Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business, operating results or financial condition could be materially adversely affected by any of the following risks associated with any one of our businesses, as well as the other risks highlighted elsewhere in this document, particularly the discussions about competition. The trading price of our Class B common stock could decline due to any of these risks.

If our Zedge app fails to attract advertisers or if its advertisers reduce their spending with us, our revenues, profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

In fiscal 2020, approximately 78% of our revenues were generated from our Zedge app selling advertising inventory. We anticipate that our growth and profitability will continue to depend on our Zedge app’s ability to sell advertising inventory. Companies that advertise via our Zedge app may choose to utilize other advertising channels or may reduce or eliminate their marketing altogether for a variety of reasons, many of which are out of our control, including, without limitation, if the demand for mobile phone personalization industry declines or otherwise falls out of favor with advertisers or consumers.

If the size of the mobile advertising market does not increase from current levels, or if our Zedge app is unable to capture and retain a sufficient share of that market, our ability to maintain or increase our current level of advertising revenues and our revenues, profitability and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. 

The mobile advertising market may deteriorate or develop more slowly than expected, which could materially harm our business and results of operations. 

We generate substantial majority of our revenue from our Zedge app selling advertising inventory. We anticipate that our growth and profitability will continue to depend on our Zedge app’s ability to sell advertising inventory. Mobile connected devices, especially smartphones, are a relatively new advertising medium. Advertisers have historically spent a smaller portion of their advertising budgets on mobile media as compared to traditional advertising methods, such as television, newspapers, radio and billboards, or online advertising over the internet, such as placing banner ads on websites.

Future demand and market acceptance for mobile advertising is uncertain. Many advertisers still have limited experience with mobile advertising and may continue to devote larger portions of their advertising budgets to more traditional offline or online personal computer-based advertising, instead of shifting additional advertising resources to mobile advertising.

Further, our advertisers’ ability to effectively target their advertising to our user’s interests may be negatively impacted by the degree to which our privacy control measures that we have implemented or may implement in the future in connection with regulations, regulatory actions, the user experience, or otherwise, and our advertising revenue may decrease or otherwise be curtailed as a result. Changes to operating systems’ practices and policies, such as Apple’s upcoming iOS update specifically related to Identifier for Advertiser (“IDFA”) changes that may also reduce the quantity and quality of the data and metrics that can be collected or used by us and our partners. These limitations may adversely affect our advertisers’ ability to effectively target advertisements and measure their performance, which could reduce the demand and pricing for our advertising products and harm our business. As such, our Zedge app’s current and potential advertiser clients may ultimately find mobile advertising to be less effective than traditional advertising media or marketing methods or other technologies for promoting their products and services, and they may even reduce their spending on mobile advertising from current levels as a result or for other reasons.

If the market for mobile advertising deteriorates, or develops more slowly than we expect, we may not be able to increase our revenues or our revenues and profitability could decline materially.

We may not be successful in diversifying our revenue mix to reduce our significant dependence on third-party advertisers. 

In fiscal 2020, approximately 78% of our revenues were generated from our Zedge app selling advertising inventory. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in diversifying our revenue mix by identifying new revenue drivers that complement our advertising-heavy business. Although we have had initial success in converting freemium users into paid subscribers, starting with zero in January 2019 and ending fiscal 2020 with more than 504,000, there is not guarantee that we will continue growing at this pace or how many of our current subscribers will remain as paying subscribers. To date, Zedge Premium has taken longer to scale than we originally anticipated, and we have not experienced the success that we anticipated by selling print-on-demand merchandise which sells at a higher price unit price than the other digital goods that we offer. We previously thought that certain marketers would embrace our platform as a critical distribution medium enabling us to secure a recurring set of advertisers willing to pay for sponsorships, but this has not yet occurred and may not occur. Finally, Android users are prone to spend less money on apps than iOS users. Even if our new initiatives are successful with our Android users, we may not able to replicate that success on iOS, especially since we have fewer iOS users.

Our revenues may fluctuate materially due to increases and decreases of new mobile device sales, over which we have no control.

Our revenue may be materially negatively impacted by a decrease or slowdown in new mobile device sales. Demand for mobile devices correlates to installs of the Zedge app and associated usage and revenue generation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted our Zedge app’s new user growth. We believe that new smartphone sales have suffered as a result of retail business closures, negatively impacting new user growth, especially in well-developed markets. Assuming the retail business rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect that our Zedge app’s new user growth will also recover and we will benefit accordingly but there can no assurance of such rebound or new user growth.

If new mobile device sales decrease or slowdown, our Zedge app will experience fewer installations which will negatively impact our revenue and operations.

If mobile connected devices, their operating systems or content distribution channels develop in ways that violate policies of Google Play or the AppStore, prevent users from downloading our Zedge app or block advertising from being delivered to our Zedge app’s users, our ability to grow our revenues, profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. 

Our business model depends upon the continued compatibility between our Zedge app and the major mobile operating systems. Third parties with whom we do not have any formal relationships control the design of mobile devices and operating systems. These parties frequently introduce new devices, and from time to time they may introduce new operating systems or modify existing ones. Network carriers, including but not limited to Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, may also impact the ability to download apps or access specified content on mobile devices.

We rely upon third-party distribution platforms, including the Google Play store and iTunes, for distribution of our Zedge app. The Google Play store and iTunes are global application distribution platforms and the main distribution channels for our Zedge app. As such, the promotion, distribution and operation of our Zedge app are subject to the respective distribution platforms’ standard terms and policies for application developers, which are very broad and subject to frequent changes and interpretation. Furthermore, the distribution platforms may not enforce their standard terms and policies for application developers consistently and uniformly across all applications and with all publishers.

For example, in September 2019, our Zedge app was temporarily removed from Google Play because they asserted that the Zedge app violated their malicious behavior policy. As a result, prospective Android users were prevented from installing our Zedge app, freemium users were unable to convert into paying subscribers and existing users we unable to purchase Zedge Credits. Shortly after the notice was issued, two of our major advertising suppliers ceased serving advertisements to our Zedge app. In addition, Google Play sent a notification to users that had the problematic version of the app on their phone recommending that they uninstall it. We identified the source of the problem as buggy code from a long-term, third-party advertising partner’s standard technology integration in our app. We corrected the problem by removing the offensive code, releasing a new version of our app and our Zedge app was reinstated after approximately 72 hours and concurrently the two major advertising suppliers resumed purchasing our advertising inventory. We estimate the immediate financial impact of the suspension resulted in approximately $100,000 in lost revenue and a material decline in MAU with the majority of uninstalls in emerging markets.

