oscillate, fear about becoming ill with the virus and recommendations and/or mandates from federal, state and local authorities to avoid large gatherings of people or self-quarantine may recur or continue to increase, which has already affected, and may continue to affect our supply chain, as well as our customer base. Continued impacts of the pandemic could materially adversely affect our near-term and long-term revenues, earnings, liquidity and cash flows, and may require significant actions in response, including, but not limited to, employee furloughs, workforce reductions, plant and operational shut-downs in Ohio, expense reductions or discounting of pricing of our products, all in an effort to mitigate such impacts. The extent of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on our business and financial results will depend largely on future developments, including the duration of the spread of the outbreak within the United States, the timing and success of vaccine programs, the impact on capital and financial markets and the related impact on consumer confidence and spending, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. This situation is changing rapidly, and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently. We rely on equity and debt financing to operate our business and will require additional financing in the near term, which we may not be able to raise on favorable terms or at all, and our failure to obtain funding when needed may force us to delay, scale back or eliminate our business plan or even discontinue or curtail our operations. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we reported a net loss of $6.0 million and are dependent upon the availability of financing in order to continue our business. On August 11, 2020, we entered into $3,000,000 and $2,500,000 revolving lines of credit with Crossroads Financial Group, LLC (the “Inventory Facility”) and Factors Southwest L.L.C. (d/b/a FSW Funding) (the “Receivables Facility” and, together with the Inventory Facility, the “Credit Facilities”), respectively, which replaced our former revolving line of credit with Austin Financial Services, Inc. (the “Austin Facility”). As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of approximately $1.8 million and had debt balances of $1.3 million and $1.0 million under the Inventory Facility and the Receivables Facility, respectively. In addition, our accounts receivable balance was $2.0 million and our gross inventory balance was $5.6 million on December 31, 2020. As of February 28, 2021, our cash was approximately $0.8 million and our total outstanding net balance under the Credit Facilities was approximately $2.6 million in the aggregate. Also, our accounts receivable balance was $1.4 million and our gross inventory balance was $7.3 million on February 28, 2021. Our ability to draw on the Receivables Facility is limited based on the amount of eligible accounts receivable, and our ability to draw on the Inventory Facility is limited based on the value of our eligible inventory. The repayment of outstanding advances and interest under the Credit Facilities may be accelerated upon an event of default, including, but not limited to, failure to make timely payments or breach of any terms set forth in the loan agreements. The Credit Facilities are secured by our assets and are subject to customary affirmative and negative operating covenants and defaults, restricting indebtedness, liens, corporate transactions, dividends, and affiliate transactions, among others. The maturity date of the Credit Facilities is August 11, 2022. Even with access to borrowings under the Credit Facilities, we may not generate sufficient cash flows from our operations or be able to borrow sufficient funds to sustain our operations. As such, we will likely need additional external financing during 2021 and will continue to review and pursue external funding sources including, but not limited to, the following: • obtaining financing from traditional or non-traditional investment capital organizations or individuals; • obtaining funding from the sale of our common stock or other equity or debt instruments; and • obtaining debt financing with lending terms that more closely match our business model and capital needs. There can be no assurance that we will obtain funding on acceptable terms, in a timely fashion, or at all. Obtaining additional financing contains risks, including: • additional equity financing may not be available to us on satisfactory terms and any equity we are able to issue could lead to dilution for current stockholders and have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock; • loans or other debt instruments may have terms and/or conditions, such as interest rates, restrictive covenants and control or revocation provisions, which are not acceptable to management or our board of directors; and 12 Table of Contents • the current environment in the capital markets, as well as global health risks, combined with our capital constraints may prevent us from being able to obtain adequate debt financing. If we fail to obtain required additional financing to sustain our business before we are able to produce levels of revenue to meet our financial needs, we will need to delay, scale back or eliminate our business plan and further reduce our operating costs and headcount, each of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, future prospects, and financial condition. A lack of additional financing could also result in our inability to continue as a going concern and force us to sell certain assets or discontinue or curtail our operations and, as a result, investors in the Company could lose their entire investment. Our independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion on our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, included in this Annual Report, contains a modification relating to our ability to continue as a going concern. Our independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion on our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes a modification stating that our losses and negative cash flows from operations and uncertainty in generating sufficient cash to meet our obligations and sustain our operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, Note 3 “Restructuring”, to our financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Annual Report includes disclosure describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time. While we continue to pursue funding sources and transactions that could raise capital, there can be no assurances that we will be successful in these efforts or will be able to resolve our liquidity issues or eliminate our operating losses. If we are unable to generate enough cash or obtain sufficient additional funding, we would need to scale back or significantly adjust our business plan, further reduce our operating costs and headcount, or discontinue or curtail our operations. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected, and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our audited consolidated financial statements, and it is likely that investors will lose all or a part of their investment. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. We have a history of operating losses and will incur losses in the future as we continue our efforts to grow sales and streamline our operations at a profitable level. We have incurred substantial losses in the past and reported net losses from operations of $6.0 million and $7.