Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investing in our Common Stock involves risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below as well as all the other information in this Annual Report, including the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, results of operations and financial condition could suffer. In that event, the trading price of our Common Stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements.
Risk Factor Summary
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in this Item 1A, that represent challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy and the growth of our business. In particular, the following
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risks, among others, may offset our competitive strengths or have a negative effect on our business strategy, which could cause a decline in the price of our Common Stock or warrants and result in a loss of all or a portion of your investment:
We are a new company with a short operating history, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects.
We may require substantial funding to finance our operations, but adequate financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms or at all.
Uncertain global macro-economic and political conditions could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
The loss of key personnel, or failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel, could harm our business.
The requirement that we repay the Funicular Note.
Restrictive covenants under the Convertible Notes could limit our growth and our ability to finance our operations, fund our capital needs, respond to changing conditions and engage in other business activities that may be in our best interests.
If the proposed CB Merger (as defined below) is completed, we may experience difficulties in integrating the operations of Wilson-Davis and Commercial Bancorp and in realizing the expected benefits of these transactions.
Commercial Bancorp, if acquired, may have liabilities that are not known to AtlasClear and the indemnities negotiated in the Bank Acquisition Agreement may not offer adequate protection.
We may in the future make acquisitions, and such acquisitions could disrupt our operations, and may have an adverse effect on our operating results.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to successfully grow our business if we fail to compete effectively with others to attract and retain our executive officers and other key management and technical personnel.
Wilson-Davis’ liquidation of microcap securities and related activities in the over-the-counter market segment expose it to significant risk.
The over-the-counter markets for the microcap securities Wilson-Davis liquidates frequently have limited trading volume and volatile trading prices.
The penny stock rules limit Wilson-Davis’ trading practices.
Wilson-Davis needs to continue to maintain its excess net capital above the NSCC requirement of $10 million to continue to provide correspondent clearing services for introducing brokers.
Wilson-Davis is substantially dependent on one principal customer.
Wilson-Davis customers liquidate securities of smaller reporting companies that have relaxed disclosure obligations.
Wilson-Davis customers also liquidate securities in companies that do not file SEC reports, so there is very little, if any, reliable data publicly available about them.
Wilson-Davis is, and may in the future be, subject to significant regulatory enforcement proceedings.
Wilson-Davis and certain of its personnel are subject to various regulatory disciplinary orders that could be the basis of future regulatory action.
Wilson-Davis’ procedures, policies, and practices to comply with the comprehensive anti-money laundering regulatory regime may not be sufficient to assure compliance.
General, long-term financial and economic conditions and unforeseen events may adversely affect Wilson-Davis’ financial condition and results of operations.
Wilson-Davis may be unable to attract and retain registered representatives and other professional employees.
FINRA has adopted rules that impose significant compliance requirements on making investment recommendations to retail customers.
Wilson-Davis is exposed to credit risk and other risks from customers, market makers, and other counterparties. Wilson-Davis faces significant risks in conducting its market making business. Systems and security failures could significantly disrupt Wilson-Davis’ business and subject the firm to losses, litigation, and regulatory actions.
Wilson-Davis relies on numerous external service providers whose failure to provide those services properly may result in significant adverse events.
Wilson-Davis relies on representations of third parties to ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules. Damage to Wilson-Davis’ reputation could adversely impact its business.
We are or may be subject to numerous risks relating to the need to comply with data and information privacy laws.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks and interruptions or failures in our information technology systems and as we grow, we will need to expend additional resources to enhance our protection from such risks. Any cyber incident could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption, and/or a financial loss that has a material adverse impact on our business and that could subject us to legal claims.
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Issues in the use of artificial intelligence, including machine learning and computer vision (together, “AI”), in our analytics platforms may result in reputational harm or liability.
Wilson-Davis is subject to extensive regulation from the SEC and FINRA, and the failure to comply with this regulation can result in significant penalties, fines, liability, and reputational harm.
The misconduct of Wilson-Davis’ employees could expose the firm to significant legal liability and reputational harm.
The proposed acquisition of Commercial Bancorp (the “CB Merger”) may not be completed on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, or at all, as the parties may be unable to satisfy the conditions or obtain the approvals required to complete the CB Merger.
Failure to complete the CB Merger may hinder the Company from achieving its anticipated business goals, and negatively impact the Company’s share price and its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
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 independent board members.
Stock trading volatility could impact our ability to recruit and retain employees.
Our existing indebtedness, and any indebtedness we incur in the future, could adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to operate our business, our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and our ability to pay our debts and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.
Future sales of our Common Stock could cause the market price for our Common Stock to decline.
An active market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
Issuances of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Pacsquare Purchase Agreement, or to settle accrued expenses and obligations, and conversion of any amounts under the Seller Notes, Funicular Note and the Chardan Note, each as defined herein, and to Winston & Strawn LLP (“Winston & Strawn”), pursuant to a subscription agreement, dated as of February 9, 2024, between Winston & Strawn and the Company (the “Winston & Strawn Agreement”), or to Tau Investment Partners LLC (“Tau”), pursuant to the ELOC Agreement or the Second ELOC Agreement (each as defined herein), have resulted, and would result in substantial dilution of our stockholders and have, and may continue to have, a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock.
If we are not able to raise sufficient capital to satisfy our payment obligations under the Convertible Notes, or otherwise restructure the Convertible Notes, and payment of principal and accrued and unpaid interest thereon is demanded by the holders thereof, we will be in default, and may not be able to continue as a going concern.
We cannot assure you that we will continue to be able to comply with the continued listing standards of the NYSE American.
Terms of our promissory notes may result in likely non-compliance and default.
Risks Related to AtlasClear Holdings’ Business
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to “we,” “us” or “AtlasClear Holdings” refer to the business of AtlasClear Holdings following the consummation of the Business Combination.
We have a short operating history, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects.
We have a short operating history, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects or forecast our future results. In addition, our subsidiary, AtlasClear was formed in March 2022. Prior to such time, AtlasClear had no operations or assets. Upon Closing, AtlasClear received certain intellectual property from Atlas FinTech and Atlas Financial Technologies Corp., acquired the Pacsquare Assets and completed the acquisitions of Wilson-Davis. AtlasClear expects to complete CB Merger or a similar acquisition, however, we cannot assure you that the CB Merger will be completed as anticipated. As a result of these transactions, AtlasClear expects to acquire the capabilities to provide specialized banking and clearing services to other financial services firms. Even if AtlasClear is able to consummate CB Merger, we cannot assure you that we will achieve the anticipated synergies and benefits of such transactions, that our service offerings will appeal to our target market of financial services firms, generally with annual revenues up to $1 billion, or that we will achieve our anticipated financial results. If we are not able to complete the CB Merger, or if the combined company does not achieve the anticipated operational and financial results, the value of your investment would be materially and adversely affected.
Our financial results in any given quarter can be influenced by numerous factors, many of which we are unable to predict or are outside of our control, including:
the development and introduction of new services by us or our competitors;
increases in marketing, sales, and other operating expenses that we may incur to grow and expand our operations and to remain competitive, and increased expenses we have incurred and will continue to incur as a public company;
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legislation and regulation;
our ability to achieve operating margins;
system failures or breaches of security or privacy;
competition in the markets in which we operate, and our ability to successfully compete; and
negative publicity we may encounter as we seek to grow our business.
We may require substantial funding to finance our operations, but adequate financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms or at all.
We expect to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements, including through the sale of common stock pursuant to the Second ELOC Agreement (as defined herein), pursuant to which we have the right from time to time to direct Tau to purchase up to an aggregate of $12.25 million of shares of our common stock over a 24-month period, upon the terms thereof and subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, at a discount to the VWAP of the common stock during the applicable pricing period. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. In particular, our ability to sell shares to Tau and obtain funds under the Second ELOC Agreement is limited by the terms and conditions in the Second ELOC Agreement, including restrictions on the amounts we may sell to Tau at any one time.
