ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our business, financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of our Common Stock could be materially adversely affected by any of the following risks as well as the other risks highlighted elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern.

The audited financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments that might result if we cease to continue as a going concern. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 included an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our auditors’ doubts are based on our recurring losses from operations and working capital deficiency. The inclusion of a going concern explanatory paragraph in future reports of our independent auditors may make it more difficult for us to secure additional financing or enter into strategic relationships on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and may materially and adversely affect the terms of any financing that we might obtain.

The recent COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 and has rapidly spread to the United States and many other parts of the world and may continue to adversely affect our business operations, employee availability, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow for an extended period of time.

The COVID-19 outbreak is having an impact on the global economy, resulting in rapidly changing market and economic conditions. Similar to many businesses in the travel sector, our business has been materially adversely impacted by the recent COVID-19 outbreak due to the restrictions on travel that have been implemented. Effective March 24, 2020, we temporarily closed all global spa locations, largely due to the categorization of our spa locations by local jurisdictions as “non-essential services” in connection with the outbreak of COVID-19. This has had a materially adverse impact on our cash flows from operations and caused a liquidity crisis. Ongoing significant reductions in business related activities could result in further loss of sales and profits and other material adverse effects. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial results, liquidity and cash flows will depend largely on future developments, including new information that may emerge concerning the severity and action taken to contain or prevent further spread within the U.S. and the related impact on consumer confidence and spending, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in the U.S. and globally, related government and private sector responsive actions may continue to adversely affect our business operations. It is impossible to predict the effect and ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the situation is rapidly evolving. If the COVID-19 outbreak continues and persists for an extended period of time, we expect there will be significant and material disruptions to our operations, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our process to identify and evaluate potential business alternatives, including identifying appropriate financing, is not successful, our Board of Directors may decide to pursue a restructuring, which may include a reorganization or bankruptcy under Federal bankruptcy laws, or a dissolution, liquidation and/or winding up of our Company.

There can be no assurance that the process to identify and evaluate potential business alternatives, including identifying appropriate financing, will result in a successful alternative for our business. If no transactions with respect to potential business alternatives are identified and completed, our Board of Directors may decide to pursue a restructuring, which may include a reorganization or bankruptcy under Federal bankruptcy laws, or a dissolution, liquidation and/or winding up of the Company. If our Board of Directors were to approve and recommend, and our stockholders were to approve, a dissolution and liquidation of our Company, we would be required under Delaware corporate law to pay our outstanding obligations, as well as to make reasonable provisions for contingent and unknown obligations, prior to making any distributions in liquidation to our stockholders. Our commitments and contingent liabilities may include (i) obligations under our employment agreements with certain members of management that provide for severance and other payments following a termination of employment occurring for various reasons, including a change in control of our Company, (ii) various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business and (iii) non-cancelable lease obligations. As a result of this requirement, a portion of our assets may need to be reserved pending the resolution of such obligations. In addition, we may be subject to litigation or other claims related to a dissolution and liquidation of our Company. If a dissolution and liquidation were pursued, our Board of Directors, in consultation with its advisors, would need to evaluate these matters and make a determination about a reasonable amount to reserve. Accordingly, holders of our secured and unsecured debt and our Common Stock may lose their entire investment in the event of a reorganization, bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our Company.

In connection with the preparation of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In connection with our audit of the year ended December 31, 2019, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over our financial close and reporting process. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Our management has concluded that additional formal procedures need to be put in place in the financial close and reporting process to ensure that appropriate reviews occur on all financial reporting analysis in a timely manner. We also concluded that we did not maintain a sufficient complement of corporate employee personnel with appropriate levels of accounting and controls knowledge and experience commensurate with our financial reporting requirements to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters completely and accurately. As this deficiency created a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement would not have been prevented or detected in a timely basis, management concluded that the control deficiency represented a material weakness and accordingly our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2019.

We are still considering the full extent of the procedures to implement in order to remediate the material weakness described above. Our preliminary remediation plan, complimented by our existing outsourced internal audit procedures, includes implementing a more robust review process, an increase in the supervision and monitoring of the financial reporting processes and our accounting personnel, and implementing better controls over calculations, analysis and conclusions associated with non-routine transactions at a more precise level.

We cannot assure you that any of our remedial measures will be effective in resolving this material weakness. If our management is unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, or to certify the effectiveness of such controls, or if additional material weaknesses in our internal controls are identified in the future, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of public confidence, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price. In addition, if we do not maintain adequate financial and management personnel, processes and controls, we may not be able to manage our business effectively or accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our business and financial condition could be constrained by XpresSpa’s outstanding debt, including the impact of the receipt of an explanatory paragraph with respect to our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, indicating that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

XpresSpa is obligated under a credit agreement and convertible secured promissory note payable to B3D, LLC (“B3D”) of approximately $3,547,000 as of April 13, 2020, with a maturity date of May 31, 2021 (the “Senior Secured Note”). The Senior Secured Note accrues interest of 9.0% per annum. XpresSpa is obligated to make periodic interest payments on such debt obligations in cash, shares of our Common Stock, or a combination thereof. While we do not anticipate failing to make any such payments, the failure to do so may result in the default of loan obligations, leading to financial and operational hardship. XpresSpa has granted B3D a security interest in all of its tangible and intangible personal property to secure its obligations under the Senior Secured Note. The Senior Secured Note is an outstanding obligation of XpresSpa but is guaranteed by us.

As discussed above and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 includes an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The receipt of this explanatory paragraph with respect to our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 will result in a breach of a covenant under the Senior Secured Note which, if unremedied for a period of 30 days after the date hereof, will constitute an event of default under the Senior Secured Note. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Senior Secured Note, B3D may, among other things, declare the Senior Secured Note and all accrued and unpaid interest thereon and all other amounts owing under the Senior Secured Note to be due and payable.