In addition, if any of these providers were to limit or disable advertising on their platforms, devices or operating systems, either because of technological constraints or because a maker of these devices, developer of these operating systems or owner of these distribution platforms wished to impair our ability to serve ads on them, our Zedge app’s ability to generate revenues could be significantly harmed. Also, technologies may be developed that can block the display of our Zedge app’s ads. Most of our revenues are derived from fees paid to us by our Zedge app’s advertisers in connection with the display of ads. As a result, ad-blocking technology could materially adversely affect our business, revenues and profitability.

We have incurred and may continue to incur net losses and experience negative cash flow from operating activities in the future and may not be able to obtain additional capital in a timely manner or on acceptable terms, or at all.

Our net losses in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 were $0.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively. Although our cash flow improved in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and overall in fiscal 2020 as compared to fiscal 2019, we expect to incur net losses and negative cash flows in the future until the combination of revenue contributors including Zedge Premium, paid subscriptions and/or new product initiatives such as Chat Stories scale and become profitable, and may need to raise additional capital to support the continuing investment in our Zedge app, including Zedge Premium, and continue our operations.

Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and positive cash flow from operating activities depends on various factors, including but not limited to, the acceptance of our Zedge app’s products and services by mobile phone users, the growth and maintenance of our Zedge app’s user base, our Zedge app’s ability to maintain existing and obtain new advertisers, our Zedge app’s ability to grow our revenues, the success of Zedge Premium and paid subscriptions, and the effectiveness of our new product initiatives, selling and marketing activities as well as control our costs and expenses. We may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability or positive cash flow from operating activities, and if we achieve positive operating cash flow, it may not be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated capital expenditures and other cash needs. As such, we may not be able to fund our operating expenses and expenditures and may be unable to fulfill our financial obligations as they become due, which may result in voluntary or involuntary dissolution or liquidation proceeding of us and a total loss of your investment.

We have limited resources and could find it difficult to raise additional capital. 

We have a limited operating history as an independent company, and no current sources of financing other than the $2.0 million credit facility with Western Alliance Bank, which was amended in September 2020 for another two year-term expiring September 26, 2022. We may need to raise additional capital for operations and in order for stockholders to realize increased value on our securities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain the necessary funding on commercially reasonable terms in a timely fashion or at all. Failure to receive the funding on commercially reasonable terms, or the failure to receive funding at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, and financial condition and we may be unable to fulfill our financial obligations as they become due, which may result in voluntary or involuntary dissolution or liquidation proceeding of us and a total loss of your investment.

Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects and may increase your investment risk.

We have only a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate our business and prospects. Although we have experienced revenue growth in certain recent periods, our growth in fiscal 2020 was moderate and even declined in fiscal 2019. As part of the nascent mobile advertising industry, we will encounter risks and difficulties frequently encountered by early-stage companies in rapidly evolving industries, including the need to:

If we do not successfully address any or all of these risks, our business, revenues and profitability could be materially adversely affected.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our Zedge app’s brand, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. 

We believe that maintaining and enhancing our Zedge app’s brand and reputation important to the success of our business. Historically, we have not made material investments in this effort. We believe that a well-recognized brand is important to increasing the number of users and enhancing our Zedge app’s attractiveness to advertisers and business partners. Brand recognition and enhancement may directly affect our ability to maintain our market position.

Many factors, some of which are beyond our control, are important to maintaining and enhancing our Zedge app’s brand and may negatively impact our app’s brand and reputation if not properly managed, such as our Zedge app’s ability to:

In the future, we may conduct various marketing and brand promotion activities to expand our Zedge app’s brand. Some of these may require material investment. We cannot assure you, however, that these activities will be successful or that we will be able to achieve the brand promotion effect we expect. In addition, any negative publicity in relation to our mobile internet products or services could harm our Zedge app’s brand and reputation.

We have received, and expect to continue to receive, complaints from users regarding the quality of our Zedge app’s products and services. If our app’s users’ complaints are not addressed to their satisfaction, our Zedge app’s reputation and our market position could be significantly harmed, which may materially and adversely affect our business, revenues and profitability.

We may not be able to continually meet our Zedge app’s user demand and retain or expand our Zedge app’s user base, and our revenues, profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Although we constantly monitor and research our Zedge app’s user needs, we may be unable to meet user demand on an ongoing basis or anticipate future user demands. A decrease in the number of users of our Zedge app’s products and services may have a material and adverse effect on our ability to sell advertising and on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In order to attract and retain users and remain competitive, we must continue to innovate our products and services, improve user experience, and implement new technologies and functionalities.

The mobile internet business is characterized by constant changes, including but not limited to rapid technological evolution, continual shifts in user demands, frequent introductions of new products and services and constant emergence of new industry standards and practices. As a result, our Zedge users may leave us for our competitors’ products and services more quickly than in other sectors. Thus, our success will depend, in part, on our Zedge app’s ability to respond to these changes on a timely and cost-effective basis, including improving and marketing our Zedge app’s existing products and services and developing and pricing new products and services in response to evolving user needs. Our ability to successfully retain or expand our Zedge app’s user base will depend on our ability to achieve the following, among others:

We cannot assure you that our existing products and services, including our Zedge app, will remain sufficiently popular with our users. We may be unsuccessful in adding compelling new enhancements; products and services to further diversify our Zedge app’s product offerings. Unexpected technical, commercial or operational problems could delay or prevent the introduction of one or more of our new products or services to our Zedge app. Moreover, we cannot be sure that any of our Zedge app’s new products and services, including Zedge Premium and our subscription service, will achieve widespread market acceptance or generate incremental revenue the way our existing Zedge app’s products and services have. If we fail to continue to achieve sufficient user satisfaction through our Zedge app’s products or services or our Zedge app’s products and services fail to meet our expectation to maintain and expand its user base, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

Our marketplace for premium content, called Zedge Premium, may not yield the strategic goals and objectives that we envision, and our revenues, profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely negatively affected.