The extent we rely on the Second ELOC Agreement as a source of funding will depend on a number of factors including the prevailing market price of our common stock and the extent to which we are able to secure working capital from other sources. If obtaining sufficient funding from Tau were to prove unavailable or prohibitively dilutive, we will need to secure another source of funding in order to satisfy our working capital needs. Even if we sell all $12,250,000 in shares of our Common Stock under the Second ELOC Agreement to Tau, we may still need additional capital to finance our future plans and working capital needs, and we may have to raise funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities, which we may not be able to obtain on favorable terms, if at all. If we raise additional equity financing, our shareholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of our common stock could decline.
We have in the past and expect to continue to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. In addition, inflation rates in the U.S. have been higher than in previous years, which may result in higher costs of capital and constrained credit and liquidity. The Federal Reserve has raised, and may again raise, interest rates in response to concerns over inflation risk. Increases in interest rates could impact our ability to access the capital markets. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. If we sell any such securities in subsequent transactions, our current investors may be materially diluted. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our operational flexibility or achieve profitability. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures and consumer member demand.
We may need to raise additional funds, and we may not be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, if at all. If we raise additional equity financing, our shareholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of our Common Stock could decline. Furthermore, if we engage in debt financing, the holders of debt would have priority over the holders of our equity holders, and we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness. We may also be required to take other actions that would otherwise be in the interests of the debt holders and force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios, any of which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If we need additional capital and cannot raise it on acceptable terms, we may not be able to, among other things:
to expand our sales and marketing;
acquire complementary technologies or businesses;
expand operations in the United States or internationally;
hire, train, and retain employees; or
respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements.
Our failure to have sufficient capital to do any of these things could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Uncertain global macro-economic and political conditions could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our results of operations could be materially affected by economic and political conditions in the United States and internationally, including inflation, deflation, interest rates, availability of capital, war, terrorism, aging infrastructure, pandemics, energy and commodity prices, trade laws, election cycles and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions.
The loss of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or other key personnel, or failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel, could harm our business.
Our future success depends in large part on the continued services of senior management and other key personnel. In particular, we are dependent on the services of our Chief Executive Officer, who is critical to the future vision and strategic direction of our business. In December 2024, we removed Robert McBey from his role as Chief Executive Officer of AtlasClear Holdings and Wilson-Davis. In addition, in December 2024, Mr. Barber resigned from his role as Chief Financial Officer of AtlasClear Holdings, and in January 2025, Mr. McBey resigned from his role as Director. Although we have since hired a Chief Executive Officer for Wilson-Davis, and we have hired a new Chief Financial Officer for AtlasClear Holdings,we have not yet hired a new Chief Executive Officer. Our senior management and other key personnel are all employed on an at-will basis, which means that their employment could be terminated by us at any time, for any reason, and without notice. Conversely, employees may voluntarily terminate their employment at any time, for any reason, and without notice, and the risk of forfeiting equity incentives and/or losing other employee benefits might not be sufficient incentive for them to remain employed with us. If we lose the services of our senior management, as was the case with Mr. McBey and Mr. Barber, or other key personnel, or if we are unable to attract, train, assimilate, and retain the highly skilled personnel that we need, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract, train, assimilate, and retain highly skilled personnel, including a new Chief Executive Officer. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous software and other technology companies. We may not be able to retain our current key employees or attract, train, assimilate, or retain other highly skilled personnel in the future. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain highly skilled personnel, and we may lose new employees to our competitors before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. If we are unable to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals, including a new Chief Executive Officer, who are capable of meeting our growing technical, operational, and managerial requirements, on a timely basis or at all, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Changes in tax rates or the adoption of new tax legislation may adversely impact our financial results.
Due to shifting economic and political conditions in both the United States or elsewhere, tax policies, laws, or rates may be subject to significant changes in ways that impair our financial results. Various jurisdictions have enacted or are considering digital services taxes, which could lead to inconsistent and potentially overlapping tax regimes. In the United States, the rules dealing with federal, state and local income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Treasury Department.
Changes in the various tax laws can and do occur. For example, in July 2025, the U.S. government enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the 2025 U.S. Tax Act). The 2025 U.S. Tax Act extended or made permanent many of the corporate tax changes arising under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017 (the 2017 U.S. Tax Act). We do not anticipate the 2025 U.S. Tax Act to have a material impact to our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or effective tax rate. Additional changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect us. It cannot be predicted whether, when, in what form, or with what effective dates, new tax laws may be enacted, or regulations and rulings may be promulgated or issued under existing or new tax laws, which could result in an increase in our tax liability or require changes in the manner in which we operates in order to minimize or mitigate any adverse effects of changes in tax law or in the interpretation thereof.
Natural disasters, including and not limited to unusual weather conditions, epidemic outbreaks, terrorist acts and political events could disrupt our business schedule.
The occurrence of one or more natural disasters, including and not limited to tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods and earthquakes, unusual weather conditions, pandemics and endemic outbreaks, terrorist attacks or disruptive political events in certain regions where our facilities are located, or where our third-party contractors’ and suppliers’ facilities are located, could adversely affect our business. Natural disasters including tornados, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes may damage our facilities and terrorist attacks, actual or threatened acts of war or the escalation of current hostilities, or any other military or trade disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. These events also could cause or act to prolong an economic recession in the United States or abroad.
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Changes in financial accounting standards or practices may cause adverse, unexpected financial reporting fluctuations and affect our reported operating results.
The U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (the “GAAP”) is subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standard Board (the “FASB”), the SEC, and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in accounting standards or practices can have a significant effect on our reported results and may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective. New accounting pronouncements and varying interpretations of accounting pronouncements have occurred and may occur in the future. Changes to existing rules or the questioning of current practices may adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business. Any difficulties in implementing these pronouncements could cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations, which could result in regulatory discipline and harm investors’ confidence in us.
The requirement that we repay all outstanding notes, including the Funicular Note, could adversely affect our business plan, liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations.
As discussed below, the Company sold and issued promissory notes including the Funicular Note and convertible notes under the Securities Purchase Agreement(collectively, the Convertible Notes”). If not converted, we are required to repay principal amounts outstanding under the Convertible Notes, as well as interest thereon. These obligations could have important consequences on our business. In particular, they could:
limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industries in which we operate;
increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; and
place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors.
We cannot assure you that we will be successful in making the required payments under the Convertible Notes. If we are unable to make the required cash payments, there could be a default under the Convertible Notes. In such event, or if a default otherwise occurs under the Convertible Notes, including as a result of our failure to comply with the financial or other covenants contained therein:
the interest rate payable under the Convertible Notes could be increased, and holders of the Convertible Notes could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable;
the holders of the Funicular Note could foreclose against our assets; and/or
we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.
Restrictive covenants under the Convertible Notes could limit our growth and our ability to finance our operations, fund our capital needs, respond to changing conditions and engage in other business activities that may be in our best interests.
The Convertible Notes contain a number of affirmative and negative covenants regarding matters such as the payment of dividends, maintenance of our properties and assets, transactions with affiliates, and our ability to issue other indebtedness.
Our ability to comply with these covenants may be adversely affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot assure you that we can maintain compliance with these covenants. The financial covenants could limit our ability to make needed expenditures or otherwise conduct necessary or desirable business activities.
Risks Related to Our Business Strategy and Industry
If the proposed CB Merger is completed, we may experience difficulties in integrating the operations of Wilson-Davis and Commercial Bancorp and in realizing the expected benefits of these transactions.
Our success will depend, in part, on the ability of AtlasClear to successfully complete the proposed CB Merger, or a similar acquisition, and to realize the anticipated benefits of combining the operations of Wilson-Davis and Commercial Bancorp in an efficient and effective manner. The integration process could take longer than anticipated and could result in the loss of key employees from either company, the disruption of each company’s ongoing businesses, tax costs or inefficiencies, or inconsistencies in standards, controls, information technology systems, procedures and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to continue relationships with Wilson-Davis’ and Commercial Bancorp’s customers, employees or other third parties, or our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the transactions or the Business Combination, and could harm the Company’s financial performance. If we are unable to successfully integrate the operations of Wilson-Davis and Commercial Bancorp with our business, we may incur unanticipated liabilities and be unable to realize the revenue growth, operating efficiencies, synergies and other anticipated benefits resulting from
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such transactions and the Business Combination, and the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Commercial Bancorp may have liabilities that are not known to AtlasClear and the indemnities negotiated in the Broker-Dealer Acquisition Agreement and the Bank Acquisition Agreement may not offer adequate protection.
