ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

A. [Reserved]

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

D. Risk Factors

Summary of Risk Factors

Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this Report and in other documents we file with or furnish to the SEC, including the risk factors following this risk factor summary, before deciding to invest in or to maintain an investment in our securities. Our business, as well as our reputation, financial condition, results of operations and share price, could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks, as well as other risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or not currently considered material. These risks include, among others, the following:

Risks Relating to Our Business

Risks Relating to Regulations Applicable to our Industry

Risks Relating to Attracting, Retaining and Engaging Customers

Risks Relating to Our Platform, Systems and Technology

Risks Relating to Our Products and Services

Risks Relating to Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities

Risks Relating to Our Business

We have a limited operating history and our historical operating and financial results are not necessarily indicative of future performance, which makes it difficult to predict our future business prospects and financial performance.

We have a limited operating history, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and ability to make profit. We launched our digital trading platform in May 2018, and have experienced a period of significant growth since then. We expect our business expansion to continue as we further grow our customer base, increase customer engagement and explore new market opportunities. However, due to our limited operating history, our historical growth rates and past revenues may not be indicative of our future performance. There is no assurance that our growth rate will continue in future periods and you should not rely on the revenue growth of any given prior quarterly or annual period as an indication of our future performance. If our growth rate were to decline significantly or become negative, it could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

We cannot assure you that we can successfully implement our business model. As the market and our business develop, we may modify our platform, products, and services. These changes may not achieve expected results and may have a material and adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Rather than relying on our historical operating and financial results to evaluate us, you should consider our business prospects in light of the risks and difficulties we may encounter as an early-stage company operating in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive market. We may not be able to successfully address these risks and difficulties, which could significantly harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We incurred net losses attributable to ordinary shareholders in the past, and we may not achieve net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the future.

We incurred net losses attributable to ordinary shareholders in the past. We incurred net losses attributable to ordinary shareholders of $334.0 million and $517.8 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after recognizing the effects of preferred share redemption value accretion. We cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the future. Any failure to increase our revenue or to manage our operating expenses could prevent us from achieving net income attributable to ordinary shareholders. Our ability to generate net income will depend on factors such as growth of our customer base, our ability to engage and monetize our customers, our ability to expand globally, optimization of our operating expenses, and macro-environment and conditions. There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate net income consistently.

We face risks associated with our global operations and continued global expansion.

We have businesses in diverse global markets and are subject to risks associated with doing business across the globe and in differing economic and regulatory environments. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by macro-economic and social conditions globally and in our markets. A general slowdown or volatility in the global economy, including recession, inflation, or a tightening of capital markets, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Changes in retail investors’ behavior due to adverse economic conditions may also adversely impact us as such developments could lead to a decrease in trading volume and reduction in demand for our products and services, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, or competitive position.

We continue to expand our operations into additional international markets. However, offering our products and services in a new geographical area involves numerous risks and challenges. As we enter into countries and markets that are new to us, we must tailor our services and business model to the unique circumstances of such countries and markets, which can be complex, difficult, and costly, and could divert management and personnel resources. In addition, we may face competition in other countries from companies that may have more experience with operations in those countries or with global operations in general. Laws and business practices that favor local competitors or prohibit or limit foreign ownership of certain businesses, or our failure to adapt our practices, systems, processes, and business models effectively to the customer preferences of each country into which we expand, could slow down our growth. Certain markets in which we operate have, or certain new markets in which we may operate in the future may have, lower margins than our more mature markets, which could have a negative impact on our overall margins as our revenues from these markets grow over time.

In addition to the above, continued operations and expansion around the world exposes us to other risks such as:

As a result of these risks, we may find it difficult or prohibitively expensive to operate on a global scale or to enter into additional markets. Entry into foreign markets could be delayed, which could hinder our ability to grow our business. There can be no assurance that our global operations or expansion plan will proceed as planned or succeed at all. Unsuccessful global operations or expansion may incur significant expenses and divert management’s attention, which in turn may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We face intense competition, and we may not compete effectively.

The market for digital trading and investing services is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive. We expect competition to continue and intensify in the future. We face competition from traditional retail brokerage firms and digital trading platforms in various markets where we operate our businesses. In an effort to satisfy the demands of investors for next-generation electronic trading systems, universal access to markets, smart routing, better trading tools, and lower financing rates, our competitors have embarked upon building such systems and service enhancements.

We expect competition to increase in the future as current competitors diversify and improve their product and service offerings and as new participants enter the market. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete effectively or efficiently with current or future competitors. They may be acquired by, receive investment from or enter into strategic relationships with, established and well-financed companies or investors, which would help enhance their competitiveness. Furthermore, the current competitors and new entrants in the digital trading and investing industry may also seek to develop new service offerings, technologies, or capabilities which could render some of the services that we offer obsolete or less competitive. Some of them may adopt more aggressive pricing policies or devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns than we do. The occurrence of any of these circumstances may hinder our growth and reduce our market share, and thus our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

Our business is heavily reliant on trading related income; if there is a sustained slowdown in securities trading, our results of operations and business prospects may be adversely affected.

Like other digital trading firms, our business and profitability are directly affected by factors that are beyond our control, such as economic conditions, broad trends in business and finance, investor sentiment in capital markets, changes in the volume of securities and derivative transactions, changes in the markets in which such transactions occur, and changes in how such transactions are processed. Weakness in the equity markets, such as a slowdown causing a reduction in trading volume in U.S. or foreign-listed securities, derivatives, and other financial instruments, may result in reduced transaction revenues and would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our revenues depend substantially on our customers’ trading volume, which is influenced by the general trading activities in the securities trading market. Declines in trading volumes generally result in lower revenues from securities trading activities. Declines in market values of securities or other financial instruments can also result in illiquid markets, which can also result in lower revenues and profitability from securities trading activities. Additionally, securities trading faces competition from other investment products, such as passive investment products and other innovative investment instruments. These alternative investment products may divert investors from or reduce their activity levels in securities trading. Any of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

A majority of our trading-related income is derived from payment for order flow.

We derived a significant percentage of our revenues via payments from our market makers and liquidity providers, a practice known as payment for order flow, or PFOF. Revenue generated from equity and option order flow income amounted to $192.2 million in 2023 and $197.1 million in 2024, representing 49.3% and 50.5% of our total revenues during the same period, respectively.

The practice of PFOF has drawn heightened scrutiny from the U.S. Congress, the SEC, state regulators and other regulatory and legislative authorities. For example, regulators have brought enforcement actions against a similarly situated broker-dealer for matters relating to its receipt of PFOF, which resulted in material fines and censures. We cannot assure you that lawmakers and regulators will not bring a similar action against us or impose restrictions on the practice of PFOF in the future, including, but not limited to, requirements to provide additional disclosure on best execution, or impose maximum payment rates and limitations on trading volume applicable to PFOF or ban the practice entirely. For example, in December 2022, the SEC proposed four separate equity market structure rules related to (i) best execution; (ii) order competition, including requiring certain retail equity orders to be exposed in auctions before being internalized; (iii) order execution disclosure; and (iv) order tick size and fee caps. Although these proposed rules related to market structure design do not outright ban PFOF, they introduce new requirements around “conflicted transactions,” and if adopted as proposed, they would have the indirect effect of making PFOF more difficult or impossible to earn and compressing the revenues we could theoretically earn. Any new or heightened PFOF regulation, including the abovementioned proposed rules if adopted as proposed, could have a material and adverse effect on our business operations and we may experience pressure and disruption to our current business operations. In addition, as a broker-dealer facilitating the trading of national market system stocks, we are subject to the disclosure obligations of Rules 605 and 606 of Regulation NMS, which were adopted in 2000 to help the public compare and evaluate execution quality at different market centers. In March 2024, Rule 605 was amended to increase the disclosure obligations of brokerages subject to Rule 605. Compliance with these amendments may require us to make additional disclosures about our execution practices, some of which could cause certain of our customers or potential customers to not use our investing platform. We may incur significant compliance costs in an effort to comply with any such laws and regulations. Because some of our competitors either do not engage in PFOF or derive a lower percentage of their revenues from PFOF than we do, any such heightened regulation or a ban of PFOF could have an outsized impact on our results of operations. Furthermore, depending on the nature of any new requirements, heightened regulation could also increase our risk of potential regulatory violations and civil litigation, which could result in fines or other penalties, as well as negative publicity.

We are directly and indirectly exposed to fluctuations in interest rates, and rapidly changing interest rate environments could reduce our interest related income and adversely affect our results of operations.

A large portion of our revenue comes from interest related income earned from our stock lending services, margin financing services as well as interest income from customers’ and our own bank deposits. Interest rates are the key driver of our interest related income and are subject to many factors beyond our control. Reductions in interest rates and a return to a low interest rate environment would adversely affect our revenues and net income.

Higher interest rates also lead to higher payment obligations by our customers to us and to their creditors under mortgage, credit card, and other consumer and merchant loans, which might reduce our customers’ ability to satisfy their obligations to us, including failing to pay for securities purchased, deliver securities sold, or meet margin calls, and therefore lead to increased delinquencies, charge-offs, and allowances for loan and interest receivables, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues and net income. Fluctuations in interest rates could adversely impact our customers’ general spending levels and ability and willingness to invest through our platform.

We may not be able to successfully execute our strategies and effectively manage our growth and the increasing complexity of our business.

We continue to experience significant growth and expansion in our business, which will continue to place demands on our management, operational, compliance, and financial resources. We may encounter difficulties as we execute our strategies and expand our operations, data and technology, marketing and branding, general and administrative and compliance functions. To effectively manage and capitalize on our growth, we must continue to expand our information technology and financial, operating, administrative and compliance systems and controls, and continue to manage headcount, capital, and processes efficiently. Our continued growth could strain our existing resources, and we could experience ongoing operating and compliance difficulties in managing our business as it expands across multiple jurisdictions, including difficulties in hiring, training, and managing a diverse and growing employee base. Failure to scale and preserve our company culture with growth could harm our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. If we do not adapt to meet these evolving challenges, or if our management team does not effectively scale with our growth, we may experience erosion to our brand, the quality of our products and services may suffer, and our company culture may be harmed.

Successful implementation of our growth strategy will also require significant expenditures before any substantial associated revenue is generated and we cannot guarantee that these increased investments will result in corresponding and offsetting revenue growth. Because we have a limited history operating our business at its current scale, it is difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Our limited operating experience at this scale and other economic factors beyond our control reduce our ability to accurately forecast quarterly or annual revenue. Failure to manage our future growth effectively could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

New lines of business or new services may subject us to additional risks.

From time to time, we may implement new lines of business or offer new services within existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. For example, during the second quarter of 2023 we began offering investment advisory services through Webull Advisors LLC, and during the first quarter of 2024 we began offering futures products through Webull Financial LLC, in each case exposing us to new rules and regulations relevant to that new line of business. We may also invest significant time and resources in developing and marketing other new lines of business and/or new services. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new services may not be achieved and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors such as compliance with regulations, competition, and shifting market preferences may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new service. Our personnel and technology systems may fail to adapt to the changes in such new areas, and we may fail to effectively integrate new services into our existing operation. We may also lack experience in managing new lines of business or new services. In addition, we may be unable to proceed with our operation as planned or compete effectively due to different competitive landscapes in these new areas. Furthermore, any new line of business and/or new service could place significant challenges on the effectiveness of our internal control system. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business depends on our strong brand. We may fail to protect or promote our brand and reputation, or be subject to negative media coverage of our company, our business partners, or our industry.

We have developed a strong brand that we believe has contributed significantly to the success of our business. Maintaining, protecting, and enhancing the “Webull” brand is critical to expanding our customer base, and depends largely on our ability to continue to develop and provide reliable and satisfactory experiences for our customers and to attract other business partners to work with us. Our brand and reputation could be harmed if we fail to achieve these objectives or if our public image were to be tarnished by negative publicity, misinformation, unexpected events, or actions by third parties. Unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our product changes, product quality, litigation or regulatory activity, privacy practices, terms of service, employment matters, the use of our products and services for illicit or objectionable ends, the actions of our customers, or the actions of other companies that provide similar services to ours, regardless of the truthfulness of such publicity, has in the past, and could in the future, adversely affect our reputation. Further, we have in the past, and may in the future, be the target of social media campaigns criticizing actual or perceived actions or inactions that are disfavored by our customers, employees, or society at-large; these campaigns could materially impact our customers’ decisions to trade on our platform. Any such negative publicity could have an adverse effect on the size, activity, and loyalty of our customers and result in a decrease in revenue, which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. Our brand may also be impaired by a number of other factors, including any failure to keep pace with technological advances, a decline in execution efficiency, failure to protect our intellectual property rights, or alleged violations by us of law and regulations or public policy.

The U.S. Congress and various executive agencies, including the Department of Commerce and the Department of Defense, have become increasingly concerned about companies with connections to China, and continued inquiries and investigations relating to concerns about our connections to China may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The U.S. Government has in recent years taken several measures directed at companies with connections to the People’s Republic of China. For example:

We believe that we do not fall within the scope of these or other laws, rules, or regulations targeting companies with connections to China. This view is based primarily on the facts that (1) we are regulated as broker-dealers in 12 major markets globally; (2) our principal business operations are based in the U.S.; (3) of the six members of our current board of directors and senior management teams, five are U.S. citizens and based in the U.S. (namely Messrs. Denier, H.C. Wang, James, Lu, and Ms. Adams); (4) our auditor, KPMG LLP (“KPMG”), is based in the U.S.; (5) all of the personally identifiable information of the customers of Webull Financial, our U.S. broker-dealer, is stored in servers located in the United States and cannot be transmitted outside of the United States or accessed by our non-U.S. employees without permission and oversight from our U.S. personnel; and (6) our operations in mainland China are limited to research and development and technical support functions. However, our founder and chief executive officer, Mr. Anquan Wang, is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, owns approximately 18.0% of the outstanding Webull Ordinary Shares and all of the outstanding Webull Class B Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 81.4% of Webull’s total voting power following the closing of the Business Combination. In addition, our mainland China subsidiary, Hunan Weibu Information Technology Co., Ltd., employs 731 employees, representing 61% of our employees as of December 31, 2024, and is subject to the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China. We cannot be certain that future laws, rules, or regulations will not be drafted in a way that brings us within their scope and that such laws will not materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have also been the subject of inquiries and investigations from various government bodies in the United States relating to concerns about our connections to China. For example, in April 2024, the attorneys general from 14 different U.S. states posted a letter on a social media platform in which they raised concerns about our treatment of the sensitive personal and financial data and alleged that such data could potentially be exposed to the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. Further, on December 5, 2024, the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party of the U.S. House of Representatives (the “Select Committee”) delivered a letter to the chief executive officer of Webull Financial requesting information concerning the relationship between Webull Financial and our operations in China, and the security of sensitive customer data. We believe the claims and allegations in both letters were largely based on outdated and inaccurate information about us, and we are cooperating with both the state attorneys general and the Select Committee to address the concerns raised in their respective letters. However, we cannot be certain that we will be able to resolve all of their concerns and that the result of their inquiries will not lead to further action on their part, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Adverse economic conditions may adversely affect our business.