Our marketplace where we charge our users for premium content in our Zedge app is called Zedge Premium. Although we believe that Zedge Premium will act as an important driver in helping our Zedge app become a leading platform for professional artists, individual creators and brands looking to distribute their work to consumers looking for an easy, entertaining and unique way to express their voice, individuality and essence, it’s premature to conclude this as being the case.

Thus far, the growth of Zedge Premium has been slower than anticipated and it is too early to state with conviction that Zedge Premium will have a materially positive impact on our business. In order to do so, we still need, among other things, to:

If Zedge Premium fails to yield the strategic goals and objectives that we envision, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

Our Zedge app’s user base is heavily weighted to the Android operating system and our revenues and profitability may suffer if the market demand for Android smartphones decreases.

Our Zedge app’s user base is heavily weighted to smartphones running the Android operating system, which constituted approximately 94% of its MAU as of July 31, 2020, and most of our revenues for fiscal 2019. Any significant downturn in the overall demand for Android smartphones or the use of Android smartphones could significantly and adversely affect the demand for our Zedge app and would materially affect our revenues.

Although the Android smartphone market has grown rapidly in recent years, it is uncertain whether the Android smartphone market will continue growing at a similar rate in the future. In addition, due to the constantly evolving nature of the smartphone industry, another operating system for smartphones may eclipse the Android operating system and result in a decline in its popularity, which would likely adversely affect our Zedge app’s popularity. To the extent that our Zedge app continues to be operated on Android smartphones and to the extent that our future revenues substantially depend on the use and sales of Android smartphones, our business and financial results would be vulnerable to any downturns in the Android smartphone market.

We may not be able to effectively manage our Zedge app’s growth or implement our future business strategies, in which case our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. 

Our continued success depends on our ability to grow our Zedge app organically, attract new artists and establish cooperation with strategic partners. Our Zedge app has experienced periods of rapid growth and expansion that has placed, and continues to place, significant strain on our management and resources. We cannot assure you that these periods will recur or be sustainable. We believe that continued growth of our Zedge app will depend on our ability to develop and enhance its products and services, attract new artists and individual creators, grow its user base, retain existing users, continue developing innovative technologies in response to user demand, increase brand awareness through marketing and promotional activities, react to changes in market trends, expand into new market segments, attract new advertisers, retain existing advertisers and take advantage of the growth in the relevant markets. We cannot assure you that our Zedge app will achieve any or all of the above.

We may need to invest in paid user acquisition in order to grow our Zedge app’s customer base. However, we may not be able to secure new users for our Zedge app at scale with a positive return on investment. Even if we can secure new profitable customers for our Zedge app, these new customers may be seasonal and/or unsustainable.

To manage our Zedge app’s growth and for us to attain and maintain profitability, we will also need to further expand, train, manage and motivate our workforce and manage our relationships with users, consultants, business partners and advertisers. We anticipate that we will need to implement a variety of enhanced and upgraded operational and financial systems, procedures and controls, including the improvement of our accounting and other internal management systems. All of these endeavors involve risks and will require substantial management efforts and skills and additional expenditures.

Our Zedge app currently enjoys a global customer base. This geographic diversification may raise the level of difficulty in managing our Zedge app’s growth and profitability. We cannot assure you that our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our future operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage our growth or implement our future business strategies effectively, and failure to do so may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

During the past four years, we have experienced a shift in our Zedge app’s regional customer make-up with MAU increasing in the emerging markets and decreasing in the well-developed markets. In fiscal 2020, our Zedge app’s users in the emerging markets grew by 1.4% while its users in the well-developed regions declined 18.6% when compared to fiscal 2019. This shift has negatively impacted revenues because the well-developed markets command materially higher advertising rates when compared to those in the emerging markets. Although we are investing in reversing this trend, we may not be successful in this effort which may result in lower revenues and profitability.

Our products may contain errors, flaws or failures that may only become apparent after their release, especially in updates to our Zedge app. From time to time, we receive user feedback in connection with errors, flaws or failures and such errors, flaws or failures may also come to our attention during our internal testing process. We generally have been able to resolve such errors, flaws or failures in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that we will be able to detect and resolve all of them effectively or in a timely manner. Errors, flaws or failures in our services and products, including our Zedge app, may adversely affect user experience and cause our users to stop using our services and products, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We may not be able to convert freemium users into paying subscribers or maintain paying subscribers for more than a year.

Much of our growth in our Zedge’s app’s MAU since January 2019 is attributable to offering a paid subscription option which is weighted to securing annual prepaid subscriptions. In addition, approximately, 40% of annual subscribers have renewed their subscription for a second year. Depending on the success of our product, the evolution of subscriptions and items beyond our control users may opt not to convert into paying subscribers and/or paying subscribers may choose not to renew their subscriptions. Either of these would adversely impact the business.

We do not have long-term agreements with our Zedge app’s advertisers, and we may be unable to retain existing advertisers, attract new advertisers or replace departing advertisers with advertisers that can provide comparable revenues to us, in which case our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. 

In fiscal 2020, approximately 78% of our revenues were generated from our Zedge app selling advertising inventory. We anticipate that our growth and profitability will continue to depend on our Zedge app’s ability to sell advertising inventory. Our success requires us to maintain and expand our Zedge app’s current advertiser relationships and to develop new relationships.

Our contracts with our Zedge app’s advertising partners generally do not include long-term obligations requiring them to purchase our Zedge app’s inventory and are cancelable upon short or no notice and without penalty. Furthermore, the majority of our Zedge app’s advertisers buy our inventory via third-party platforms and bidding exchanges that own the relationship with the advertiser. As a result, we may have limited visibility as to our Zedge app’s future advertising revenue streams.

We cannot assure you that our Zedge app’s advertisers will continue to purchase its inventory, or that we will be able to replace, in a timely or effective manner, Zedge app’s departing advertisers with new advertisers that generate comparable revenue. If one or more major advertisers representing a significant portion of our Zedge app’s business decide to materially reduce its advertising spend with us or cease purchasing our Zedge app’s advertising inventory, our revenues and profitability could be significantly reduced.