As part of the Broker-Dealer Acquisition Agreement, AtlasClear assumed certain liabilities of Wilson-Davis and as part of the Bank Acquisition Agreement, AtlasClear expects to assume certain liabilities of Commercial Bancorp if the transaction is consummated. There may be liabilities that AtlasClear failed or was unable to discover in the course of performing due diligence investigations into these companies. AtlasClear may also have not correctly assessed the significance of certain liabilities identified in the course of its due diligence. Any such liabilities, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on the combined company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. As we integrate Wilson-Davis and, if acquired, Commercial Bancorp, into our operations, we may learn additional information about Wilson-Davis and Commercial Bancorp, such as unknown or contingent liabilities and issues relating to compliance with applicable laws, that could potentially have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may in the future make acquisitions, and such acquisitions could disrupt our operations, and may have an adverse effect on our operating results.
In order to expand our business, we have made and expect to continue to make acquisitions as part of our growth strategy. The success of our future growth strategy will depend on our ability to identify, negotiate, complete and integrate acquisitions and, if necessary, to obtain satisfactory debt or equity financing to fund those acquisitions. Acquisitions are inherently risky, and any acquisitions we complete may not be successful. Any acquisitions that we may undertake in the future involve numerous risks, including, but not limited to, the following:
difficulties in integrating and managing the operations, personnel, systems, technologies, and products of the companies we acquire;
diversion of our management’s attention from normal daily operations of our business;
our inability to maintain the key business relationships and the reputations of the businesses we acquire;
uncertainty of entry into markets in which we have limited or no prior experience and in which competitors have stronger market positions;
our inability to increase revenue from an acquisition;
increased costs related to acquired operations and continuing support and development of acquired products;
our responsibility for the liabilities of the businesses we acquire;
potential goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges and amortization associated with acquired businesses;
adverse tax consequences associated with acquisitions;
changes in how we are required to account for our acquisitions under the GAAP, including arrangements that we assume from an acquisition;
potential negative perceptions of our acquisitions by consumer and business members, financial markets or investors;
failure to obtain required approvals from governmental authorities under competition and antitrust laws on a timely basis, if at all, which could, among other things, delay or prevent us from completing a transaction, or otherwise restrict our ability to realize the expected financial or strategic goals of an acquisition;
our inability to apply and maintain our internal standards, controls, procedures and policies to acquired businesses;
potential loss of key employees of the companies we acquire;
potential security vulnerabilities in acquired products that expose us to additional security risks or delay our ability to integrate the product into our service offerings;
difficulties in increasing or maintaining security standards for acquired technology consistent with our other services, and related costs;
ineffective or inadequate controls, procedures and policies at the acquired company;
inadequate protection of acquired IP rights; and
potential failure to achieve the expected benefits on a timely basis or at all.
Acquisitions involve many complexities, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the acquired business’ past activities, difficulties in integrating personnel and human resource programs, integrating technology systems and other infrastructures under our control, unanticipated expenses and liabilities, and the impact on our internal controls and compliance with the regulatory requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). There is no guarantee that our acquisitions will increase our
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profitability or cash flow, and our efforts could cause unforeseen complexities and additional cash outflows, including financial losses. As a result, the realization of anticipated synergies or benefits from acquisitions may be delayed or substantially reduced.
Additionally, acquisitions or asset purchases made entirely or partially for cash may reduce our cash reserves or require us to incur debt under credit agreements or otherwise. We may seek to obtain additional cash to fund any acquisition by selling equity or debt securities. We may be unable to secure the equity or debt funding necessary to finance future acquisitions on terms that are acceptable to us. If we finance acquisitions by issuing equity, convertible debt or other equity-linked securities, our existing stockholders will experience ownership dilution. The incurrence of debt may subject us to financial or other covenants, or other constraints on our business. The occurrence of any of the foregoing risks associated with acquisitions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or substantially concurrent acquisitions.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we may evaluate potential strategic acquisitions of businesses, including partnerships or joint ventures with third parties. We may not be successful in identifying acquisition, partnership and joint venture candidates. In addition, we may not be able to continue the operational success of such businesses or successfully finance or integrate any businesses that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture. We may have potential write-offs of acquired assets and/or an impairment of any goodwill recorded as a result of acquisitions. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations or may result in conflicts with our business. Any acquisition, partnership or joint venture may not be successful, may reduce our cash reserves, may negatively affect our earnings and financial performance and, to the extent financed with the proceeds of debt, may increase our indebtedness. We cannot ensure that any acquisition, partnership or joint venture we make will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to successfully grow our business if we fail to compete effectively with others to attract and retain our executive officers and other key management and technical personnel.
We believe our future success depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly competent personnel. Our employees are at-will and not subject to employment contracts. We could potentially lose the services of any of our senior management personnel at any time due to a variety of factors that could include, without limitation, death, incapacity, military service, personal issues, retirement, resignation or competing employers. Our ability to execute current plans could be adversely affected by such a loss. We may fail to attract and retain qualified technical, sales, marketing and managerial personnel required to continue to operate our business successfully. Personnel with the expertise necessary for our business are scarce and competition for personnel with proper skills is intense.
In addition, new hires frequently require extensive training before they achieve desired levels of productivity. Additionally, attrition in personnel can result from, among other things, changes related to acquisitions, retirement and disability. We may not be able to retain existing key technical, sales, marketing and managerial employees or be successful in attracting, developing or retaining other highly-qualified technical, sales, marketing and managerial personnel, particularly at such times in the future as we may need to fill a key position. If we are unable to continue to develop and retain existing executive officers or other key employees or are unsuccessful in attracting new highly-qualified employees, our financial condition, cash flows, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Risk Related to Wilson-Davis’ Business and Industry
Wilson-Davis’ liquidation of microcap securities and related activities in the over-the-counter market segment expose it to significant risk.
Wilson-Davis conducts activities, including customer liquidations of restricted and control securities, in microcap securities, which are subject to higher risks than securities traded on national securities exchanges. Microcap securities generally are issued by companies with low or “micro” capitalizations, meaning the total market capitalization value of the company’s stock is less than $250 million, which includes low-priced securities, or penny stocks, that trade at below $5.00 per share and have a market capitalization of less than $50 million. Microcap securities frequently are issued by smaller reporting companies, which relaxes many of the disclosure obligations applicable to larger companies (see below). Further, trading in such microcap securities requires Wilson-Davis to meet heightened customer disclosure obligations for any retail transactions. Because of perceived risks associated with the above factors, Wilson-Davis believes it faces heightened regulatory scrutiny from the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (the “FINRA”) and other self-regulatory organizations that require particular attention to compliance measures and supervision.
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The over-the-counter markets for the microcap securities Wilson-Davis liquidates frequently have limited trading volume and volatile trading prices.
The trading markets for the microcap securities Wilson-Davis liquidates frequently have limited trading volume and volatile price fluctuations, which sometimes makes it difficult to fulfill customers’ orders at requested amounts or prices. In addition, because of market conditions, Wilson-Davis may restrict the number of shares that a customer or a group of customers may liquidate in a single security to mitigate possible undue market selling pressure or to reduce potential market impact. Wilson-Davis may not be successful in detecting market conditions that warrant the above or other trading precautions to meet its compliance obligations. Any such trading limitations may impair Wilson-Davis’ competitive position and contribute to customer dissatisfaction.
The penny stock rules limit Wilson-Davis’ trading practices.
