INUV Inuvo, Inc. - 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

An investment in our common stock involves a significant degree of risk. Many of the risk factors are, and will continue to be, exacerbated by any worsening of the economic environment. You should not invest in our common stock unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. You should consider carefully the following risk factors and other information in this report before deciding to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks and uncertainties develops into actual events, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected and you could lose your entire investment in our Company.

Business Risks

We have a history of losses. We cannot anticipate with any degree of certainty what our revenues will be in future periods. Our revenues increased approximately 2.9% in 2025 as compared to 2024, however, our gross profit margin decreased by 10.1% to 74.5% in 2025. We reported an operating loss of approximately $5.1 million in 2025 as compared to an operating loss of approximately $5.8 million in 2024. Though we have a credit facility dependent upon receivables, the negative cash flows generated from operating activities introduces potential risk of an interruption to operating activities. As of December 31, 2025, we have approximately $2.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our net working capital deficit was $5.1 million. We have encountered recurring losses and cash outflows from operations, which historically we have funded through equity offerings and debt facilities. In addition, our investment in internally developed software consists primarily of labor costs which are of a fixed nature. Through December 31, 2025, our accumulated deficit was $178.3 million. See Liquidity and Capital Resources under ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS for a more thorough discussion.

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We rely on two customers for a significant portion of our revenues.  A significant portion of our revenue is derived from two customers. During 2025 these two customers accounted for 64.2% and 19.3% of our revenues, respectively. In 2024, the same two customers accounted for 75.0% and 7.0% of our revenues, respectively. The amount of revenue we receive from these customers is dependent on a number of factors outside of our control; this includes the amount the customers charge for advertisements, the depth of their available advertisements, and their ability to display relevant ads in response to end user queries and changes in advertising budgets resulting from their own business circumstances. Historically, we have been able to replace lost clients with new clients or by expanding our relationship with existing clients, however, we would likely experience a significant decline in revenue and our business operations could be significantly harmed if we lose material customers or are unable to replace lost clients. The loss of material customers or a material change in the revenue or gross profit they generate would have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition in future periods.

We are exposed to credit risk on our accounts receivable and this risk is heightened during periods when economic conditions worsen . We sell some of our solutions directly to advertisers and advertising agencies on credit. Our outstanding accounts receivables to advertisers and advertising agencies are not covered by collateral, third-party financing arrangements or credit insurance. Our exposure to credit and collectability risk on our accounts receivables is higher with some customers and our ability to mitigate such risks may be limited. As we continue to add new customers and expand our direct relationships with advertisers and advertising agencies our credit risk increases. Additionally, our credit risk increases during periods when economic conditions worsen. While we have procedures to monitor and limit exposure to credit risk on our accounts receivables there can be no assurance such procedures will effectively limit our credit risk and avoid losses.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to establish and maintain direct relationships with advertisers and advertising agencies. Some of our solutions generate revenue directly from advertisers and advertising agencies. Accordingly, our ability to generate revenue for our solutions is dependent upon our ability to attract new advertisers, maintain relationships with existing advertisers and fulfill our advertisers’ orders. Our programs to attract advertisers include direct sales, agency sales, online promotions, referral agreements and participation in tradeshows. We attempt to maintain relationships with our advertisers through providing quality customer service and delivering on campaign goals. Our advertisers and advertising agency clients can generally terminate their contracts with us at any time and with limited or no advance notice. We believe that advertisers and advertising agencies will not continue to do business with us if their investment in advertising with us does not generate sales leads, and ultimately customers, or if we do not deliver their advertisements in an appropriate and effective manner. If we are unable to remain competitive and provide value to our advertisers, they may stop placing ads with us, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent upon relationships with and the success of our supply partners. Our supply partners, including owners and publishers of websites and mobile applications, remain a critical component of our success. Our ability to generate revenue depends on these partners’ capacity to attract and retain users and deliver traffic that results in engagement with advertisements we distribute. While we continue to recruit and retain supply partners and have made progress in stabilizing and expanding our supply network, turnover within our partner base remains inherent to our business. Supply partners may face challenges due to competition, rapidly evolving market dynamics, technological advancements, industry consolidation, and shifting consumer preferences, which may reduce traffic volumes or engagement levels. In addition, some partners may pursue direct relationships with advertisers, view us as competitors, or find alternative solutions more attractive. As a result, traffic levels and advertising inventory available through our supply network may fluctuate, and there can be no assurance that departing partners will be replaced or that traffic volumes will increase. Any disruption in our ability to maintain, replace, or effectively scale our supply partnerships could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our business depends on third-party advertising platforms that establish and enforce their own policies, and changes in those policies, standards or commercial terms could adversely affect our revenue and operating results. We generate a portion of our revenue through relationships with third-party advertising platforms that control the distribution, monetization and measurement of advertising traffic. These platforms establish and enforce their own policies, quality standards, compliance requirements and commercial terms, which may change from time to time. We do not control the interpretation or application of such policies, nor do we control the algorithms and systems used by these platforms to evaluate traffic quality and performance. If a third-party platform determines that certain traffic does not meet its standards, or concludes that our practices are inconsistent with its policies or commercial requirements, it may reduce traffic allocations, modify monetization rates, delay or withhold payments, require operational changes, or suspend or terminate our participation. In addition, platforms periodically modify their algorithms, compliance standards, demand allocation methodologies and pricing models, which may result in fluctuations in revenue, margins and traffic volumes. Any such actions or changes could adversely affect our Platform revenue, operating results and cash flows, and could require us to adjust our business practices or incur additional costs to maintain compliance.