Our Zedge app faces competition in all aspects of its business. If our Zedge app fails to compete effectively or if its reputation is damaged, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Although our Zedge app is currently a leading platform for smartphone personalization, we cannot guarantee that it will be able to maintain this position. Our Zedge app faces potential competition from other mobile internet companies and smartphone manufacturers, and new market entrants may also emerge. If we are not able to differentiate our Zedge app from that of our competitors, drive value for our customers, and/or effectively align our resources with our goals and objectives, we may not be able to compete effectively against our competitors. Our failure to compete effectively against any of the foregoing competitive threats could materially and adversely harm our business. Increased competition may result in new products and offerings which may in turn require us to take actions to retain and attract our Zedge app’s users and advertisers in such a fashion which would lower our gross margins. If we fail to compete effectively, our Zedge app’s market share would decrease and our results of operations, revenues and profits would be materially and adversely affected.

Our Zedge app in the midst of expanding beyond mobile phone personalization and focusing on becoming a distribution platform for professional artists, individual creators and brands interested in offering their content to consumers that are looking for an easy, entertaining and unique way of using this content to express their voice, individuality and essence. We aspire to have our Zedge app be the destination that smartphone users turn to when looking for mobile optimized, digital content. If we are unsuccessful in meeting our goal, our brand may suffer resulting in diluting our value proposition, losing MAU and having lower revenues and profits.

If we are not able to effectively compete in any aspect of our business or if our reputation is harmed by rumors or allegations regarding our business or business practices, our Zedge app’s overall user base may decrease, making it less attractive to advertisers. We may be required to spend additional resources to further increase our Zedge app’s brand recognition and promote our products and services, and such additional spending could adversely affect our profitability.

If we fail to keep up with rapid technological changes in the internet and smartphone industries and adapt our products and services accordingly, our results of operations and future growth may be adversely affected.

The internet and smartphone industries are characterized by rapid and innovative technological changes. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to respond to fast changing technologies, adapt our products and services to evolving industry standards and improve the performance, functionality and reliability of our products and services. Our failure to continue to adapt to such changes could harm our business. If we are slow to develop products and services that are compatible with smartphones, or if the products and services we develop are not widely accepted and used by smartphone users, we may not be able to capture a significant share of this important market. In addition, the widespread adoption of new internet, networking or telecommunications technologies or other technological changes for smartphones could require substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our products, services or infrastructure. If we fail to keep up with rapid and innovative technological changes to remain competitive, our future growth may be materially and adversely affected and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our international operations and availability expose us to additional risks that could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. 

In addition to uncertainty about our ability to continue expanding and monetizing internationally, there are additional risks inherent in doing business internationally, including:

We are subject to numerous and sometimes conflicting U.S. and foreign laws and regulations that increase our cost of doing business. Violations of these complex laws and regulations that apply to our international operations could result in damages, awards, fines, litigation, criminal actions, sanctions, or penalties against us, our officers or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and our ability to offer products and services, and damage to our reputation. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to promote compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, or agents will not violate our policies or that our policies will be sufficient. These risks inherent in our international operations and expansion increase our costs of doing business internationally and could result in material harm to our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Companies and governmental agencies may restrict access to our website or mobile apps, or the internet generally, which could lead to the loss or slower growth of our Zedge app’s user base, in which case our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our users need to access the internet and, in particular, our Zedge app. Companies and governmental agencies could block access to Zedge app or the internet generally. For example, in 2013 the Indian courts issued orders restraining internet service providers from providing access to various internet domains including ours. Access to our Zedge app through any mode was blocked in many parts of India from February 2013 until August 2019 as discussed more fully in the Legal Proceedings section below. If companies or governmental entities block or limit access to our Zedge app or otherwise adopt policies restricting access to our advertiser’s products and services our business could be negatively impacted resulting in a loss or slow-down of user growth and/or revenues.

Our core values of focusing on our users and acting for the long-term may conflict with the short-term interests of our business.

One of our core values is a focus on our Zedge app’s user experience, which we believe is essential to our success and serves the best, long-term interests of us and our stockholders. Therefore, we have made, in the past and/or may make in the future, significant investments or changes in strategy that we think will benefit our Zedge app’s users, even if our decision negatively impacts our operating results in the short term. In addition, our philosophy of prioritizing our Zedge app’s users may cause disagreements or negatively impact our relationships with advertisers or other third parties. Our decisions may not result in the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case the success of our business and operating results could be materially harmed.

Legal proceedings or allegations of impropriety could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. 

We have been, and may be in the future, subject to allegations or lawsuits by entities claiming that we engage in unethical, fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate business practices. Any such lawsuit or allegation, with or without merit, or any perceived unfair, unethical, fraudulent or inappropriate business practice by us or perceived wrong-doing by any key member of our management team could harm our reputation and user base and distract our management from our day-to-day operations. We cannot assure you that we will not be subject to lawsuits or allegations in the future. When we can make a reasonable estimate of the liability relating to pending litigation and determine that an adverse liability resulting from such litigation is probable, we will record a related contingent liability. As additional information becomes available, we will assess the potential liability and revise estimates as appropriate.

In fiscal years 2019 and 2020, we did not record any contingent liabilities relating to pending litigation. When we record or revise our estimates of contingent liabilities in the future, the amount of our estimates may be inaccurate due to the inherent uncertainties relating to litigation. In addition, the outcomes of actions we institute against third parties may not be successful or favorable to us. Litigations and allegations against us may also generate negative publicity that significantly harms our reputation, which may materially and adversely affect our user base and our ability to attract publishers and advertisers. In addition to the related cost, managing and defending litigation and related indemnity obligations can significantly divert management’s and the board of directors’ attention from operating our business. We may also need to pay damages or settle the litigation with a substantial amount of cash or equity. All of these could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation and cash flows.

A variety of new and existing U.S. and foreign government laws and regulations could subject us to claims, judgments, monetary liabilities and other remedies, and to limitations on our business practices, in which case our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. 

We are subject to numerous U.S. and foreign laws and regulations covering a wide variety of subject matters. New laws and regulations, changes in existing laws and regulations or the interpretation of them, our introduction of new products, or an extension of our business into new areas, could increase our future compliance costs, make our products and services less attractive to our users, or cause us to change or limit our business practices. We may incur substantial expenses to comply with laws and regulations or defend against a claim that we have not complied with them. Further, any failure on our part to comply with any relevant laws or regulations may subject us to significant civil or criminal liabilities, penalties, taxes, fees, costs and negative publicity.