Wilson-Davis must comply with special penny stock rules if it sells such stock to retail customers, as distinguished from other broker-dealers. Although Wilson-Davis has a policy of limiting penny stock sales only to other broker-dealers, if Wilson-Davis sells penny stocks to retail customers, it must provide purchasers of these stocks with a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the Commission. This document provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks involved in investing in the penny stock market. A broker must also give a purchaser, orally or in writing, bid and offer quotations and information regarding broker and salesperson compensation, make a written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and obtain the purchaser’s written agreement to the purchase. The penny stock rules may make it difficult for investors to sell their shares of penny stock. Because of these rules, many brokers choose not to participate in penny stock transactions and there is less trading in penny stocks. Accordingly, investors may not always be able to resell shares of penny stock publicly at times and prices that they feel are appropriate. Wilson-Davis cannot assure that any penny stock rules compliance measures that it adopts and implements will be effective.
Wilson-Davis needs to continue to maintain its excess net capital above the NSCC requirement of $10 million to continue to provide correspondent clearing services for introducing brokers.
Wilson-Davis is subject to amendments of rules adopted by NSCC that require Wilson-Davis to have excess net capital of at least $10.0 million as of October 26, 2023 if Wilson-Davis clears for an introducing broker. As of June 30, 2025 and 2024, Wilson-Davis had net capital of approximately $11.2 million and $10.4 million, respectively. Investors, including the owners of Wilson-Davis and Mr. Schaible, provided an aggregate of $1,300,000 in subordinated demand notes which were funded on October 13, 2023 and FINRA approved the demand notes. The notes were renewed to mature on October 13, 2025 and to have an interest rate of 5% per annum, payable quarterly. During the year ended June 30, 2025, Glendale, the sole introducing broker at Wilson-Davis, provided $840,000 or approximately 6.5% of Wilson-Davis revenues. During the six months transition period ended June 30, 2024, Glendale, the sole introducing broker at Wilson-Davis, provided $164,000 or approximately 3% of Wilson-Davis’ revenues. However, the growth of clearing services for introducing broker customers is expected to be a key driver to meet the Company’s future revenue goals. As a result, if we fail to meet the increased capital requirements of NSCC on an ongoing basis, we would be unable to provide clearing services for introducing brokers which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues in the future.
Wilson-Davis is substantially dependent on one principal customer.
During the year ended June 30, 2025 and six months transition period ended June 30, 2024, Wilson-Davis received 6% and 10% of its revenue, respectively, from securities liquidations of Canadian traded securities for customers of Canaccord Genuity. The termination or material reduction in the securities liquidation for customers of Canaccord Genuity would have a material adverse effect on the revenues and results of operations of Wilson-Davis.
Wilson-Davis customers liquidate securities of smaller reporting companies that have relaxed disclosure obligations.
The microcap securities Wilson-Davis customers principally liquidate are issued by smaller reporting companies. The disclosures smaller reporting companies are required to provide in SEC periodic reports are less than those of larger reporting companies. Specifically, smaller reporting companies are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosures in their filings, are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requiring that independent registered public accounting firms provide an attestation on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, and have certain other reduced disclosure obligations in their SEC filings, including being permitted to provide two, rather than three, years of audited financial statements in annual reports. Reduced disclosures in smaller reporting company periodic reports may make it harder for investors to analyze results of operations and financial prospects. Wilson-Davis believes that the foregoing contributes to increased volatility and lower trading volume for the securities markets for smaller reporting companies, many of which are microcap securities.
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Wilson-Davis customers also liquidate securities in companies that do not file SEC reports, so there is very little, if any, reliable data publicly available about them.
In addition to smaller reporting companies, Wilson-Davis customers also liquidate securities of companies that are not subject to SEC reporting requirements and thus do not file any periodic reports. Frequently, there is little reliable available public information about the business activities, financial condition or results of operations, management, operating risks, or other material matters about such companies. Many of such companies have only recently been organized, have inadequate financial resources or liquidity and rely on the ongoing sale of stock or borrowings to sustain operations, do not have independent directors, and have engaged in material transactions with related parties. These companies may not have financial statements that have been reviewed by independent auditors. Transactions in the securities of these companies may expose Wilson-Davis to liability.
Wilson-Davis is, and may in the future be, subject to significant regulatory enforcement proceedings.
In the ordinary course of business, securities broker-dealers such as Wilson-Davis are highly regulated and are routinely and frequently examined by the SEC, FINRA, and the securities regulatory authorities of states in which they are licensed or conduct business. Such examinations review a broad ranges of business activities for compliance with the many statutes, rules, regulations, and interpretations governing Wilson-Davis’ activities. Examinations by any of the above authorities may lead to enforcement actions that expose Wilson-Davis and its personnel to defense costs and potential fines or other sanctions. For example, Wilson-Davis has appealed to the SEC an adverse ruling by FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council, or “NAC,” finding that Wilson-Davis had violated FINRA rules respecting short sales, failing to supervise and implement adequate anti money-laundering procedures. NAC had ordered Wilson-Davis to pay a $1,100,000 fine and disgorge $51,624. Wilson-Davis cannot predict the outcome of its appeal or when a decision will be rendered. On July 10, 2025 the National Adjudicatory Council reduced the fines to an aggregate of $490,000. The Company made a timely appeal to the SEC to hear the case. Pursuant to FINRA Rules, the Company’s timely appeal of the decision to the SEC deferred the effectiveness of the findings and sanctions. Wilson-Davis established a $100,000 contingency reserve in the year ended June 30, 2021, for this litigation contingence, but cannot assure that this amount is adequate to cover any penalty determined on appeal. The amount of the fine and disgorgement by which a final judgment exceeds the contingency reserve amount would reduce Wilson-Davis’ excess capital. In addition to the payment of defense costs and potential fines or other sanctions associated with enforcement actions, customers may assert claims against Wilson-Davis or its personnel in legal suits or arbitration proceedings.
Wilson-Davis and certain of its personnel are subject to various regulatory disciplinary orders that could be the basis of future regulatory action.
Wilson-Davis is subject to previous disciplinary orders by FINRA and the SEC which, by their terms, do not expire. FINRA and the SEC can impose special supervision and compliance measures and may increase future regulatory scrutiny. In July 2019, FINRA initiated an enforcement proceeding against Wilson-Davis, certain former principals of Wilson-Davis, and a former registered representative/trader alleging that the firm and the registered representative manipulated the market of a designated security, responsible supervisory personnel failed to establish and maintain appropriate supervisory procedures, the firm and a former principal failed to implement and maintain appropriate anti-money laundering procedures, and provided inaccurate documents to FINRA staff (the “2019 FINRA Action”). Wilson-Davis and its former principals agreed to settle the matter, without admitting or denying the allegations respecting supervision, anti-money laundering, and documentation in July 2021 by consenting to an order under which the firm was censured and paid a $500,000 monetary penalty, one former principal was suspended in all capacities for 90 days, that principal and two other former principals were suspended for two years, and the firm was required to undertake certain compliance and remediation efforts. The firm promptly paid the fine and timely completed the required compliance and remediation efforts. In connection with the resolution of some matters, Wilson-Davis engaged qualified consultants to recommend specific compliance procedures and has implemented such required compliance enhancements. Wilson-Davis believes it has fully complied with all sanctions related to the July 2019 complaint. Previously, in December 2016, FINRA filed a complaint against Wilson-Davis asserting potential violations of several securities laws and regulations, regarding supervision, anti-money-laundering, and Regulation SHO speculation prohibitions (the “2016 FINRA Action”). Wilson-Davis denied the allegations and FINRA-imposed sanctions have been stayed pending appeal.
Wilson-Davis’ procedures, policies, and practices to comply with the comprehensive anti-money laundering regulatory regime may not be sufficient to assure compliance.
Wilson-Davis is subject to comprehensive anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws, regulations, and interpretations that apply to its activities under the Bank Secrecy Act. The AML regulatory regime covers a wide range of activities, including trading activities, securities liquidations and other transactions, funds and securities transfers, the opening of customer accounts, customer interactions, and other activities.
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In July 2019, FINRA censured Wilson-Davis and assessed a $500,000 fine for violations, among others, of applicable AML rules. Further, Wilson-Davis engaged an independent consultant to help develop and implement new comprehensive policies and procedures designed to comply with applicable AML requirements. Wilson-Davis has completed this process but cannot assure that its new policies and procedures will in fact be adequate to assure AML compliance in practice. This enforcement proceeding and the related implementation of new AML policies and procedures may have heightened regulatory scrutiny of Wilson-Davis. Regulatory authorities may consider Wilson-Davis’ previous discipline as warranting increased sanctions in any subsequent enforcement proceeding finding AML violations.