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The success of our owned sites is dependent on our ability to acquire traffic in a profitable manner. Our ALOT-branded websites are dependent on our ability to attract traffic in a profitable manner. We use a predictive model to calculate the rate of return for marketing campaigns, which includes estimates and assumptions. If these estimates and assumptions are not accurate, we may not be able to effectively manage our marketing decisions and could acquire traffic in an unprofitable manner. In addition, we may not be able to maintain and grow our traffic for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, acceptance of our websites by consumers, the availability of advertising to promote our websites, competition, and sufficiency of capital to purchase advertising. We advertise on search engine websites to drive traffic to our owned and operated websites. Our keyword advertising is done primarily with Google and Facebook, but also with Yahoo!. If we are unable to maintain and grow traffic to our sites in a profitable manner, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Because competition for our target employees is intense, we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees we need to support our operations and increasing customer base. In the technology industry, there is substantial and continuous competition for engineers with high levels of experience in designing, developing and managing software and Internet-related services, as well as competition for executives and sales and operations personnel. Many of our competitors have substantially more resources than we do and have the ability to compensate highly skilled personnel at higher levels than we can.  We may not be successful in attracting and retaining qualified highly skilled personnel. We have from time to time experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. In addition, job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the stock awards they receive in connection with their employment. If our stock price performs poorly, it may adversely affect our ability to retain highly skilled employees. If we fail to attract new personnel or fail to retain and motivate our current personnel, our business and future growth prospects could be severely harmed.

Technological Risks

Our business must keep pace with rapid technological change to remain competitive. Our business operates in a rapidly changing technological landscape, evident with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence technologies and tools, as well as the deprecation of third-party cookies. To stay competitive, we must swiftly adapt to evolving industry standards, new product releases, and changing customer preferences. Continual improvement of our services’ speed, performance, and compatibility across diverse platforms is crucial. Failure to keep pace with these technological shifts could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. Our increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies also exposes us to risks related to data quality, model performance, regulatory scrutiny, and evolving legal standards governing the use of automated decision-making technologies.

Our services may be interrupted if we experience problems with our network infrastructure . The performance of our network infrastructure is critical to our business and reputation. Because our services are delivered solely through the Internet, our network infrastructure could be disrupted by a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

unexpected increases in usage of our services;

computer viruses and other security issues;

interruption or other loss of connectivity provided by third-party Internet service providers;

natural disasters or other catastrophic events; and

server failures or other hardware problems.

While we have data centers in multiple, geographically dispersed locations and active back-up and disaster recovery plans, we cannot assure you that serious interruptions will not occur in the future. If our services were to be interrupted, it could cause loss of users, customers and business partners, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

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We employ information including operational technology systems to support our business and to collect, store and/or use proprietary and confidential information. Security and data breaches, cyberattacks and other cybersecurity incidents involving our information technology systems, networks and infrastructure could disrupt or interfere with our operations; result in the compromise and misappropriation of proprietary and confidential information belonging to us or our customers, suppliers and employees; and expose us to numerous expenses, liabilities and other negative consequences, any or all of which could adversely impact our business, reputation and results of operations.