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $130.9 million and cash of approximately $1.8 million, compared to an accumulated deficit of $124.9 million and cash of approximately $0.4 million as of December 31, 2019. In order for us to operate our business profitably, we need to grow our sales, maintain cost control discipline while balancing development of our new product pipeline and potential long-term revenue growth, continue our efforts to reduce product cost, drive further operating efficiencies and develop and execute a strategic product pipeline for profitable and compelling LED lighting and control and UVCD products. There is a risk that our strategy to return to profitability may not be as successful as we envision, or occur as quickly as we expect. We might require additional financing in the near-term and, if our operations do not achieve, or we experience an unanticipated delay in achieving, our intended level and pace of profitability, we will continue to need additional funding, none of which may be available on favorable terms or at all and could require us to sell certain assets or discontinue or curtail our operations. While we are attempting to diversify our customer base, we have historically derived 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 products, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Historically our customer base has been highly concentrated and one or a few customers have represented a substantial portion of our net sales. In 2020, two customers accounted for 62% of net sales. Total sales to our primary distributor to the U.S. Navy, and a primary shipbuilder for the U.S. Navy represented 53% of net sales. In 2019, two customers accounted for 45% of net sales and total sales to distributors to the U.S. Navy represented 23% of net sales. We generally do not have long-term contracts with our customers that commit them to purchase any minimum amount of our products or require them to continue to do business with us. We could lose business from any one of our significant customers for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside of our control, including changes in levels of government funding and rebate 13 Table of Contents programs, our inability to comply with government contracting laws and regulations, changes in customers’ procurement strategies or their lighting retrofit plans, changes in product specifications, additional competitors entering particular markets, our failure to keep pace with technological advances and cost reductions, and damage to our professional reputation, among others. We are attempting to expand and diversify our customer base and reduce the dependence on one or a few customers, through the addition of sales representatives and other potential marketing partnerships and our direct-to-customer sales strategy, as well as expanding our product offerings in the UVCD-space, but we cannot provide any assurance that our efforts will be successful. We anticipate that a limited number of customers could continue to comprise a substantial portion of our revenue for the foreseeable future. If we continue to do business with our significant customers, our concentration can cause variability in our results because we cannot control the timing or amounts of their purchases. A significant customer could cease to do or drastically reduce its business with us with little or no notice, which could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows in particular periods. Historically, we have experienced long sales-cycles, as well as slow ramp-up by new customers to purchase large amounts of LED products from us. Given the fiercely competitive lighting market in which we operate, we are constantly trying to balance pricing with the quality-premium our products command both in brand reputation and performance. As a result, adding new customers could generally be a slow process, and getting their sales increased to more significant levels usually takes a long period of time. As we continue to develop more customer-centric new products such as EnFocus™, we hope to both add new customers more quickly and have our customers scale their purchasing levels more quickly. Our UVCD portfolio of products also expands our traditional government and commercial markets to include the consumer market and a potential services offering for the commercial market, increasing the scope and expense of our marketing efforts. However, there is no guarantee of faster customer acceptance or performance of these new products or any other that has been or is being developed. If we are unable to implement plans to increase sales and control expenses to manage future growth effectively, our profitability goals and liquidity will be adversely affected. Our ability to achieve our desired growth depends on the adoption of LEDs and related controls within the general lighting market, the adoption of our UVCD products within the healthy home and workspace markets, and our ability to affect and adapt to these rates of adoption. The pace of continued growth in these markets is uncertain, and in order to grow our sales, we may need to: • manage organizational complexity and ensure effective and timely communication; • expand the skills and capabilities of our current management, engineering and sales teams; • add experienced senior level managers; • attract, retain and adequately compensate qualified employees; • adequately maintain and adjust the operational and financial controls that support our business; • expand research and development, sales and marketing, technical support, distribution capabilities, manufacturing planning and administrative functions and capabilities; • maintain or establish additional manufacturing facilities and equipment, as well as secure sufficient third-party manufacturing resources, to adequately meet customer demand and/or lower manufacturing costs; and • manage an increasingly complex supply chain to maintain a sufficient supply of materials and deliver on time to our manufacturing facilities. These efforts to grow our business, both in terms of size and in diversity of customer bases served, may put a significant strain on our resources. Over the past few years, we have implemented comprehensive cost-saving initiatives to reduce our net loss and mitigate doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. These initiatives have improved efficiency and streamlined our operations, but we may need additional funding, further cost-cutting may be needed to manage liquidity and future growth may exceed our current capacity and require rapid expansion in certain functional areas. We may lack sufficient funding to appropriately expand or incur significant expenses as we attempt to scale our resources and make investments in our business that we believe are necessary to achieve short-term and long-term growth goals. Such investments take time to become fully operational, and we may not be able to expand quickly enough to exploit targeted market opportunities. In addition to our own manufacturing capacity, we are increasingly utilizing contract manufacturers and original design manufacturers (“ODMs”) to produce our products for us. There are also inherent execution risks in expanding product lines and production capacity, whether through our facilities or that of a third-party manufacturer, that could increase costs and reduce our operating results, including design and construction cost overruns, poor production process yields and reduced quality control. If we are unable to fund any necessary expansion or manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to 14 Table of Contents adequately meet demand, our expenses could increase without a proportionate increase in revenue, our margins could decrease, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected. Our results of operations, financial condition and business could be harmed if we are unable to balance customer demand and capacity. As customer demand for our products changes and as we launch new products, we must be able to adjust our production capacity to meet demand. We are continually taking steps to address our manufacturing capacity needs for our products. If we are not able to increase or decrease our production capacity at our targeted rate or if there are unforeseen costs associated with adjusting our capacity levels or there are unanticipated interruptions in our supply chain from such possibilities as the COVID-19 pandemic, we may not be able to achieve our financial targets. In addition, as we introduce new products and further refine existing products, we must balance the production and inventory of prior generation products with the production and inventory of new products, whether manufactured by us or our contract manufacturers, to maintain a product mix that will satisfy customer demand and mitigate the risk of incurring cost write-downs on the previous generation products, related raw materials and tooling. If customer demand does not materialize at the rate forecasted, we may not be able to scale back our manufacturing expenses or overhead costs to correspond to the demand. This could result in lower margins, write-downs of our inventory and adversely impact our business and results of operations. Additionally, if product demand decreases or we fail to forecast demand accurately, our results may be adversely impacted due to higher costs resulting from lower factory utilization, causing higher fixed costs per unit produced. In addition, our efforts to improve quoted delivery lead-time performance may result in corresponding reductions in order backlog. A decline in backlog levels could result in more variability and less predictability in our quarter-to-quarter net sales and operating results. If we are not able to compete effectively against companies with lower cost structures or greater