Although Wilson-Davis expends significant time and financial resources to monitor and investigate potential AML issues, Wilson-Davis’ resources, technologies, personnel, and fraud detection tools may be insufficient to accurately detect and prevent such activities. Significant increases in fraudulent or illegal activities could negatively impact Wilson-Davis’ reputation and reduce the trading volume through the firm. Any misbehavior of or violation by Wilson-Davis’ customers may also lead to regulatory investigations into the firm. Further, although Wilson-Davis may ultimately conclude that no fraud or money laundering exists, regulatory authorities may disagree that the red flags pointed towards such a conclusion and may impose various penalties without needing to point to any evidence of fraud or money laundering. Any such penalties could significantly harm the financial condition and results of operations of Wilson-Davis.
Wilson-Davis cannot predict the duration or severity of economic conditions that may adversely affect its results of operations.
Wilson-Davis’ revenue and profitability had been adversely affected by general downturns in the securities markets since early 2022, resulting from rising inflation, increased interest rates, the lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the military conflict in Ukraine and Israel, Hamas’ attack on Israel and the ensuing war and other factors. Wilson-Davis cannot predict the duration or severity of downturns of the securities markets or the economic and other factors that contribute to these market conditions.
General, long-term financial and economic conditions and unforeseen events may adversely affect Wilson-Davis’ financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to the previous and current securities markets and economic challenges, previous long-term market downturns, economic depressions and unforeseen events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have had an adverse impact on Wilson-Davis’ business. Although Wilson-Davis has established a disaster recovery plan, there is no guarantee that it could operate without disruption in the event a disaster were to occur. The occurrence of various unforeseeable events such as natural disasters, pandemics, terrorism and acts of war, could result in fewer customer orders and, as a result, decreased commissions and revenue, resulting in a significant impact on Wilson-Davis’ ability to conduct business and adversely affecting its results of operations and financial condition.
Wilson-Davis may be unable to attract and retain registered representatives and other professional employees.
There is intense competition for experienced registered representatives with a knowledge of over-the-counter markets and a large customer network. Further, many customers may be more loyal to individual representatives than to the firm itself. If Wilson-Davis is unable to attract and retain the services of registered representatives, the firm may be unable to maintain or expand its customer base or may be unable to effectively manage the volume of orders it executes and clears. Likewise, Wilson-Davis relies upon financial and compliance professionals who are not registered representatives but who perform important services to the firm. If Wilson-Davis is unable to attract and retain such professionals, it may be unable to stay compliant in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. Further, the number of young professionals entering the broker-dealer industry has declined over time and Wilson-Davis’ inability to hire young professionals, particularly in light of the average age of Wilson-Davis’ existing professionals, may adversely impact its ability to retain or expand its customer base.
FINRA has adopted rules that impose significant compliance requirements on making investment recommendations to retail customers.
Wilson-Davis policy is to not recommend investments to its customers. However, Wilson-Davis cannot assure you that its policy of not making recommendations to customers will be observed in all cases or that any investment recommendation rules compliance measures that Wilson-Davis adopts and implements will be effective. Breaches of Wilson-Davis’ policy could expose Wilson-Davis to regulatory enforcement and to liability from its customers.
Wilson-Davis faces significant competition from other brokers and clearing firms.
The broker-dealer and clearing firm industries are dominated by a small number of very large broker-dealers and clearing firms and a number of smaller self-clearing firms and clearing firms that clear for small introducing brokers clearing microcap securities transactions. Wilson-Davis continues to compete with larger firms that have greater financial resources, vast customer networks, diverse
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business lines, household name recognition, large-scale marketing campaigns, and established relationships with regulatory and legislative institutions. Further, the firm’s competitors are comparatively less impacted by adverse regulatory actions and rulemaking than Wilson-Davis as a smaller firm, including impacts of net capital and margin calls imposed by NSCC. If Wilson-Davis does provide new products and services, doing so may require substantial expenditures and take considerable time. If Wilson-Davis fails to innovate and deliver products and services quickly enough as compared to its competitors, it might fail to attract and retain customers.
Wilson-Davis is exposed to credit risk and other risks from customers, market makers, and other counterparties.
Wilson-Davis is exposed to the risk that third parties that owe the firm money, securities, or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties include other clearing firms, broker-dealers, customers, clearing houses, exchanges, and other financial intermediaries. Such parties may default on their obligations owed to Wilson-Davis due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure, or other reasons. For example, Wilson-Davis permits certain clients to purchase securities on a margin basis. These transactions may be collateralized by the customer’s cash and securities. If customers are unable to cover their short position or repay the credit extended by Wilson-Davis, the firm may incur a loss if it liquidates the customer’s collateral at market rates. Those risks may be particularly great during periods of rapidly declining markets in which the value of the collateral held by Wilson-Davis may fall below the amount of a customer’s indebtedness.
NSCC requires daily cash deposits on unsettled trades, those between trade date and settlement date. In some cases, the deposit may be an amount that is significantly in excess of the value of the trade itself. NSCC also may require intraday deposits that must be met in only a few hours or less. If the cash to make these deposits is not available, NSCC may impose penalties that could be severe, such as revoking membership or restricting correspondent clearing, either of which would have a significant negative impact on the business. Although Wilson-Davis imposes limits on the size of some trades as a risk management procedure, it is not always possible to determine in advance the size of the deposit requirements.
Additionally, if Wilson-Davis fails to adequately monitor its customers’ accounts and certain business reorganizations are not timely or properly updated on its system, such failure could lead to severe losses. For example, if when undertaking a reverse stock split, a customer sells the previous amount of shares at the new share price, it would result in a severe loss, which has resulted in some broker-dealers going out of business. Although Wilson-Davis’ procedure is to put a freeze on trading for companies that are in the process of a reorganization in advance of the effective date of such reorganization, if Wilson-Davis is not aware of the pending reorganization or fails to adequately update its system, any improper sales could significantly harm the results of operations of Wilson-Davis.
Wilson-Davis faces significant risks in conducting its market making business.
Wilson-Davis faces various risks relating to making markets in microcap securities. The regulations relating to market making are complex and subject to a significant breadth of regulatory interpretation, resulting in inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of applicable law. If the firm acts in a manner that a regulator perceives to be inconsistent with applicable law, the firm may be subject to costly penalties and sanctions. Regulatory scrutiny of Wilson-Davis’ market making activities may have increased because of Wilson-Davis’ previous sanctions for short sale compliance deficiencies.
Systems and security failures could significantly disrupt Wilson-Davis’ business and subject the firm to losses, litigation, and regulatory actions.
Wilson-Davis’ business depends on its ability to execute large volumes of transactions for its own customers and to clear large volumes of transactions for introducing broker-dealers. The firm relies heavily on its communications systems and on stable and functioning Internet, mobile devices, and computer systems, all of which are subject to internal and external security vulnerabilities. Those vulnerabilities include disruptions from natural disasters, power and service outages, interruptions or losses, software bugs, cybersecurity attacks, computer viruses, malware, phishing, unauthorized entry, and other similar events. Further, Wilson-Davis is reliant on numerous service providers that may themselves have insufficient security measures that Wilson-Davis cannot effectively monitor. Although Wilson-Davis generally has agreements, policies, and procedures relating to cybersecurity and data privacy in place with third-party service providers, security breaches may still occur. Vulnerabilities with Wilson-Davis and third-party systems may result in, for example, the inability of Wilson-Davis to conduct its business, the theft or ransom of Wilson-Davis property, or the unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer information or the proprietary or confidential data of Wilson-Davis and its supervised persons. Unauthorized disclosures may in turn result in reputational damage, regulatory action, and civil suits, and may further require Wilson-Davis to expend significant additional resources to modify its protective measures, to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities, and to defend against legal and regulatory claims. Such events may also result in uninsured liability and the firm being subject to increased regulatory scrutiny and legal liabilities. Wilson-Davis may be unable to receive reimbursement from third-party service providers in the event of a security incident but may still be subject to adverse regulatory action if the firm is held responsible for security failures attributed to its vendors.