In the ordinary course of business, we rely on information technology networks and systems, some of which are provided, hosted or managed by vendors and other third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of businesses. Additionally, we collect and store certain data, including proprietary business information, and have access to confidential or personal information in certain of our businesses that is subject to privacy and cybersecurity laws, regulations and customer-imposed controls. Third parties and threat actors, including organized criminals, nation-state entities, and/or nation-state supported actors, may attempt to gain unauthorized access to our information and operational technology networks and infrastructure, data and other information. Despite our cybersecurity and business continuity counter measures (including employee and third-party training, monitoring of networks and systems, patching, maintenance, and backup of systems and data), our information and operational technology systems, networks and infrastructure are still potentially susceptible to cyber-attack, insider threat, compromise, damage, disruption, or shutdown, including as a result of the exploitation of known or unknown hardware or software vulnerabilities in our systems or the systems of our vendors and third-party service providers, the introduction of computer viruses, malware or ransomware, service or cloud provider disruptions, or security breaches, phishing attempts, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, telecommunication or utility failures, systems failures, natural disasters or other catastrophic events. Despite our cybersecurity counter measures, it is possible for security vulnerabilities or a cyberattack to remain undetected for an extended time period and the prioritization of decisions with respect to security measures and remediation of known vulnerabilities that we and the vendors and other third parties upon which we rely make may prove inadequate to protect against these attacks. Any cybersecurity incident or information or operational technology network disruption could result in numerous negative consequences, including the risk of legal claims or proceedings, investigations or enforcement actions by U.S., state, or foreign regulators; liabilities or penalties under applicable laws and regulations, including privacy laws and regulations in the U.S. and other jurisdictions; interference with our operations; the incurrence of remediation costs; loss of intellectual property protection; the loss of customer, supplier or employee relationships; and damage to our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business. Although we maintain insurance coverage for various cybersecurity and business continuity risks, there can be no guarantee that all costs, damages, expenses or losses incurred will be fully insured.

We are subject to risks from publishers who could fabricate clicks either manually or technologically.

Our business involves the establishment of relationships with website owners and publishers. In exchange for their consumer traffic, we provide an advertising placement service and share a portion of the revenue we collect with that website publisher. Although we have click fraud detection software in place, we cannot guarantee that we will identify all fraudulent clicks or be able to recover funds distributed for fabricated clicks. This risk could materially impact our ability to borrow, our revenue, cash flow and the stability of our business.

Regulatory Risks

Regulatory and legal uncertainties could harm our business. While there are currently limited federal laws directly applicable to certain aspects of Internet-based commerce or commercial search activity, there is increasing awareness of such activity and interest from state and federal lawmakers in regulating these services. New regulation of activities in which we are involved or the extension of existing laws and regulations to Internet-based services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

Failure to comply with federal, state and international privacy and data security laws and regulations, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new privacy and data security laws or regulations, could adversely affect our business. A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of consumer data. In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws regarding privacy matters. For example, recently there have been Congressional hearings and increased attention to the capture and use of location-based information relating to users of smartphones and other mobile devices, and internationally the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in May 2018. Additionally, multiple legislative proposals concerning privacy and the protection of user information are being considered by the U.S. Congress and various U.S. state legislatures. Certain U.S. state legislatures have already enacted privacy legislation, one of the strictest and most comprehensive of which is the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which became effective on January 1, 2020 (the “CCPA”). The CCPA provides data privacy rights for California consumers and restricts the ability to use personal California user. The CCPA also provides consumers with a private right of action for security breaches, as well as provides for statutory damages. We have posted privacy policies and practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of subscriber data on our websites and applications. The existing and soon to be enacted privacy and data security related laws and regulations are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. Several Internet companies have incurred penalties for failing to abide by the representations made in their privacy policies and practices. In addition, several states have adopted legislation that requires businesses to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect sensitive personal information and to provide notice to consumers in the event of a security breach. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any data-related consent orders, Federal Trade Commission requirements or orders or other federal, state or international privacy or consumer protection-related laws, including the GDPR and CCPA, regulations or industry self-regulatory principles could result in claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other liabilities, which could adversely affect our business.

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We are subject to the continued listing standards of the NYSE American and our failure to satisfy these criteria may result in delisting of our common stock . Our common stock is listed on the NYSE American. In order to maintain this listing, we must maintain a certain share price, a minimum amount of shareholders’ equity and a minimum market value of publicly held shares. In addition to these objective standards, the NYSE American may delist the securities of any issuer (i) if, in its opinion, the issuer’s financial condition and/or operating results appear unsatisfactory; (ii) if it appears that the extent of public distribution or the aggregate market value of the security has become so reduced as to make continued listing on the NYSE American inadvisable; (iii) if the issuer sells or disposes of principal operating assets or ceases to be an operating company; (iv) if an issuer fails to comply with the NYSE American’s listing requirements; (v) if an issuer’s securities sell at what the NYSE American considers a “low selling price” which the exchange generally considers $0.20 per share and the issuer fails to correct this via a reverse split of shares after notification by the NYSE American; or (vi) if any other event occurs or any condition exists which makes continued listing on the NYSE American, in its opinion, inadvisable. There are no assurances how the market price of our common stock will be impacted in future periods as a result of the general uncertainties in the capital markets. If the NYSE American delists our common stock, investors may face material adverse consequences, including, but not limited to, a lack of trading market for our common stock, reduced liquidity, decreased analyst coverage of our common stock, and an inability for us to obtain any additional financing to fund our operations that we may need.