The Company is also obligated under an unsecured subordinated note to Calm of approximately $2,500,000. The Calm Note will mature on May 31, 2022, and bears interest at a rate of 5% per annum, subject to increase in the event of default. The Calm Note is convertible at any time, in whole or in part, at the option of Calm into shares of Series E Preferred Stock at a conversion price equal to $0.27125 per share after giving effect to certain anti-dilution adjustments. Interest on the Calm Note is payable in arrears and may be paid in cash, shares of Series E Preferred Stock or a combination thereof.

If we fail to meet certain conditions under the terms of our outstanding indebtedness, we will be obligated to repay in cash any principal amount, interest and any other sum that remains outstanding. If the maturity date of our indebtedness is accelerated as a result of an event of default, the outstanding principal amount, liquidated damages and other amounts owing in respect thereof through the date of acceleration, shall become, at the holder’s election, immediately due and payable in cash.

We may not be able to raise additional capital. Moreover, additional financing may have an adverse effect on the value of the equity instruments held by our stockholders.

We will need additional funds to respond to business opportunities and challenges, including our ongoing operating expenses, protection of our assets, development of new lines of business and enhancement of our operating infrastructure. While we will need to seek additional funding, we may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, the terms of our financings may be dilutive to, or otherwise adversely affect, holders of our Common Stock. We may also seek additional funds through arrangements with collaborators or other third parties. We may not be able to negotiate arrangements on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to obtain additional funding on a timely basis, we may be required to curtail or terminate some or all of our business plans. Any such financing that we undertake will likely be dilutive to our current stockholders.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

As of December 31, 2019, our estimated aggregate total net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) were $182,327,000 for U.S. federal purposes, expiring 20 years from the respective tax years to which they relate, and $31,401,000 for U.S. federal purposes with an indefinite life due to new regulations in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Our ability to utilize our NOLs may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. The limitations apply if an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, occurs. Generally, an ownership change occurs when certain stockholders increase their aggregate ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage in a testing period (typically three years). Additionally, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 imposed substantial restrictions on the utilization of NOL and tax credits in the event of an ownership change of a corporation. Thus, the Company’s ability to utilize all such NOL and credit carryforwards may be limited. Future changes in stock ownership may also trigger an ownership change and, consequently, a Section 382 limitation.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted on March 27, 2020 and includes favorable changes to tax law and incentives for businesses impacted by COVID-19. However, we do not anticipate the income tax law changes and incentives will have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position. 

Global economic and market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our business plan depends significantly on worldwide economic conditions and our success is dependent on consumer spending, which is sensitive to economic downturns, inflation and any associated rise in unemployment, decline in consumer confidence, adverse changes in exchange rates, increase in interest rates, increase in the price of oil, deflation, direct or indirect taxes or increase in consumer debt levels. As a result, economic downturns may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, uncertainty about global economic conditions poses a risk as businesses and individuals may postpone spending in response to tighter credit, negative financial news and declines in income or asset values. This could have a negative effect on corporate and individual spending on health and wellness and travel. These factors, taken together or individually, could cause material harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to our Business Operations

XpresSpa is reliant on international and domestic airplane travel, and the time that airline passengers spend in United States airports post-security. A decrease in airline travel, a decrease in the desire of customers to buy spa services and products, or decreased time spent in airports would negatively impact XpresSpa’s operations.

XpresSpa depends upon a large number of airplane travelers with the propensity for health and wellness, and in particular spa treatments and products, spending significant time post-security clearance check points.

If the number of airline travelers decreases, if the time that these travelers spend post-security decreases, and/or if travelers ability or willingness to pay for XpresSpa’s products and services diminishes, this could have an adverse effect on XpresSpa’s growth, business activities, cash flow, financial condition and results of operations. Some reasons for these events could include:

Further, any disruption to, or suspension of services provided by airlines and the travel industry as a result of financial difficulties, labor disputes, construction work, increased security, changes to regulations governing airlines, mergers and acquisitions in the airline industry and challenging economic conditions causing airlines to reduce flight schedules or increase the price of airline tickets could negatively affect the number of airline passengers.

Additionally, the threat of terrorism and governmental measures in response thereto, such as increased security measures, recent executive orders in the United States impacting entry into the United States and changing attitudes towards the environmental impacts of air travel may in each case reduce demand for air travel and, as a result, decrease airline passenger traffic at airports.

The effect that these factors would have on our business depends on their magnitude and duration, and a reduction in airline passenger numbers will result in a decrease in our sales and may have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our success will depend in part on relationships with third parties. Any adverse changes in these relationships could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Our success is dependent on our ability to maintain and renew our existing business relationships and to establish new business relationships. There can be no assurance that our management will be able to maintain such business relationships or enter into or maintain new business contracts and other business relationships, on acceptable terms, if at all. The failure to maintain important business relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of distributors and suppliers for certain of our products, and events outside our control may disrupt our supply chain, which could result in an inability to perform our obligations under our concession agreements and ultimately cause us to lose our concessions.

We rely on a small number of suppliers for our products. As a result, these distributors may have increased bargaining power and we may be required to accept less favorable purchasing terms. In the event of a dispute with a supplier or distributor, the delivery of a significant amount of merchandise may be delayed or cancelled, or we may be forced to purchase merchandise from other suppliers on less favorable terms. Such events could cause turnover to fall or costs to increase, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, we have publicized our sale of certain brands of products in our stores – our failure to sell these brands may adversely affect our business.

Further, damage or disruption to our supply chain due to any of the following could impair our ability to sell our products: adverse weather conditions or natural disaster, government action, fire, terrorism, cyber-attacks, the outbreak or escalation of armed hostilities, pandemics, industrial accidents or other occupational health and safety issues, strikes and other labor disputes, customs or import restrictions or other reasons beyond our control or the control of our suppliers and business partners. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to restore our supply chain.