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Wilson-Davis also faces risks relating to mistakes made in recoding, accounting for, confirming, and settling transactions. Wilson-Davis also faces risks relating to software and internet malfunctions. Any such malfunction or depletion of functionality could result in Wilson-Davis’ inability to execute trade orders, adverse operational and regulatory action, and reputational damage. Wilson-Davis’ board oversees cybersecurity risk management and controls, including appropriate risk mitigation strategies, systems, processes, and controls. This oversight involves reviewing an annual cybersecurity report from the firm’s chief information security officer, with whom the board maintains an ongoing dialog on current strategies, systems, processes, controls and possible needs for additional processes and controls to keep current with the latest threats.
Wilson-Davis relies on numerous external service providers whose failure to provide those services properly may result in significant adverse events.
Wilson-Davis relies on numerous third-party service providers, including communication systems providers, regulatory services providers, clearing systems, exchange systems, banking systems, and market information providers. If the provision of services by these third parties is interrupted or terminated, Wilson-Davis may be unable to conduct its business effectively, including by being unable to accept receipt of securities or funds or to provide information regarding stock trades. For example, the firm relies heavily on websites and software provided by or relating to OTC Markets. Any disruption to those websites or services could result in a significant reduction of orders received from the firm’s customers and even a cessation of the firm’s business activities.
Wilson-Davis relies on representations of third parties to ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules.
Wilson-Davis is required to comply with various securities laws and apply a compliance program designed to detect and prevent various kinds of illegality and misconduct, including fraud, money laundering, and the unregistered sale of securities. In applying its compliance program, the firm relies on various customer and other third-party representations. Inaccurate or incomplete representations or information could result in adverse consequences for the firm. For example, before liquidating restricted securities, Wilson-Davis is required to conduct a reasonable investigation of facts supporting an exemption from registration of the securities. Such reasonable investigation may not reveal whether the proposed liquidation is in fact exempt from registration or may involve other illegal activity by others, including Wilson-Davis’ customer. Any enforcement investigation or action relating to issuers or their affiliates may subsequently encompass Wilson-Davis, which could require the firm to incur costs of defense and expose it to fines and other sanctions. Similarly, in making a market in securities, Wilson-Davis frequently relies on exemption from certain requirements that depend in part on conclusions of third parties. If those third-party conclusions are incorrect, Wilson-Davis could be subject to regulatory sanctions.
Damage to Wilson-Davis’ reputation could adversely impact its business.
Wilson-Davis’ reputation is critical to its ability to attract and retain customers that use Wilson-Davis’ brokerage services and current and prospective introducing brokers that use or may use Wilson-Davis’ clearing services. The perceived inability of Wilson-Davis or its supervised persons to operate the firm’s business efficiently, securely, and in compliance with applicable law may adversely harm its business.
Risks Related to Regulatory, Compliance and Legal
We are or may be subject to numerous risks relating to the need to comply with data and information privacy laws.
We are or may become subject to data privacy and securities laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage, use, processing, destruction, retention and security of personal information. Our current privacy policies and practices are designed to comply with privacy and data protection laws in the United States. These policies and practices inform members how we handle their personal information and, as permitted by law, allow members to change or delete the personal information in their member accounts. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in the United States, both federally and at the state level, as well as in other jurisdictions worldwide, and these laws and regulations may at times be conflicting. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction or is inconsistent with our practices, and our efforts to comply with the evolving data protection rules may be unsuccessful. We must devote significant resources to understanding and complying with this changing landscape. Failure to comply with federal, state, provincial and international laws regarding privacy and security of personal information could expose us to penalties under such laws, orders requiring that we change our practices, claims for damages or other liabilities, regulatory investigations and enforcement action (including fines and penalties), litigation, significant costs for remediation, and damage to our reputation and loss of goodwill, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Although we endeavor to comply with our published privacy policies and related documentation, and all applicable privacy and security laws and regulations, we may at times fail to do so or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Even if we have not violated these laws and regulations, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which could have a material adverse effect on our
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business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Additionally, if we are unable to properly protect the privacy and security of personal information, including sensitive personal information (e.g., financial information), we could be found to have breached our contracts with certain third parties.
There are numerous U.S. and Canadian federal, state, and provincial laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. Determining whether protected information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can be complex and may be subject to changing interpretation. For example, in 2018, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which, among other things, requires new disclosures to California consumers and affords such consumers new abilities to opt out of certain sales of information and may restrict the use of cookies and similar technologies for advertising purposes. The CCPA, which became effective on January 1, 2020, was amended on multiple occasions and is the subject of regulations issued by the California Attorney General regarding certain aspects of the law and its application. Moreover, California voters approved the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”) in November 2020. The CPRA significantly modifies the CCPA, creating additional obligations relating to consumer data, with enforcement beginning July 1, 2023. Aspects of the CCPA and CPRA remain unclear, resulting in further uncertainty and potentially requiring us to modify our data practices and policies and to incur substantial additional costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Similar laws have been proposed, and likely will be proposed, in other states and at the federal level, and if passed, such laws may have potentially conflicting requirements that would make compliance challenging. Similar state laws have been passed in Virginia, Colorado, Utah, Connecticut, and New Jersey and other states are expected to follow. If we fail to comply with applicable privacy laws, we could face civil and criminal fines or penalties.
Failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure, or misrepresentations regarding our current privacy practices, can also constitute unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce and be construed as a violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “FTCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) expects a company’s data security measures to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the sensitivity and volume of consumer information it holds, the size and complexity of our business, and the cost of available tools to improve security and reduce vulnerabilities. The FTC may also bring an action against a company who collects or otherwise processes personal information for any statements it deems misleading or false contained in privacy disclosures to consumers. While we use best efforts to comply with our published privacy policies and related documents, we may at times fail to do so, or may be perceived to have failed to do so. In addition, we may be unsuccessful in achieving compliance if our personnel, partners, or service providers fail to comply with our published privacy policies and related documentation. Such failures can subject us to potential foreign, local, state and federal action if they are found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices. In addition, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunctions or damages in response to violations that threaten the privacy of state residents. We cannot be sure how these regulations will be interpreted, enforced or applied to our operations. In addition to the risks associated with enforcement activities and potential contractual liabilities, our ongoing efforts to comply with evolving laws and regulations at the federal and state level may be costly and require ongoing modifications to our policies, procedures and systems.
Overall, because of the complexity of these laws, the changing obligations and the risk associated with our collection and use of data, we cannot guarantee that we are, or will be, in compliance with all applicable U.S., Canadian, or other international regulations as they are enforced now or as they evolve.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks and interruptions or failures in our information technology systems and as we grow, we will need to expend additional resources to enhance our protection from such risks. Any cyber incident could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption, and/or a financial loss that has a material adverse impact on our business and that could subject us to legal claims.
We rely on sophisticated information technology (“IT”) systems and infrastructure to support our business. At the same time, cybersecurity incidents, including deliberate attacks, malware, viruses, ransomware attacks, denial of service attacks, phishing schemes, and other attempts to harm IT systems are prevalent and have increased. Our technologies, systems and networks and those of our vendors, suppliers and other business partners may become the target of cyberattacks or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of proprietary and other information, or other disruption of business operations. In addition, certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance or vulnerabilities in widely used open source software, may remain undetected for an extended period. Our systems for protecting against cybersecurity risks may not be sufficient. As the sophistication of cyber incidents continues to evolve, we have been and will likely continue to be required to expend additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber incidents. Additionally, any of these systems may be susceptible to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, usage errors by employees, computer viruses, cyber-attacks or other security breaches or similar events. The failure of any of our IT systems may cause disruptions in our operations, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability, and lead to claims related to the disruption of our services from members of the AtlasClear Platform and advertisers.