resources, or new competitors who enter our target markets, our sales will be adversely affected. The lighting industry is highly competitive. In the high-performance lighting markets in which we sell our advanced lighting systems, our products compete with lighting products utilizing traditional lighting technology provided by many vendors. For sales of MMM products, we compete with a small number of qualified military lighting lamp and fixture suppliers. In certain commercial applications, we typically compete with LED systems produced by large lighting companies. Our primary competitors include Philips, Osram Sylvania, LED Smart, Revolution Lighting Technologies, Orion Energy Systems, Green Creative and Keystone Technologies. Some of these competitors offer products with performance characteristics similar to those of our products. Many of our competitors are larger, more established companies with greater resources to devote to research and development, manufacturing and marketing, as well as greater brand recognition. In addition, larger competitors who purchase greater unit volumes from component suppliers may be able to negotiate lower costs, thereby enabling them to offer lower pricing to end customers. Moreover, the relatively low barriers to entry into the lighting industry and the limited proprietary nature of many lighting products also permit new competitors to enter the industry easily and with lower costs. In each of our markets, we also anticipate the possibility that LED component manufacturers, including those that currently supply us with LEDs, may seek to compete with us. Our competitors’ lighting technologies and products may be more readily accepted by customers than our products will be. Moreover, if one or more of our competitors or suppliers were to merge, the change in the competitive landscape could adversely affect our competitive position. Additionally, to the extent that competition in our markets intensifies, we may be required to further reduce our prices in order to remain competitive. If we do not compete effectively, or if we reduce our prices without making commensurate reductions in our costs, our net sales, margins, and profitability and our future prospects for success may be harmed. We work with independent agents and sales representatives for a portion of our net sales, and the failure to incentivize, retain and manage our relationships with these third parties, or the termination of these relationships, could cause our net sales to decline and harm our business. In the past, we pursued an agency-driven sales channel strategy in order to expand our market presence throughout the United States. As a result, at that time, we had increased our reliance on independent sales agent channels to market and sell our products. In addition, these parties provide technical sales support to end-users. The current agreements with our agents are generally non-exclusive on the agents’ product portfolio, meaning they can sell our competitors’ products. Any such agreements we enter into in the future may be on similar terms. Our agents may not be motivated to or successfully pursue the sales opportunities available to them, or they may prefer to sell or be more familiar with the products of our competitors. If our agents do not achieve our sales objectives or these relationships take significant time to develop, our revenue may decline, fail to grow or not increase as rapidly as we intend in order to achieve profitability and grow our business. During 2019 and 2020, 15 Table of Contents we significantly reduced our reliance on agencies for a substantial portion of our sales, and refocused and expanded our agency relationships on those that were both mutually beneficial and strategically important. Thus far, direct sales using internal sales personnel still account for a substantial portion of our sales, although we believe that our agency expansion strategy will increase the role of independent agents and sales representatives over time. Furthermore, our agency agreements are generally short-term and can be cancelled by either party without significant financial consequence. The termination of or the inability to negotiate extensions of these contracts on acceptable terms could adversely impact sales of our products. Additionally, we cannot be certain that we or end-users will be satisfied by their performance. If these agents significantly change their terms with us, or change their end-user relationships, there could be an impact on our net sales and profits. If our LED lighting and control technology or UVCD products fail to gain widespread market acceptance or we are unable to respond effectively as new technologies and market trends emerge, our competitive position and our ability to generate revenue, and profits may be harmed. To be successful in our LED lighting and control technology markets and with the introduction of our UVCD products, we depend on continued market acceptance of our existing LED lighting and control technology and our new UVCD products, including in the consumer and commercial markets. Although adoption of LED lighting and air and surface sanitation products continues to grow, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased awareness of sanitation, the use of LED lighting products for general illumination and the use of UVCD products for air and surface sanitation are in their early stages, are still limited, and face significant challenges. Potential customers may be reluctant to adopt LED lighting products as an alternative to traditional lighting technology or UVCD products as an alternative to traditional chemical-based sanitation because of their higher initial costs or perceived risks relating to their novelty, reliability, usefulness, quality and cost-effectiveness when compared to other established lighting sources and sanitation processes available in the market. Changes in economic and market conditions may also make traditional lighting and sanitation technologies more appealing. For example, declining energy prices in certain regions or countries may favor existing lighting technologies that are less energy-efficient, reducing the rate of adoption for LED lighting products in those areas. Notwithstanding continued performance improvements and cost reductions of LED lighting and UVCD technologies, limited customer awareness of the benefits of LED lighting and UVCD products, lack of widely accepted standards governing LED lighting and UVCD products and customer unwillingness to adopt LED lighting and UVCD products could significantly limit the demand for LED lighting and UVCD products. Even potential customers that are inclined to adopt energy-efficient lighting technology or new or increased sanitation technologies may defer investment as LED lighting and UVCD products continue to experience rapid technological advances. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our results of operations and limit our market opportunities. In addition, we will need to keep pace with rapid changes in LED lighting and control technology and UVCD air and surface sanitation technology, changing customer requirements, new product introductions and cost reductions by competitors and evolving industry standards, any of which could render our existing products obsolete if we fail to respond in a timely manner. The development, introduction, and acceptance of new, re-designed or reduced cost products incorporating advanced technology is a complex process subject to numerous uncertainties, including: • available funding to sustain adequate development efforts; • achievement of technology breakthroughs required to make commercially viable devices, and in turn, protecting those breakthroughs through intellectual property; • the accuracy of our predictions for market requirements; • our ability to predict, influence, and/or react to evolving standards; • acceptance of our new product designs; • acceptance of new technologies in certain markets; • the combination of other desired technological advances with lighting products, such as controls; • the availability of qualified research and development personnel; • our timely completion of product designs and development; • our ability to develop repeatable processes to manufacture new products in sufficient quantities, with the desired specifications, and at competitive costs; • our ability to effectively transfer products and technology from development to manufacturing; and • market acceptance of our products. We could experience delays in the introduction of these products. We could also devote substantial resources to the development of new technologies or products that are ultimately not successful. 