XpresSpa’s operating results may fluctuate significantly due to certain factors, some of which are beyond its control.

XpresSpa’s operating results may fluctuate from period to period significantly because of several factors, including:

XpresSpa’s operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result of the factors discussed above. Accordingly, results for any period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other period or for any year.

XpresSpa’s expansion into new airports or off-airport locations may present increased risks due to its unfamiliarity with those areas.

XpresSpa’s growth strategy depends upon expanding into markets where it has little or no meaningful operating experience. Those locations may have demographic characteristics, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are different from those in the markets where its existing operations are located. As a result, new airport terminal and/or off-airport operations may be less successful than existing concession locations in current airport terminals. XpresSpa may find it more difficult in new markets to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees who can project its vision, passion and culture. XpresSpa may also be unfamiliar with local laws, regulations and administrative procedures, including the procurement of spa services retail licenses, in new markets which could delay the build-out of new concession locations and prevent it from achieving its target revenues on a timely basis. Operations in new markets may also have lower average revenues or enplanements than in the markets where XpresSpa currently operates. Operations in new markets may also take longer to ramp up and reach expected sales and profit levels, and may never do so, thereby negatively affecting XpresSpa’s results of operations.

XpresSpa’s growth strategy is highly dependent on its ability to successfully identify and open new XpresSpa locations.

XpresSpa’s growth strategy primarily contemplates expansion through procuring new XpresSpa locations and opening new XpresSpa stores and kiosks. Implementing this strategy depends on XpresSpa’s ability to successfully identify new store locations. XpresSpa will also need to assess and mitigate the risk of any new store locations, to open the stores on favorable terms and to successfully integrate their operations with ours. XpresSpa may not be able to successfully identify opportunities that meet these criteria, or, if it does, XpresSpa may not be able to successfully negotiate and open new stores on a timely basis. If XpresSpa is unable to identify and open new locations in accordance with its operating plan, XpresSpa’s revenue growth rate and financial performance may fall short of our expectations.

Our profitability depends on the number of airline passengers in the terminals in which we have concessions. Changes by airport authorities or airlines that lower the number of airline passengers in any of these terminals could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The number of airline passengers that visit the terminals in which we have concessions is dependent in part on decisions made by airlines and airport authorities relating to flight arrivals and departures. A decrease in the number of flights and resulting decrease in airline passengers could result in fewer sales, which could lower our profitability and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Concession agreements generally provide for a minimum annual guaranteed payment (“MAG”) payable to the airport authority or landlord regardless of the amount of sales at the concession. Currently, the majority of our concession agreements provide for a MAG that is either a fixed dollar amount or an amount that is variable based upon the number of travelers using the airport or other location, retail space used, estimated sales, past results or other metrics. If there are fewer airline passengers than expected or if there is a decline in the sales per airline passenger at these facilities, we will nonetheless be required to pay the MAG or fixed rent and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Furthermore, the exit of an airline from a market or the bankruptcy of an airline could reduce the number of airline passengers in a terminal or airport where we operate and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to execute our growth strategy to expand and integrate new concessions or future acquisitions into our business or remodel existing concessions. Any new concessions, future acquisitions or remodeling of existing concessions may divert management resources, result in unanticipated costs, or dilute the ownership of our stockholders.

Part of our growth strategy is to expand and remodel our existing facilities and to seek new concessions through tenders, direct negotiations or other acquisition opportunities. In this regard, our future growth will depend upon a number of factors, such as our ability to identify any such opportunities, structure a competitive proposal and obtain required financing and consummate an offer. Our growth strategy will also depend on factors that may not be within our control, such as the timing of any concession or acquisition opportunity.

We must also strategically identify which airport terminals and concession agreements to target based on numerous factors, such as airline passenger numbers, airport size, the type, location and quality of available concession space, level of anticipated competition within the terminal, potential future growth within the airport and terminal, rental structure, financial return and regulatory requirements. We cannot provide assurance that this strategy will be successful.

In addition, we may encounter difficulties integrating expanded or new concessions or any acquisitions. Such expanded or new concessions or acquisitions may not achieve anticipated turnover and earnings growth or synergies and cost savings. Delays in the commencement of new projects and the refurbishment of concessions can also affect our business. In addition, we will expend resources to remodel our concessions and may not be able to recoup these investments. A failure to grow successfully may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.  

In particular, new concessions and acquisitions, and in some cases future expansions and remodeling of existing concessions, could pose numerous risks to our operations, including that we may:

In connection with acquisitions or other similar investments, we could incur debt or amortization expenses related to intangible assets, suffer asset impairments, assume liabilities or issue stock that would dilute the percentage of ownership of our then-current stockholders. We may not be able to complete acquisitions or integrate the operations, products, technologies or personnel gained through any such acquisition, which may have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the estimates and assumptions we use to determine the size of our market are inaccurate, our future growth rate may be impacted.

Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts are subject to uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. The estimates and forecasts in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relating to the size and expected growth of the travel retail market may prove to be inaccurate. Even if the market in which we compete meets our size estimates and forecasted growth, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all. The principal assumptions relating to our market opportunity include projected growth in the travel retail market and our share of the market. If these assumptions prove inaccurate, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business requires substantial capital expenditures and we may not have access to the capital required to maintain and grow our operations.

Maintaining and expanding our operations in our existing and new retail locations is capital intensive. Specifically, the construction, redesign and maintenance of our retail space in airport terminals where we operate, technology costs, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations require substantial capital expenditures. We may require additional capital in the future to fund our operations and respond to potential strategic opportunities, such as investments, acquisitions and expansions.

We must continue to invest capital to maintain or to improve the success of our concessions and to meet refurbishment requirements in our concessions. Decisions to expand into new terminals could also affect our capital needs. Our actual capital expenditures in any year will vary depending on, among other things, the extent to which we are successful in renewing existing concessions and winning additional concession agreements.