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Hackers and data thieves are increasingly sophisticated and operate large-scale and complex automated attacks, which may remain undetected until after they occur. Despite our efforts to protect our information technology networks and systems, payment processing, and information, we may not be able to anticipate or to implement effective preventive and remedial measures against all data security and privacy threats. Our security measures may not be adequate to prevent or detect service interruption, system failure, data loss or theft, or other material adverse consequences. No security solution, strategy, or measures can address all possible security threats. Our applications, systems, networks, software, and physical facilities could have material vulnerabilities, be breached, or personal or confidential information could be otherwise compromised due to employee error or malfeasance, if, for example, third parties attempt to fraudulently induce our personnel or our business members to disclose information or usernames and/or passwords, or otherwise compromise the security of our networks, systems and/or physical facilities. We cannot be certain that we will be able to address any such vulnerabilities, in whole or part, and there may be delays in developing and deploying patches and other remedial measures to adequately address vulnerabilities, and taking such remedial steps could adversely impact or disrupt our operations. We expect similar issues to arise in the future as products and services sold through the AtlasClear Platform are more widely adopted, and as we continue to introduce future products and services. An actual or perceived breach of our security systems or those of our third party service providers may require notification under applicable data privacy regulations or for customer relations or publicity purposes, which could result in reputational harm, costly litigation (including class action litigation), material contract breaches, liability, settlement costs, loss of sales, regulatory scrutiny, actions or investigations, a loss of confidence in our business, systems and payment processing, a diversion of management’s time and attention, and significant fines, penalties, assessments, fees, and expenses. Moreover, pursuant to SEC rules, public companies must disclose material cybersecurity incidents on Form 8-K within four business days (subject to a delayed compliance date for smaller reporting companies, of which we are one). In addition, companies must provide cybersecurity risk management disclosures in their annual reports.
The costs to respond to a security breach or to mitigate any security vulnerabilities that may be identified could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful. These costs include, but are not limited to: retaining the services of cybersecurity providers; complying with requirements of existing and future cybersecurity, data protection and privacy laws and regulations, including the costs of notifying regulatory agencies and impacted individuals; and maintaining redundant networks, data backups, and other damage-mitigation measures. We could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices in response to a security breach or related regulatory actions or litigation, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Additionally, most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals, regulatory authorities, and others of security breaches involving certain types of data. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures, and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.
We may not have adequate insurance coverage for handling cyber security incidents or breaches, including fines, judgments, settlements, penalties, costs, attorney fees, and other impacts that arise out of incidents or breaches. If the impacts of a security incident or breach, or the successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), it could harm our business. In addition, we cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or that our insurers will not deny coverage as to all or part of any future claim or loss. Moreover, our privacy risks are likely to increase as we continue to expand, grow our consumer and business member base, and process, store, and transmit increasingly large amounts of personal or sensitive data.
Issues in the use of artificial intelligence, including machine learning and computer vision (together, “AI”), in our analytics platforms may result in reputational harm or liability.
AI is enabled by or integrated into some of our analytics platforms and is a growing element of our business offerings going forward. As with many developing technologies, AI presents risks and challenges that could affect its further development, adoption, and use, and therefore our business. AI algorithms may be flawed. Data sets may be insufficient, of poor quality, or contain biased information. Inappropriate or controversial data practices by data scientists, engineers, and end-users of our systems could impair the acceptance of AI solutions. If the analyses that AI applications assist in producing are deficient or inaccurate, we could be subjected to competitive harm, potential legal liability, and brand or reputational harm. Some uses of AI present ethical issues, and our judgment as to the ethical concerns may not be accurate. If we use AI as part of the AtlasClear Platform in a manner that is controversial because of the purported or real impact on our business members or vendors, this may lead to adverse results for our financial condition and operations or the financial condition and operations of our business members, which may further lead to us experiencing competitive harm, legal liability and brand or reputational harm.
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We could face employee claims.
We could face employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination that may also create not only legal and financial liability, but also negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations.
Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business.
From time to time, we may be party to various claims and litigation proceedings.
Even when not merited, the lawsuits and other legal proceedings may divert management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in pursuing or defending these lawsuits or other legal proceedings. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in some of these legal disputes may result in adverse monetary damages, penalties or injunctive relief against us, which could negatively impact our financial position, cash flows or results of operations. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.
Furthermore, while we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, our insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if the insurers prevail, the amount of our recovery.
Wilson-Davis is subject to extensive regulation from the SEC and FINRA, and the failure to comply with this regulation can result in significant penalties, fines, liability, and reputational harm.
As a broker-dealer and clearing firm, Wilson-Davis is subject to extensive regulation by the SEC as well as self-regulatory organizations, particularly FINRA. Statutes, rules, and related interpretations can change rapidly, and the cost of remaining compliant with applicable regulations is costly. The SEC and FINRA have comprehensive examination and monitoring practices, which have resulted in previous regulatory actions against Wilson-Davis and certain of its personnel. Wilson-Davis is subject to periodic examinations from the SEC and FINRA. Any finding of violation of any applicable regulation may result in formal administrative or judicial proceedings that subject Wilson-Davis to costly settlement agreements, censure, fines, civil penalties, cease-and-desist orders, termination or suspension of broker-dealer activities, and suspension or disqualification of supervised persons.
Wilson-Davis and its supervised persons have been previously subject to various sanctions. The imposition of compliance sanctions may have a material adverse effect on Wilson-Davis’ operating results and financial condition, including the expulsion of the firm from the industry. Wilson-Davis expends significant time and financial resources to address compliance concerns of regulators, communicate with regulators, contest preliminary examination conclusions with which Wilson-Davis disagrees, and defend against regulatory action.
The misconduct of Wilson-Davis’ employees could expose the firm to significant legal liability and reputational harm.
Wilson-Davis employees may violate Wilson-Davis’ written supervisory procedures or engage in other unlawful activities, which could expose Wilson-Davis to regulatory action, sanctions or damage to its reputation. Improper activity by employees may expose Wilson-Davis to regulatory action for failing to supervise its employees. Wilson-Davis’ compliance measures to detect and prevent employee misconduct may not be effective or deemed adequate by regulatory authorities.
If the Pacsquare Assets do not successfully scale, as the Company’s business grows, or do not perform adequately, this could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, and could damage its reputation.
Although AtlasClear expects that the AtlasClear Platform, source code and other technology assets it acquired, from Pacsquare would be properly implemented and integrated into the Company’s systems, we cannot assure you that the code will successfully scale, or that the AtlasClear Platform, source code, software and other technology assets would perform adequately due to among other things, errors, viruses and defects.
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AtlasClear Holdings relies on the third-party services of Pacsquare which may expose it to additional risks and could have an adverse impact on its business.
AtlasClear Holdings relies on the third-party services of Pacsquare to customize and integrate the AtlasClear Platform, source code and technology assets and to maintain the software it provides along with industry updates as needed. If Pacsquare fails to perform these services properly, this could have an adverse impact on the Company’s business. Any errors or defects in the software incorporated into the Company’s service offerings, may result in a delay or loss of revenue, diversion of resources, damage to the Company’s reputation, the loss of the affected customer, loss of future business, increased service costs or potential litigation claims against the Company.
Risks Relating to the Proposed Acquisition of Commercial Bancorp
The proposed CB Merger may not be completed on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, or at all, as the parties may be unable to satisfy the conditions or obtain the approvals required to complete the CB Merger.
Completion of the CB Merger is subject to certain customary conditions, including, among other things, (i) approval by the stockholders of Commercial Bancorp, Commercial Bancorp’s wholly-owned subsidiary Farmers State Bank (“FSB”), AtlasClear and the Company, (ii) receipt of certain regulatory approvals, and (iii) the prior completion of the Business Combination. We cannot assure you that these conditions will be fulfilled or that the CB Merger will be completed on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, or at all. The Federal Reserve and the Wyoming Division of Banking may not approve the CB Merger, may impose conditions to the approval of the CB Merger or require changes to the terms of the CB Merger. Any such conditions or changes could have the effect of delaying completion of the CB Merger, imposing costs on AtlasClear and the Company or limiting the Company’s revenues following the CB Merger or otherwise reducing the anticipated benefits of the CB Merger. In addition, AtlasClear and Commercial Bancorp can mutually agree at any time prior to the effective time of the CB Merger to terminate the Bank Acquisition Agreement, even after the approval by Commercial Bancorp’s shareholders of the CB Merger. AtlasClear and Commercial Bancorp may also terminate the Bank Acquisition Agreement in the event of breach of the agreement as specified in the Bank Acquisition Agreement.