16 Table of Contents If effective new sources of light, other than LEDs, or effective new sanitation technologies, other than UVCD, are discovered and commercialized, our current products and technologies could become less competitive or obsolete. If others develop innovative proprietary lighting or sanitation technology that is superior to ours, or if we fail to accurately anticipate technology, pricing and market trends, address market saturation and customer confusion, respond on a timely basis with our own development of new and reliable products and enhancements to existing products, and achieve broad market acceptance of these products and enhancements, our competitive position may be harmed and we may not achieve sufficient growth in our net sales to attain or sustain profitability. If we are unable to attract or retain qualified personnel, our business and product development efforts could be harmed. We are highly dependent on our senior management and other key personnel due to our very lean organizational structure. Our future success will depend on our ability to attract, retain, develop and motivate qualified technical, sales, marketing, and management personnel, for whom competition is very intense. As we attempt to rapidly grow our business, it could be especially difficult to attract, retain and adequately compensate qualified personnel, especially in light of our lean cost-structure. The loss of, or failure to attract, hire, and retain any such persons could delay product development cycles, disrupt our operations, increase our costs, or otherwise harm our business or results of operations. We also do not maintain “key person” insurance policies on any of our officers or our other employees. Our operating results may fluctuate due to factors that are difficult to forecast and not within our control. Our past 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 significantly in the past and could fluctuate in the future. Factors that may contribute to fluctuations include: • changes in aggregate capital spending, cyclicality and other economic conditions, or domestic and international demand in the industries; • the timing of large customer orders to which we may have limited visibility and cannot control; • competition for our products, including the entry of new competitors and significant declines in competitive pricing; • our ability to effectively manage our working capital; • our ability to generate increased demand in our current and targeted markets, particularly those in which we have limited experience; • our ability to satisfy customer demands in a timely and cost-effective manner; • pricing and availability of labor and materials; • quality testing and reliability of new products; • our inability to adjust certain fixed costs and expenses for changes in demand and the timing and significance of expenditures that may be incurred to facilitate our growth; • macroeconomic, geopolitical and health concerns, including the COVID-19 pandemic; • seasonal fluctuations in demand and our revenue; and • disruption in component supply from foreign vendors. Depressed general economic conditions may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Our business is sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, both inside and outside the United States. Slow growth in the economy or an economic downturn, particularly one affecting construction and building renovation, or that causes end-users to reduce or delay their purchases of lighting products, services, or retrofit activities, would have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. LED lighting retrofit projects, in particular, tend to require a significant capital commitment, which is offset by cost savings achieved over time. As such, a lack of available capital, whether due to economic factors or conditions in the equity or debt markets, could have the effect of reducing demand for our products. A decrease in demand could adversely affect our ability to meet our working capital requirements and growth objectives, or could otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Customers may be unable to obtain financing to make purchases from us. Some of our customers require financing in order to purchase our products, and the initial investment is higher than that which is required with traditional lighting products. The potential inability of these customers to access the capital needed to finance purchases of our products and meet their payment obligations to us could adversely impact the appeal of our products relative to those with lower upfront costs and have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance that third-party finance companies will provide capital to our customers. 17 Table of Contents A significant portion of our business is dependent upon the existence of government funding, which may not be available into the future and could result in a reduction in sales and harm to our business. Some of our customers are dependent on governmental funding, including U.S. and foreign allied navies and U.S. military bases. If any of these customers or potential customers abandon, curtail, or delay planned LED lighting retrofit projects as a result of the levels of funding available to them or changes in budget priorities, it would adversely affect our opportunities to generate product sales. If critical components and finished products that we currently research and develop with and purchase from a small number of third-party development partners and suppliers become unavailable or increase in price, or if our development partners, suppliers or delivery channels fail to meet our requirements for quality, quantity, and timeliness, our revenue and reputation in the marketplace could be harmed, which would damage our busine ss. In an effort to reduce research and development and manufacturing costs, we have outsourced the research, development and production of certain parts and components, as well as finished goods in our product lines, to a small number of vendors in various locations throughout the world, primarily in the United States, Malaysia, Taiwan and China. We generally purchase these sole or limited source items with purchase orders, and we have limited guaranteed supply arrangements with such suppliers. While we believe alternative sources for these components and products are available, we have selected these particular suppliers based on their ability to provide quality products at a cost-effective price, to meet our specifications, and to deliver within scheduled time frames. We do not control the time and resources that these suppliers devote to our business, and we cannot be sure that these suppliers will perform their obligations to us. If our ability to manage third-party product development efforts are unsuccessful or our suppliers fail to perform their obligations in a timely manner or at satisfactory quality levels, we may suffer lost or delayed sales, increased costs of goods sold, reductions in revenue or margin, and damage to our reputation in the market, all of which would adversely affect our business. As demand for our products fluctuates, which fluctuations can be hard to predict, we may not need a sustained level of inventory, which may cause financial hardship for our suppliers or they may need to divert production capacity elsewhere. In the past, we have had to purchase quantities of certain components that are critical to our product manufacturing and were in excess of our estimated near-term requirements as a result of supplier delivery constraints and concerns over component availability, and we may need to do so in the future. As a result, we have had, and may need to continue, to devote additional working capital to support a large amount of component and raw material inventory that may not be used over a reasonable period to produce saleable products, and we may be required to increase our excess and obsolete inventory reserves to provide for these excess quantities, particularly if demand for our products does not meet our expectations. We may be vulnerable to unanticipated product development delays, price increases and payment term changes. Significant increases in the prices of sourced components and products could cause our product prices to increase, which may reduce demand for our products or make us more susceptible to competition. Furthermore, in the event that we are unable to pass along increases in operating costs to our customers, margins and profitability may be adversely affected. Accordingly, the loss of all or one of these suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our operations until such time as an alternative supplier could be