We cannot provide assurance that we will be able to maintain our operating performance, generate sufficient cash flow, or have access to sufficient financing to continue our operations and development activities at or above our present levels, and we may be required to defer all or a portion of our capital expenditures. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected if we cannot make such capital expenditures.

XpresSpa currently relies on a skilled, licensed labor force to provide spa services, and the supply of this labor force is finite. If XpresSpa cannot hire adequate staff for its locations, it will not be able to operate.

As of March 15, 2020, XpresSpa had approximately 507 full-time and 221 part-time employees in its locations. Excluding some dedicated retail staff, the majority of these employees are licensed to perform spa services, and hold such licenses as masseuses, nail technicians, aestheticians, barbers and master barbers. The demand for these licensed technicians has been increasing as more consumers gravitate to health and wellness treatments such as spa services. XpresSpa competes not only with other airport-based spa companies but with spa companies outside of the airport for this skilled labor force. In addition, all staff hired by XpresSpa must pass the background checks and security clearances necessary to work in airport locations. If XpresSpa is unable to attract and retain qualified staff to work in its airport locations, its ability to operate will be impacted negatively.

Effective March 24, 2020, we temporarily closed all global locations and furloughed the majority of our employees, largely due to the categorization of such spa locations by local jurisdictions as “non-essential services” in connection with the outbreak of COVID-19. We intend on reinstating the furloughed employees when restrictions related to non-essential services are relaxed and/or eliminated, but there can be no assurances that such employees will return to our locations in a timely manner or at all.

Our business is subject to various laws and regulations, and changes in such laws and regulations, or failure to comply with existing or future laws and regulations, could adversely affect us.

We are subject to various laws and regulations in the United States, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates that affect the operation of our concessions. The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of governmental authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws may require us to expend significant funds to make modifications to our concessions in order to comply with applicable standards. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be costly and can increase our exposure to litigation or governmental investigations or proceedings.

XpresSpa’s labor force could unionize, putting upward pressure on labor costs.

Currently, XpresSpa stores in two airports have a labor force which is unionized. Major players in labor organization, and in particular “Unite Here!” which represents approximately 45,000 employees in the airport concessions and airline catering industries, could target XpresSpa locations for its unionization efforts. In the event of the successful unionization of all of XpresSpa’s labor force, XpresSpa would likely incur additional costs in the form of higher wages, more benefits such as vacation and sick leave, and potentially also higher health care insurance costs.

XpresSpa competes for new locations in airports and may not be able to secure new locations.

XpresSpa participates in the highly competitive and lucrative airport concessions industry, and as a result competes for retail leases with a variety of larger, better capitalized concessions companies as well as smaller, mid-tier and single unit operators. Frequently, an airport includes a spa concept within its retail product set and, in those instances, XpresSpa competes primarily with BeRelax, Terminal Getaway, Massage Bar and 10 Minute Manicure.

We may not be able to predict accurately or fulfill customer preferences or demands.

We derive a significant amount of our revenue from the sale of massage, cosmetic and luxury products which are subject to rapidly changing customer tastes. The availability of new products and changes in customer preferences has made it more difficult to predict sales demand for these types of products accurately. Our success depends in part on our ability to predict and respond to quickly changing consumer demands and preferences, and to translate market trends into appropriate merchandise offerings. Additionally, due to our limited sales space relative to other retailers, the proper selection of salable merchandise is an important factor in revenue generation. We cannot provide assurance that our merchandise selection will correspond to actual sales demand. If we are unable to predict or rapidly respond to sales demand or to changing styles or trends, or if we experience inventory shortfalls on popular merchandise, our revenue may be lower, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

XpresSpa’s leases may be terminated, either for convenience by the landlord or as a result of an XpresSpa default.

XpresSpa has store locations and kiosks in a number of airports in which the landlord, with prior written notice to XpresSpa, can terminate XpresSpa’s lease, including for convenience or as necessary for airport purposes or operations. If a landlord elects to terminate a lease at an airport, XpresSpa may have to shut down one or more store locations at that airport.

Additionally, XpresSpa leases have numerous provisions governing the operation of XpresSpa’s stores. Violation of one or more of these provisions, even unintentionally, may result in the landlord finding that XpresSpa is in default of the lease. Violation of lease provisions may result in fines and, in some cases, termination of a lease.

XpresSpa’s ability to operate depends on the traffic patterns of the terminals in which it operates, and the cessation or disruption of air traveler traffic in these terminals would negatively impact XpresSpa’s addressable market.

XpresSpa depends on a high volume of air travelers in its terminals. It is possible that a terminal in which XpresSpa operates could become subject to a lower volume of air travelers, which would significantly impact traffic near and around XpresSpa locations and therefore its total addressable market. Lower volume in a terminal could be caused by:

We are dependent on our local partners.

Our local partners, including our ACDBE partners, maintain ownership interests in certain of our locations. Our participation in these operating entities differs from market to market. While the precise terms of each relationship vary, our local partners may have control over certain portions of the operations of these concessions. The stores are operated pursuant to the applicable joint venture agreement governing the relationship between us and our local partner. Generally, these agreements also provide that strategic decisions are to be made by a committee comprised of us and our local partner. These concessions involve risks that are different from the risks involved in operating a concession independently, and include the possibility that our local partners:

Failure to comply with minimum airport concession disadvantaged business enterprise participation goals and requirements could lead to lost business opportunities or the loss of existing business.

Pursuant to ACDBE participation requirements, XpresSpa is often required to meet, or use good faith efforts to meet, certain minimum ACDBE participation requirements when bidding on or submitting proposals for new concession contracts. If XpresSpa is unable to find and/or partner with an appropriate ACDBE, XpresSpa may lose opportunities to open new locations. In addition, a number of XpresSpa’s existing leases contain minimum ACDBE participation requirements which require the ACDBE to own a significant portion of the business being operated under those leases. The level of ACDBE participation requirements may affect XpresSpa’s profitability and/or its ability to meet financial forecasts.