Our performance is subject to general economic conditions and their impact on the securities markets and our customers. The United States and other key international economies have experienced cyclical downturns from time to time in which economic activity declined resulting in lower consumption rates, restricted credit, reduced profitability, weaknesses in financial markets, bankruptcies, and overall uncertainty with respect to the economy. Trade wars, sanctions, and foreign exchange limitations can also increase the severity and levels of unpredictability in economies globally and increase the volatility of global financial markets. To the extent that general economic conditions and securities markets materially deteriorate, our ability to attract and retain customers may suffer.

We depend on our senior management and highly skilled personnel and our ability to attract, retain, and motivate them.

We believe that our future success depends significantly on our continuing ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain our senior management and a sufficient number of experienced and skilled employees. Qualified individuals are in high demand and we may have to incur significant costs to attract and retain them. Additionally, we use share-based awards to attract talented employees, and if our share price declines in value, we may have difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified employees.

In particular, we cannot ensure that we will be able to retain the services of our senior management and key executive officers. The loss of any key management or executive could be highly disruptive and may adversely affect our business operations and future growth. The loss of even a few qualified employees, or an inability to attract, retain, and motivate additional highly skilled employees required for the planned expansion of our business could adversely impact our operating results and impair our ability to grow. Moreover, if any of these individuals joins a competitor or forms a competing business, we may lose crucial business secrets, technological know-how, and other valuable resources. Although our senior management and executive officers have non-compete agreements with us, we cannot assure you that they will comply with such agreements or that we will be able to effectively enforce them.

We may not be able to obtain additional capital when desired, on favorable terms or at all.

We may make investments from time to time in technologies, facilities, equipment, hardware, software, and other projects to remain competitive. If we are not able to achieve or maintain positive cash flow from operations, our business may be adversely impacted and we may require additional financing. Due to the unpredictable nature of the capital markets and our industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital on terms favorable to us, or at all, if and when required, especially if we experience disappointing results of operations. In addition, our financing activities may also have a dilutive effect on our shareholders. If adequate capital is not available to us as required, our ability to fund our operations, take advantage of business opportunities, develop or enhance our infrastructure, or respond to competitive pressures could be significantly limited. If we do raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our shareholders could be significantly diluted or the newly issued securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of existing shareholders. The dilution created by the potential exercise of the Webull Warrants and Webull Incentive Warrants, as well as the fact that we are expecting to register for resale a significant number of Webull Ordinary Shares that are held by the Webull Existing Shareholders, our founder, the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain investors party to Non-Redemption Agreement and Additional Non-Redemption Agreements may make it more difficult for us to raise additional financing through the sale of equity securities at a price that management deems appropriate. For more information, also see “—Risks Relating to Ownership of Securities of Webull—Future resales of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares issued to Webull shareholders and other significant shareholders may cause the market price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well. Future resales of the Webull Private Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants may also cause the market price of the Webull Public Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well.” For more information on the potential exercise of our warrants, please see “—Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, which would increase the number of Webull shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to Webull shareholders.”

Our business and reputation may be harmed by the failure of our employees or business partners to perform their duties or their misconduct or errors.

We operate in an industry in which integrity and the confidence of our users and customers are of critical importance. During our daily operations, we are subject to risks of errors and misconduct by our employees and business partners, which include:

Employee or service provider errors, including mistakes in executing, recording, or processing transactions for customers, could expose us to the risk of material losses even if the errors are detected. Although we have implemented processes and procedures and provide trainings to our employees and service providers in order to reduce the likelihood of misconduct and error, these efforts may not be successful.

If any of our employees or business partners engages in illegal or suspicious activities or other misconduct, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial condition, customer relationships, and ability to attract new customers and even be subject to regulatory sanctions and significant legal liability. If we were found to have not met our regulatory oversight and compliance and other obligations, we could be subject to regulatory sanctions, financial penalties, damage to our reputation, and restrictions on our activities for failure to properly identify, monitor, and respond to potentially problematic activity. Our employees, contractors, and agents could also commit errors that subject us to financial claims for negligence, as well as regulatory actions, or result in financial liability. Further, allegations by regulatory authorities of non-compliance could affect our brand and reputation. We may also be subject to negative publicity from fines and penalties that would adversely affect our brand, public image, and reputation, as well as potential challenges, suspicions, investigations, or alleged claims against us. It is not always possible to deter all misconduct by our employees or business partners during the ongoing operations of our business or uncover any misconduct that occurred in their past employment, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent any misconduct may not always be effective. Misconduct by our employees or business partners, or even unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business.

Future strategic alliances or acquisitions may have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We may enter into strategic alliances, including joint ventures or minority equity investments, with various third parties to further our business purpose from time to time. These alliances 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, or our investments may be subject to loss. 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, when appropriate opportunities arise, we may acquire additional assets, products, technologies, or businesses that are complementary to our existing business. In addition to possible shareholders’ approval, we may also have to obtain approvals and licenses from relevant government authorities for the acquisitions and comply with any applicable laws and regulations, which could result in increased delays and costs, and may derail our business strategy if we fail to do so. Furthermore, acquisitions and the subsequent integration of new assets and businesses into our own 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.

We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, as well as natural disasters, which could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business could be adversely affected by the effects of epidemics. In recent years, there have been outbreaks of epidemics globally. Our business operations could be disrupted if one or more of our employees are suspected of having contracted COVID-19, H1N1 flu, avian flu or another epidemic, since it could require our employees to be quarantined and/or our offices to be disinfected. Our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that the outbreak has any negative impact on the global economy in general and the global mobile internet and online brokerage industry in particular.

We are also vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities. Natural disasters or other catastrophic events may also cause damage or disruption to our operations, and the global economy, and could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Our business operations are subject to interruption by natural disasters, fire, power shortages, and other events beyond our control. Further, acts of terrorism, labor activism or unrest, and other geo-political unrest could cause disruptions in our business or the businesses of our partners or the economy as a whole.

It is possible that we may be unable to recover certain data in the event of a server failure. We cannot assure you that any backup systems will be adequate to protect us from the effects of fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, sabotages, war, riots, terrorist attacks, or similar events. In the event of a natural disaster, including a major earthquake, blizzard, or hurricane, or a catastrophic event such as a fire, power loss, or telecommunications failure, we may be unable to continue our operations and may endure system interruptions, reputational harm, delays in development of our platform, lengthy interruptions in service, breaches of data security, and loss of critical data, all of which could have an adverse effect on our future operating results. Any of the foregoing events may give rise to server interruptions, breakdowns, system failures, technology platform failures, or internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to provide services on our platform.

Risks Relating to Regulations Applicable to our Industry

We are subject to extensive regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions where we operate.

Our business is subject to a wide variety of laws, rules, regulations, policies, orders, determinations, directives, treaties, legal and regulatory interpretations and guidance in the markets in which we operate. These local, state, federal, and international laws, regulations, and industry standards include, among others, those governing broker-dealers, investment advisers, money transmission, privacy, data governance, data protection, cybersecurity, risk management, fraud detection, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorist financing. The businesses we are involved in are heavily regulated, and firms in our industry have been subject to an increasingly regulated environment over recent years, and penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased accordingly.

Our ability to comply with all applicable laws and rules is largely dependent on our compliance, audit, and reporting systems to ensure compliance, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified compliance personnel. We could be subject to disciplinary or other actions in the future due to claimed non-compliance, including, without limitation, as it relates to obtaining necessary registrations, permits, licenses, and/or other authorizations in a jurisdiction, or maintaining the minimum regulatory capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Many of the government agencies and self-regulatory organizations that oversee our business also engage in regular examinations of our business which may lead to identification of areas of our operations that are not in compliance with regulatory requirements. Non-compliance with applicable laws or regulations, including, without limitation, as they relate to registration with applicable legal authorities and the filing of required forms, notices, and other filings with applicable regulatory authorities, could result in sanctions being levied against us, including fines and censures, suspension or expulsion from a certain jurisdiction or market, or the revocation or limitation of licenses (or the imposition of a requirement to obtain licenses or permits).

While we have implemented policies and procedures designed to help monitor and ensure compliance with existing and new laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that we and our employees, contractors, and agents will not violate or otherwise fail to comply with such laws and regulations. To the extent that we or our employees, contractors, or agents are deemed or alleged to have violated or failed to comply with any laws or regulations, including related interpretations, orders, determinations, directives, or guidance, we or they could be subject to civil, criminal, and administrative fines, penalties, orders, and actions, including being required to suspend or terminate the offering of certain products and services. Consequently, non-compliance with applicable laws or regulations could adversely affect our reputation, prospects, revenues, and earnings.

As we continue to operate and to expand our services internationally, we must comply with the regulatory controls of each country in which we conduct, or intend to conduct business, the requirements of which may not be clearly defined. The varying compliance requirements of these different jurisdictions, which are often unclear and are subject to change and reinterpretation, may increase the compliance costs of our operations and make it more difficult to further expand internationally. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with all applicable regulations in a cost-effective and timely manner, or at all. In addition, changes in current laws or regulations or in governmental policies could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The complexity and the evolution of the regulatory and enforcement regimes that we may be subject to across the globe could result in a single event prompting a large number of overlapping investigations and legal and regulatory proceedings by multiple government authorities in different jurisdictions. Any of the foregoing could, individually or in the aggregate, harm our reputation, damage our brands and business, and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The regulatory environments that we are subject to are constantly evolving, which may cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in ways that are adverse to our business.

Over the past few decades, the brokerage and investment industry has experienced meaningful technological innovations and developments, including the introduction of electronic trading, order handling, decimal pricing, mobile internet, and other advances, which have given rise to industry reforms. However, certain legal and regulatory regimes were adopted prior to the advent of the internet, mobile technologies, and related technologies. Therefore, these legal and regulatory regimes, including the laws, rules, and regulations thereunder, may continue to evolve and may be modified, interpreted, and applied in a manner to keep up with the industry developments and trends, and may take a while to formalize. As a result, substantial costs, risks, and uncertainties may arise in relation to adapting to these regulatory changes. As the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers that provide services to retail customers, which constitute substantially all of our business, are becoming increasingly scrutinized, we may be required to change our current business practices in a materially adverse manner to comply with the evolving laws, regulations, or other government or regulatory scrutiny and our introduction of new products or services, our expansion into new lines of business, and our pursuit of other business opportunities or actions may also be restricted. Adverse changes to, or our failure to comply with, any additional laws and regulations may have an adverse effect on our reputation and brand and our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We may be involved in regulatory investigations, actions, and settlements during our course of business.

We operate in a highly regulated industry, and scrutiny of our industry is expected to increase the regulatory risks applicable to us and make compliance with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations more challenging. Furthermore, laws regulating financial services, the internet, mobile technologies, and related technologies among various markets may impose different, more specific, or even conflicting obligations on us, as well as broader liability. There have been a number of legal and regulatory examinations and investigations conducted by the SEC, FINRA, other federal or state regulatory agencies, as well as non-U.S. regulatory bodies, arising out of certain business practices and the operations of other market players in our industry, which have lead to lawsuits, arbitration claims, and enforcement proceedings, as well as other actions and claims, and resulted in injunctions, fines, penalties, and monetary settlements.

We are subject to routine regulatory oversight, examinations, and inquiries by regulatory authorities as part of the ordinary course of our business. These have in some instances led to, and might in the future lead to, enforcement proceedings, lawsuits, arbitration claims, as well as other actions and claims, resulting in injunctions, fines, penalties, and monetary settlements. For example, in 2022 FINRA informed Webull Financial that it had found instances of alleged non-compliance relating to its option trading approval process and our handling of customer complaints. Specifically, FINRA alleged that beginning at the time Webull Financial first offered options trading in December 2019 through July 2021, Webull Financial did not exercise reasonable due diligence before approving customers to trade options as flaws in its automated, electronic system to approve or disapprove customer accounts for options trading — and Webull Financial’s inadequate supervision of the system — resulted in customers being approved for options trading authority who did not satisfy its eligibility criteria or whose accounts contained red flags that options trading might not be appropriate for them. FINRA also claimed that from May 2018 through December 2021, Webull Financial’s supervisory system, including its written supervisory procedures, was not reasonably designed to identify and respond to customer complaints. Finally, FINRA alleged that from December 2019 through March 2021, Webull Financial did not maintain and keep current an options complaint log. As a result, in February 2023, we signed a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent and paid a $3 million fine. In addition, in 2022 the Massachusetts Securities Division, or MSD, began examining Webull Financial for allegations that it did not dedicate sufficient resources to compliance, leading Webull Financial to eventually settle with the MSD for $500,000. Further, the SEC found that from October 2018 through December 2022 Webull Financial filed deficient suspicious activity reports, or SARs, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, in that the SARs failed to include all of the required details of the reported suspicious transactions that Webull Financial knew or should have known in the narrative of the SARs. Webull Financial agreed to cease and desist the filing of deficient SARs and paid a fine of $125,000.

There can be no assurance that we will not be subject to any material regulatory investigations, actions, or settlements in the future. These sorts of proceedings, inquiries, examinations, investigations, and other regulatory matters might subject us to fines, penalties, and monetary settlements, harm our reputation and brand, require substantial management attention, result in additional compliance requirements, result in certain of our subsidiaries having their regulatory licenses or ability to conduct business in some jurisdictions (which could, among other things, result in statutory disqualification by FINRA and the SEC) suspended or revoked, increase regulatory scrutiny of our business, restrict our operations or require us to change our business practices, require changes to our products and services, require changes in personnel or management, delay planned product or service launches or development, limit our ability to acquire other complementary businesses and technologies, or lead to the suspension or expulsion of our broker-dealer or other regulated subsidiaries or their officers or employees.

We may not be able to obtain or maintain all necessary licenses, permits, and approvals and to make all necessary registrations and filings for our business activities in multiple jurisdictions.

The securities and derivatives business is heavily regulated, and requires certain regulatory licenses, permits, filings, and approvals to conduct and develop business. Currently, we have obtained broker-dealer licenses, approvals or registrations in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and the Netherlands, and are in the process of securing the licenses required to commence operations in additional markets in Latin America. For a detailed description of the licenses obtained for our business, see “Item 4. Key Information. B. Business Overview — Risk Management — Our Licenses and Applicable Jurisdictions.”

Although we generally ensure we have the requisite licenses in a new market before onboarding customers, rules relating to solicitation of customers by foreign registered broker-dealers are sometimes unclear and subject to interpretation, therefore regulators in some jurisdictions in which we have customers but do not have locally registered broker-dealer licenses may determine that we lack the necessary registrations, licenses, permits, or other authorizations in order to avail our platform to those customers, which could result in fines, censures, or other penalties, including expulsion from that jurisdiction.