found. Additionally, consolidation in the lighting industry could result in one or more current suppliers being acquired by a competitor, rendering us unable to continue purchasing key components and products at competitive prices. We also may be subject to various import duties and tariffs applicable to materials manufactured in foreign countries and may be affected by various other import and export restrictions, as well as other considerations or developments impacting upon international trade, including economic or political instability, tariffs, shipping delays and product quotas. These international trade factors will, under certain circumstances, have an impact on the cost of components, which will have an impact on the cost to us of the manufactured product and the wholesale and retail prices of our products. We rely on arrangements with independent shipping companies for the delivery of our products from vendors abroad. The failure or inability of these shipping companies to deliver products or the unavailability of shipping or port services, even temporarily, could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may also be adversely affected by an increase in freight surcharges due to rising fuel costs and added security costs. Our products could contain defects, or they may be installed or operated incorrectly, which could reduce sales of those products or result in claims against us. Despite product testing, defects may be found in our existing or future products. This could result in, among other things, a delay in the recognition or loss of net sales, the write-down or destruction of existing inventory, insurance recoveries that fail to 18 Table of Contents cover the full costs associated with product recalls, significant warranty, support, and repair costs, diversion of the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts, and damage to our relationships with our customers. The occurrence of these problems could also result in reputational and brand damage or the delay or loss of market acceptance of our lighting products and would likely harm our business. In addition, our customers may specify quality, performance, and reliability standards that we must meet. If our products do not meet these standards, we may be required to replace or rework the products. In some cases, our products may contain undetected defects or flaws that only become evident after shipment. Even if our products meet standard specifications, our customers may attempt to use our products in applications for which they were not designed or in products that were not designed or manufactured properly, resulting in product failures and creating customer satisfaction issues. Some of our products use line voltages (such as 120 or 240 volts AC), which involve enhanced risk of electrical shock, injury or death in the event of a short circuit or other malfunction. Defects, integration issues or other performance problems in our lighting products could result in personal injury or financial or other damages to end-users or could damage market acceptance of our products. Our customers and end-users could also seek damages from us for their losses. A product liability claim brought against us, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time consuming and costly to defend and the adverse publicity generated by such a claim against us or others in our industry could negatively impact our reputation. We provide warranty periods generally ranging from one to ten years on our products. The standard warranty on nearly all of our new LED lighting products, which now represent the majority of our revenue, is either five or ten years. Although we believe our reserves are appropriate, we are making projections about the future reliability of new products and technologies, and we may experience increased variability in warranty claims. Increased warranty claims could result in significant losses due to a rise in warranty expense and costs associated with customer support. Our industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights and positions, which may result in protracted and expensive litigation. We have engaged in litigation in the past and litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Litigation may also be necessary to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity by others. Additionally, we could be required to defend against individuals and groups who have been purchasing intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies like ours. Litigation could delay development or sales efforts and an adverse outcome in litigation, or any similar proceedings, could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to license disputed rights from others or require us to cease marketing or using certain products or technologies. We may not be able to obtain any licenses on acceptable terms, if at all, and may attempt to redesign those products that contain allegedly infringing intellectual property, which may not be possible. We also may have to indemnify certain customers if it is determined that we have infringed upon or misappropriated another party’s intellectual property. The costs of addressing any intellectual property litigation claim, including legal fees and expenses and the diversion of management resources, regardless of whether the claim is valid, could be significant and could materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. From time to time, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims or allegations that we infringe upon or have misappropriated the intellectual property of third parties. Defending against such claims is costly and intellectual property litigation often involves complex questions of fact and law, with unpredictable results. We may be forced to acquire rights to such third-party intellectual property on unfavorable terms (if rights are made available at all), pay damages, modify accused products to be non-infringing, or stop selling the applicable product altogether. We may be subject to confidential information theft or misuse, which could harm our business and results of operation s. We face attempts by others to gain unauthorized access to our information technology systems on which we maintain proprietary and other confidential information. Our security measures may be breached as the result of industrial or other espionage actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, and as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our systems. In addition, these same risks to our information technology systems also apply to the third-party service providers’ information technology systems utilized by the Company. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to access our confidential information through other means, for example by fraudulently inducing our employees to disclose confidential information. We actively seek to prevent, detect and investigate any unauthorized access, which occasionally occurs despite our best efforts. We might be unaware of any such access or unable to determine its magnitude and effects. The theft, corruption and/or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and other confidential business information as a result of such an incident could adversely affect our competitive position and the value of our investment in research and development could be reduced. Our business could be subject to significant disruption, widespread negative publicity and a loss of customers, and we could suffer legal liabilities and monetary or other losses. 