Further, if XpresSpa fails to comply with the minimum ACDBE participation requirements, XpresSpa may be held responsible for a breach of contract, which could result in the termination of a lease and impairment of XpresSpa’s ability to bid on or obtain future concession contracts. To the extent that XpresSpa leases are terminated and XpresSpa is required to shut down one or more store locations, there could be a material adverse impact to its business and results of operations.

Continued minimum wage increases could negatively impact XpresSpa’s cost of labor.

XpresSpa compensates its licensed technicians via a formula that includes commissions. As a result, an increase in the minimum wage could increase XpresSpa’s cost of labor and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Information technology systems failure or disruption, or changes to information technology related to payment systems, could impact our day-to-day operations.

Our information technology systems are used to record and process transactions at our point-of-sale interfaces and to manage our operations. These systems provide information regarding most aspects of our financial and operational performance, statistical data about our customers, our sales transactions and our inventory management. Fire, natural disasters, power-loss, telecommunications failure, break-ins, terrorist attacks (including cyber-attacks), computer viruses, electronic intrusion attempts from both external and internal sources and similar events or disruptions may damage or impact our information technology systems at any time. These events could cause system interruption, delays or loss of critical data and could disrupt our acceptance and fulfillment of customer orders, as well as disrupt our operations and management. For example, although our point-of-sales systems are programmed to operate and process customer orders independently from the availability of our central data systems and even of the network, if a problem were to disable electronic payment systems in our stores, credit card payments would need to be processed manually, which could result in fewer transactions. Significant disruption to systems could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We also continually enhance or modify the technology used for our operations. We cannot be sure that any enhancements or other modifications we make to our operations will achieve the intended results or otherwise be of value to our customers. Future enhancements and modifications to our technology could consume considerable resources. We may be required to enhance our payment systems with new technology, which could require significant expenditures. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our technology to process transactions, we may experience a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If XpresSpa is unable to protect its customers’ credit card data and other personal information, XpresSpa could be exposed to data loss, litigation and liability, and its reputation could be significantly harmed.

Privacy protection is increasingly demanding, and the use of electronic payment methods and collection of other personal information, including order history, travel history and other preferences, exposes XpresSpa to increased risk of privacy and/or security breaches as well as other risks. The majority of XpresSpa’s sales are by credit or debit cards. Additionally, XpresSpa collects and stores personal information from individuals, including its customers and employees.

In the future, XpresSpa may experience security breaches in which credit and debit card information or other personal information is stolen. Although XpresSpa uses secure private networks to transmit confidential information, third parties may have the technology or know-how to breach the security of the customer information transmitted in connection with credit and debit card sales, and its security measures and those of technology vendors may not effectively prohibit others from obtaining improper access to this information. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and are often difficult to detect for long periods of time, which may cause a breach to go undetected for an extensive period of time. Advances in computer and software capabilities, new tools, and other developments may increase the risk of such a breach. Further, the systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payments themselves, all of which can put electronic payment at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by XpresSpa. In addition, contractors, or third parties with whom XpresSpa does business or to whom XpresSpa outsources business operations may attempt to circumvent its security measures in order to misappropriate such information and may purposefully or inadvertently cause a breach involving such information. If a person is able to circumvent XpresSpa’s security measures or those of third parties, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt XpresSpa’s operations. XpresSpa may become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information, and XpresSpa may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. Any such claim or proceeding could cause XpresSpa to incur significant unplanned expenses, which could have an adverse effect on its business or results of operations. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations could significantly harm its reputation and may have a material adverse effect on it. Although XpresSpa carries cyber liability insurance to protect against these risks, there can be no assurance that such insurance will provide adequate levels of coverage against all potential claims.

Negative social media regarding XpresSpa could result in decreased revenues and impact XpresSpa’s ability to recruit workers.

XpresSpa’s affinity among consumers is highly dependent on their positive feelings about the brand, its customer service and the range and quality of services and products that it offers. A negative customer experience that is posted to social media outlets and is distributed virally could tarnish XpresSpa’s brand and its customers may opt to no longer engage with the brand.

XpresSpa employs people in multiple different jurisdictions, and the employment laws of those jurisdictions are subject to change. In addition, its services are regulated through government-issued operating licenses. Noncompliance with applicable laws could result in employee lawsuits or legal action taken by government authorities.

XpresSpa must comply with a variety of employment and business practices laws across the United States, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. XpresSpa monitors the laws governing its activities, but in the event it does not become aware of a new regulation or fails to comply with a regulation, it could be subject to disciplinary action by governing bodies and potentially employee lawsuits.

XpresSpa is not currently cash flow positive and will depend on funding to open new locations. In the event that capital is unavailable, XpresSpa will not be able to open new locations.

Throughout its operating history, XpresSpa has not generated sufficient cash from operations to fund its new store development. As a result, it will be dependent upon additional funding for its new location growth until such time as it can produce enough cash to profitably fund its own location growth.

XpresSpa sources, develops and sells products that may result in product liability defense costs and product liability payments.

XpresSpa’s products contain ingredients that are deemed to be safe by the United States Federal Drug Administration and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. However, there is no guarantee that these ingredients will not cause adverse health effects to some consumers given the wide range of ingredients and allergies amongst the general population. XpresSpa may face substantial product liability exposure for products it sells to the general public or that is uses in its services. Product liability claims, regardless of their merits, could be costly and divert management’s attention, and adversely affect XpresSpa’s reputation and the demand for its products and services. XpresSpa to date has not been named as a defendant in any product liability action.