Financial Risks

Our business is seasonal and our financial results may vary significantly from period to period. Our future results of operations may vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year because of numerous factors, including seasonality. Historically, in the later part of the fourth quarter and the earlier part of the first quarter we experience lower Revenue Per Click (“RPC”) due to a decline in demand for inventory on website and app space and the recalibrating of advertiser’s marketing budgets after the holiday selling season. If we are not able to appropriately adjust to seasonal or other factors, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Our quarterly operating results can be difficult to predict and can fluctuate substantially, which could result in volatility in the price of our common stock. Our quarterly revenues and other operating results have varied in the past and are likely to continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Our agreements with distribution partners and key customers do not require minimum levels of usage or payments, and our revenues therefore fluctuate based on the actual usage of our service each quarter by existing and new distribution partners. Quarterly fluctuations in our operating results also might be due to numerous other factors, including:

our ability to attract new distribution partners, including the length of our sales cycles, or to sell increased usage of our service to existing distribution partners;

technical difficulties or interruptions in our services;

changes in privacy protection and other governmental regulations applicable to our industry;

changes in our pricing policies or the pricing policies of our competitors;

the financial condition and business success of our distribution partners;

purchasing and budgeting cycles of our distribution partners;

acquisitions of businesses and products by us or our competitors;

competition, including entry into the market by new competitors or new offerings by existing competitors;

discounts offered to advertisers by upstream advertising networks;

our ability to hire, train and retain sufficient sales, client management and other personnel;

timing of development, introduction and market acceptance of new services or service enhancements by us or our competitors;

concentration of marketing expenses for activities such as trade shows and advertising campaigns;

expenses related to any new or expanded data centers; and

general economic and financial market conditions.

Ability to maintain our credit facility could impact our ability to access capital in the future.  On July 30, 2024, we entered into a Financing and Security Agreement and Collateral Documents (“Financing Agreement”) with SLR Digital Finance LLC (“SLR”). Under the terms of the Financing Agreement, SLR has provided us with a $10,000,000 line of credit commitment. We are permitted to borrow against eligible accounts receivable and unbilled receivables. The Financing Agreement has a three year term and contains certain affirmative and negative covenants to which we are also subject. As of December 31, 2025, we were in compliance with these covenants. There are no assurances that we will be able to comply with all the covenants. In the event we violate a covenant, SLR may limit or demand all amounts due under the credit facility at any time, including upon an event of default outstanding, if any, to be due and payable. If this occurs and if we have outstanding obligations and are not able to repay, SLR could require us to apply all of our available cash to repay the debt amounts and could then proceed against the underlying collateral. Should this occur, we cannot assure you that our assets would be sufficient to repay our debt in full, we would be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance the debt. In such an event, our ability to conduct our business as it is currently conducted would be in jeopardy.

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In addition to our credit facility, we may incur additional indebtedness from time to time, including convertible or other debt instruments. Any such indebtedness could increase our leverage, require the use of significant cash resources to service or repay obligations, and limit our financial flexibility. Our ability to meet these obligations depends on our future operating performance, cash flows, and access to capital, which are subject to market conditions and other factors beyond our control.

Significant dilution will occur when outstanding restricted stock unit grants vest. As of December 31, 2025, we had 779,979 restricted stock units outstanding. If the restricted stock units vest, dilution will occur to our stockholders, which may be significant.

Our financial condition may be adversely affected if we are unable to identify and complete future acquisitions, fail to successfully integrate acquired assets or businesses, or are unable to obtain financing for acquisitions on acceptable terms. The acquisition of assets or businesses that we believe to be complementary to our business is an important component of our strategy. We believe that acquisition opportunities may arise from time to time, and that any such acquisitions could be significant. At any given time, discussions with one or more potential sellers may be at different stages. However, any such discussions may not result in the consummation of an acquisition transaction, and we may not be able to identify or complete any acquisitions. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that any announcement or consummation of an acquisition would have on the trading price of our ordinary shares. Our business is capital intensive and any such transactions could involve the payment by us of a substantial amount of cash and/or equity securities. We may need to raise additional capital through public or private debt or equity financings to execute our growth strategy and to fund acquisitions. Adequate sources of capital may not be available when needed on favorable terms. If we raise additional capital by issuing additional equity securities or use equity securities for acquisitions, existing shareholders may be diluted. If our capital resources are insufficient at any time in the future, we may be unable to fund acquisitions, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could harm our business. Any usage of capital to fund an acquisition could lead to a decrease in liquidity.