Due to the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of existing and future laws and regulations, regulators may determine that the licenses we hold may not be sufficient to meet the regulatory requirements of the business we conduct or otherwise plan to conduct, which may restrain our ability to expand our business scope and subject us to fines or other regulatory actions by relevant regulators. As we further develop and expand our business, we will likely need to obtain additional qualifications, permits, filings, approvals, or licenses. Moreover, we may be required to obtain additional licenses or approvals for our existing business if the regulatory authorities adopt more stringent policies or regulations for our industry.

In addition, to expand our business scope and explore innovative business models, we have adopted and will continue to adopt various operating strategies and measures. Due to the uncertainties of interpretation and application of pertinent laws by government authorities, we cannot guarantee that such strategies and measures will not be challenged under laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we conduct our business. If so, relevant regulatory authorities may issue warnings, order us to rectify our non-compliant operations and impose fines on us. In the case of serious violations as determined by relevant authorities at their discretion, they may ban the relevant operations, seize our equipment in connection with such operations, impose fines, or revoke our licenses, which may materially and adversely affect our business.

As of the date of this Report, we have not been subject to any material penalties from any relevant regulatory authorities for failure to obtain any regulatory licenses for our business operations in the past. The lack of material fines and other penalties is not a guarantee that we have obtained all required licenses, registrations or other authorizations in each jurisdiction in which we conduct our business. Further, we cannot assure you that U.S. federal, state, and local and foreign regulatory agencies will not impose such penalties on us in the future. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional licenses or permits, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to timely obtain, maintain, or renew all required licenses or permits or make all necessary filings in the future. If we fail to obtain, hold, or maintain any of the required licenses or permits or make the necessary filings on time or at all, we may be subject to various penalties, such as confiscation of the revenues that were generated through the unlicensed activities, the imposition of fines, and the discontinuation or restriction of our operations. Any such penalties may disrupt our business operations and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have been in the past and may continue to be subject to complaints, claims, controversies, regulatory actions, and legal proceedings.

We have been and may continue to be subject to or involved in various complaints, claims, controversies, regulatory actions, arbitrations and legal proceedings. Complaints, claims, arbitration, lawsuits, litigation, and government and regulatory investigations, inquiries, actions or requests are common in our industry, and subject to inherent uncertainties, and existing or new claims against us may develop into lawsuits or regulatory penalties and other disciplinary actions. We have devoted considerable time and resources to dealing these issues in the past and may have to do so from time to time in the future. Lawsuits, litigation, arbitration and regulatory actions may cause us to incur substantial costs or fines, utilize a significant portion of our resources and divert management’s attention from our day-to-day operations, materially modify or suspend our business operations, or delay planned transactions, product launches or improvements, and may result in additional compliance and licensure requirements, loss or non-renewal of existing licenses or authorizations, prohibition from or delays in obtaining additional licenses or authorizations required for our business, and/or barring or termination of certain employees, any of which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, business prospects, brand, and reputation.

Defending against litigation, investigations, inquiries, or other claims is costly and can impose a significant burden on our management and employees, and there can be no assurance that favorable final outcomes will be obtained in all cases. Settlements of such claims can also be costly. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in the claims we pursue against other parties. Any resulting liability, losses or expenses, or changes required to our businesses to reduce the risk of future liability may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and prospects. An adverse outcome of a single claim against us in one jurisdiction may result in significant negative publicity and heightened scrutiny by regulators and courts of our business operations in other jurisdictions, or potential penalties or other regulatory actions against us. Any of such outcomes may cause significant disruptions to our operations and materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We may become subject to regulatory scrutiny relating to digital engagement practices or predictive data analytics in the future, which may require us to make significant changes to our business model and practices.

On October 14, 2021, the SEC issued the “Staff Report on Equity and Options Market Structure Conditions in Early 2021.” In its report, the SEC concluded that “consideration should be given to whether game-like features and celebratory animations that are likely intended to create positive feedback from trading lead investors to trade more than they would otherwise,” and that “payment for order flow and the incentives it creates may cause broker-dealers to find novel ways to increase customer trading, including through the use of digital engagement practices.” Additionally, on August 27, 2021, the SEC issued a request for information and comments on broker-dealer and investment adviser digital engagement practices, or the DEPs, related tools and methods, regulatory considerations, and potential approaches. In the SEC’s request, DEPs referred to behavioral prompts, differential marketing, game-like features (commonly referred to as gamification), and other design elements or features designed to engage with retail investors on digital platforms. In its request, the SEC noted that certain practices, such as PFOF, in combination with zero commissions, create incentives for firms to use DEPs to encourage frequent trading, and that these incentives may not be transparent to retail investors. The SEC noted that DEPs can potentially harm retail investors if they prompt them to engage in trading activities that may not be consistent with their investment goals or risk tolerance. Previously, on May 6, 2021, in testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services, Former Chair Gensler also discussed the use of mobile app features such as rewards, bonuses, push notifications, and other prompts. On July 26, 2023, the SEC proposed new rules that would impose new obligations on registered broker-dealers and investment advisers with respect to their use of certain covered technologies when interacting with investors. If adopted as proposed, the new rules proposed in July 2023 may require us to modify, limit, or discontinue our use of certain technologies and product features and could significantly change the way that we interact with existing and prospective customers, which may adversely impact our business and revenues.

Any regulatory initiatives that result from the information submitted in response to the request for comment could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. For example, the SEC or another relevant governmental agency may impose limitations on social networking tools and other digital engagement practices in the future. Although we have not designed our platform to encourage our users to trade more frequently, invest in particular securities, or change their investment strategies, we cannot guarantee you that certain features on our platform, such as the social features of the Webull Community, simulated trading competitions, use of push mobile notifications, or rewards for using our investment education resources, will not be viewed as digital engagement practices or subjected to increased scrutiny in the future.

We are subject to regulatory capital requirements set by local securities regulatory authorities and agencies.

Stringent rules with respect to the maintenance of specific levels of net capital by broker-dealers or investment advisory firms have been adopted by many regulatory authorities and agencies. Our business operations may cause us and our subsidiaries to be subject to regulatory capital requirements set by local regulatory authorities and agencies. For a detailed description of the regulatory capital requirements that our operating subsidiaries are subject to, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Regulatory capital requirements.”

We believe we currently are in compliance with all capital requirements set by all applicable regulatory authorities. However, if we fail to remain in compliance with such capital adequacy requirements, or a regulator takes an adverse action against us or our affiliates as a result of historical non-compliance, we could be forced to suspend our business operations until such time as we have injected enough capital to comply with applicable rules and regulations or otherwise be subject to censures, fines or other sanctions. Additionally, the regulators could suspend or revoke our registration, expel us from membership, or impose censures, fines, or other sanctions. If the net capital requirements are changed or expanded, or if there is an unusually large charge against net capital, then our operations that require capital could be limited. A large operating loss or charge against net capital could have a material adverse effect on our ability to maintain or expand our business. Further, we may from time to time incur indebtedness and other obligations which could make it more difficult to meet these capitalization requirements or any additional regulatory requirements.

Risks Relating to Attracting, Retaining and Engaging Customers

We may be unable to retain existing customers or attract new customers, or fail to offer a positive trading experience to our customers and address their needs.

We provide comprehensive digital trading and investing services and derive substantially all of our revenues from such services. Maintaining growth momentum of our platform depends on retaining existing customers and attracting new customers. If there is insufficient demand for our products and services, we might not be able to maintain and increase our trading volume and revenues as we expect, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our success depends largely on our ability to attract new customers and retain existing customers. Although we have been able to develop a large and growing customer base, to continue doing so we must attract new customers by continuing to build our brand and reputation as a convenient and reliable digital investment platform, as well as effectively market and precisely target our products and services to prospective users. To retain and engage our user base, we must provide a superior trading and investing experience, offer quality services, introduce effective trading and investment tools, develop engaging and informative platform features, and build and manage an active user community.

Our customers may not continue to place trading orders or increase the level of their trading activities on our platform if we fail to deliver satisfactory services and experience. Failure to deliver services in a timely manner with satisfactory experience could cause our customers to lose confidence in us and use our platform less frequently or even stop using our platform altogether, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our business. Even if we are able to provide high-quality and satisfactory services on our platform in a timely manner, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain existing customers and increase trading volume when faced with events out of our control, such as changes to our customers’ personal financial situations or the deterioration of capital markets conditions.

In addition, we may not be able to retain our existing customers or attract new customers in a cost-effective manner. Historically, we incurred significant expenditures in marketing and branding expenses. However, there can be no assurance that these efforts will yield satisfactory results in retaining our existing customers or attracting new customers. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain or grow our customer base in a cost-effective way, and failure to do so may cause our business, financial condition, and results of operations to be adversely affected.

Finally, to the extent any regulatory body determines that our methods of marketing (including the use of testimonials or other endorsements of third parties) and/or encouraging engagement on our platform (including through the provision of free stocks) violate any law, rule, or regulation, we expect that our marketing efforts and/or the level of trading activities on our platform may be adversely affected and we may be subject to fines, censures, or other regulatory actions in such jurisdictions.

The Webull Affiliate Program exposes us to regulatory scrutiny while our control over the participants and the content that they post about us is limited.

Webull Affiliate Programs are part of a marketing strategy under which certain of our subsidiaries establish relationships with content creators who use social media to promote the Webull platform and are compensated for referring new customers to open brokerage accounts. Our subsidiaries take steps to ensure that the affiliate program complies with applicable laws and regulations, including by (i) conducting due diligence on prospective participants, (ii) requiring approved participants to comply with specified policies and standards of conduct, as well as to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations, and (iii) monitoring participants’ social media for compliance on an ongoing basis. However, such steps may not be sufficient to prevent or significantly mitigate all risks associated with these program. Due diligence on prospective participants is limited to their currently available, public, identifiable and disclosed social media accounts and information that they provide to our subsidiaries, and may not take into account private social media accounts or unidentified accounts associated with prospective participants or private content and messages. Additionally, while our subsidiaries monitor affiliate marketing program participants’ social media, certain participants’ posts and communications may not be subject to pre-approval, and may contain content which violates the policies and standards they agree to with us or other laws or regulations. There can be no assurance that participants in our affiliate marketing programs will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, as required by the terms of the programs, or that the operation of affiliate marketing programs will not result in adverse consequences to our subsidiaries that run the programs, including investigations, regulatory enforcement actions, fines or other penalties. Further, the regulatory landscape surrounding digital marketing, including affiliate marketing programs, is evolving, with governments and regulatory bodies increasingly scrutinizing online advertising practices. Changes in regulations or interpretations thereof could require costly adjustments to our program, such as compliance measures or alterations to our affiliate agreements.

We cannot guarantee the profitability of our customers’ investments or ensure that our customers will exercise rational judgment with respect to their investments.

We cannot guarantee the profitability of the trades and investments made by customers on our platform. Substantially all of the trades on our platform are self-directed by our customers and the profitability of our customers’ investments is directly affected by elements beyond our control, such as changes in price and market liquidity, economic conditions, and broad trends in business and finance. We have created a social community to facilitate the learning and sharing of financial and market information. Although these materials and commentaries contain prominent disclaimers, our customers may seek to hold us responsible when they use such information to make trading decisions and suffer financial loss on their trades, or if their trades are not as profitable as they had expected. Furthermore, it is possible that some customers could solely rely on certain predictive statements made by other customers on our platform, ignoring our alert warnings that customers should make their own investment judgments and should not predict future performance based on historical results. As a result, our customers’ trading loss may affect our transaction volumes and revenues as customers decide to reduce trading activities. In addition, some customers who have suffered substantial losses on our platform may blame our platform, attempt to harm our reputation, seek to recover damages from us or bring lawsuits against us.

We may fail to respond or adapt to the rapidly evolving needs of our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner, or our new product and service offerings may not achieve sufficient market acceptance.

As we provide services in markets that are characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, frequent new service introductions, and increasing demand for higher levels of customer experience, we seek to stay abreast of the needs and preferences of our customers to serve their evolving trading needs and investment demands and keep up with any technological innovations and developments. We believe our ability to anticipate and identify the evolving needs of our users and customers and develop and introduce new service offerings to address such needs will be a significant factor in maintaining or improving our competitive position and prospects for growth. We may also have to incur substantial unanticipated costs to develop and deliver these service offerings, and we cannot assure you that we can obtain financing to cover such expenditure. See “— Risks Relating to Our Business — We may not be able to obtain additional capital when desired, on favorable terms or at all.” Our success will also depend on our ability to develop and introduce new services and enhance existing services for our users and customers in a timely manner. Even if we introduce new and enhanced services to the market, they may not achieve market acceptance.

If we fail to offer services that cater to our customers’ evolving investment and trading needs as well as technological innovations and developments, we may not be able to maintain and continue to grow the trading volume on our platform, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected. In recent years, we have expanded our service offerings for our users and customers from information and digital trading services to wealth management services, as well as other ancillary tools and functions, and we may expand to new service offerings in the future. However, we may have limited experience with these new service offerings, and expansion into new service offerings may involve new risks and challenges that we may not have experienced before. We cannot assure you that we will be able to overcome such new risks and challenges and make our new service offerings successful. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new service offerings may not be achieved and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors, such as compliance with regulations, competition, and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of our new service offerings. Our personnel and technology systems may fail to adapt to the changes in such new areas or we may fail to effectively integrate new services into our existing operation. We may lack experience in managing our new service offerings. In addition, we may be unable to compete effectively due to different competitive landscapes in these new areas. Even if we expand our businesses into new areas, the expansion may not yield intended profitable results. Furthermore, any new service offerings could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of our internal control system. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new service offerings could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Disputes with our customers could adversely impact our brand and reputation.

From time to time, we have been, and may in the future be, subject to claims and disputes with our customers with respect to our products and services, such as regarding the execution and settlement of trades, fraudulent or unauthorized transactions, account takeovers, deposits and withdrawals of assets, failures or malfunctions of our systems and services, or other issues relating to our products services. Additionally, the ingenuity of criminal fraudsters, combined with many consumers’ susceptibility to fraud, may cause our customers to be subject to ongoing unauthorized account access and identity fraud issues. While we have taken measures to detect and reduce the risk of fraud, there is no guarantee that they will be successful and, in any case, they require continuous improvement and optimization to be effective. There can be no guarantee that we will be successful in preventing and resolving these disputes or defending ourselves in any of these matters, and any failure may result in impaired relationships with our customers, damage to our brand and reputation, and substantial fines and damages. In some cases, the measures we have implemented to detect and deter fraud have led to poor customer experiences, including indefinite account inaccessibility for some of our customers, which increases our customer support costs and can compound damages. We could incur significant costs in compensating our customers, such as if a transaction was unauthorized, erroneous, or fraudulent. We could also incur significant legal expenses resolving and defending claims, even those without merit. To the extent we are found to have failed to fulfill our regulatory obligations, we could also lose our authorizations or licenses or become subject to conditions that could make future operations more costly, impair our ability to grow, and adversely impact our operating results. We may in the future become subject to investigation and enforcement action by state, federal, and international consumer protection agencies, which monitor customer complaints against us and, from time to time, escalate matters for investigation and potential enforcement against us.