19 Table of Contents We have international operations and are subject to risks associated with operating in international markets. We outsource the production of certain parts and components, as well as finished goods in certain product lines, to a small number of vendors in various locations outside of the United States, including Malaysia, Taiwan and China. Although we do not currently generate significant sales from customers outside the United States, we are targeting foreign allied navies as a potential opportunity to generate additional sales of our MMM products as well as a limited number of foreign geographic markets which we expect to expand over time. International business operations are subject to inherent risks, including, among others: • difficulty in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems; • unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, tariffs, and other trade barriers, restrictions or disruptions; • potentially adverse tax consequences; • localized impacts of epidemics, pandemics or other contagious outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; • the burdens of compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, similar anti-bribery laws in other countries, and a wide variety of other laws; • import and export license requirements and restrictions of the United States and each other country in which we operate; • exposure to different legal standards and reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; • currency fluctuations and restrictions; and • political, social, and economic instability, including war and the threat of war, acts of terrorism, pandemics, boycotts, curtailment of trade, or other business restrictions. If we do not anticipate and effectively manage these risks, these factors may have a material adverse impact on our business operations. Risks Associated with Legal and Regulatory Matters We may be subject to legal claims against us or claims by us that could have a significant impact on our resulting financial performance. At any given time, we may be subject to litigation or claims related to our products, intellectual property, suppliers, customers, employees, stockholders, distributors, sales representatives and sales of our assets, among other things, the disposition of which may have an adverse effect upon our business, financial condition, or results of operations. The outcome of litigation is difficult to assess or quantify. Lawsuits can result in the payment of substantial damages by defendants. If we are required to pay substantial damages and expenses as a result of these or other types of lawsuits, our business and results of operations would be adversely affected. Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations. Insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations. Our business may suffer if we fail to comply with government contracting laws and regulations. We derive a significant portion of our revenues from direct and indirect sales to U.S., state, local and foreign governments and their respective agencies. Contracts with government customers are subject to various procurement laws and regulations, business prerequisites to qualify for such contracts, accounting procedures, intellectual property processes, and contract provisions relating to their formation, administration and performance, which may provide for various rights and remedies in favor of the governments that are not typically applicable to or found in commercial contracts. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations, or provisions in our government contracts could result in litigation, the imposition of various civil and criminal penalties, termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, or suspension from future government contracting. If our government contracts are terminated, if we are suspended from government work, or if our ability to compete for new contracts is adversely affected, our business could suffer due to, among other factors, lost sales, the costs of any government action or penalties, damages to our reputation and the inability to recover our investment in developing and marketing products for MMM use. If we are unable to obtain and adequately protect our intellectual property rights or are subject to claims that our products infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, our ability to commercialize our products could be substantially limited. 20 Table of Contents We consider our technology and processes proprietary. If we are not able to adequately protect or enforce the proprietary aspects of our technology, competitors may utilize our proprietary technology. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. We protect our technology through a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements, and similar means. Despite our efforts, other parties may attempt to disclose, obtain, or use our technologies. Our competitors may also be able to independently develop products that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products or slightly modify our products. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights as fully as do the laws of the United States. As a result, we may not be able to protect our proprietary rights adequately in the United States or abroad. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be issued patents for which we have applied or obtain additional patents, or that we will be able to obtain licenses to patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties that we may need to support our business in the future. The inability to obtain certain patents or rights to third-party patents and other intellectual property rights in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business. The ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited. We have significant U.S. net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards (the “Tax Attributes”). Under federal tax laws, we can carry forward and use our Tax Attributes to reduce our future U.S. taxable income and tax liabilities until such Tax Attributes expire in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”). Section 382 and Section 383 of the IRC provide an annual limitation on our ability to utilize our Tax Attributes, as well as certain built-in-losses, against future U.S. taxable income in the event of a change in ownership, as defined under the IRC. Share issuances in connection with our past financing transactions or other future changes in our stock ownership, which may be beyond our control, could result in changes in ownership for purposes of the IRC. Such changes in ownership could further limit our ability to use our Tax Attributes. Accordingly, any such occurrences could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. The cost of compliance with environmental, health, safety, and other laws and regulations could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. We are subject to a broad range of environmental, health, safety, and other laws and regulations. These laws and regulations impose increasingly stringent environmental, health, and safety protection standards and permit requirements regarding, among other things, air emissions, wastewater storage, treatment, and discharges, the use and handling of hazardous or toxic materials, waste disposal practices, the remediation of environmental contamination, and working conditions for our employees. Some environmental laws, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, the Clean Water Act, and comparable laws in U.S. states and other jurisdictions world-wide, impose joint and several liability for the cost of environmental remediation, natural resource damages, third-party claims, and other expenses, without regard to the fault or the legality of the original conduct, on those persons who contributed to the release of a hazardous substance into the environment. We may also be affected by future laws or regulations, including those imposed in response to energy, climate change, geopolitical, or similar concerns. These laws may impact the sourcing of raw materials and the manufacture and distribution of our products and place restrictions and other requirements on the products that we can sell in certain geographical locations. Our net sales might be adversely impacted if our lighting systems do not meet certain certification and compliance standards. We are required to comply with certain legal requirements governing the materials in our products. Although we are not aware of any efforts to amend any existing legal requirements or implement new legal requirements in a manner with which we cannot comply, our net sales might be adversely affected if such an amendment or implementation were to occur. Moreover, although not legally required to do so, we strive to obtain certification for substantially all our products. In the United States, we seek certification on substantially all of our products from UL®, ETL®, or DLC™. Where appropriate in jurisdictions outside the United States, we seek to obtain other similar national or regional certifications for our products. Although we believe that our broad knowledge and experience with electrical codes and safety standards have facilitated certification approvals, we cannot ensure that we will be able to obtain any such certifications for our new products or that, if certification standards are amended, we will be able to maintain such certifications for our existing products. Moreover, although we are not aware of any effort to amend any existing certification standard or implement a new certification standard in a manner that would render us unable to maintain certification for our existing products or obtain ratification for new products, our net sales might be adversely affected if such an amendment or implementation were to occur. We have in the past experienced