The application of existing domestic and international laws and regulations to us relating to issues such as user privacy and data protection, security, defamation, pricing, advertising, taxation, gambling, sweepstakes, promotions, consumer protection, accessibility, content regulation, quality of services, law enforcement demands, telecommunications, mobile, and intellectual property ownership and infringement in many instances is unclear or unsettled. Further, the application to us or our subsidiaries of existing laws regulating or requiring licenses for certain businesses of our Zedge app’s advertisers can be unclear. U.S. export control laws and regulations also impose requirements and restrictions on exports to certain nations and persons and on our business. Internationally, we may also be subject to laws regulating our activities in foreign countries and to foreign laws and regulations that are inconsistent from country to country. As a replacement for the US-EU Safe Harbor framework which was invalidated by the European Court of Justice in October of 2015, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework was designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission to provide U.S. companies with a mechanism to comply with EU data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the European Union to the United States. On July 12, 2016, the European Commission deemed the Privacy Shield Framework adequate to enable data transfers under EU law. To join the Privacy Shield Framework, we will be required to self-certify to the Department of Commerce and commit to comply with the Framework’s requirements. The U.S. Department of Commerce began accepting applications for companies to join the Privacy Shield Framework. The result of us joining the Privacy Shield Framework will likely be an increase in cost of compliance, and an increase in potential for liability for non-compliance

In addition to the actual and potential changes to laws and regulations described elsewhere in these Risk Factors, compliance with privacy and data security regulations, particularly within the EU, is likely to require ongoing investment and changes in how we operate. For example, in May 2018 the EU implemented the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, whose goal is to provide a uniform standard for data protection and privacy for all individuals in the EU and European Economic Area, including both end-users and employees. GDPR compliance required us to invest a considerable amount of resources in fiscal 2018 in addition to adopting new operational procedures in order to assure ongoing compliance. Last year, California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which is a privacy law that provides consumers significant rights over the use of their personal information, including the right to object to the “sale” of their personal information. These rights may restrict our ability to use personal information in connection with our business operations. The CCPA also provides a private right of action for security breaches. Washington and Massachusetts have introduced privacy bills and the U.S. Congress is debating federal privacy legislation, which if passed, may restrict our business operations and require us to incur additional costs for compliance. While we carefully consider the compliance mandates of the GDPR and CCPA, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our business practices.

In addition, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, has provisions that limit, but do not necessarily eliminate, our liability for hosting user-generated materials that infringe copyrights, so long as we comply with the statutory requirements in the DMCA. Also, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or CDA, provides immunity from liability for providers of an interactive computer service who publish defamatory information provided by users of the service. While the immunity provisions of the DMCA and the CDA are well established, there are regular cases seeking to limit the application of such immunity. Various U.S. and international laws restrict the distribution of materials considered harmful to children and impose additional restrictions on the ability of online services to collect information from minors. In the area of data protection, every state has passed a law requiring notification, and at times, the provision of identity theft protection, to users when there is a security breach for personal data. We face similar risks and costs as our products and services are offered in international markets and may be subject to additional regulations.

In many, but not all, territories outside of the United States there are laws similar to the DMCA which exempt us from copyright infringement liability that may arise due to hosting user-uploaded materials. In some countries, particularly in Europe and the APAC region, these laws are prone to change and uncertainty.

In June 2019, the European Union’s Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, or the Directive, came into effect, and each of the European Union’s member states have until June 2021 to pass appropriate legislation to meet the Directive’s requirements. Directive Article 17 (draft Article 13) replaces the “mere conduit” exemption from copyright infringement from for-profit “online content sharing service providers” with a new, conditional exemption to liability. These conditions are an implementation of “effective and proportionate measures”, as claimed by service providers, to “prevent the availability of specific [unlicensed] works identified by rightsholders”, acting “expeditiously” to remove them, and demonstrating that “best efforts” have been made to prevent their future availability. The article also extends any licenses granted to content hosts to their users, as long as those users are not acting “on a commercial basis”.

Although we have invested and continue to invest in systems and resources, which are intended to ensure that we are compliant with the requirements of the GDPR. CCPA, DMCA, the Directive and other U.S. and international laws relating to, among other things, materials that infringe on copyrights and contain other objectionable content, our systems may not be sufficient or we may unintentionally err and fail to comply with these laws and regulations which could expose us to claims, judgments, monetary liabilities and other remedies, and to limitations on our business practices which could materially adversely affect our business and financial results.

If we are unable to license, acquire or otherwise obtain access to compelling content and services at reasonable cost or if we do not develop or commission compelling content of our own, the number of users of our Zedge app may not grow as anticipated, or may decline, or users’ level of engagement with our Zedge app may decline, all or any of which could materially harm our business and operating results.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to aggregate and host compelling content and deliver that content to our users via our Zedge app. We achieve this when users upload their own user-generated content to our Zedge app, when artists, individual creators and brands upload their licensed content to our Zedge app, or when we create content or enter into business partnerships with content owners and distribute this content on our Zedge app.

We believe that users value high-quality content. As such, we may need to make substantial payments to third parties from whom we license or acquire such content or from whom we have create this content on our behalf. Our ability to maintain and build relationships with such third-party providers may become important to our success. As competition for compelling content increases both domestically and internationally, our partners may alter business terms under which they avail their content and services to our Zedge app and potential providers may not offer their content or services to our Zedge app at all, or may offer them on terms that are not agreeable to us. A change in these commercial terms could harm our operating results and financial condition. Further, much of the content that we acquire for our Zedge app may only be available on a non-exclusive basis allowing competitors the ability of offering this content to our disadvantage.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations, which could require us to pay substantial statutory penalties or other damages and fines, remove relevant content, enter into license agreements which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or could result in our Zedge app being barred from third-party distribution platforms, which could harm our business and competitive position.

There may be owners of technology patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and content, who assert claims against us. If a claim of infringement is brought against us we may be required to pay substantial penalties or other damages and fines, remove relevant content, enter into license agreements that may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all or be barred from any of the third-party distribution platforms. Even though the allegations or claims could be baseless, our defense against any of these allegations or claims would be both costly and time-consuming and could significantly divert the efforts and resources of our management and other personnel.

If we are unable to attract and retain highly qualified employees, we may not be able to grow effectively. 