While certain of our customer agreements contain arbitration provisions with class action waiver provisions that may limit our exposure to consumer class action litigation, some federal, state, and foreign courts have refused to enforce one or more of these provisions, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in enforcing these arbitration provisions, including the class action waiver provisions, in the future or in any given case. Legislative, administrative, or regulatory developments may directly or indirectly prohibit or limit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions. Any such prohibitions or limitations on or discontinuation of the use of such arbitration or class action waiver provisions could subject us to additional lawsuits, including additional consumer class action litigation, and significantly limit our ability to avoid exposure from consumer class action litigation.

Risks Relating to Our Platform, Systems and Technology

Our platform and internal systems rely on software and applications that are highly technical and may contain undetected errors.

Our platform and internal systems rely on software and applications that are highly technical and complex. In addition, our platform and internal systems depend on the ability of the software and applications to store, retrieve, process, and manage immense amounts of data. The software and applications on which we rely have contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Driven by the evolvement of our product and service offerings, our platform, internal systems, and software and applications are becoming more and more complex and the possibility of having undetected errors or bugs may increase as a result, which in turn may expose us to greater uncertainties and risks and make higher demands for our technical capabilities. Errors or other design defects within the software and applications on which we rely may result in a negative experience for users and customers, delay the introduction of new features or enhancements, result in trade execution errors, or compromise our ability to protect customer data or our intellectual property. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software and applications on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of users or financial service providers, significant expenses, or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

An increase in volume on the systems we use or other errors or events could cause them to malfunction.

The trade orders to buy or sell securities or invest in other investment products that we offer are received and processed electronically. This method of trading is heavily dependent on the integrity of the electronic systems supporting it. Heavy stress placed on the systems we use during peak trading times or in periods of increased market volatility could cause our systems to operate at unacceptably slow speeds or fail altogether. Any significant degradation or failure of our systems or the systems of third parties involved in the trading process, even for a short time, could cause customers to suffer delays in trading. In addition, systems errors, including as a result of human error or traffic overload, could occur. These delays or errors could cause substantial losses for customers and subject us to claims from these customers for losses or other regulatory penalties or other sanctions or increased settlement disbursements. There can be no assurance that our network structure will operate appropriately in the event of a subsystem, component or software failure or error. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we will be able to prevent an extended systems failure in the event of a power or telecommunications failure, terrorist attack, epidemic or pandemic, fire, or any natural disaster. Any systems failure that causes interruptions in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may experience unexpected network interruptions, security breaches, or computer virus attacks and failures in our information technology systems.

Our information technology systems support all phases of our operations and are an essential part of our technology infrastructure. If our systems fail to perform, we could experience disruptions in operations, slower response times, or decreased customer satisfaction. We must process, record, and monitor a large number of transactions and our operations are highly dependent on the integrity of our technology systems and our ability to make timely enhancements and additions to our systems. System interruptions, errors, or downtime can result from a variety of causes, including unexpected interruptions to the internet infrastructure, technological failures, changes to our systems, changes in customer usage patterns, linkages with third-party systems, and power failures. Our systems are also vulnerable to disruptions from human error, execution errors, errors in models such as those used for risk management and compliance, employee misconduct, unauthorized trading, external fraud, computer viruses, distributed denial of service attacks, or cyberattacks, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, power outages, capacity constraints, software flaws, events impacting our key business partners and vendors, and other similar events.

Our cloud-based business depends on the performance and reliability of the cloud infrastructure. We currently host our platform and support our operations on data centers provided by Amazon Web Services, or AWS, a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services. We cannot assure you that the cloud infrastructure we depend on will remain sufficiently reliable for our needs. Any failure to maintain the performance, reliability, security, or availability of our cloud network infrastructure may cause significant damage to our ability to attract and retain users and customers. Major risks involving our cloud network infrastructure include:

Any network interruption or inadequacy that causes interruptions in the availability of our online and mobile platforms or deterioration in the quality of access to our online and mobile platforms could reduce user and customer satisfaction and result in a reduction in the activity level of our users and customers as well as the number of customers making trading transactions on our platform. Furthermore, increases in the volume of traffic on our online and mobile platforms could strain the capacity of our existing computer systems and bandwidth, which could lead to slower response times or system failures. This could cause a disruption or suspension in our service delivery, which could hurt our brand and reputation. We may need to incur additional costs to upgrade our technology infrastructure and computer systems in order to accommodate increased demand if we anticipate that our systems cannot handle higher volumes of traffic and transactions in the future. Implementation of new systems and technologies is complex, expensive, and time consuming, and may not be successful. If we fail to timely and successfully implement new information systems and technologies, or make improvements or upgrades to existing information systems and technologies, or if such systems and technologies do not operate as intended, it could have an adverse impact on our business, internal controls (including internal controls over financial reporting), operating results, and financial condition.

In addition, it could take an extended period of time to restore full functionality to our technology or other operating systems in the event of an unforeseen occurrence, which could affect our ability to process customer transactions. A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability, speed, or functionality of our products and services could harm our business. Frequent or persistent interruptions in our services could cause current or potential customers or partners to believe that our systems are unreliable, leading them to switch to our competitors or to avoid or reduce the use of our products and services, and could permanently harm our reputation and brand. Moreover, to the extent that any system failure or similar event results in damages to our customers, these customers could seek significant compensation or contractual penalties from us for their losses, and those claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly for us to address. Problems with the reliability or security of our systems could harm our reputation, and damage to our reputation and the cost of remedying these problems could negatively affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. Frequent or persistent interruptions could also lead to regulatory scrutiny, significant fines and penalties, and mandatory and costly changes to our business practices, or prevent or delay us from obtaining future licenses that may be required for our business. Despite our efforts to identify areas of risk, oversee operational areas involving risks, and implement policies and procedures designed to manage these risks, there can be no assurance that we will not suffer unexpected losses, reputational damage, or regulatory actions due to technology or other operational failures or errors, including those of our vendors or other third parties.

Although we have developed systems and processes designed to protect the data we manage, prevent data loss and other security breaches, and effectively respond to known and potential risks, and we expect to continue to expend significant resources to bolster these protections, there can be no assurance that these security measures will provide absolute security or prevent breaches or attacks. We cannot assure you that there will not be any material breaches of our security measures due to human error, system errors or vulnerabilities, or other irregularities. Unauthorized parties have attempted, and we expect that they will continue to attempt, to gain access to our systems and facilities, as well as those of our customers, partners, and external service providers, through various means including hacking, social engineering, phishing, and attempting to fraudulently induce individuals (including employees, service providers, and our customers) into disclosing usernames, passwords, or other sensitive information, which may in turn be used to access our information technology systems and customers’ assets. Threats can come from a variety of sources, including criminal hackers, industrial espionage, and insiders. Certain attackers may be supported by significant financial and technological resources, making them even more sophisticated and difficult to detect. As a result, our costs and the resources we devote to protecting against these advanced threats and their consequences may continue to increase over time.

The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) presents risks and potential challenges to our business.

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into our products and processes offers promising opportunities but also presents risks that require careful management. Currently, we apply AI technologies, including machine learning, in limited areas, such as enhancing in-app support efficiency and fraud detection. However, we plan to expand AI’s use across more facets of our business. While these developments can strengthen our competitive edge, they also introduce a range of business, compliance, and reputational risks that could negatively affect our operations. The rapid evolution and expected adoption of AI technology, especially in the fintech industry, means we must constantly update our systems to stay competitive. If we cannot keep pace with these advancements, we risk losing market share and having a negative impact on our business performance.

Generative AI, one of the newer and more complex forms of AI, brings unique challenges. This technology has received significant media attention and regulatory scrutiny due to its ability to produce content that may seem correct but can be factually inaccurate, misleading, or biased. Such unintended results could not only dissatisfy customers but also harm our reputation and expose us to potential liability. Furthermore, the legal and regulatory landscape for AI is developing quickly, both in the U.S. and internationally, affecting not only AI-specific regulations but also intersecting with laws in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, and employment. As AI-related regulations evolve, we may face increased compliance costs and additional non-compliance risks, which could limit our ability to use and deploy AI technologies effectively.

Our use of AI models developed by third parties, some of which involve open-source software and external data, presents additional challenges. If we are unable to secure rights to use these third-party AI technologies on commercially viable terms, we may need to acquire or develop alternative solutions, which could delay our ability to offer competitive products and raise our operational costs. Additionally, reliance on third-party data in these models could expose us to data rights and protection risks, as we may have limited insight into how third parties train and develop their models. This dependency could expose us to liabilities if unauthorized or infringing materials are included in their training data.

Finally, our historical success has been largely attributed to our proprietary technology, which we believe gives us a competitive advantage. However, if similar technologies become more accessible to current or future competitors, or if competitors use AI to develop superior solutions, we may need to invest significantly in new technology to maintain our edge. In a market characterized by rapidly evolving technology and industry standards, it will be essential to continue innovating, developing, and protecting our technologies to safeguard our business performance and financial stability.

Fraudulent or illegal activities on our platform could negatively impact our brand and reputation and cause financial loss.

We have implemented stringent internal control policies, insider trading, anti-money laundering, and other anti-fraud rules and mechanisms on our platform. Nevertheless, we remain subject to the risk of fraudulent or illegal activities both on our platform and associated with our users and customers, business partners, and third parties handling user and customer information. Our resources, technologies, and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately and timely detect and prevent all fraudulent or illegal activities. Significant increases in fraudulent or illegal activities could negatively impact our brand and reputation, reduce the trading volume on our platform, and therefore harm our operating and financial results. The use of our platform for illegal or improper purposes could subject us to claims, individual and class action lawsuits, and government and regulatory investigations, prosecutions, enforcement actions, inquiries, or requests that could result in liability and reputational harm for us. Any misbehavior or violation of applicable laws and regulations by our customers could lead to regulatory inquiries and investigations that involve us, which may affect our business operations and prospects. We might also incur higher costs than expected in order to take additional steps to reduce risks related to fraudulent and illegal activities. High-profile fraudulent or illegal activities could also lead to regulatory investigation and may divert our management’s attention and cause us to incur additional regulatory and litigation expenses and costs. In addition, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial condition, customer relationships, and ability to attract new customers and even be subject to regulatory sanctions and significant legal liability, if any of our employees engage in illegal or suspicious activities or other misconduct. Although we have not experienced any material business or reputational harm as a result of fraudulent or illegal activities in the past, we cannot rule out the possibility that any of the foregoing may occur, causing harm to our business or reputation in the future. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on a number of external service providers for certain key market information and data, technology, processing and supporting functions, and any interruptions in services provided by these external service providers may impair our ability to support our customers.

We rely on a number of external service providers for certain key market information and data, technology, processing and supporting functions. Furthermore, external content providers provide us with financial information, market news, charts, option and stock quotes, and other fundamental data that we offer to our customers and users. Particularly, we have contracted with a number of major financial market data providers, including Refinitiv, Nasdaq, Hong Kong Exchange, Toronto Exchange, and EuroNext, among others, to allow our customers to access real-time market information data which is essential for our customers to make their investment decisions and take actions. These service providers face technical, operational, and security risks of their own. These external service providers may be subject to financial, legal, regulatory, and labor issues, cybersecurity incidents, break-ins, computer viruses, denial-of-service attacks, sabotage, acts of vandalism, privacy breaches, service terminations, disruptions, interruptions, and other misconduct. They are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, power loss, telecommunications failures, fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, pandemics, and similar events. Any significant failures by them, including improper use or disclosure of our confidential customer, employee, or company information, could interrupt our business, cause us to incur losses and harm our reputation. Any failure of such information providers to update or deliver the data in a timely and accurate manner as provided in our agreements with them could lead to potential losses for our customers, which would in turn affect our business operations and reputation.

An interruption in or the cessation of service by any external service provider as a result of system failures, capacity constraints, financial constraints or problems, unanticipated trading market closures or for any other reason and our inability to make alternative arrangements in a smooth and timely manner, if at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, these service providers may breach their agreements with us, disagree with our interpretation of contract terms or applicable laws and regulations, refuse to continue or renew their agreements on commercially reasonable terms or at all, fail or refuse to provide services adequately, take actions that degrade the functionality of our services, impose additional costs or requirements on us or our customers, or give preferential treatment to competitors. Further, disputes might arise out of or in connection with the agreements regarding our or the service providers’ performance of the obligations thereunder. To the extent that any service provider disagrees with us on the quality of the products or services, terms and conditions of the payment or other provisions of such agreements, we may face claims, disputes, litigations or other proceedings initiated by such service provider against us. We may incur substantial expenses and require significant attention of management in defending against these claims, regardless of their merit. We could also face damages to our reputation as a result of such claims, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on mobile application distribution channels to make our mobile application accessible to customers.

We rely on third-party mobile application distribution channels such as iOS App Store, various Android App Stores and other channels to distribute our mobile application to users. We expect a substantial number of downloads of our mobile apps will continue to come from these distribution channels. As such, the promotion, distribution and operation of our applications are subject to such distribution platforms’ standard terms and policies for application developers, which are subject to the interpretation of, and frequent changes by, these distribution channels. If the iOS App Store or any other major distribution channels interpret or change their standard terms and conditions in a manner that is detrimental to us, or terminate their existing relationship with us, or change their economic relationship with us, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. There can be no guarantee that third-party platforms will continue to support our product offerings, or that customers will be able to continue to use our products.

We rely on various third-party vendors and service providers to provide integral services related to our business and our supervision of such third parties may be subject to regulatory scrutiny.

We rely on certain third parties to provide services that are integral to the proper operation of our business and provision of uninterrupted services to our customers. To the extent any of these third-party service providers suffers an interruption or failure of its systems or otherwise fails to provide its respective services in a manner adequate to satisfy the needs of ours and our customers and satisfy applicable legal and regulatory requirements, our business operations could be materially and adversely impacted. Further, certain regulators, including FINRA, have indicated that, while a broker-dealer may delegate certain functions to third parties, it remains ultimately responsible for the proper execution of such services and must maintain and implement supervisory procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure such services are being provided in a manner that complies with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. If one of our third-party service providers suffers an interruption or failure of its systems or otherwise fails to provide its services in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, we may not be able to find alternative or replacement vendors or service providers in a timely manner or on favorable terms, and we could be found to have failed to satisfy our duty of supervision. Any such finding could result in fines, censures, or other enforcement actions from the applicable regulatory authority and could materially and adversely impact our business operations.

We may be held liable for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our platform.

