FRANKLIN WIRELESS CORP 10-K

ITEM 1A: RISK FACTORS. The following risk factors do not purport to be a complete explanation of the risks involved in our business. WE MAY NEED ADDITIONAL FINANCING FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. Our financial resources are sufficient for our current operational needs, however, the amount of funding required to develop and commercialize our products and technologies is highly uncertain. Adequate funds may not be available when needed or on terms satisfactory to us. Lack of funds may cause us to delay, reduce and/or abandon certain or all aspects of our development and commercialization programs. We may seek additional financing through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities. In such event, the percentage ownership of our stockholders would be reduced, stockholders may experience additional dilution, and such securities may have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of our Common Stock. There can be 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, we may not be able to fund our expansion, take advantage of desirable acquisition opportunities, develop, or enhance services or products or respond to competitive pressures. Such inability could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial conditions. WE MAY INFRINGE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF OTHERS. The industry in which we operate has many participants that own, or claim to own, proprietary intellectual property. In the past we have received, and in the future may receive, claims from third parties alleging that we, and possibly our customers, violate their intellectual property rights. Rights to intellectual property can be difficult to verify and litigation may be necessary to establish whether or not we have infringed the intellectual property rights of others. In many cases, these third parties are companies with substantially greater resources than us, and they may be able to, and may choose to, pursue complex litigation to a greater degree than we could. Regardless of whether these infringement claims have merit or not, we may be subject to the following: · We may be liable for potentially substantial damages, liabilities, and litigation costs, including attorneys’ fees; · We may be prohibited from further use of the intellectual property and may be required to cease selling our products that are subject to the claim; · We may have to license the third-party intellectual property, incurring royalty fees that may or may not be on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully negotiate and obtain such a license from the third party; · We may have to develop a non-infringing alternative, which could be costly and delay or result in the loss of sales. In addition, there is no assurance that we will be able to develop such a non-infringing alternative; · The diversion of management’s attention and resources; · Our relationships with customers may be adversely affected; and, · We may be required to indemnify our customers for certain costs and damages they incur in such a claim. In the event of an unfavorable outcome in such a claim and our inability to either obtain a license from the third party or develop a non-infringing alternative, then our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially adversely affected and we may have to restructure our business. 4 Absent a specific claim for infringement of intellectual property, from time to time we have and expect to continue to license technology, intellectual property, and software from third parties. There is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our third-party licenses or obtain new licenses when required and this inability could materially adversely affect our business and operating results and the quality and functionality of our products. In addition, there is no assurance that third party licenses we execute will be on commercially reasonable terms. Under purchase orders and contracts for the sale of our products we may provide indemnification to our customers for potential intellectual property infringement claims for which we may have no corresponding recourse against our third-party licensors. This potential liability, if realized, could materially adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. WE OPERATE IN AN INTENSIVELY COMPETITIVE MARKET. The wireless broadband data access market is highly competitive, and we may be unable to compete effectively. Many of our competitors or potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, and marketing resources than we do. To survive and be competitive, we will need to continuously invest in research and development, sales and marketing, and customer support. Increased competition could result in price reductions, and smaller customer orders. Our failure to compete effectively could seriously impair our business. WE OPERATE IN THE HIGH-RISK TELECOM SECTOR. We are in a volatile industry. In addition, our revenue model is evolving and relies substantially on the assumption that we will be able to successfully complete the development and sales of our products and services in the marketplace. Our prospects must be considered in the light of the risk, uncertainties, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of development and marketing new products. To be successful in the market we must, among other things: · Complete development and introduction of functional and attractive products and services; · Attract and maintain customer loyalty; · Establish and increase awareness of our brand and develop customer loyalty; · Provide desirable products and services to customers at attractive prices; · Establish and maintain strategic relationships with strategic partners and affiliates; · Rapidly respond to competitive and technological developments; · Build operations and customer service infrastructure to support our business; and · Attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to achieve these goals, and our failure to achieve them could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We expect that revenues and operating results will fluctuate in the future. There is no assurance that any or all our efforts will produce a successful outcome. 