We have commenced legal proceedings and/or licensing discussions with security, content distribution and/or telecommunications companies. We expect that licensing discussions may be time consuming and may either, absent any litigation we initiate, fail to lead to a license, or may result in litigations commenced by the potential licensee.

To license or otherwise monetize the patent assets that we own, we have commenced legal proceedings and/or attempted to commence licensing discussions with a number of companies, during the course of which we allege that such companies infringe one or more of our patents. The future viability of our licensing program is highly dependent on the outcome of these discussions, and there is a risk that we may be unable to achieve the results we desire from such negotiations and be forced either to accept minimal royalties or commence litigations against the alleged infringer. In addition, the recipients of our licensing overtures have substantially more resources than we do, which could make our licensing efforts more difficult. Furthermore, due to changes in the approach to patent laws around the world it has become much easier for potential licensees to commence proceedings to revoke or otherwise nullify our patents in lieu of engaging in bona fide licensing discussions. There is a real risk that any potential licensee we approach would rather commence proceedings to revoke our patents than engage in any licensing discussions whatsoever.

We anticipate that any legal proceedings could continue for several years. While we endeavor, where possible, to engage counsel on a full or partial contingency basis, proceedings may commence that fall outside of contingency arrangements with counsel and may require significant expenditures for legal fees and other expenses. Disputes regarding the assertion of patents and other intellectual property rights are highly complex and technical. Once initiated, we may be forced to litigate against other parties in addition to the originally named defendants. Our adversaries may allege defenses and/or file counterclaims for, among other things, revocation of our patents or file collateral litigations in an effort to avoid or limit liability and damages for patent infringement. If such actions by our adversaries are successful, they may preclude our ability to derive licensing revenue from the patents being asserted.

There is a risk that we may be unable to achieve the results we desire from such litigation, which may harm our business. In addition, the defendants in these litigations have substantially more resources than we do, which could make our litigation efforts more difficult.

There is a risk that a court will find our patents invalid, not infringed or unenforceable and/or that the USPTO or other relevant patent offices in various countries will either invalidate the patents or materially narrow the scope of their claims during the course of a reexamination, opposition or other such proceeding. In addition, even with a positive trial court verdict, the patents may be invalidated, found not infringed or rendered unenforceable on appeal. This risk may occur either presently or from time to time in connection with future litigations we may bring.

Patent litigation is inherently risky, and the outcome is uncertain. Some of the parties that we believe infringe on our patents are large and well-financed by companies with substantially greater resources than ours. We believe that these parties may devote a substantial amount of resources in an attempt to avoid or limit a finding that they are liable for infringing on our patents or, in the event liability is found, to avoid or limit the amount of associated damages. In addition, there is a risk that these parties may file reexaminations or other proceedings with the USPTO or other government agencies in the United States or abroad in an attempt to invalidate, narrow the scope or render unenforceable the patents we own. In addition, as part of our ongoing legal proceedings, the validity and/or enforceability of our patents-in-suit is often challenged in a court or an administrative proceeding.

We may not be able to successfully monetize our patents and, thus, we may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of acquisitions from third parties.

There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully monetize the patent portfolios that we acquired from third parties. The patents we acquired could fail to produce anticipated benefits or could have other adverse effects that we currently do not foresee.

In addition, the acquisition of a patent portfolio is subject to a number of risks, including, but not limited to the following:

Therefore, there is no assurance that we will be able to monetize an acquired patent portfolio and recoup our investment.

We and our subsidiaries have been, are, and may become involved in litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our businesses.

Litigation often is expensive and diverts management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our businesses. We may be exposed to claims against us even if no wrongdoing has occurred. Responding to such claims, regardless of their merit, can be time consuming, costly to defend, disruptive to our management’s attention and to our resources, damaging to our reputation and brand, and may cause us to incur significant expenses. Even if we are indemnified against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable to uphold its contractual obligations.

New legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents could harm our business and operating results.

Intellectual property is the subject of intense scrutiny by the courts, legislatures and executive branches of governments around the world. Various patent offices, governments or intergovernmental bodies may implement new legislation, regulations or rulings that impact the patent enforcement process, or the rights of patent holders and such changes could negatively affect licensing efforts and/or litigations. For example, limitations on the ability to bring patent enforcement claims, limitations on potential liability for patent infringement, lower evidentiary standards for invalidating patents, increases in the cost to resolve patent disputes and other similar developments could negatively affect our ability to assert our patent or other intellectual property rights.

It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed, or whether any of the proposals will become enacted as laws. Compliance with any new or existing laws or regulations could be difficult and expensive, affect the manner in which we conduct our business and negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Our failure or inability to protect the trademarks or other proprietary rights we use or claims of infringement by us of rights of third parties, could adversely affect our competitive position or the value of our brands.

We believe that our trademarks and other proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. However, any actions that we take to protect the intellectual property we use may not prevent unauthorized use or imitation by others, which could have an adverse impact on our image, brand or competitive position. If we commence litigation to protect our interests or enforce our rights, we could incur significant legal fees. We also cannot provide assurance that third parties will not claim infringement by us of their proprietary rights. Any such claim, whether or not it has merit, could be time consuming and distracting for our management, result in costly litigation, cause changes to existing retail concepts or delays in introducing retail concepts, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. As a result, any such claim could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Future acquisitions or business opportunities could involve unknown risks that could harm our business and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have in the past, and may in the future, acquire businesses or make investments, directly or indirectly through our subsidiaries, that involve unknown risks, some of which will be particular to the industry in which the investment or acquisition targets operate, including risks in industries with which we are not familiar or experienced. Although we intend to conduct appropriate business, financial and legal due diligence in connection with the evaluation of future investment or acquisition opportunities, there can be no assurance that our due diligence investigations will identify every matter that could have a material adverse effect on us. We may be unable to adequately address the financial, legal and operational risks raised by such investments or acquisitions, especially if we are unfamiliar with the relevant industry. The realization of any unknown risks could expose us to unanticipated costs and liabilities and prevent or limit us from realizing the projected benefits of the investments or acquisitions, which could adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, and trading price.

Anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law, provisions in our charter and bylaws, and our stockholder rights plan could prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to change our Board of Directors or current management and could delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us.

We are a Delaware corporation and, as such, certain provisions of Delaware law could prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to change the Board of Directors or current management, or could delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us, even if the change in control would be beneficial to stockholders or the stockholders regard it as such. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), which prohibits certain “business combination” transactions (as defined in Section 203) with an “interested stockholder” (defined in Section 203 as a 15% or greater stockholder) for a period of three years after a stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder,” unless the attaining of “interested stockholder” status or the transaction is pre-approved by our Board of Directors, the transaction results in the attainment of at least an 85% ownership level by an acquirer or the transaction is later approved by our Board of Directors and by our stockholders by at least a 66²/₃ percent vote of our stockholders other than the “interested stockholder,” each as specifically provided in Section 203.

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, each as currently in effect, also contain certain provisions that may delay, discourage or make more difficult a third-party acquisition of control of us. Such provisions include a provision that any vacancies on our Board of Directors may only be filled by a majority of the directors then serving, although not a quorum, and not by the stockholders and the ability of our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock, without stockholder approval, that could dilute the stock ownership of a potential unsolicited acquirer and hinder an acquisition of control of us that is not approved by our Board of Directors, including through the use of preferred stock in connection with a stockholder rights plan.

We have also adopted a stockholder rights plan in the form of a Section 382 Rights Plan, designed to help protect and preserve our substantial tax attributes primarily associated with our NOLs under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and research tax credits under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code and related United States Treasury regulations, which was approved by our stockholders in December 2016 and expires in March 2022. Although this is not the purpose of the Section 382 Rights Plan, it could have the effect of making it uneconomical for a third party to acquire us on a hostile basis.

These provisions of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and our Section 382 Rights Plan may delay, discourage or make more difficult certain types of transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over the current market price, and might limit the ability of our stockholders to approve transactions that they think may be in their best interest.

Our confidential information may be disclosed by other parties.

We routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with other parties, including but not limited to vendors, law firms, parties with whom we are engaged in negotiations, and employees. However, there exists a risk that those other parties will not honor their contractual obligations to not disclose our confidential information. This may include parties who breach such obligations in the context of confidential settlement offers and/or negotiations. In addition, there exists a risk that, upon such breach and subsequent dissemination of our confidential information, third parties and potential licensees may seek to use such confidential information to their advantage and/or to our disadvantage including in legal proceedings in which we are involved. Our ability to act against such third parties may be limited, as we may not be in privity of contract with such third parties.

Risks Related to our Capital Stock

Stock prices can be volatile, and this volatility may depress the price of our Common Stock.

The stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations, which have affected the market price of many companies in ways that may have been unrelated to those companies’ operating performance. Furthermore, we believe that our stock price may reflect certain future growth and profitability expectations. If we fail to meet these expectations, then our stock price may significantly decline, which could have an adverse impact on investor confidence. We believe that various factors may cause the market price of our Common Stock to fluctuate, perhaps substantially, including, among others, the following:

Future sales of our shares of Common Stock by our stockholders could cause the market price of our Common Stock to drop significantly, even if our business is otherwise performing well.

As of April 13, 2020, we have 86,500,160 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding, excluding shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of warrants, options or restricted stock units, or preferred stock on an as-converted basis. As shares saleable under Rule 144 are sold or as restrictions on resale lapse, the market price of our Common Stock could drop significantly if the holders of shares of restricted stock sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. This decline in our stock price could occur even if our business is otherwise performing well.

The exercise of a substantial number of warrants or options by our security holders may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Common Stock.

Should our warrants outstanding as of April 13, 2020 be exercised, there would be an additional 27,009,331 shares of Common Stock eligible for trading in the public market. The incentive equity instruments granted to our management, employees, directors and consultants are subject to acceleration of vesting of 75% and 100% (according to the agreement signed with each grantee) upon a subsequent change of control. Such securities, if exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Common Stock. Therefore, the sale of the shares of Common Stock underlying the warrants and options could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities and/or on our ability to obtain future financing.

We have no current plans to pay dividends on our Common Stock, and our investors may not receive funds without selling their stock. 

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock, nor do we expect to pay any cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future. Investors seeking cash dividends should not invest in our Common Stock for that purpose. We currently intend to retain any additional future earnings to finance our operations and growth and, therefore, we have no plans to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock at this time. Any future determination to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will be dependent on our earnings, financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, any contractual restrictions, and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant.

Accordingly, our investors may have to sell some or all of their Common Stock in order to generate cash from their investment. You may not receive a gain on your investment when you sell our Common Stock and may lose the entire amount of your investment.

We may fail to meet publicly announced financial guidance or other expectations about our business, which would cause our stock to decline in value.

From time to time, we provide preliminary financial results or forward-looking financial guidance, to our investors. Such statements are based on our current views, expectations and assumptions that may not prove to be accurate and may vary from actual results and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, achievements or share prices to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or share prices expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk factors contained herein. If we fail to meet our projections and/or other financial guidance for any reason, our stock price could decline.

The market price of our Common Stock historically has been and likely will continue to be highly volatile.

The market price for our shares of Common Stock historically has been highly volatile, and the market for our shares has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations, based both on our operating performance and for reasons that appear to be unrelated to our operating performance. The market price of our shares of Common Stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, including:

Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market could result in a delisting of our Common Stock.