We embed social media tools and user-generated content into our platform to create an active community of investors, companies, analysts, the media, and opinion leaders, also known as our Webull Community. Our Webull Community complements the investing tools, education, market data, and research we provide and drives customer education, engagement, and retention. Because we may not have timely or sufficient control over the activities conducted within our Webull Community, our platform may be misused by others to engage in illegal or inappropriate activities, or other activities that require permits, licenses or approval from governmental authorities. If any illegal, inappropriate or unauthorized activities are found on or linked to our platform, we as the service provider may be held liable for such activities under applicable laws and regulations. The government may impose other legal sanctions against us, including, in serious cases, suspending our Webull Community platform or revoking the licenses needed to operate our platform.

Risks Relating to Our Products and Services

Our PFOF practices may potentially create a misalignment of interest.

Registered broker-dealers are subject to “best execution” requirements under the applicable regulatory regime, which require them to obtain the best reasonably available terms for customer orders. Pursuant to such requirements, broker-dealers should use reasonable diligence so that the price to the customer is as favorable as possible under prevailing market conditions, taking into account, among other things, the character of the market for the security, the size and type of the transaction, the number of markets checked, accessibility of quotations and the terms and conditions of the order as communicated by the broker-dealer’s customer. Although a broker-dealer is not required to examine every customer order individually for compliance with its duty of best execution, it must undertake regular and rigorous reviews of the quality of its customer order executions.

PFOF practices may give rise to potential misalignment of interests between a broker and its customers in terms of best execution, as the brokers may be incentivized to route customer orders to the highest bidder rather than to the market makers or trading venues offering the best prices and fastest execution. We have implemented a series of conflict management procedures and arrangements to ensure that our PFOF practices do not damage the interests of our customers, taking into account our overall duty to act in the best interests of our customers and our duty to achieve the best possible result when executing orders for our customers. For example, we maintain the same PFOF rates for all our wholesale market makers, so they compete only on execution quality. In addition, the quality of our order execution may be negatively impacted by the fact that we rely on a limited number of market makers and liquidity providers to execute orders. Reliance on a limited number of market makers and liquidity providers may reduce competition for orders, which in turn may adversely affect order execution quality. Also, our payment arrangements with market makers and liquidity providers are not contingent on us allocating to them minimum order flow volumes or other similar requirements.

We have been subject to examinations by regulatory authorities, including the SEC, regarding our best execution and PFOF practices with respect to whether we had conducted a regular and rigorous review of our execution quality to ensure we had fulfilled our duty to seek best execution. Such investigations did not result in any material fines or penalties borne by us. However, there can be no assurance that we will not face additional investigations in the future and we cannot guarantee that we will not face fines or penalties in the future in connection with allegations about our best execution practices. If we fail to manage such potential misalignment of interests, our duty to provide best execution and execution quality may be impaired and we may be subject to scrutiny and penalties by regulatory authorities, which may materially and adversely affect our business prospects, financial position and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of market makers and liquidity providers to generate a large portion of our revenues. A loss of any of those market makers or liquidity providers could negatively affect our business.

We rely on a limited number of wholesale market makers and liquidity providers to generate a large portion of our revenues. During 2023 and 2024, 23.3% and 33.6% of our consolidated revenue was from our top market maker and liquidity provider, respectively. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — B. Business Overview — Investing through the Webull Platform” for additional information.

There is no assurance that business relationships with our market makers or liquidity providers can be maintained in the future. Any interruption of the operations of those market makers or liquidity providers, any failure on their part to accommodate our business growth, any termination or suspension of our cooperation with those parties, any change of terms in our agreements, or the deterioration of relationship with them may materially and adversely affect our results of operations. In the event that the key market makers and liquidity providers that we work with experience any operational difficulties, including system breakdowns, security breaches, violation of applicable laws and regulations, labor strikes or shortages, natural disasters, health epidemics, or other problems, such difficulties may cause significant interruption to our business operations, as we may not be able to address such difficulties or find replacement market makers or liquidity providers in a timely or cost-effective manner. We may have disputes with these business partners, which may result in litigation expenses, divert our management’s attention and cause us operational difficulties. In addition, we may not be able to renew contracts with these business partners or identify or enter into new agreements with them for additional services or on favorable terms.

Any failure of such market makers or liquidity providers to perform effectively or efficiently may have a material negative impact on our business and results of operations. In addition, market makers and liquidity providers may be required to maintain various approvals, licenses, and permits to operate their business. There can be no assurance that they can maintain their requisite approvals, licenses, or permits applicable to their business at all times or obtain such approvals, licenses, or permits at all. In the event that they are not in compliance with such approvals, licenses, or permits requirements, they may not be able to rectify such incompliance in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the execution of the order flow we direct to them. As a result, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

A substantial portion of our business currently relies on collaboration with our clearing partner.

We currently rely on Apex Clearing Corporation, or Apex Clearing, to hold the Webull brokerage accounts where certain of our customers’ funds and securities are deposited and to settle and clear all stock and securities trades in the United States. Apex Clearing is indirectly owned by PEAK6 Investments LLC, which also owns 100% of the equity interests in PEAK6 Group LLC, which is a minority shareholder of Webull Corporation. Our agreements with Apex Clearing are non-exclusive and do not prohibit it from working with our competitors or from offering competing services. Apex Clearing currently provides execution and clearing services for other online brokerage platforms and other alternative brokers, and it could decide to offer better terms to our competitors. In addition, our clearing partner may not perform as expected under our agreements for a variety of reasons, including commercial decisions made at their own discretion, or they may be unable to accommodate our projected growth in customer base, trading volume, and technological upgrades. We cannot assure you that trading will be available or processed at all times during market hours. For example, on January 28, 2021, we had to halt purchases of stocks of GameStop, AMC, and Koss Corporation on our platform for approximately one and a half hours because Apex Clearing halted purchases of these stocks on their end. Some customers claimed that they suffered significant economic loss because of the halt and brought class action lawsuits against us. There can be no assurance that similar incidents will not happen again. Also, the ability of Apex Clearing to manage and accurately safeguard the funds and securities deposited in the Webull brokerage accounts requires a high level of internal controls. In the event our clearing partner fails to perform as expected, our business operations and reputation may be materially and adversely affected. We may in the future have disagreements or disputes with our clearing partner, which could negatively impact our working relationship with it and in turn adversely impact our business operations.

Additionally, the growth and success of our margin financing business depends on the availability of adequate funding to meet our customer demand for loans on our platform. In the United States, our fully disclosed margin accounts are funded by our clearing partner, for which we earn service fees. To the extent there is insufficient funding from our clearing partner, the funds available for our margin financing business might be limited and our ability to provide margin financing services to our customers to address their demand for loans would be adversely impacted. If we cannot continue to maintain our relationship with our clearing partner and obtain adequate funding at reasonable costs, we may not be able to continue to offer or grow our margin financing business.

In addition to margin fees we earn from our clearing partner, we receive a portion of the interest income that our clearing partner earns on the uninvested cash balances of our fully disclosed brokerage accounts and receive a portion of the fully paid lending fees our clearing partner earns on our brokerage accounts that participate in our clearing partner’s fully paid stock lending program. If we cannot continue to maintain our relationship with our clearing partner, our interest related income could be negatively impacted. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, 32.2% and 16.2% of our total revenues were attributable to payments from our clearing partner for interest related income, respectively. Beginning in 2023 and continuing through 2024, we have undertaken efforts to migrate our platform users’ brokerage accounts from a fully disclosed basis to an omnibus basis with our clearing partner, which has reduced our reliance on our clearing partner for margin financing and interest related income. If we cannot continue to migrate our platform users’ brokerage accounts to an omnibus basis, then we may not be able to further lower our reliance on our clearing partner for margin funding and interest related income.

Our clearing partner is subject to oversight by the SEC, FINRA, and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other jurisdictions and must comply with complex rules, regulations, and licensing and examination requirements. Failure to comply with those rules and regulations as well as licensing and examination requirements may subject our clearing partner to investigations, penalties, and legal proceedings, which may in turn materially and adversely affect its performance. In the event that our clearing partner cannot perform as expected due to its own non-compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, which is beyond our control, our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

In the event we need to enter into alternative arrangements with a different clearing partner to replace our existing arrangements, such transition may be time-consuming and affect our users’ experience or, if our platform becomes inoperable, may result in our inability to facilitate trades through our platform. We would also need to comply with applicable rules and regulations regarding execution and clearing services, which would be costly and time-consuming.

We historically provided our customers access to digital assets trading via our Webull App, which may subject us to risks.

We historically provided our customers access to digital assets trading via our Webull App through a collaboration between Webull Pay LLC, a then wholly-owned subsidiary of ours, and a third-party digital assets platform. In July 2023, we restructured to spin-off Webull Pay LLC, together with its digital assets business, into a separate entity outside of the Webull Corporation group, of which Mr. Anquan Wang is the sole director. Pursuant to the spin-off, we ceased providing customers with access to services relating to digital assets trading through our Webull App. As a result, since July 2023, we have ceased to consolidate the financial results of Webull Pay LLC in our financial statements. The historical financial results of Webull Pay LLC, to the extent applicable, are reflected in our consolidated financial statements as discontinued operations.

Digital assets laws, regulations and accounting standards are often difficult to interpret and may continue to develop in ways that are difficult to predict. U.S. and foreign regulators and governments have recently increasingly focused on the regulation of digital assets. Even though we have spun off the digital assets business, there can be no assurance that our historical digital assets operation would not subject us to inquiry, investigation or penalties, including such inquiries, investigations or penalties in relation to potential violations of state and/or federal securities laws. The legal test for determining whether any given digital asset is a security is a highly complex, fact-driven analysis, and the outcome is difficult to predict. The SEC staff has indicated that the determination of whether or not a digital asset is a security depends on the characteristics and use of that particular asset. The SEC generally does not provide advance guidance or confirmation on the status of any particular digital asset as a security. Occasionally, though the SEC and its staff have taken positions that certain digital asset are “securities” — often in the context of enforcement actions — and it is possible that a federal or state court may agree with a determination made by the SEC regarding the security status of any digital asset, including any digital assets that we may have offered through our Webull App. While we believe the digital assets we historically offered were not securities, we cannot assure you that future legislation, regulation or determination will not have an adverse effect upon us. For instance, any venue that brings together purchasers and sellers of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets that are characterized as securities in the U.S. is generally subject to registration as a national securities exchange, or must qualify for an exemption, such as by being operated by a registered broker-dealer as an alternative trading system. If any of the digital assets we historically offered were subsequently determined to be securities, we may be found to have violated applicable legislation or regulation due to a failure to comply with registration requirements or to have operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency, and could be subject to judicial or administrative sanctions, significant monetary penalties, censure or other actions that may have a material and adverse effect on us, including reputational harm.

Additionally, to the extent we still need to comply with accounting standards in connection with our historical digital assets operations, the digital assets accounting rules and regulations are complex and subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, the SEC and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret accounting principles. A change in these rules and regulations or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results and financial position, and could even affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement or effectiveness of a change. Further, there are a limited number of precedents for the financial accounting treatment of digital assets (including related issues of valuation and revenue recognition). Accordingly, there remains significant uncertainty as to the appropriate accounting for digital asset transactions, digital assets, and related revenues. Uncertainties in or changes in regulatory or financial accounting standards could result in the need to change our accounting methods and/or restate our financial statements, and could impair our ability to provide timely and accurate financial information, which could adversely affect our financial statements, and result in a loss of investor confidence.

Our customers may provide outdated, inaccurate, false, or misleading information during our “know your customer” procedures.

We collect personal information during the account opening and registration process and screen this information against public databases for purposes of verifying customer identity and detecting risks. Although we require our customers to submit documents and other information such as their address to prove their identity and complete the account registration process, and to update such information from time to time, the information provided by our customers may be outdated, inaccurate, false, or misleading. Though we believe we have appropriate ongoing monitoring procedures in place to keep customer information up to date pursuant to applicable regulatory requirements, we cannot fully verify the accuracy, up-to-date status and completeness of such information beyond reasonable effort. Under such circumstances, our provision of products and services to certain ineligible customers could be in violation of applicable laws and regulations and we may not be aware of this violation until we are warned by the relevant supervising authorities. We could still be subject to certain legal or regulatory sanctions, fines or penalties, financial loss, or damage to our reputation resulting from such violations.

We are exposed to credit risks associated with our margin financing services.

Our margin financing services will expose us to credit risks if our customers fail to perform contractual obligations or if the value of collateral held to secure the obligations is inadequate. We provide our margin financing services to our customers in the United States through Apex Clearing, our clearing partner, who provides the funding for these services. Pursuant to our agreement with Apex Clearing, we indemnify and hold them harmless from certain losses, liabilities, or claims resulting from any failure of the customers to make payments upon demand, which exposes us to off-balance sheet risk of credit loss in the event that our customers fail to satisfy their obligations or if the value of collateral held to secure the obligations is inadequate.

The risks associated with margin credit increase during periods of heightened market volatility or in cases where collateral is concentrated and market movements occur. During such periods, customers who utilize margin loans and who have collateralized their obligations with securities may find that the securities have a rapidly depreciating value and may not be sufficient to cover their obligations in the event of liquidation. We are also exposed to credit risk when our customers execute transactions, such as short sales of options and equities that can expose them to losses beyond their invested capital. We expect this kind of exposure to increase with the growth of our overall business, and, as a result, we may incur increasing amount of provision for contingent liabilities if we fail to manage the credit risks, which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In order to mitigate our credit risks associated with our margin financing services, we have adopted comprehensive internal policies and procedures designed to manage such risks. For details of such policies and procedures, see “Item 4. Information on the Company — B. Business Overview — Risk Management — Margin Financing Risks.” However, there can be no assurance that our internal policies and procedures will timely and effectively mitigate our exposure to credit risks or prevent us from incurring loss in this regard. See “— Risks Relating to Our Products and Services — Our compliance and risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective in identifying or mitigating risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risks.” If we fail to address these challenges and risks, our margin financing services may not develop as expected and our business prospects, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Our compliance and risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective in identifying or mitigating risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risks.

Our ability to comply with applicable complex and evolving laws, regulations, and rules is largely dependent on the establishment and maintenance of our compliance, audit, and reporting systems, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified compliance and other risk management personnel. We have devoted significant resources to developing our compliance and risk management policies and procedures and will continue to do so. Nonetheless, our policies and procedures to identify, monitor, and manage risks may not be fully effective in mitigating our risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risks. Our compliance and risk management policies and procedures rely on a combination of technical and human controls and supervision that are subject to error and failure. Some of our methods for managing risk are discretionary by nature and are based on internally developed controls and observed historical market behavior, and also involve reliance on standard industry practices. Many of our risk management policies are based upon observed historical market behavior or statistics based on historical models. During periods of market volatility or due to unforeseen events, the historically derived correlations upon which these methods are based may not be valid. As a result, these methods may not predict future exposures accurately, and these exposures could be significantly greater than what our models indicate. This could cause us to incur losses or cause our risk management strategies to be ineffective. Other risk management methods depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, customers, catastrophe occurrence, or other matters that are publicly available or otherwise accessible to us, which may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date, or properly evaluated. Our risk management policies and procedures may not adequately prevent losses due to technical errors if our testing and quality control practices are not effective in preventing failures. In addition, we may elect to adjust our risk management policies and procedures to allow for an increase in risk tolerance, which could expose us to the risk of greater losses.