Our ability to compete and grow depends in large part on the efforts and talents of our employees. Such employees, particularly product managers, designers and engineers, are in high demand, and we devote significant resources to identifying, hiring, training, successfully integrating and retaining these employees. The loss of employees or the inability to hire additional skilled employees as necessary could result in significant disruptions to our business, and the integration of replacement personnel could be time-consuming and expensive and cause additional disruptions to our business.

At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2017, we implemented a modest reduction in workforce, primarily in Norway. This action may have impacted employee morale and led, or may lead, to higher rates of voluntary attrition compared to prior years. If we are unable to retain and attract qualified employees, particularly in critical areas of operations such as engineering, we may not achieve our strategic goals and our business and operations could be harmed.

In August of 2018 we opened a development center in Vilnius, Lithuania in order to diversify our talent pool with a qualified and more affordable talent base. If we are unable to recruit and retain well qualified candidates at an attractive rate or manage them well, our business will struggle to meet its development goals and objectives. We were successful in ramping up the recruitment and hiring in fiscal 2020 and ended the fiscal year with a team of 16 engineers and designers. In August 2020, we moved to a serviced office space which provides maximum flexibility during the pandemic.

We believe that two critical components of our success are our ability to retain our best people by preserving our culture and maintaining competitive compensation practices. As we continue to grow rapidly, and we develop the infrastructure of a public company, we may find it difficult to maintain our entrepreneurial, execution-focused culture. In addition, some of our employees are able to receive material proceeds from sales of our equity in the public markets, which may reduce their motivation to continue to work for us.

We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could materially harm our business and competitive position. 

We regard our trademarks, service marks, patents, domain names, trade secrets, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark and patent law, trade secret protection and confidentiality and license agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary right. As of July 31, 2020, we have registered, amongst others, the following domain names: www.zedge.net and www.zedge.com. In addition, we have been granted trademark protection for “Zedge” in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, India, and Canada and for “Tonesync” in the European Union. As discussed in the Business section, we also have applied for trademark protections for other marks in the United States as well as for copyright protection for our flagship app, Zedge.

Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that we can effectively prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. From time to time, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources and may not be successful.

In addition, it is often difficult to create and enforce intellectual property rights in certain international markets. Patents, trademarks and service marks may also be invalidated, circumvented, or challenged. Trade secrets are difficult to protect, and our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others. Confidentiality agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. Even where adequate and relevant laws exist it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of such laws, or to obtain enforcement of a court judgment or an arbitration award delivered in another jurisdiction, and accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or enforce agreements in such countries

We rely on third parties to provide the technologies necessary to deliver content, advertising, and services to our users, and any change in the licensing terms, costs, availability, or acceptance of these formats and technologies could materially adversely affect our business. 

Our service and hosting providers may experience downtime from time to time, which may negatively affect our brand and user perception of the reliability of our service. Any scheduled or unscheduled interruption of our Zedge app could result in an immediate, and possibly substantial, loss of revenues. Although we seek to reduce the possibility of disruptions or other outages, our Zedge app may be disrupted by problems relating either to our own technology or third-party technology that is used for it. Our systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from telecommunication failures, power loss, computer attacks or viruses, earthquakes, floods, fires, terrorist attacks and similar events. Parts of our system are not fully redundant or backed up, and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all eventualities. Despite any precaution we may take, the occurrence of a natural disaster or other unanticipated problems at our hosting facilities could result in lengthy interruptions in the availability of our Zedge app. Any interruption in the ability of our Zedge app’s users could reduce our future revenues, harm our future profits, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and lead users to seek alternative internet mobile products.

There can be no assurance that these providers will continue licensing their technologies or intellectual property to us on reasonable terms, or at all. Providers may change the fees they charge users or otherwise change their business model in a manner that slows the widespread acceptance of their technologies. Any change in the licensing terms, costs, availability, or user acceptance of these technologies could materially and adversely affect our business, revenues and profitability.

We use open source software in our platform that may subject our technology to general release or require us to re-engineer our solutions, which may cause materially harm to our business. 

We use open source software in connection with our services. From time to time, companies that incorporate open source software into their products have faced claims challenging the ownership of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. Therefore, we could be subject to lawsuits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software or noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source software licenses require users who distribute or make available open source software as part of their software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software and/or make available any derivative works of the open source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost. While we monitor our use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose the source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could nevertheless occur and we may be required to release our proprietary source code, pay damages for breach of contract, re-engineer our applications, discontinue use in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis or take other remedial action that may divert resources away from our development efforts, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.

Our business depends on our ability to collect and use data to deliver relevant content and advertisements, and any limitation on the collection and use of this data could significantly diminish the value of our services and cause us to lose clients and revenues.

When one uses our products and services, including our Zedge app, we may collect both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable data about the user. This may include but is not limited to the user’s name, telephone number, email address, Facebook and other login credentials, phone model, operating system, location, Identifier for Advertising (IDFA), Android Advertising ID, the collection of apps running on the user’s mobile device as well as information relating to their interaction with advertisements appearing within our Zedge app. Often we use some of this data to provide a better experience for the user by delivering both relevant content and advertisements. In addition, we use some of this data for advertising reporting purposes.

Although our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service provide extensive details about how we use customer data our clients may decide not to allow us to collect some or all of this data or may limit our use of this data. Any limitation on our ability to collect data about user behavior and app interactions would likely make it more difficult for us to deliver germane content to our users and effective mobile advertising campaigns that meet the demands of our advertisers.

Our contracts with advertisers generally permit us to aggregate data from advertising campaigns, yet these clients might nonetheless request that we discontinue using data obtained from their campaigns that have already been aggregated with other clients’ campaign data. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to comply with these requests, and these kinds of requests could also cause us to invest significant amounts of resources. Interruptions, failures or defects in our data collection, mining, analysis and storage systems, as well as privacy concerns and regulatory restrictions regarding the collection of data, could also limit our ability to aggregate and analyze mobile device user data from our clients’ advertising campaigns. If that happens, we may not be able to optimize the placement of advertising for the benefit of our advertiser clients, which could make our services less valuable, and, as a result, we may lose clients and our revenues may materially decline.

Concerns about collection and use of personal data could damage our reputation and deter current and potential users from using our products and services, which could have material adverse effects on our business and results of operations.