Any future acquisitions could present a number of risks, including:

the risk of using management time and resources to pursue acquisitions that are not successfully completed;

the risk of incorrect assumptions regarding the future results of acquired operations;

the risk that the amount and timing of the expected benefits of any acquisition, including potential synergies, are subject to uncertainties;

the risk of unexpected losses of key employees, customers and suppliers of the acquired business;

the risk of increasing the scope, geographic diversity, and complexity of our business;

the risk of unfavorable accounting treatment and unexpected increases in taxes;

the risk of difficulty in conforming standards, controls, procedures, policies, business cultures, and compensation structures;

the risk of failing to integrate the operations or management of any acquired operations or assets successfully and in a timely manner; and

the risk of diversion of management’s attention from existing operations or other priorities.

If we are unsuccessful in completing acquisitions of other operations or assets, our financial condition could be adversely affected and we may be unable to implement an important component of our business strategy successfully. In addition, if we are unsuccessful in integrating our acquisitions in a timely and cost-effective manner, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for 2025 and 2024 should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements that are included elsewhere in this report. Our discussion includes forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those set forth under Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information, Part I. Item 1. Business and Item 1A. Risk Factors. We use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.

Company Overview

Inuvo is a market leader in generative artificial intelligence for modeling media audiences. As a leading provider of AI-driven data and advertising technology solutions, we have successfully commercialized a proprietary, patented large language model (“LLM”) that identifies and actions the reasons why consumers are interested in products, services, or brands - rather than who they are - offering a high-performance, privacy-by-design solution for the modern advertising landscape.

Intelligence for the Agentic Era. As the industry moves toward “agentic” systems - where autonomous AI agents increasingly handle the planning and execution of media tasks - Inuvo is uniquely positioned as a critical intelligence layer. Unlike legacy systems that rely on static historical data or consumer IDs (cookies), Inuvo’s technology provides the real-time, intent-based reasoning required for autonomous media planning and activation. By serving as the neural network for these adaptive systems, Inuvo enables brands to move from traditional audience targeting to dynamic model planning.

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Inuvo’s core competitive advantage lies in Intent Discovery. While the programmatic industry has traditionally relied on reaching known users based on past behavior, Inuvo’s AI discovers new, high-value audiences as their motivations form.

This intelligence is delivered through a suite of advanced visualization and compliance tools:

The Company’s flagship proprietary AI, IntentKey®, analyzes live content consumption across the open web, mapping human motivation to a concept graph of over 25 million ideas. This allows Inuvo to predict purchase intent with precision, often identifying emerging audience shifts 24 hours before they become competitive in the open market. This, in turn, delivers targeting leverage that translates to superior supply/demand yields within bid streams.

IntentPath: A first-of-its-kind visualization that allows marketers to see “intent-in-motion,” mapping the real-time journey from initial discovery to final purchasing decision.

Ranger: An AI-powered quality assurance feature within our Campsight system that ensures ad creatives remain consistent, accurate and compliant across digital networks.

Inuvo delivers these capabilities through two primary business channels:

Agencies & Brands: Managed and self-service offerings that utilize Inuvo’s intelligence layer for precision audience discovery and brand-safe activation across CTV, Video, Audio, Native, and Display channels.

Platform: Inuvo provides strategic integrations for large consolidators of advertising demand. This business is optimized to prioritize advertising quality, scalability, and compliance, leveraging AI to align merchant messaging with online content in a durable, defensible manner.

Inuvo’s competitive moat and intellectual property are protected by 18 issued and three pending patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Our IP portfolio includes patents, trade secrets and trademarks. We actively seek to protect our IP rights and to deter unauthorized use of our IP and other assets. While our IP rights are important to our success, our business is not significantly dependent on any single patent, trademark, or other IP right.