In addition, although we perform due diligence on potential customers, it is possible that a regulator could determine we have not satisfied our legal and regulatory obligations, including, for example, our obligation to ensure all investment products offered on our platform are suitable for customers. If a user or customer does not meet the relevant qualification requirements under applicable laws but is still able to use our services, we may be subject to regulatory actions and penalties and held liable for damages. Management of operational, legal, and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures to properly record and verify a large number of transactions and events, and these policies and procedures may not be fully effective in mitigating our risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risks. To the extent a regulatory body determines that certain investment products on our platform (such as options trading, margin trading) are not suitable for all customers, we would have to cease offering those products to customers for whom they are not suitable, which we would expect to adversely impact our financial position. In the event of a regulatory action as a result of such determination, we could be subject to fines, penalties, and censures that generally would be expected to adversely impact our business.

Regulators periodically review our compliance with our own policies and procedures and with a variety of laws and regulations. We have received in the past and may from time to time receive additional examination reports citing violations of rules and regulations and inadequacies in our existing compliance program, and requiring us to enhance certain policies, procedures, and practices with respect to such compliance program, including training, reporting, and recordkeeping. If we fail to comply with these, or do not adequately remediate certain findings, regulators could take a variety of actions that could impair our ability to conduct our business. In addition, regulators have broad enforcement powers to censure, fine, issue cease-and-desist orders, or prohibit us from engaging in some of our business activities. In the case of non-compliance or alleged non-compliance, we could be subject to investigations and proceedings that may result in substantial penalties or civil lawsuits, including by customers, for damages, which can be significant. Any of these outcomes would adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, operating results, and financial condition.

Providing market insights and analytical tools could subject us to additional risks if such tools are construed to be investment advice or recommendations.

We provide a variety of market insights and analytical tools on our platform. While we do not consider such market information or tools to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation, we cannot guarantee that such services could not be construed as constituting investment advice or recommendations by customers or regulatory agencies. If we are deemed to be providing investment advice, we will be subject to additional risks and challenges, including those arising from how we disclose and address possible conflicts of interest, inadequate due diligence, inadequate disclosure, human error, and fraud. New regulations, such as the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest and certain state broker-dealer regulations, will impose heightened conduct standards and requirements if we are deemed to provide recommendations to retail investors. In addition, various states are considering potential regulations or have already adopted certain regulations that could impose additional standards of conduct or other obligations on us if we provide investment advice or recommendations to our customers. Furthermore, we could be subject to investigations by regulatory agencies if our services are construed as constituting investment advice or recommendations. To the extent that the services we provide are construed or alleged to constitute investment advice or recommendations and we fail to satisfy regulatory requirements, fail to know our customers, improperly advise our customers, or if the risks associated with advisory services otherwise materialize, we could be found liable for losses suffered by those customers, or could be subject to regulatory fines, penalties, and other actions such as business limitations, any of which could harm our reputation and business.

Risks Relating to Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Failure to protect customer data and privacy or to prevent security breaches relating to our platform could result in economic loss, damage our reputation, deter customers from using our products and services, and expose us to legal penalties and liability.

Our computer system, the networks we use, and the networks and online trading platforms of the exchanges and other third parties with whom we interact are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic computer break-ins, viruses, and similar disruptive problems or security breaches. A party that is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or customer information, jeopardize the confidential nature of the information we transmit over the internet and mobile networks, or cause interruptions in our operations. We or our service providers may be required to invest significant resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by any breaches.

We collect, store, and process certain personal and other sensitive data from our customers, which makes us a potential target to cyberattacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, or similar disruptions. Individuals who wish to create non-trading accounts on the Webull platform provide us with their contact information, such as their email address or mobile phone number, or existing accounts they have opened with third parties, such as Google and Facebook, so that they can log in to the Webull platform. If these users proceed to open trading accounts with our registered broker-dealers, then in the course of providing services to them, we collect or receive identity, biometric, contact, financial and profile data, and other information from these users, as well as usage information, geolocation data, activity date, and tracking data. While we have taken steps to protect the confidential information that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. Because the techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until they are launched against a target, we may not be able to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. Any accidental or willful security breaches or other unauthorized access to our system could cause confidential customer information to be stolen and used for criminal purposes. Security breaches or unauthorized access to confidential information could also expose us to liability related to the loss of the information, time-consuming and expensive litigation, and negative publicity. We have not been subject to any material breaches of any of our cybersecurity measures in the past. If security measures are breached and perceived to be breached, including because of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance, or otherwise, or if design flaws in our technology infrastructure are or are perceived to be exposed and exploited, our relationships with customers could be severely damaged, we could incur significant liability and our business operations could be adversely affected. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data, could cause our customers to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims.

Laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity and data privacy are complex and evolving.

Due to our global operations, we are subject to laws and regulations related to the protection of personal data, privacy, and information security of various jurisdictions where we do business and/or have customers, including but not limited to the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. As we further proceed with our global expansion and penetrate into additional markets, we may be subject to laws and regulations of additional jurisdictions. These legislations and regulations govern our practices in relation to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer, and processing of personal data. For example, legislation and regulations of several jurisdictions to which we are subject require network operators to follow the principles of legitimacy in relation to the requirement of lawful and fair collection of personal data, consent of data subjects, retention of personal data, use and disclosure of personal data, security of personal data, personal data policies and practices, and rights to access and correction of personal data.

Compliance with applicable laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions across the globe is challenging. Many of the data-related legislations are evolving and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Certain concepts thereunder may also be subject to clarifications and interpretations by the regulators. Also, there are uncertainties as to the interpretation and application of laws in one jurisdiction which may be interpreted and applied in a manner inconsistent with another jurisdiction and may conflict with our current policies and practices or require changes to the features of our systems. Despite our efforts to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to cybersecurity and data privacy in connection with our ordinary course of business, we cannot assure you that our existing user information protection systems and technical measures will be considered sufficient or compliant under applicable laws and regulations. Any actual or perceived failure on our part to comply with applicable laws or regulations relating to cybersecurity or data privacy, or the perception or allegation that any of the foregoing types of failures have occurred, could damage our reputation or result in investigations, fines, suspension of our app, or other forms of sanctions or penalties by governmental authorities and private claims or litigation, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We expect that cybersecurity and data privacy compliance will receive greater attention and focus from regulators across the globe as well as attract continued or greater public scrutiny and attention going forward, which could increase our compliance costs and subject us to heightened risks and challenges associated with cybersecurity and data privacy.

We may also be subject to new laws, regulations, or standards or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations, or standards regarding cybersecurity and data privacy, which may require us to incur additional costs and restrict our business operations. For instance, several U.S. states have enacted new cybersecurity laws and regulations to protect the personally identifiable information of their residents, including California, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, Colorado, Delaware, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. Additionally, state legislative activity and public pressure have prompted new proposals for comprehensive federal data privacy laws and regulations. These and other data privacy laws, and proposed laws, if enacted, may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact strategies and the availability of previously useful data, and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. Any violations or perceived violation of these laws and regulations by our business or the third-party service providers with which we share personally identifiable information may require us to change our business practices or operational structure, including limiting our activities in the applicable market(s), address legal and/or regulatory investigations and claims, and sustain monetary penalties, reputational damage and/or other harms to our business.

We may face intellectual property infringement claims and other claims of third-party rights, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe or otherwise violate patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be other third-party intellectual property rights that are infringed by our products and services or other aspects of our business. There could also be existing intellectual property rights of which we are not aware that we may inadvertently infringe. The conduct of our business including our products and services may also infringe intellectual property rights of other third parties. Our existing intellectual property rights may be revoked, invalidated, or otherwise limited if other third parties successfully raise challenges or claims against us. Although we have not been subject to any material intellectual property infringement claim in the past, we cannot assure you that holders of intellectual property rights purportedly relating to some aspect of our technology or business, if any such holders exist, would not seek to enforce such intellectual property rights against us. If we are found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringing activities or may be prohibited from using such certain intellectual property or technology, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. In addition, we may incur significant expenses, and may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business operations to defend against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merits.

We may not be able to prevent others from making unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and may incur increasing costs to protect us against such infringements. If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, our brand and business may suffer.

We rely primarily on trade secret, contract, copyright, trademark, and patent law to protect our proprietary technology. It is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain and use our proprietary technology without authorization or otherwise infringe our rights. We cannot assure you that any of our intellectual property rights would not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or such intellectual property will be sufficient to provide us a competitive advantage. In addition, other parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property rights, which would cause us to suffer economic or reputational damages, and we may not be able to successfully assert infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights. Because of the rapid pace of technological change, we cannot assure you that all of our proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property will be patented in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. Furthermore, parts of our business rely on technologies developed or licensed by other parties, or co-developed with other parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these other parties on reasonable terms, or at all.

Some of our products and services contain open-source software, which may pose particular risk to our proprietary software, products and services in a manner that negatively affects our business.

We use open-source software in some of our products and services. There is a risk that open-source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide or distribute our products or services. Additionally, we may face claims from third parties demanding release of our proprietary software as a result of our use of open-source software. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, purchase a costly license or cease offering the implicated products or services unless and until we can re-engineer them to avoid infringement. This re-engineering process could require significant additional research and development resources, and we may not be able to complete it successfully.

Although we monitor our use of open-source software to avoid subjecting our platform to conditions we do not intend, we have not recently conducted an extensive audit of our use of open-source software and, as a result, we cannot assure you that our processes for controlling our use of open-source software in our platform are, or will be, effective. If we are held to have breached or failed to fully comply with all the terms and conditions of an open-source software license, we could face litigation, infringement, or other liability, or be required to seek costly licenses from third parties to continue providing our offerings on terms that are not economically feasible, to re-engineer our platform, to discontinue or delay the provision of our offerings if re-engineering could not be accomplished on a timely basis or to make generally available, in source code form, our proprietary code, any of which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. Moreover, the terms of many open-source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts. As a result, there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide or distribute our platform. From time to time, there have been claims based on improper use of open-source software against companies that incorporate open-source software into their solutions. As a result, we could be subject to lawsuits by parties claiming improper use of what we believe to be open-source software.

Risks Relating to Finance, Accounting and Tax Matters

We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future and may not be able to achieve profitability or achieve positive cash flow from operations on a consistent basis.

We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we continue to hire additional employees, expand our marketing and branding efforts, develop additional products and services, and expand our geographic footprint. Moreover, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses, including substantially higher costs to obtain and maintain director and officer liability insurance, as a result of becoming a public company. This may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. Our revenue growth may slow down or our revenue may decline for a number of other reasons, including reduced demand for our products and services, increased competition, or any failure to capitalize on growth opportunities. If we are unable to effectively manage these risks and difficulties as we encounter them, our business, operating results, and financial condition may suffer.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our revenues and expenses are currently denominated predominantly in U.S. dollars. However, revenues and expenses incurred from our non-U.S. operations — both of which will likely increase as a result of our plans to expand our business operations to new markets — are or will typically be denominated in the local currency of the applicable country. The exchange rates of certain foreign currency against the U.S. dollar may fluctuate significantly and unpredictably. The value of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar may be affected by changes in economic conditions and by foreign exchange policies, among other things. It is difficult to predict how market forces or government policy may impact the exchange rates in the future.

To date, we have not entered into any material hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to make greater use of hedging instruments in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

In addition, as we plan to expand our operations to additional regions, including additional countries in Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, we will be exposed to the effects of fluctuations in the exchange rates of additional currencies. The value of the currencies used in the regions where we plan to expand may fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in economic conditions. We cannot assure you that movements in foreign currency exchange rates will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in future periods.

We have granted and may continue to grant share incentive awards in the future, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.

In order to promote the success and enhance the value of our company, our shareholders have approved and authorized to reserve a certain number of our Class A ordinary shares as an award pool for the purpose of share incentive award grants, and we have granted share incentive awards under such award pool from time to time. For further detailed information, please refer to “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees — B. Compensation — Global Plan.” For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, we recorded $29.4 million and $32.6 million, respectively, in share-based compensation. We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

If we are not able to control our labor costs in an effective way, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Labor costs are the most significant component of our fixed costs. As the world recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages kept inflation elevated and increased labor costs in our key markets. In addition, we are required by local laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including Social Security and Medicare in the United States and employer-sponsored health insurance plans for the benefit of our employees. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to grow as our business grows in scale. Significant additional increase in government-imposed wage and employee benefits in the jurisdictions where we have operations may affect our profitability and results of operations, unless we are able to pass these costs onto our users by increasing prices of our products and services.

Failure to comply with local labor laws and make adequate contributions to various employee benefits plans as required by local regulations may subject us to penalties.

As we have corporate offices in multiple jurisdictions, we are required to register with governmental authorities and participate in various government-sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, provident funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where our employees are based. Failure in making contributions to various employee benefit plans in strict compliance with applicable local labor-related laws may subject us to late payment penalties, and we could be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. Further, failure to timely obtain work permits for our foreign employees may subject us to penalties and we may be unable to hire such foreign employees. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Changes to U.S. and foreign tax laws, as well as the application of such laws, could adversely impact our financial position and operating results.

We are subject to complex tax laws and regulations in the United States and a variety of foreign jurisdictions. All of these jurisdictions have in the past and may in the future make changes to their corporate income tax rates and other income tax laws which could increase our future income tax provision. For example, our future income tax obligations could be adversely affected by earnings that are lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory rates and by earnings that are higher than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory rates, by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, by changes in the amount of unrecognized tax benefits, or by changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles, or interpretations thereof, including changes with possible retroactive application or effect.

Our determination of our tax liability is subject to review and may be challenged by applicable tax authorities. Any adverse outcome of such challenge could harm our operating results and financial condition. The determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment and, in the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is complex and uncertain. Moreover, as a multinational business, we have subsidiaries that engage in many intercompany transactions in a variety of tax jurisdictions where the ultimate tax determination is complex and uncertain. Our existing corporate structure and intercompany arrangements have been implemented in a manner we believe is in compliance with current prevailing tax laws. Furthermore, as we operate in multiple taxing jurisdictions, the application of tax laws can be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities of these jurisdictions. It is not uncommon for taxing authorities in different countries to have conflicting views with respect to, among other things, the characterization and source of income or other tax items, the manner in which the arm’s-length standard is applied for transfer pricing purposes, or with respect to the valuation of intellectual property. The taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our tax treatment of certain items or the methodologies we use for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and operating results.