Concerns about our Zedge app with regard to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information or other privacy-related matters, even if unfounded, could damage our reputation and results of operations. We apply strict management and protection of user-provided data and only use this data as described in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. While we strive to comply with our Privacy Policy as well as all applicable data protection laws and regulations, including GDPR and soon to be the CCPA, any failure or perceived failure to comply may result in proceedings or actions against us by government entities or others, and could damage our reputation. User and regulatory attitudes towards privacy are evolving, and future regulatory or user concerns about the extent to which personal information is used or shared with advertisers or others may adversely affect our ability to share certain data with advertisers, which may limit certain methods of targeted advertising. In addition, new regulatory requirements or orders or other federal, state or international privacy or consumer protection-related laws and regulations or proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others (e.g., class action privacy litigation) could result in us having to change our business practices, increase our costs and adversely affect our business. For instance, U.S. courts have begun to define a level of reasonable security that is required when maintaining personal information, and such requirements could both increase our cost of operations and subject us to liability for failure to maintain such levels of security.

Data collection, privacy and security have become the subject of increasing public concern. If internet and mobile customers were to reduce their use of our products, and services as a result of these concerns, our business could be harmed. As noted above, we are also subject to the possibility of security breaches, which themselves may result in a violation of these laws.

Concerns about the security of personal data could also lead to a decline in general usage of our products and services, which could lead to lower user numbers. A significant reduction in user numbers could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Activities of our advertiser clients could damage our reputation or give rise to legal claims against us.

Our advertisers may not comply with federal, state and local laws, including, but not limited to, laws and regulations relating to mobile communications. Failure of our clients to comply with federal, state or local laws or our policies could damage our reputation and expose us to liability under these laws. We may also be liable to third parties for content in the advertisements we deliver if the artwork, text or other content involved violates copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights of third parties or if the content is defamatory, unfair and deceptive, or otherwise in violation of applicable laws. Although we generally receive assurance from our advertising partners that their advertisements are lawful and that they have the right to use any copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property included in an advertisement, and although we are normally indemnified by the advertisers, a third party or regulatory authority may still file a claim against us. Any such claims could be costly and time consuming to defend and could also hurt our reputation within the mobile advertising industry. Further, if we are exposed to legal liability, we could be required to pay substantial fines or penalties, redesign our business methods, discontinue some of our services or otherwise expend significant resources.

Security breaches or computer virus attacks could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects and results of operations.

Any significant breach of security of our computer systems could significantly harm our business, reputation and results of operations and could expose us to lawsuits brought by our users and partners and to sanctions by governmental authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We cannot assure you that our IT systems will be secure from future security breaches or computer virus attacks. Anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information, including the personal information of our users, obtaining users’ names and passwords and enabling the hackers to access user’s other online and mobile accounts, if those users use identical usernames and passwords. They could also misappropriate other information, including our content. These circumventions may cause interruptions in our operations or damage our brand image and reputation. Our servers may be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could cause system interruptions, website slowdown or unavailability, delays in communication or transactions, or loss of data. We may be required to incur significant additional costs to protect against security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches. In addition, a significant security breach or virus attack on our system could result in a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

We have granted, and may continue to grant, options, restricted shares and other types of awards under our stock option and equity incentive plans and otherwise, which may result in increased equity-based compensation expenses. 

The expenses associated with equity-based compensation have affected our net income and may reduce our net income in the future, and any additional equity issued under equity-based compensation schemes will dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders. We believe the granting of equity-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, consultants and directors, and we will continue to grant equity-based compensation in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with equity-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations and would dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders.

Investors may suffer dilution.

We may engage in equity financing to fund our future operations and growth or acquisitions. If we raise additional funds and/or provide consideration in acquisitions by issuing equity securities, stockholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interest (both with respect to the percentage of total securities held, and with respect to the book value of their securities) and such securities may have rights senior to those of the holders of our Class B common stock. For example, on February 5, 2020, we closed on our registered direct offering of 1,734,459 shares of our Class B common stock for gross proceeds of $2.25 million. We sold 1,657,813 shares at a purchase price of $1.28 per share which represented a 20% discount from the 10 Day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) through January 31, 2020, and certain of our insiders purchased an additional 76,646 shares at a purchase price of $1.67 per share, the closing price on February 3, 2020.

Any such equity financing could occur at prices below, or well below, the then-current trading price of our Class B common stock, which would further exacerbate the ownership interests of our stockholders.

We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. 

We have significant operations in Europe that are denominated in foreign currencies, primarily the Norwegian Kroner, subjecting us to foreign currency risk. The strengthening or weakening of the U.S. Dollar versus these currencies impacts the expenses generated in these foreign currencies when converted into the U.S. Dollar. In fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, we recorded a loss of $152,000 and $242,000, respectively, from foreign currency movements relative to the U.S. Dollar. Included in these amounts were losses from hedging activities of $218,000 and $278,000 in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively. While we regularly enter into transactions to hedge portions of our foreign currency exposure, it is impossible to predict or eliminate the effects of this exposure. Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates could significantly impact our financial results.

If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud. 

Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to include a report of management on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 10-K. In addition, should we become an accelerated filer, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, and we may be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods, any of which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our stock.

Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions.

Future strategic alliances or acquisitions may not be successful and may have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation and results of operations.

We may enter into strategic alliances, including joint ventures or minority equity investments, or acquisitions with various third parties to further our business purpose from time to time. These alliances and acquisitions could subject us to a number of risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the third party and increased expenses in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We may have limited ability to monitor or control the actions of these third parties and, to the extent any of these strategic third parties suffers negative publicity or harm to their reputation from events relating to their business, we may also suffer negative publicity or harm to our reputation by virtue of our association with any such third party.

In addition, if appropriate opportunities arise, we may acquire additional assets, products, technologies or businesses that we believe are complementary to our existing business. Future acquisitions and the subsequent integration of new assets and businesses into our own would require significant attention from our management and could result in a diversion of resources from our existing business, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business operations. Acquired assets or businesses may not generate the financial results we expect. Acquisitions could result in the use of substantial amounts of cash, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the occurrence of significant goodwill impairment charges, amortization expenses for other intangible assets and exposure to potential unknown liabilities of the acquired business. Moreover, the costs of identifying and consummating acquisitions may be significant. In addition to possible stockholders’ approval, we may also have to obtain approvals and licenses from relevant government authorities for the acquisitions and to comply with any applicable laws and regulations, which could result in increased delay and costs.