The continued listing standards of Nasdaq provide, among other things, that a company may be delisted if the bid price of its stock drops below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days or if stockholders’ equity is less than $2,500,000. As of December 31, 2019, our stockholders’ equity balance was in a deficit position. On January 2, 2020, we received a deficiency letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market which provided us a grace period of 180 calendar days, or until June 30, 2020, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. If we fail to regain compliance on or prior to June 30, 2020, we may be eligible for an additional 180-day compliance period. Additionally, if we fail to comply with any other continued listing standards of Nasdaq, our Common Stock will also be subject to delisting. If that were to occur, our Common Stock would be subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell our securities. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by these requirements could discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our Common Stock. This would significantly and negatively affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and would significantly and negatively affect the value and liquidity of our Common Stock. These factors could contribute to lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for our Common Stock. If we seek to implement a reverse stock split in order to remain listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, the announcement and/or implementation of a reverse stock split could significantly negatively affect the price of our Common Stock.

While we have exercised diligent efforts to maintain the listing of our Common Stock on Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to meet the continuing listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market. If we are unable to meet the continuing listing requirements, Nasdaq may take steps to delist our Common Stock. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our Common Stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our Common Stock when you wish to do so. Further, if we were to be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market, our Common Stock would cease to be recognized as covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Delisting from Nasdaq could adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, would significantly affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and would negatively affect the value and liquidity of our Common Stock. Delisting could also have other negative results, including the potential loss of confidence by employees, the loss of institutional investor interest and fewer business development opportunities.

Our Common Stock has historically traded in low volumes. We cannot predict whether an active trading market for our Common Stock will ever develop. Even if an active trading market develops, the market price of our Common Stock may be significantly volatile.

Historically, our Common Stock has experienced a lack of consistent trading liquidity. In the absence of an active trading market you may have difficulty buying and selling our Common Stock at all or at the price you consider reasonable; and market visibility for shares of our Common Stock may be limited, which may have a depressive effect on the market price for shares of our Common Stock and on our ability to raise capital or make acquisitions by issuing our Common Stock.

If we raise additional capital in the future, stockholders’ ownership in us could be diluted.

Any issuance of equity we may undertake in the future to raise additional capital could cause the price of our shares to decline or require us to issue shares at a price that is lower than that paid by holders of our shares in the past, which would result in previously issued shares being dilutive. If we obtain funds through a credit facility or through the issuance of debt or preferred securities, these securities would likely have rights senior to rights as a holder of Common Stock, which could impair the value of our shares.

If we exercise the option to repay the Series E preferred stock (the “Series E Preferred Stock”) in Common Stock rather than cash, such repayment may result in the issuance of a large number of shares of Common Stock which may have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock as well as a dilutive effect.

Pursuant to the terms of the shares of Series E Preferred Stock, on the seven-year anniversary of the initial issuance date of the shares of Series E Preferred Stock (which is November 14, 2025 in the case the 645,161 shares of Series E Preferred Stock issued on November 14, 2018 and December 28, 2025 in the case of the 322,581 shares of Series E Preferred Stock issued on December 28, 2018), we may repay each share of Series E Preferred Stock, at our option, in cash, by delivery of shares of Common Stock or through any combination thereof. If we elect to make a payment, or any portion thereof, in shares of Common Stock, the Base Shares will be based on the Base Price plus the Premium Shares, calculated as follows: (i) if the Base Price is greater than $180.00, no Premium Shares shall be issued, (ii) if the Base Price is greater than $140.00 and equal to or less than $180.00, an additional number of shares equal to 5% of the Base Shares shall be issued, (iii) if the Base Price is greater than $120.00 and equal to or less than $140.00, an additional number of shares equal to 10% of the Base Shares shall be issued, (iv) if the Base Price is greater than $100.00 and equal to or less than $120.00, an additional number of shares equal to 20% of the Base Shares shall be issued and (v) if the Base Price is less than or equal to $100.00, an additional number of shares equal to 25% of the Base Shares shall be issued. Accordingly, if the volume weighted average price per share of our Common Stock is below $180.00 per share as of the time of repayment and we exercise the option to make such repayment in shares of our Common Stock, a large number of shares of our Common Stock may be issued to the holders of shares of Series E Preferred Stock upon maturity which may have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock.

On November 14, 2025 or December 28, 2025, as applicable, upon the maturity of the Series E Preferred Stock, when determining whether to repay the Series E Preferred Stock in cash or shares of Common Stock, we expect to consider a number of factors, including our cash position, the price of our Common Stock and our capital structure at such time. Because we do not have to make a determination as to which option to elect until 2023, it is impossible to predict whether it is more or less likely to repay in cash, stock or a portion of each.

The potential issuance of a large number of shares of Common Stock upon the conversion of our Series F Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series F Preferred Stock”) may have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock as well as a dilutive effect.

Each share of Series F Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, at any time and from time to time, and without the payment of additional consideration by the holder thereof, into such number of fully paid and nonassessable shares of Common Stock as is determined by dividing the stated value of the Series F Preferred Stock (plus any accrued but unpaid dividends) by the Series F conversion price in effect at the time of conversion. The Series F conversion price was initially equal to $2.00 per share but was subsequently reduced to $0.175 per share.  As of April 13, 2020, there were 1,531 shares of Series F Preferred Stock outstanding, which were convertible into 874,858 shares of Common Stock.  The issuance of a large number of shares of Common Stock upon conversion of the Series F Preferred Stock could cause substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and could depress the market price of our Common Stock.

Having availed ourselves of scaled disclosure available to smaller reporting companies, we cannot be certain if such reduced disclosure will make our Common Stock less attractive to investors.

Under Section 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, a “smaller reporting company” is a company that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company, and has a public float of less than $250 million and annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. Similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies are permitted to provide simplified executive compensation disclosure in their filings; they are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that independent registered public accounting firms provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting; and they have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in their SEC filings, including, among other things, only being required to provide two years of audited financial statements in annual reports. Decreased disclosure in our SEC filings as a result of our having availed ourselves of scaled disclosure may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.