a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and if we experience additional material weaknesses in the future or fail to otherwise maintain effective financial reporting systems and processes, we may be unable to accurately and timely report our financial results or comply with the requirements of being a public 21 Table of Contents company, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline and harm our business. As a public company reporting to the SEC, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including Section 404(a) that requires that we annually evaluate and report on our systems of internal controls. We previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2019, which has been remediated. The material weakness was primarily due to the insufficiency of supervision and review by employees for non-routine accounting and related financial reporting matters. Moreover, we cannot be certain that we will not in the future have additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or that we will successfully remediate any that we find. In addition, the processes and systems of internal controls we have developed to date may not be adequate. Accordingly, there could continue to be a reasonable possibility that material weaknesses could result in a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of our financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, or cause us to fail to meet our obligations to file periodic financial reports on a timely basis. Any of these failures could result in adverse consequences that could materially and adversely affect our business, including an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock, potential action by the SEC against us, possible defaults under our debt agreements, shareholder lawsuits, delisting of our stock, general damage to our reputation and the diversion of significant management and financial resources. We rely heavily on information technology in our operations and any material failure, weakness, interruption or breach of security could prevent us from effectively operating our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We rely heavily on our information technology systems, including our enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) and customer relationship management (“CRM”) software, across our operations and corporate functions, including for management of our supply chain, payment of obligations, data warehousing to support analytics, finance systems, accounting systems, and other various processes and procedures, some of which are handled by third parties, as well as lead generation, customer tracking, customer sourcing, etc. We also rely heavily on remote communication tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to accommodate remote work environment and external meetings. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we experience system usage problems. The failure of these systems to operate effectively, maintenance problems, system conversions, back-up failures, problems or lack of resources for upgrading or transitioning to new platforms or damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including, without limitation, fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failure, security breaches, cyber-attacks, viruses or human error could result in, among other things, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, loss of data, inability to generate timely SEC reports, loss of sales and customers and reduced efficiency in our operations. Additionally, we and our customers could suffer financial and reputational harm if customer or Company proprietary information is compromised by such events. Remediation of such problems could result in significant unplanned capital investments and any damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Risks Associated with an Investment in Our Common Stock As a “thinly-traded” stock with a relatively small public float, the market price of our common stock is highly volatile and may decline regardless of our operating performance. Our common stock is “thinly-traded” and we have a relatively small public float, which increases volatility in the share price and makes it difficult for investors to buy or sell shares in the public market without materially affecting our share price. Since the beginning of 2020, our market price has ranged from a low of $0.81 to a high of $11.60 and continues to experience significant volatility. Broad market and industry factors also may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Factors that could cause wide fluctuations in our stock price may include, among other things: • actual or anticipated variations in our financial condition and operating results; • general economic conditions and trends; • addition or loss of significant customers and the timing of significant customer purchases; • our ability to effectively implement our growth plans, including new products, and the significance and timing of associated expenses; • unanticipated impairments and other changes that reduce our earnings; 22 Table of Contents • overall conditions or trends in our industry; • the entry or exit of new competitors into our target markets; • any litigation or legal claims; • the terms and amount of any additional financing that we may obtain, if any; • unfavorable publicity; • additions or departures of key personnel; • geopolitical changes, global health concerns and macroeconomic changes; • changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in recommendations by any securities or industry analysts that elect to follow our common stock; • market expectations following periods of rapid growth; • the potential impact of increased volatility due to elevated trading on the price of our stock; • industry-wide news events that may affect market perceptions of the value of our stock; and • sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders, including sales by our directors and officers. Because our common stock is thinly-traded, investors seeking to buy or sell a certain quantity of our shares in the public market may be unable to do so within one or more trading days and it may be difficult for stockholders to sell all of their shares in the market at any given time at prevailing prices. Any attempts to buy or sell a significant quantity of our shares could materially affect our share price. In addition, because our common stock is thinly-traded and we have a relatively small public float, the market price of our shares may be disproportionately affected by any news, commentary or rumors regarding us or our industry, regardless of the source or veracity, which could also result in increased volatility. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities litigation has often been instituted against these companies. Volatility in the market price of our shares could also increase the likelihood of regulatory scrutiny. Securities litigation, if instituted against us, or any regulatory inquiries or actions that we face could result in substantial costs, diversion of our management’s attention and resources and unfavorable publicity, regardless of the merits of any claims made against us or the ultimate outcome of any such litigation or action. We could issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock without stockholder approval, or new securities with terms or rights superior to those of our existing stockholders, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. We expect to require additional financing to fund future operations, including our research, development, sales and marketing activities. We are authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of common stock of which 3,682,728 shares were issued and outstanding as of March 22, 2021 and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which 2,597,470 were issued and outstanding as of March 22, 2021. Our board of directors has the authority, without action or vote of our stockholders, to issue authorized but unissued shares of common and preferred stock subject to Nasdaq’s rules. Additionally, if we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, the percentage ownership of our current stockholders will be reduced, and, if the equity securities issued are preferred shares, the holders of the new preferred shares may have rights superior to those of our existing stockholders, which could adversely affect rights of our existing stockholders and the market price of our common stock. In addition, in order to raise additional capital or acquire businesses in the future, we may need to issue securities that are convertible or exchangeable for shares of our common or preferred