Our business, results of operation and financial condition could be adversely affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place in connection therewith.

Our business could be adversely affected by health epidemics, including the current COVID-19 pandemic, impacting the markets and communities in which we, our partners and customers operate. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused and continues to cause significant business and financial markets disruption worldwide and there is material uncertainty about the duration of this pandemic and its impact on the ongoing effects on our business.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic increase in unemployment that could result in interfering with freemium users converting into paid subscribers or in paid subscribers renewing their subscriptions because of the impact on discretionary spend. In addition, we may experience a decline in advertising.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted our Zedge app’s new user growth. We believe that new smartphone sales have suffered as a result of retail business closures, negatively impacting new user growth, especially in well-developed markets. Assuming the retail business rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect that our Zedge app’s new user growth will also recover and we will benefit accordingly but there can no assurance of such rebound or new user growth

In addition, in response to the spread of COVID-19, many of our employees have had to work from home which may negatively impact productivity and innovation. More generally, the COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected economies and financial markets globally, which could decrease technology spending and adversely affect demand for our products.

As of July 31, 2020, we had not experienced significant adverse impacts to our results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows. However, the situation remains fluid and we cannot predict with certainty the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as our ability to obtain additional financing, may be adversely affected by downturn in the global economy. 

The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions over the past ten years and the recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies. There have also been concerns over unrest in the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in oil and other markets. We may be affected by economic downturns. A prolonged slowdown in the world economy may lead to a reduced amount of mobile internet advertising, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Moreover, a slowdown or disruption in the global economy may have a material and adverse impact on financings available to us. The weakness in the economy could erode investor confidence, which constitutes the basis of the credit market. Turmoil affecting the financial markets and banking system may significantly restrict our ability to obtain financing in the capital markets or from financial institutions on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

There is currently a limited public market for our shares, and if an active market does not develop, investors may have difficulty selling their shares.

Our Class B common stock is currently listed for trading on the NYSE American stock exchange, formerly known as the NYSE MKT stock exchange, under the symbol “ZDGE”, and there is currently only a limited public trading market for our Class B common stock. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in us and our Class B common stock will lead to the development or continuance of an active trading market or how liquid that trading market for our Class B common stock might become. If an active trading market for our Class B common stock does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for investors to sell shares, particularly large quantities, of our Class B common stock at a price that is attractive or at all. As a result, an investment in our Class B common stock may be illiquid and investors may not be able to liquidate their investment readily or at all when they desire to sell.

The trading price of the shares of our Class B common stock is may be volatile, and purchasers of our Class B common stock could incur substantial losses. 

Our stock price could be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for mobile internet companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their Class B common stock at or above the price paid for the shares. The market price for our Class B common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:

In addition, in the past, stockholders have initiated class action lawsuits against technology companies following periods of volatility in the market prices of these companies’ stock. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause us to incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources.

We are controlled by our majority stockholder, which limits the ability of other stockholders to affect our management. 

Michael Jonas is our majority stockholder, Executive Chairman, Chairman of the Board and a director, and, as of October 22, 2020, has voting power over 1,866,085 shares of our Class B common stock (which includes 524,775 shares of our Class A common stock, which are convertible into shares of our Class B common stock on a 1-for-1 basis, and 1,341,310 shares of our Class B common stock), representing approximately 62.1% of the combined voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Mr. Jonas is able to control matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of all of the directors and the approval of significant corporate matters, including any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. As a result, the ability of any of our other stockholders to influence our management is limited.

We exercised our option for the “controlled company” exemption under NYSE American stock exchange rules with respect to our Nominating Committee. 

We are a “controlled company” as defined in section 801(a) of the NYSE American Company Guide because more than 50% of the combined voting power of all of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by a single stockholder. As a “controlled company,” we are exempt from certain NYSE American rules requiring a board of directors with a majority of independent members, a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors and a nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. These independence standards are intended to ensure that directors who meet those standards are free of any conflicting interest that could influence their actions as directors. We applied this “controlled company” exemption for our corporate governance practices only with respect to the requirement of a Nominating Committee and we disbanded our Nominating Committee in fiscal 2020. Accordingly, with respect to our lack of a Nominating Committee you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE American stock exchange, and if we were to apply the controlled company exemption to other independence requirements, you would not have the protection afforded by those requirements either.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish unfavorable research about our business or our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline. 

The trading market for our common Class B common stock relies in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by equity research analysts. Equity research analysts may elect not to provide research coverage of our Class B common stock, and such lack of research coverage may adversely affect the market price of our Class B common stock. In the event we do receive equity research analyst coverage, we will not have any control over the analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or issue other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our stock price and/or trading volume to decline.

Our Class B common stock is deemed to be a “penny stock,” which may make it more difficult for investors to sell their shares due to suitability requirements. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted regulations that define a “penny stock,” generally, to be an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share. The price of our Class B common stock has been less than $5.00 per share for a significant amount of the time since it started publicly trading in June 2016 and was less than $5.00 per share on October 25, 2020 and is therefore considered a “penny stock.” This designation requires any broker or dealer buying our securities to disclose certain information concerning the transaction, obtain a written agreement from the purchaser and determine that the purchaser is reasonably suitable to purchase the securities given the increased risks generally inherent in penny stocks. These rules may restrict the ability or willingness of brokers or dealers to buy or sell our Class B common stock, either directly or on behalf of their clients, may discourage potential shareholders from purchasing our Class B common stock, or may adversely affect the ability of shareholders to sell their shares.

Our results of operations may be subject to wide fluctuations due to a number of factors, which may adversely affect the trading price of our Class B common stock. 

We may experience seasonality and other fluctuations in our business, reflecting fluctuations in mobile internet and smartphone usage and advertising. Revenues from mobile application products and services are typically higher in the fourth quarter of the calendar year due to increased year-end advertising and marketing budgets. Conversely, we generally experience lower advertising revenues during the first quarter of the calendar year due to weaker advertising spend following the holidays. Thus, our operating results in one or more future quarters or years may fluctuate substantially or fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. In such event, the trading price of our Class B common stock may fluctuate significantly or decrease significantly.