Credit Agreement

On July 30, 2024, we entered into a Financing and Security Agreement and Collateral Documents (“Financing Agreement”) with SLR Digital Finance LLC (“SLR”). Under the terms of the Financing Agreement, SLR has provided us with a $10,000,000 line of credit commitment. We are permitted to borrow up to 90% of eligible accounts receivable under the Financing Agreement, up to the maximum credit commitment of $10,000,000. We will pay SLR monthly interest at the rate of 1.0% in excess of the Prime Rate but not less than 7%. The Financing Agreement has a three year term. The Financing Agreement contains certain affirmative and negative covenants to which we are also subject. We agreed to pay SLR an annual facility fee of 0.80% of the maximum credit commitment. We also agreed to pay a minimum utilization amount of the interest rate multiplied by difference between $500,000 and the average daily outstanding loan during a month. We are obligated to pay SLR a monthly service fee of 0.15% on of the average net amount of outstanding loans during each month. If we terminate the Financing Agreement prior to the second anniversary of the effective date, an amount equal to 1.0% of the maximum credit commitment will be due as an early termination payment and if we terminate after the second anniversary of the effective date but prior to the end of the term, an amount equal to 0.25% of the maximum credit commitment will be due. Repayment of the Financing Agreement will be made through collections from eligible accounts receivable. At December 31, 2025 the outstanding balance under the Financing Agreement at that date was $3,288,100.

2025 Overview

We reported net revenue of $86.2 million in 2025, a 2.9% increase over the prior year. The highlights of 2025, include:

Inuvo introduced IntentPath for next-level audience visualization capability that predicts how audiences move from awareness to engagement to conversion.

The Company launched Ranger, an advanced quality assurance and compliance capability within its Campsight system, designed to strengthen responsible monetization and improve creative verification and message consistency.

The Company appointed Rob Buchner as Chief Operating Officer in a newly created role to support operational scale and accelerate go-to-market execution for IntentKey, and he was subsequently appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in January 2026.

15 new Agencies/Brands were signed up.

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Results of Operations

For the Years Ended December 31,

Change

% Change

Net Revenue

Cost of Revenue

Gross Profit

Net Revenue

We reported $86.2 million in net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025, a 2.9% increase compared to $83.8 million during the same period in 2024. Platform clients represented 83.8% of the overall revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 82.8% in the same period of 2024. For the year ended December 31, 2025, our two largest clients, both Platform clients, accounted for 64.2% and 19.3% of our overall revenue, respectively.  During 2024 our largest client, also a Platform client, accounted for 75.0% of our revenues. Revenue from one of our largest Platform clients increased significantly in 2025 compared to the prior year due to the introduction of a new product in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, this increase was offset by a decline in revenue from our largest Platform client, as advertising activity was reduced during the second half of 2025 to comply with our client's new requirements.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue is primarily composed of payments to website publishers and app developers that host advertisements. To a lesser extent, cost of revenue includes payments to advertising exchanges that provide access to digital inventory where we serve advertisements. The increase in cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the same time period in 2024 was primarily related to the change in mix within Platform revenue. As mentioned above, revenue from a new product introduced in the fourth quarter of 2024 accounted for the increase in cost of revenue. The change in gross margin in the current year ended December 31, 2025, 74.5% compared to 85.6% in the same period of 2024 was primarily due to a change in the revenue mix.

Operating Expenses

For the Year Ended December 31,

Change

% Change

Marketing costs

Compensation

General and administrative

Operating expenses

Marketing costs consist primarily of traffic acquisition, or media, costs and include expenses incurred to attract and direct audience traffic to various web properties. Marketing costs for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 was 13.0% lower due primarily to lower revenue in 2025 from the Platform client mentioned in Net Revenue section above and to fully amortizing the remaining balance of $600,000 of the referral and support services asset in the third quarter of 2024 (see Note 8 – Business Development Agreement to our Consolidated Financial Statements).

Compensation expense was flat for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the same time period in 2024. Our total employment, both full and part-time, was 79 at December 31, 2025 compared to 81 at December 31, 2024.

General and administrative expenses increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 primarily due to a $1.4 million reduction in the allowance for expected credit losses recorded in 2024 related to a balance due from a former client. That client subsequently paid its outstanding balance in full and had no remaining obligations to the Company as of December 31, 2025.

Financing expense, net

Finance expense, net of interest income, for the year ended December 31, 2025 was approximately $259,000 expense and was primarily due to interest and financing expenses of approximately $400,000 and commitment fee expense of approximately $80,000 offset by interest income of approximately $218,000. During 2025, the Company received a delayed refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of which $158,000 was recorded as interest income.

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Finance expense, net of interest income, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was approximately $266,000 expense and was primarily due to interest expense of approximately $221,000 and commitment fee expense of approximately $66,000 offset by interest income of approximately $71,000.