stock. If we raise additional funds by issuing debt securities, the holders of those debt securities would have some rights senior to those of our existing stockholders, and the terms of these debt securities could impose restrictions on operations and create a significant interest expense for us which could have a materially adverse effect on our business. Any such issuances could be made at a price that reflects a discount to the then-current trading price of our common stock. These issuances could be dilutive to our existing stockholders and cause the market price of our common stock to decline. The exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase our common stock or the conversion of shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of common stock may dilute the ownership interest of our common stockholders. The exercise of some or all of the outstanding warrants to purchase our common stock or the conversion of some or all of the outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock may dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders. Any sales of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants or conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the anticipated exercise of the warrants or conversion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock could depress the price of our common stock. Our failure to comply with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq could adversely affect the price of our common stock and its liquidity. 23 Table of Contents Our common stock is currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We must comply with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements related to, among other things, stockholders’ equity, market value, minimum bid price, and corporate governance in order to remain so listed. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing requirements. We have in the past received notices from Nasdaq advising us that we were not in compliance with the continued listing requirements and, in each case, we were able to subsequently regain compliance. In January 2019, we received a letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) notifying us that, for the prior 30 consecutive trading days, the closing bid price for our common stock was below the minimum $1.00 per share required pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Bid Price Rule”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), our common stock traded above $1.00 for the required number of days within the 180-calendar day period immediately following our receipt of the notice to regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule. On May 15, 2019, we received a letter from the Staff notifying us that our common stock had again fallen out of compliance with the Bid Price Rule. On October 15, 2019, the Company formally requested a 180-day extension beginning November 12, 2019 to regain compliance. On April 16, 2020, Nasdaq announced that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related extraordinary market conditions, it had provided temporary relief through June 30, 2020 from compliance with, among other rules, the Bid Price Rule. As a result, we had until July 24, 2020 to regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule, which we accomplished by effecting a 1-for-5 reverse stock split on June 11, 2020, increasing the per share trading price of our common stock. Our common stock began trading on Nasdaq on a split-adjusted basis at the opening of trading on June 12, 2020. On August 17, 2020, we received a letter from the Staff notifying us that we were no longer in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires listed companies to maintain stockholders’ equity of at least $2,500,000 if they do not meet the alternative compliance standards relating to the market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations (the “Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Rule”). Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020, reflected that our stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2020 was $1,714,000. In addition, as of August 13, 2020, we did not meet the alternative compliance standards relating to the market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations. On October 5, 2020, based on our timely submission of our plan to regain compliance, Nasdaq granted us an extension through February 15, 2021 to regain compliance with the Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Rule, subject to our compliance with certain terms of the extension. In accordance with one part of the plan submitted to the Staff, we have successfully modified our outstanding warrants and are able to now classify the warrants within equity. In December 2020, we reclassified $1.4 million from warrant liability into equity. At December 31, 2020 our stockholders’ equity was $4,255,000. On January 20, 2021,we received a letter from the Staff notifying us that, on a conditional basis, Nasdaq has determined that we have regained compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. If we do not remain compliant with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, then we could be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market. If we were delisted, it would likely have a negative impact on the price of our common stock and our liquidity. If we are delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market and we are not able to list our common stock on another exchange, our common stock could be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the “pink sheets.” As a result, we could face significant adverse consequences including, among others: • a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; • a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock,” which would require broker-dealers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; • a limited amount of news and little or no analyst coverage of the Company; • we would no longer qualify for exemptions from state securities registration requirements, which may require us to comply with applicable state securities laws; and • a decreased ability to issue additional securities (including pursuant to short-form registration statements on Form S-3) or obtain additional financing in the future. As a result of these factors, the value of our common stock could decline significantly. We have never paid dividends on our common stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We have never declared or paid dividends on our common stock, nor do we anticipate paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the operations and expansion of our business. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon 24 Table of Contents our earnings, financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, a capital structure strategy and other factors as deemed necessary by our board of directors. The elimination of monetary liability against our directors under Delaware law and the existence of indemnification rights held by our directors and officers may result in substantial expenditures by the Company and may discourage lawsuits against our directors and officers. Our Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the personal liability of our directors to the Company and our stockholders for damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director to the extent permissible under Delaware law. Further, our Bylaws provide that we are obligated to indemnify any of our directors or officers to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law and, subject to certain conditions, advance the expenses incurred by any director or officer in defending any action, suit or proceeding prior to its final disposition. Those indemnification obligations could result in the Company incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against our directors or officers, which we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resultant costs may also discourage us from bringing a lawsuit against any of our current or former directors or officers for breaches of their fiduciary duties, and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our stockholders against our directors and officers even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit us or our stockholders. ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS None. 25 Table of Contents ITEM 2. PROPERTIES Our principal executive offices and our manufacturing facility are located in an approximately 117,000 square foot facility in Solon, Ohio, under a lease agreement expiring on June 30, 2022. We believe this facility is adequate to support our current and anticipated operations.