We are also subject to non-income taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property, and goods and services taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Specifically, we may be subject to “digital service taxes” or new allocations of tax as a result of increasing efforts by certain jurisdictions to tax cross border activities that may not have been subject to tax under existing international tax principles. Technology companies such as ours may be subject to such taxes. Tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken. As a result, we may have exposure to additional tax liabilities that could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

In addition, our future effective tax rates could be favorably or unfavorably affected by changes in tax rates, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, the effectiveness of our tax planning strategies, or changes in tax laws or their interpretation. Such changes could have an adverse impact on our financial condition.

As a result of these and other factors, the ultimate amount of tax obligations owed may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and any such difference may harm our operating results in future periods in which we change our estimates of our tax obligations or in which the ultimate tax outcome is determined.

Key business metrics and other estimates are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and our business, operating results, and financial conditions could be adversely affected by real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics.

We regularly review key business metrics, including the number of our registered users, funded accounts, our trading volume, and other measures to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance, and make strategic decisions. These key metrics are calculated using internal company data and have not been validated by an independent third party. While these numbers are based on what we currently believe to be reasonable estimates for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in such measurements. If we fail to maintain an effective analytics platform, calculations of our key metrics may be inaccurate, and we may not be able to identify those inaccuracies. Our key business metrics may also be impacted by compliance or fraud-related bans, technical incidents, or false or spam accounts in existence on our platform. We regularly deactivate fraudulent and spam accounts that violate our terms of service and exclude these users from the calculation of our key business metrics; however, we may not succeed in identifying and removing all such accounts from our platform. If our metrics provide us with incorrect or incomplete information about users and their behavior, we may make inaccurate conclusions about our business.

We have limited insurance coverage of our operations, which may expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

We currently carry limited insurance in connection with our brokerage business, which does not cover customer losses from fraud or theft. However, we do not carry business interruption insurance to compensate for losses that could occur to the extent not required. We also do not maintain general product liability insurance or key-man insurance, and only maintain limited general property insurance. We consider our insurance coverage to be reasonable in light of the nature of our business, but we cannot assure you that our insurance coverage is sufficient to prevent us from any loss or that we will be able to successfully claim our losses under our current insurance policies on a timely basis, or at all. If we incur any loss that is not covered by our insurance policies, or the compensated amount is significantly less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We and our independent registered public accounting firm have identified in past years a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Prior to the Closing, we had been a private company and we were never required to evaluate our internal controls within a specified period of time. As a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting.

However, in the course of preparing and auditing our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness and other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. According to the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our company’s annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness identified as of December 31, 2022 related to our inability to sufficiently evaluate certain control activities performed by a digital assets service provider as such provider did not have a SOC 1 report. In July 2023, we spun off our digital assets business into a separate entity outside of Webull Corporation and we ceased to provide customers with access to services relating to digital assets trading through our platform and therefore discontinued using such service provider.

Our failure to correct any material weakness identified or our failure to discover and address any other deficiencies could result in inaccuracies in our financial statements and impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. Moreover, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could significantly hinder our ability to prevent fraud.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that we include a report of management on our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second Annual Report on Form 20-F. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, 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 adverse 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 complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation in a timely manner.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other 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, 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 shares.

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. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Securities of Webull

Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, which would increase the number of Webull shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to Webull shareholders. Further, the terms of the Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive approve of such amendment. As a result, the exercise price of such warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise of such warrants could be decreased, all without your approval.

Webull Warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 17,271,990 Webull Class A Ordinary Shares will become exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement. The exercise price of the Webull Warrants will be US$11.50 per share (subject to adjustment pursuant to the Warrant Assignment Agreement). Incentive Warrants to purchase up to 20,913,089 Webull Class A Ordinary Shares will also become exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Incentive Warrant Agreement governing those securities. The initial exercise price of the Incentive Warrants will be US$10.00 per share (subject to adjustment pursuant to the Incentive Warrant Agreement). The Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination, except as Webull will not be obligated to deliver any Webull Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to the exercise of Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the respective warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying Webull’s obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. To the extent such Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants are exercised, additional Webull Class A Ordinary Shares will be issued, which will result in dilution to the existing holders of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and increase the number of Webull shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares. However, there is no guarantee that the Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants will ever be “in the money” while they are exercisable and/or prior to their expiration, and as such, the Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants may expire worthless. For more information on our warrants, including conditions to their exercisability, please see “Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities — B. Warrants and Rights.”

The Incentive Warrant Agreement and the Warrant Assignment Agreement provide that the terms of the Webull Warrants or the Webull Incentive Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of curing any ambiguity, or curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision contained therein, or adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Incentive Warrant Agreement and the Warrant Assignment Agreement, respectively, as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the interest of the holders of warrants; provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the outstanding Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants, as applicable. Further, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Webull Private Warrants or any provision of the Warrant Assignment Agreement with respect to the Webull Private Warrants, at least a majority of the number of then outstanding Webull Private Warrants is required to approve such modifications or amendments that may adversely affect a holder of Webull Private Warrants. Although Webull's ability to amend the terms of the Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding Webull Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of such warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise of a Webull Warrant or Webull Incentive Warrant.

We may redeem your unexpired Webull Public Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making such warrants worthless.

Not less than all of the outstanding Webull Public Warrants may be redeemed, at the option of Webull, at any time while they are exercisable and prior to their expiration, at the office of the Warrant Agent, upon notice to the registered holders of the Webull Public Warrants, at a redemption price of $0.01 per Webull Public Warrant; provided that (a) the last reported sales price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares for any twenty (20) Trading Days (as defined in the Warrant Assignment Agreement) within the thirty (30) Trading-Day period ending on the third Trading Day prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given equals or exceeds $18.00 per Webull Class A Ordinary Share (subject to adjustment), and (b) there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Webull Public Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the period of not less than thirty (30) days prior to the redemption date or Webull has elected to require the exercise of the Webull Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement.

In the event that Webull elects to redeem the Webull Public Warrants, Webull shall fix a date for redemption (the “Webull Public Warrant Redemption Date”). Notice of redemption shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, by Webull not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Webull Public Warrant Redemption Date to the registered holders of the Webull Public Warrants to be redeemed at their last addresses as they shall appear on the registration books. Any notice mailed in the manner provided in the Warrant Assignment Agreement shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given whether or not the registered holder received such notice.

The Webull Public Warrants may be exercised for cash (or on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement, if applicable) at any time after the notice of redemption shall have been given by Webull and prior to the Webull Public Warrant Redemption Date. In the event that Webull determines to redeem the Webull Public Warrants or require all holders of Webull Public Warrants to exercise their Webull Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement, the notice of redemption shall contain instructions on how to calculate the number of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares to be received upon exercise of the Webull Public Warrants. If we elect to require the Warrants to be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

Similarly, not less than all of the outstanding Webull Incentive Warrants may be redeemed, at the option of Webull, at any time while they are exercisable and prior to their expiration, at the office of the Warrant Agent, upon notice to the registered holders of the Webull Incentive Warrants, at a redemption price of $0.01 per Webull Incentive Warrant; provided that (a) the VWAP (as defined in the Incentive Warrant Agreement) of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares for any thirty (30) Trading-Day period ending on the third Trading Day (as defined in the Incentive Warrant Agreement) prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given equals or exceeds $18.00 per Webull Class A Ordinary Share (subject to adjustment), and (b) there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Webull Incentive Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the period of not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Incentive Warrant Redemption Date (as defined below).

In the event that Webull elects to redeem the Webull Incentive Warrants, Webull shall fix a date for the redemption (the “Webull Incentive Warrant Redemption Date”). Notice of redemption shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, by Webull not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Webull Incentive Warrant Redemption Date to the registered holders of the Webull Incentive Warrants to be redeemed at their last addresses as they shall appear on the registration books. Any notice mailed in the manner provided in the Incentive Warrant Agreement shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given whether or not the registered holder received such notice.

The Webull Incentive Warrants may be exercised for cash at any time after the notice of redemption shall have been given by Webull and prior to the Webull Incentive Warrant Redemption Date. On and after the Webull Incentive Warrant Redemption Date, the record holder of the Webull Incentive Warrants shall have no further rights except to receive, upon surrender of the Webull Incentive Warrants, the price per Webull Incentive Warrant at which any Webull Incentive Warrants are redeemed.

Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants and not lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares had such warrants remained outstanding, or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. Webull is not contractually obligated to notify investors when the Webull Warrants or the Webull Incentive Warrants become eligible for redemption and does not intend to so notify investors upon eligibility of the Webull Warrants or the Webull Incentive Warrants for redemption, unless and until it elects to redeem such warrants pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement or the Incentive Warrant Agreement. For more information, also see “Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities — B. Warrants and Rights.”

Holders of Webull Warrants will only be able to exercise their Webull Warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if they do so, they will receive fewer Webull Class A Ordinary Shares from such exercise than if such warrants were exercised for cash.

The Webull Public Warrants generally may not be exercised on a “cashless basis”, except as described below.

The Warrant Assignment Agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of Webull Public Warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Webull Public Warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Assignment Agreement; and (ii) if we have so elected and the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares are at the time of any exercise of a Webull Public Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act. If you exercise your Webull Public Warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances described in clauses (i) and (ii) in the preceding sentence, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the Warrants for that number of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Webull Public Warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price and the Fair Market Value by (y) the Fair Market Value. “Fair Market Value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A Ordinary Shares for the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date that notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent from the holder of such Webull Public Warrants or its securities broker or intermediary. As a result, a holder of Webull Public Warrants would receive fewer Webull Class A Ordinary Shares from such exercise than if such Webull Public Warrants were exercised for cash.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, publish inaccurate or unfavorable research or cease publishing research about Webull, the price of Webull Securities and trading volume could decline significantly.

The trading market for Webull’s securities will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about Webull or its business. We may be unable to sustain coverage by well-regarded securities and industry analysts. If either none or only a limited number of securities or industry analysts maintain coverage of Webull, or if these securities or industry analysts are not widely respected within the general investment community, the demand for Webull’s securities could decrease, which might cause the price of Webull Securities and trading volume to decline significantly. In the event that Webull obtains securities or industry analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover Webull downgrade their assessment of Webull or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price and liquidity for Webull’s securities could be negatively impacted.

Future resales of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares issued to Webull shareholders and other significant shareholders may cause the market price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well. Future resales of the Webull Private Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants may also cause the market price of the Webull Public Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well.

Pursuant to the Auxo Support Agreement the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain non-redemption agreement investors are restricted, subject to certain exceptions, from selling any of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares that they received in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination for one year after the consummation of the Business Combination. Further, pursuant to the Webull Articles, the Existing Webull Shareholders are also restricted from selling any of their Webull Class A Ordinary Shares for 180 days after the consummation of the Business Combination.

Pursuant to the Auxo Support Agreement, 25% of the shares held by the Initial SKGR Shareholders were released from the transfer restrictions provided for in the Auxo Support Agreement in connection with the closing of the Business Combination in order to satisfy, reduce or defray any actual or potential taxes imposed (or in the Initial SKGR Shareholders’ reasonable judgment expected to be imposed) on the Initial SKGR Shareholders or their affiliates as a result of any failure of the Business Combination to qualify for an Intended Tax Treatment (as defined below). The Auxo Support Agreement also permits a release of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares subject to transfer restrictions if after the Closing Date the closing price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any twenty (20) Trading Days (as defined in the Auxo Support Agreement) within a thirty (30)-Trading Day period commencing at least one hundred and fifty (150) days after the Closing Date. The Webull Private Warrants are subject to a 30-day lock-up following the Closing Date pursuant to the Auxo Support Agreement and their resale is expected to be covered by the resale registration statement that we expect to file.

The Webull Articles also provide that a majority of the directors of Webull then in office or a duly authorized committee of the Webull board of directors may release the transfer restrictions on the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares held by the Existing Webull Shareholders from the transfer restrictions included in the Webull Articles. Further, the Webull Articles provide that following the date on which the closing price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any twenty (20) Trading Days (as defined in the Webull Articles) within a thirty (30)-Trading Day period, Webull may, at its discretion, release up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the shares held by an Existing Webull Shareholder (determined as of the date immediately before the date of such determination) from the transfer restrictions included in the Webull Articles; provided that if Webull releases any of shares subject to transfer restrictions, the same percentage of lock up shares held by other Existing Webull Shareholders as the percentage of the shares subject to transfer restrictions that are subject to the release shall be deemed to have also been simultaneously released; provided further that the foregoing shall not apply to any shares held by a Water Castle Az Inc., (which is the record holder of the shares beneficially owned by our founder, Anquan Wang) NotNull Inc., Webull Partners Limited (which is the record holder of certain shares held by Webull’s directors and officers) and any other person to whom any such person may transfer any shares subject to transfer restrictions.

The Webull Incentive Warrants held by certain of the Existing Webull Shareholders are not subject to any contractual transfer restrictions and are expected to be freely transferable as long as the resale registration statement that Webull expects to file remains effective.

As of the Closing Date, 455,599,003 Webull Ordinary Shares are held by the Existing Webull Shareholders and subject to the transfer restrictions in the Webull Articles and 3,892,884 Webull Ordinary Shares are held by the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain non-redemption agreement investors and are subject to the transfer restrictions in the Auxo Support Agreement.

Upon expiration or waiver of the applicable lock-up periods, and upon effectiveness of the resale registration statements that Webull expects to file or upon satisfaction of the requirements of Rule 144 under the Securities Act, certain significant securityholders of Webull, including the Existing Webull Shareholders, our founder Mr. Anquan Wang, the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain investors party to Non-Redemption Agreement and Additional Non-Redemption Agreements, may sell large amounts of Webull Securities (including Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Incentive Warrants and Webull Private Warrants) in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, which could have the effect of increasing the volatility in the price of our securities or putting significant downward pressure on the price of the Webull Securities. We do not know when or in what amount such sales may occur. The registration of securities for resale does not mean that such securities necessarily will be offered or sold.

Moreover, the securities to be offered for resale in the prospectus that will form a part of the resale registration statement that we expect to file represent a substantial percentage of our total issued and outstanding securities and our public float (a significant percentage of the SKGR Class A Ordinary Shares that were issued in connection with the SKGR IPO exercised their right to redeem in connection with, or prior to, the Business Combination). The sale of all the securities we expect to register with the resale registration statement, or the perception that these sales could occur, could result in a significant decline in the public trading price of our securities and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional securities. Despite a potential decline in the public trading price of our securities, the selling securityholders to be covered by the resale registration statement may still experience a positive rate of return on the securities they purchased and may have an incentive to sell due to the differences in their purchase prices and the public trading price of our securities. Our public securityholders may not experience a similar rate of return on the securities they purchased due to differences in their purchase prices and the current trading price. Some of the selling securityholders to be covered by the resale registration statement purchased or received their securities at prices considerably below current market prices. We will not receive any proceeds from the resale of the securities by selling securityholders to be covered by the resale registration statement we expect to file, except with respect to amounts received by Webull upon exercise of the Webull Warrants (to the extent the Webull Private Warrants are exercised for cash) and the Webull Incentive Warrants. For more information on the resale registration statement, the Registration Rights Agreement and registration rights, also see “— The grant and future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of Webull Ordinary Shares upon consummation of the Business Combination.” For more information on the potential exercise of our warrants, please see “—Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, which would increase the number of Webull shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to Webull shareholders.”