Other income, net

Other income, net, for the year ended December 31, 2025 was income of approximately $1.9 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company received a payment from the IRS totaling $610,352 in connection with an amended form filed in May 2023 for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) related to the first quarter of 2021. Of this amount, $533,093 was recognized in Other Income, and $77,259 of interest was recorded in Financing expense, net. The Company received an additional ERC payment from the IRS related to the second quarter of 2021, totaling $606,156. Of this amount, $525,085 was recognized in Other Income, and $81,071 of interest was recorded in Financing expense, net.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company received a refund of approximately $700,000 from a partner related to amounts previously paid in 2022. The refund was recognized in other income during 2025 and represents a non-recurring item.

Other income, net, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was income of approximately $26,000 for setup charges to new Platform partners.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity are the sale of our common stock and our credit facility discussed in Note 6 – Bank Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On May 7, 2024, we entered into an At The Market Offering Agreement (the “ATM Agreement”) with H.C. Wainwright & Co. LLC (“Wainwright”), to sell shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, (the “Shares”), having an aggregate sales price of up to $15,000,000, from time to time, through an “at the market offering” program under which Wainwright will act as sales agent. The sales of the Shares made under the ATM Agreement will be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. We will pay Wainwright a commission rate of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of Shares. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we did not sell any shares of common stock under the ATM Agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we utilized the ATM Agreement and sold 165,641 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $1,184,740, before deducting commissions and other offering-related costs.

On July 31, 2024, we entered into a Financing and Security Agreement (the “Financing Agreement”) with SLR Digital Finance LLC (“SLR”), effective July 30, 2024. Pursuant to the terms of the Financing Agreement, SLR will finance up to $10 million subject to availability based on the amount of eligible accounts receivable. Eligibility is determined by criteria such as geographic location of the customer and aging of receivables. As of December 31, 2025, our accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses, were $5,887,884, of which a substantial portion qualified as eligible under the Financing Agreement. At December 31, 2025, the outstanding balance due under the Financing Agreement was $3,288,100. See Note 6 – Bank Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

We have focused our resources behind a plan to market our collective multi-channel advertising capabilities differentiated by our AI technology, the IntentKey, where we have a technological advantage and higher margins. If we are successful in implementing our plan, we expect to return to and maintain positive cash flows from operations. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to achieve this objective.

As of December 31, 2025, we have approximately $2.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our net working capital deficit was $5.1 million. We have encountered recurring losses and cash outflows from operations, which historically we have funded through equity offerings and debt facilities. For the year ended December 31, 2025 we had a net loss of $5.1 million and the net cash used in operations was $1.8 million. Additionally, our investment in investing activities totaled approximately $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. This amount primarily consists of internally developed software costs, which are largely comprised of fixed labor costs, along with other capitalized expenditures. Through December 31, 2025, our accumulated deficit was $178.3 million.

Subsequent to December 31, 2025, on January 14, 2026, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with a certain investor pursuant to which the Company authorized the issuance of subordinated convertible notes in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $3.33 million, subject to a 10% original issue discount. The subordinated convertible note is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $3.10 per share, subject to applicable NYSE American ownership limits and certain registration rights obligations. In connection with the convertible note financing, the Company also entered into a debt subordination agreement with its senior lender and a registration rights agreement with the investor. This financing provided incremental liquidity subsequent to year-end and is included as a subsequent event. Management expects the additional capital to enhance the Company’s liquidity position and support operations and strategic initiatives in 2026.

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Subsequent to December 31, 2025, the Company received approximately $6.2 million in connection with a previously disclosed class action settlement. The settlement proceeds represent a one-time, non-recurring cash inflow and enhanced the Company’s liquidity position after year-end. Management considered the receipt of these proceeds, along with subsequent financing activity, in its assessment of the Company’s liquidity and capital resources.

Management plans to support the Company’s future operations and capital expenditures primarily through cash generated from its credit facility until such time as we reach profitability. The credit facility is due upon demand and therefore there can be no assurances that sufficient borrowings will be available to support future operations until profitability is reached. We believe our current cash position, together with availability under our credit facility and proceeds received subsequent to December 31, 2025 from the $6.2 million class action settlement and the subordinated convertible note issued in January 2026, will be sufficient to sustain operations for at least the next twelve months from the date of this filing. If our plan to grow the IntentKey product is unsuccessful, we may need to fund operations through private or public sales of securities, debt financings or partnering/licensing transactions over the long term.

Cash Flows

The table below sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the years ended 2025 and 2024:

Net cash provided by/(used) in operating activities

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities

Cash Flows - Operating

Net cash used in operating activities was $1,786,301 during 2025. We reported a net loss of $5,095,518, which included non-cash expenses: depreciation and amortization of $2,234,749 and stock-based compensation of $1,144,773. The change in operating assets and liabilities was a net use of cash of $303,348 primarily due to a decrease in the accounts receivable balance of $6,703,509, offset by decreases in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $5,565,487 and accounts payable of $1,331,567. Our terms are such that we generally collect receivables prior to paying trade payables. However, our media sales arrangements typically have slower payment terms than the terms of related payables.