5 WE OPERATE IN THE HIGH-RISK HARDWARE DESIGN INDUSTRY. We are in a volatile industry. In this industry it should be expected that: · Latent design flaws can be discovered, even after a device has been certified; · Latent component defects can be discovered in critical systems, including batteries, LCDs, chargers, and other systems; · Manufacturing defects and flaws will occur during device production. WE OPERATE IN THE HIGH-RISK SOFTWARE INDUSTRY. This industry has numerous and significant known risks. In this industry it should be expected that: · Latent design flaws and security defects will be discovered, even after a device has been tested and approved; · Code within a program will fail to operate as intended due to updates or changes in other systems; · Hacking and malicious actions by outside parties can damage or alter coding and system integrity. POTENTIAL DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING DEFECTS COULD OCCUR. Our product and service offerings may have quality issues from time to time, due to defects in software design, hardware design or component manufacturing. As a result, our products and services may not perform as anticipated and may not meet customer expectations. Component defects could make our products unsafe and create a risk of environmental or property damage and personal injury. There can be no assurance we will be able to detect and address all issues and defects in the hardware, software, and services we offer. Failure to do so could result in widespread technical and performance issues affecting our products and services. In addition, we may be exposed to product liability claims, recalls, product replacements or modifications, write-offs of inventory, property, plant and equipment, and/or intangible assets, and significant warranty and other expenses, including litigation costs and regulatory fines. WE OPERATE IN A FIELD WITH RAPIDLY CHANGING TECHNOLOGY. We cannot be certain that our products and services will function as anticipated or be desirable to our intended markets. Our current or future products and services may fail to function properly, and if our products and services do not achieve and sustain market acceptance, our business, results of operations and profitability may suffer. If we are unable to predict and comply with evolving wireless standards, our ability to introduce and sell new products will be adversely affected. If we fail to develop and introduce products on time, we may lose customers and potential product orders. WE DEPEND ON THE DEMAND FOR WIRELESS NETWORK CAPACITY. The demand for our products is completely dependent on the demand for broadband wireless access to networks. If wireless operators do not deliver acceptable wireless service, our product sales may dramatically decline. Thus, if wireless operators experience financial or network difficulties, it will likely reduce demand for our products. These are beyond our ability to control and can either increase or decrease demand for our products. PANDEMIC OUTBREAKS CAN CAUSE VOLATILE CHANGES IN THE MARKET. Demand for wireless access can rise and fall greatly during times of pandemic outbreaks, such as COVID-19, as more people may be required to work remotely, and schools may be required to operate remote classrooms. When an outbreak ends, or becomes more controlled, demand for wireless devices could decline rapidly, decreasing demand for our products. Pandemic outbreaks can also disrupt supply chains, manufacturing operations, and shipping. These disruptions can make product fulfilment difficult, delayed, or impossible. All these changes are beyond our ability to control and can cause revenue and income to change dramatically. 6 WE DEPEND ON COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS. The development and commercialization of our products and services depend in large part upon our ability to selectively enter and maintain collaborative arrangements with developers, distributors, service providers, network systems providers, core wireless communications technology providers and manufacturers, among others. THE LOSS OF ANY OF OUR MATERIAL CUSTOMERS COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR REVENUES AND PROFITABILITY, AND THEREFORE SHAREHOLDER VALUE. We depend on a small number of customers for a significant portion of our revenues. For the year ended June 30, 2023, net revenues from our two largest customers represented 61% and 31% of our consolidated net sales, respectively. We have a written agreement with each of these customers that governs the sale of products to them, but the agreements do not obligate them to purchase any quantity of products from us. If these customers were to reduce their business with us, our revenues and profitability could materially decline. OUR PRODUCT DELIVERIES ARE SUBJECT TO LONG LEAD TIMES. We often experience long-lead times to ship products, often more than 45 days. This could cause us to lose customers, who may be able to secure faster delivery times from our competitors and require us to maintain higher levels of working capital. OUR PRODUCT-TO-MARKET CHALLENGE IS CRITICAL. Our success depends on our ability to quickly enter the market and establish an early mover advantage. We must implement an aggressive sales and marketing campaign to solicit customers and strategic partners. Any delay could seriously affect our ability to establish and exploit effectively an early-to-market strategy. AS OUR BUSINESS EXPANDS INTERNATIONALLY, WE WILL BE EXPOSED TO ADDITIONAL RISKS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS. Our expansion into international operations exposes us to additional risks unique to such international markets, including the following: · Increased credit management risks and greater difficulties in collecting accounts receivable; · Unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, wireless communications standards, exchange rates, trading policies, tariffs, and other barriers; · Uncertainties of laws and enforcement relating to the protection of intellectual property; · Language barriers; and · Potential adverse tax consequences. Furthermore, if we are unable to further develop distribution channels in countries in North America, the Caribbean and South America, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), and Asia, we may not be able to grow our international operations, and our ability to increase our revenue will be negatively impacted. We believe that our products are currently exempt from international tariffs. If this were to change at any point, a tariff of 10%-25% of the purchase price could be imposed. If such tariffs are imposed, they could have a materially adverse effect on sales and operating results. GOVERNMENT REGULATION COULD RESULT IN INCREASED COSTS AND INABILITY TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS. Our products are subject to certain mandatory regulatory approvals in the United States and other regions in which we operate. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission regulates many aspects of communications devices. Although we have obtained all the necessary Federal Communications Commission and other required approvals for the products we currently sell, we may not obtain approvals for future products on a timely basis, or at all. In addition, regulatory requirements may change, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals from countries other than the United States in which we may desire to sell products in the future. 7 ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS None.