There can be no assurance that Webull will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq.

While trading on Nasdaq has begun, there can be no assurance that Webull’s securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq or that a viable and active trading market will develop. If Nasdaq delists Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants from trading on its exchange due to failure to continue to meet the listing standards, Webull and its shareholders could face significant material adverse consequences including:

A market for Webull’s securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of Webull’s securities.

An active trading market for Webull’s securities may never develop or, if developed, may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your Webull’s securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

The trading prices of Webull’s securities may be volatile and may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

These and other factors may cause the market price and demand for Webull’s securities to fluctuate substantially, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of Webull’s securities. Fluctuations may be even more pronounced in the trading market for Webull’s securities shortly following the Business Combination. Following periods of such volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Because of the potential volatility of Webull’s securities, Webull may become the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from its business.

The Existing Warrant Agreement, which was assigned to Webull pursuant to the Warrant Assignment Agreement upon the Closing and under which one SKGR Warrant became one Webull Warrant upon such Closing, and the Incentive Warrant Agreement, each designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of the warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with Webull in connection with such warrants.

SKGR, Webull and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company have entered into the Warrant Assignment Agreement, pursuant to which SKGR assigned to Webull, effective as of Closing, all of its rights, title, interests, and liabilities and obligations in and under the Warrant Agreement, dated June 23, 2022, by and between SKGR and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Existing Warrant Agreement”). In connection with such assignment, each SKGR Public Warrant converted into a Webull Public Warrant at such time, and the Existing Warrant Agreement was amended and restated in its entirety by the Warrant Assignment.

The Warrant Assignment Agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against Webull arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Assignment Agreement, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) Webull irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. Webull has waived any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the Warrant Assignment Agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of Webull Public Warrants under the Warrant Assignment Agreement shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions of the Warrant Assignment Agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the Warrant Assignment Agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of the warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

The Incentive Warrant Agreement contains identical choice of law and forum provision as that of the Warrant Assignment Agreement. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of the Warrant Assignment Agreement and Incentive Warrant Agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, Webull may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of Webull’s management and board of directors.

Our issuance of additional share capital in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our equity incentive plan or otherwise will dilute all other shareholders.

We expect to issue additional share capital in the future that will result in dilution to all other shareholders. We expect to grant equity awards to employees under the Global Plan (including options, restricted shares, restricted share units or other types of awards approved pursuant to the Global Plan) or new incentive plans that we may adopt in the future. For additional information on the Global Plan, see “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees — B. Compensation — Global Plan.” We may also raise capital through equity financings or convertible and structured security financings in the future. As part of our business strategy, we may acquire or make investments in companies, solutions or technologies and issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition or investment. Any such issuances of additional share capital may cause shareholders to experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares to decline. For more information on other sources of dilution related to the potential exercise of the Webull Warrants and Webull Incentive Warrants, please also see above under “—Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, which would increase the number of Webull shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to Webull shareholders.”

The grant and future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of Webull Ordinary Shares upon consummation of the Business Combination.

Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement entered into in connection with the Business Combination, certain holders of Webull securities that entered into such agreement can each demand that Webull register their registrable securities and assist in underwritten takedown of such securities under certain circumstances and will each also have piggyback registration rights for these securities in connection with certain registrations of securities that Webull undertakes. In addition, following the consummation of the Business Combination, Webull expects to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a resale shelf registration statement on Form F-3 once eligible to do so after the Closing Date and if any of the registrable securities proposed to be sold by a holder of registration rights may at that point not be sold unconditionally without registration in any ninety (90) day period pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act.

As previously disclosed in the Registration Statement on Form F-4 that was filed with the SEC in connection the Business Combination (the “F-4”), Webull (a) has also filed a resale prospectus supplement (the “Resale Prospectus Supplement”) to the proxy statement/prospectus, dated March 10, 2025 (the “Public Offering Prospectus”), which was in the form of the previously disclosed resale prospectus for the Initial SKGR Shareholders that formed a part of the F-4 that was declared effective by the SEC on March 10, 2025, and (b) expects to file a resale shelf Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the “F-1 Resale Shelf”) within 15 business days after the Closing Date in order to (i) register the exercise of the Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants, (ii) register the issuance of certain of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares upon conversion of Webull Class B Ordinary shares, (iii) register the resale of the Webull Private Warrants held by the Sponsor, (iv) register the resale of the Incentive Warrants issued to certain Existing Webull Shareholders, and (v) register the resale of certain of the Webull Ordinary Shares held by the Existing Webull Shareholders, the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain investors that are party to Non-Redemption Agreements and Additional Non-Redemption Agreements. The Webull Ordinary Shares to be covered by the Resale Prospectus Supplement do not represent a primary issuance of new shares by Webull following the Closing Date and only represent a secondary offering registration of shares that are already issued and outstanding and held by the Sponsor as of the Closing Date. Similarly, the F-1 Resale Shelf registrations described in items (iii) to (v) in the foregoing will not represent a primary issuance of new securities by Webull following the Closing Date and will only represent a secondary offering registration of securities that are already issued and outstanding as of the Closing Date.

The sale of all the securities being offered by the Initial SKGR Shareholders in the Resale Prospectus Supplement or by the selling shareholders pursuant to the F-1 Resale Shelf, or the perception that these sales could occur, could result in a significant decline in the public trading price of our securities. The frequency of such sales could also cause the market price of our securities to decline or increase the volatility in the market price of our securities. Any exercise of warrants may also result in a dilutive issuance of new Webull Class A Ordinary Shares given the exercise price of the Webull Warrant or the Webull Incentive Warrants may be lower than the current trading price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares. For more information, also see above under “— Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants will become exercisable for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, which would increase the number of Webull shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to Webull shareholders.”

The registration of securities for resale does not mean that such securities necessarily will be offered or sold, including because such securities may be subject to transfer restrictions, as provided by the Support Agreement and the Webull Articles. Webull will not receive any proceeds from any such offer or sale by the selling shareholders named in the Resale Prospectus Supplement and the F-1 Resale Shelf.

Immediately following the consummation of the Business Combination, 455,599,003 Webull Ordinary Shares are held by the Existing Webull Shareholders and subject to the transfer restrictions in the Webull Articles and 3,892,884 Webull Ordinary Shares are held by the Initial SKGR Shareholders and certain non-redemption agreement investors and are subject to the transfer restrictions in the Auxo Support Agreement. As of the date of this Report, 334,870,669 Webull Ordinary Shares, being 72.6% of Webull’s then issued and outstanding Webull Ordinary Shares, have registration rights under the Registration Rights Agreement.

For more information on potential resales, including on transfer restrictions applicable to the securities that we expect to register for resale with the resale registration statement that we expect to file, also see “— Future resales of Webull Ordinary Shares issued to Webull shareholders and other significant shareholders may cause the market price of the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well. Future resales of the Webull Private Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants may also cause the market price of the Webull Public Warrants or Webull Incentive Warrants to drop significantly, even if Webull’s business is doing well.”

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert our management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, Nasdaq listing requirements and other applicable securities rules and regulations. As such, we will incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses. These expenses may increase even more if we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We may need to hire more employees or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We expect these laws and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to render some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty.

Many members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage the transition to being a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and regulations and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. The need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert the management’s attention from implementing its growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and consequently we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These additional obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of its board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in this Report, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be adversely affected, and, even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could cause an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and reputation.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and the reduced SEC reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make Webull Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive to investors, which could have a material and adverse effect on us, including our growth prospects.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the Closing, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least US$1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of Webull shares held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our prior second fiscal quarter, and (ii) the date on which we issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We intend to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to most other public companies, including, but not limited to, an exemption from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

In addition, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts “emerging growth companies” from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with certain other public companies difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Furthermore, even after we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as long as we continue to qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.

As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they deem important or at the same time if we were a non-foreign private issuer. We cannot predict if investors will find Webull Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find Webull Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market and share price for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares may be more volatile.

We qualify as a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: (i) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC; (ii) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; (iii) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and (iv) the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

We are required to file an Annual Report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. Accordingly, if you continue to hold our securities, you may receive less or different information about us than that you would receive about a U.S. domestic public company.

We could lose our status as a foreign private issuer under current SEC rules and regulations if more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities become directly or indirectly held of record by U.S. holders and any one of the following is true: (i) the majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents; (ii) more than 50% of our assets are located in the United States; or (iii) our business is administered principally in the United States. If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer in the future, we will no longer be exempt from the rules described above and, among other things, will be required to file periodic reports and annual and quarterly financial statements as if we were a company incorporated in the United States. If this were to happen, we would likely incur substantial costs in fulfilling these additional regulatory requirements, and members of our management would likely have to divert time and resources from other responsibilities to ensuring these additional regulatory requirements are fulfilled.

As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to domestic U.S. companies; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed on Nasdaq as a foreign private issuer. Nasdaq listing rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to domestic U.S. companies.

Among other things, we are not required to have: (i) a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors; (ii) a compensation committee consisting of independent directors; (iii) a nominating committee consisting of independent directors; or (iv) regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year.

Except as otherwise disclosed in this Report, we intend to rely on the exemptions listed above. As a result, you may not be provided with the benefits of certain corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq applicable to U.S. domestic public companies. As described in more details in this Report under “Item 16D. Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees” and “Item 16G. Corporate Governance,” we currently rely on certain “controlled company” and foreign private issuer exemptions from Nasdaq listing standards (including (i) an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors; (ii) an exemption from the rule that director nominees must be selected or recommended solely by independent directors; (iii) an exemption from the rule that the compensation committee must be comprised solely of independent directors; and (iv) an exemption from the requirement that an audit committee be comprised of at least three members under Nasdaq Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)) and certain phase-in exemptions with respect to compliance with the audit committee requirements set forth in Nasdaq Rule 5605(c)(2) and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Some of our assets are located outside the United States. One of our officers resides outside the United States and a substantial portion of the assets of such person are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such officer, or to enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against such officer.

Our corporate affairs are governed by the Webull Articles, the Cayman Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by minority Webull shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws than the United States and some U.S. states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, shareholders of Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of association, special resolutions, and the register of mortgages and charges, of such companies) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under the Webull Articles to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. If we continue to choose to follow certain home country practices in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

Our dual-class voting structure will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares may consider beneficial.

We have adopted a dual-class voting structure such that the Webull Ordinary Shares consist of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and Webull Class B Ordinary Shares. Holders of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and Webull Class B Ordinary Shares have the same rights other than voting and conversion rights. Each holder of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares is entitled to one vote per share and each holder of Webull Class B Ordinary Shares is entitled to 20 votes per share on all matters submitted to them for a vote. Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and Webull Class B Ordinary Shares vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as may otherwise be required by law. Each Webull Class B Ordinary Share is convertible into one Webull Class A Ordinary Share, whereas Webull Class A Ordinary Shares are not convertible into Webull Class B Ordinary Shares under any circumstances. Upon any transfer of Webull Class B Ordinary Shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity which is not an affiliate of such holder, such Webull Class B Ordinary Shares are automatically and immediately converted into the equal number of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares.

Mr. Anquan Wang, one of the founders of Webull, owns approximately 18.0% of the outstanding Webull Ordinary Shares and owns all of the outstanding Webull Class B Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 81.4% of Webull’s total voting power. As such, Mr. Anquan Wang has considerable influence over matters requiring shareholder approval, such as electing directors and approving material mergers, acquisitions or other business combination transactions. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could also discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover, or other change of control transaction, which could have the effect of depriving the holders of Webull Class A ordinary shares of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price.

Our dual-class voting structure may render Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and Webull Warrants ineligible for inclusion in certain stock market indices, and thus adversely affect the trading price and liquidity of such securities.

Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multi-class share structures in certain of their indices. For example, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have changed their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. As a result, our dual-class voting structure may prevent the inclusion of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares and Webull Warrants in such indices, which could adversely affect the trading price and liquidity of such securities.

If Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants are not eligible for deposit and clearing within the facilities of the Depository Trust Company, then transactions in the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants may be disrupted.

The facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) are a widely used mechanism that allow for rapid electronic transfers of securities between the participants in the DTC system, which include many large banks and brokerage firms. Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants are currently eligible for deposit and clearing within the DTC system. We have entered into arrangements with DTC whereby we will agree to indemnify DTC for stamp duty that may be assessed upon it as a result of its service as a depository and clearing agency for the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants, and DTC has agreed to accept the Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants for deposit and clearing within its facilities.

DTC is not obligated to continue accepting Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants for deposit and clearing within its facilities, and there can be no assurance that DTC will continue to accept Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants for deposit and clearing within the facilities. DTC will generally have discretion to cease to act as a depository and clearing agency for Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants.

If DTC determines at any time that Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants are no longer eligible for continued deposit and clearance within its facilities, then we believe that Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants or Incentive Warrants would not be eligible for continued listing on a U.S. securities exchange and trading in the securities or warrants would be disrupted. While we would pursue alternative arrangements to preserve its listing and maintain trading of its securities, any such disruption could have a material adverse effect on the market price of Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants and Incentive Warrants.

There can be no assurance that Webull will not be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders.

A non-U.S. corporation, such as Webull, will be classified as a “passive foreign investment company” for U.S. federal income tax purposes (“PFIC”) if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets. The calculation of the value of our assets will be based, in part, on the quarterly market value of Webull Ordinary Shares.

Based on the composition of the income, assets and operations of Webull and its subsidiaries for 2024, Webull does not believe it was a PFIC for the taxable year ending December 31, 2024. However, whether Webull is treated as a PFIC for any taxable year is a factual determination that can only be made after the close of such taxable year, involves extensive factual investigation, including ascertaining the fair market value of all its assets on a quarterly basis and the character of each item of income that it earns, and, thus, is subject to significant uncertainty and change. In addition, the determination of whether Webull is treated as a PFIC for the taxable year depends upon whether Webull’s market capitalization stays the same or declines. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to Webull’s status as a PFIC for the taxable year ending December 31, 2024, the current taxable year, or any future taxable year. If Webull were to be or become a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds Webull Class A Ordinary Shares, Webull Warrants and/or Incentive Warrants, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. See “Item 10. Additional Information — E. Taxation — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future and, as a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of the Webull Ordinary Shares.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our share capital. We currently intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, to fund the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future decisions regarding the declaration and payment of dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then-existing conditions, including our financial condition, results of operation, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, payment of future dividends is subject to certain limitations pursuant to Cayman Islands law. See “Item 10. Additional Information — B. Memorandum and Articles of Association — The Webull Articles — Dividends. Accordingly, you may need to rely on sales of your Webull Ordinary Shares after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any gains on your investment.