During 2024, cash provided by operating activities was $229,554. We reported a net loss of $5,761,801 which included the non-cash expenses of depreciation and amortization of $2,515,177, stock-based compensation expenses of $1,501,444, $800,000 for the impairment and amortization of a referral and support services agreement, and amortization of right of use assets of $54,356. The change in operating assets and liabilities was a net provision of cash of $2,342,255.

Cash Flows - Investing

Net cash used in investing activities was $1,601,903 for 2025 and consisted primarily of capitalized internal development costs. Net cash used in investing activities in 2024 was $1,857,375 and consisted primarily of capitalized internal development costs.

Cash Flows - Financing

Net cash provided by financing activities was $3,768,880 during 2025, primarily due to the utilization of our Financing Agreement as discussed in Note 6 - Bank Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements and sales of common stock through the ATM as discussed in Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Net cash used in financing was $353,388 during 2024, primarily due to the election of certain participants to have the Company withhold the issuance of shares pursuant to vesting restricted stock units in consideration of the Company’s payment of taxes on behalf of such participants.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reported periods. The estimates and assumptions that management makes affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenues and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. The estimates and assumptions used are based upon management’s regular evaluation of the relevant facts and circumstances as of the date of the consolidated financial statements. Actual results may differ from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the accompanying consolidated financial statements, and such differences could be material. We believe the following accounting policies are those most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements: Revenue Recognition, Capitalized Software costs, Intangible Assets, and Goodwill. These policies and others are described in Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Report.

Revenue recognition - We generate revenue by identifying audiences and presenting advertisements on behalf of our customers. Our revenue is derived from the placements of advertisements across advertising channels, browsers, applications and devices. Pricing for those advertisement placements is typically either on a cost-per-click or cost per thousand impressions basis.

Our revenue is a function of the number of advertisements placed combined with the price we obtain (using our technologies) for the placements made on behalf of our clients. We assume the risk associated of finding placements at a cost below that for which it had been sold.

We recognize revenue when control of the contracted services or product is transferred to our customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those services or products. We determine revenue recognition through (i) identification of a contract with a customer, (ii) identification of the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determination of the transaction price, (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognition of revenue when or as the performance obligations are satisfied.

Customer contracts are typically captured in an Insertion Order (“IO”) where revenue is recognized upon delivery of services during the period covered by the IO, or in multi-year master service agreements where revenue is recognized based on the number of advertisements placed or clicked on in the period they occur. We settle advertisement placement prices with our customers net of any adjustments for quality. Judgment is required to identify a contract with a customer, identify its performance obligations, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations, and determine whether the performance obligations are satisfied.

Capitalized software costs - We capitalize the cost of internally developed software that has a useful life in excess of one year. These costs consist of the salaries and benefits of employees working on such software development to customize, enhance or develop new product. We assess whether development work creates additional functionality to the software or is a new software product, and qualifies the costs incurred for capitalization.

We annually assess whether triggering events are present to review internal-use software for impairment. The estimated useful life of our software development costs is two years and is amortized using the straight-line method. There is judgment involved in determining the validity of capitalization, estimating the useful life and evaluating whether any impairment occurred. Capitalized software development costs were $1.5 million and $1.8 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.

Intangible assets, net - We allocate a portion of the purchase price of acquisitions to identifiable intangible assets and we amortize definite-lived assets over their estimated useful lives. We consider our indefinite-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Trade names are not amortized as they are believed to have an indefinite life. Trade names are reviewed annually for impairment. We also acquire intangible assets outside of acquisitions and record them at their fair value and amortize them over their estimated useful lives. Judgment is required to determine fair value and the useful life.

Goodwill - We utilize the purchase method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations. This standard requires that the total cost of an acquisition be allocated to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on the fair value of the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date. Our estimates and assumptions used in assessing fair value are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. During the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments to the fair value of these tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances are initially recorded in connection with a business combination as of the acquisition date.

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We periodically conduct a review of long-lived assets to assess potential triggering events for impairment within the Inuvo reporting unit. We perform an impairment test annually by comparing the fair value of our reporting unit with its carrying amount. We have only one reporting unit and generally determine the fair value of this reporting unit using the income approach methodology of valuation that includes the undiscounted cash flow method as well as other generally accepted valuation methodologies. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, the amount it exceeds fair value is equivalent to the amount of impairment loss. There is judgment involved in estimating the fair value, useful life and in the evaluation of any impairment.