Failure to complete the CB Merger may hinder the Company from achieving its anticipated business goals, and negatively impact the Company’s share price and its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Through the acquisition of Wilson-Davis and the proposed acquisition of Commercial Bancorp, a federal reserve member, the Company expects to acquire the capabilities to provide specialized clearing and banking services to financial services firms, with an emphasis on global markets currently underserviced by larger vendors. If the Company is able to complete the CB Merger, once properly integrated, anticipated synergies between Commercial Bancorp and Wilson-Davis are expected to allow for lower cost of capital, higher net interest margins, expanded product development and greater credit extension. Management considered the importance of the CB Merger to the overall success of the combined company and determined that such acquisition is not critical. While AtlasClear needs an institution that can carry funds greater than FDIC insurance limits, this can be any FDIC institution that can hold funds of the qualified accounts (profit sharing and IRA). Furthermore, AtlasClear does not believe that the income that Commercial Bancorp is expected to contribute to the combined company will be material. Although AtlasClear believes that Commercial Bancorp can be replaced with a substantially similar alternative acquisition, if needed, this would require the Company to expend additional time and resources to identify and consummate such similar alternative acquisition. In addition, it is possible that AtlasClear will not be able to successfully acquire an alternative FDIC institution for any number of reasons, including the factors that create substantial uncertainty regarding the ability to complete the CB Merger. For example, assuming AtlasClear is able to identify a suitable alternative acquisition candidate that is willing to sell to AtlasClear on terms that the parties agree upon, such transaction may not receive required regulatory approval or other closing conditions may not be satisfied. For example, the Federal Reserve and/or any applicable state banking regulatory authority may not approve any such proposed alternative acquisition, may impose conditions to the approval of such alternative acquisition or require changes to the terms of the proposed transaction. Any such conditions or changes could have the effect of delaying completion of the transaction, imposing costs on AtlasClear and the Company or limiting the Company’s revenues following the transaction or otherwise reducing the anticipated benefits of the transaction. If the CB Merger or an alternative acquisition is not consummated, without a Federal Reserve member bank as part of its future business, the Company may not be able to realize these anticipated business goals in the anticipated timeframe, or at all. In particular, the Company may not be able to attract as many, or the pedigree of, customers it anticipates without an FDIC institution. Without an FDIC institution, the Company may face greater risk of trade fails and inferior real-time cash management, and may not be able to maximize net interest margins or sweep deposits to an institution owned by the Company. In addition, if the CB Merger is not completed, the price of our Common Stock may decline to the extent that its then current market price reflects a market assumption that the CB Merger will be completed or it may decline due to a market perception that the CB Merger was not completed due to an adverse change in the Company’s business. Furthermore, the Company may experience negative reactions from its stockholders, customers and/or other persons with whom it has a business relationship. In addition, some costs related to the CB Merger, such as legal, accounting and financial advisory fees, must be paid by AtlasClear, and, following the Business Combination, the Company, even if the CB Merger is not completed. Furthermore, AtlasClear has expended, and the Company’s management will
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have expended, valuable time and resources to matters relating to the CB Merger that could otherwise have been devoted to other beneficial activities for the Company. As a result of all the foregoing, failure to complete the CB Merger may negatively impact the Company and its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
The terms of our promissory notes make non-compliance or default likely, and this can result in additional legal and other fees as well as impact the Company’s share price and its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
As part of our recent acquisition and ongoing efforts to acquire another company, we have entered into several promissory notes with terms that are more onerous than usual. These promissory notes contain covenants and obligations that, if not met, could result in default. Given the significant changes and integration efforts currently underway, there is an increased risk that we may not be able to comply with these terms.
In the event of non-compliance or default, we could face severe financial penalties, acceleration of debt repayment obligations, and potential legal actions. Such outcomes could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity, and overall business operations. Additionally, a default could damage our reputation and hinder our ability to secure future financing on favorable terms, thereby impacting our long-term growth and strategic objectives.
Risks Related to Our Operations as a New Public Company
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 independent board members.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting and corporate governance requirements of the Exchange Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities rules and regulations, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. Among other things, the Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations and maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Although we have already hired additional personnel to help comply with these requirements, we may need to further expand our legal and finance departments in the future, which will increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, 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 intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expense and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business and prospects may be harmed. As a result of disclosure of information in the filings required of a public company and in this report, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially harmed, 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 divert the resources of our management and materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may have increasing difficulty attracting and retaining qualified outside independent board members.
The directors and management of publicly traded corporations are increasingly concerned with the extent of their personal exposure to lawsuits and shareholder claims, as well as governmental and creditor claims that may be made against them in connection with their positions with publicly held companies. Outside directors are becoming increasingly concerned with the availability of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance to pay on a timely basis the costs incurred in defending shareholder claims. Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance is expensive and difficult to obtain. The SEC and NYSE have also imposed higher independence standards and certain special
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requirements on directors of public companies. Accordingly, it may become increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified outside directors to serve on our Board.
Stock trading volatility could impact our ability to recruit and retain employees.
Volatility or lack of appreciation in our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain our key employees. Employees may be more likely to leave us if the shares they own or the shares underlying their vested equity have not significantly appreciated in value relative to the original purchase price of the shares or the exercise price of the options, or conversely, if the exercise price of the options that they hold are significantly above the market price of our Common Stock. If we are unable to retain our employees, or if we need to increase our compensation expenses to retain our employees, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Some members of our management team have no prior experience managing a public company.
Some members of our senior management team do not have any 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 our transition to being a public company, which will subject us to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts, investors and regulators. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We are an Emerging Growth Company, making comparisons to non-Emerging Growth companies difficult or impossible.
We are an Emerging Growth Company (“EGC”) as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and we have taken and expect to continue to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not EGCs including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, registrations statements and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts EGCs 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. This exemption may make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies that are neither EGCs nor EGCs that have opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
We may be exposed to risk if we cannot enhance, maintain, and adhere to our internal controls and procedures.
As a public company trading on the NYSE American, we have significant requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls. The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that will require us to anticipate and react to changes in our business accounting, auditing and regulatory requirements and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company, and we are still early in the process of generating a mature system of internal controls and integration across business systems. If we are unable to establish or maintain appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, result in material misstatements in our financial statements, harm our operating results, and subject us to litigation and claims arising from material weaknesses in our internal controls and any resulting consequences, including restatements of our financial statements. See “ Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business .”
Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information in an accurate manner or on a timely basis and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC or violations of NYSE rules. There also could be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements also could suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm continue to report a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us and lead to a decline in the market price of our Common Stock.
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We have identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in our Company and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
In connection with the preparation of our Form 10-KT for the transition period ended June 30, 2024, and our Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2025, management reassessed the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures for the periods affected. As a result of that reassessment, management determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of June 30, 2025, and June 30, 2024 due to the material weaknesses with respect to compiling information to prepare financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The material weaknesses are due to the analysis and full disclosure of the Merger Agreement, the impact of the Merger Agreement on and the impact of the Business Combination Agreement as it relates to the classification of complex accounting instruments, and related financial disclosures.
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 the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for the Company to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
As a public company, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur increased expenses associated with the costs of being a public company.
We have and expect to continue to face a significant increase in insurance, legal, auditing, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses as a public company that we did not currently incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the requirements of Section 404 of that Act, as well as rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Act and the rules and regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), the SEC and the NYSE, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with public company requirements have and will continue to increase our costs and make certain activities more time-consuming. A number of those requirements require us to carry out activities that we have not done previously. For example, we recently created new board committees and adopted new internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. In addition, additional expenses associated with SEC reporting requirements have and will continue to be incurred. Furthermore, if any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if our independent registered accounting firm identifies a material weakness or significant deficiency in the internal control over financial reporting), we could incur additional costs to remediate those issues, and the existence of those issues could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of it. Being a public company has and may in the future make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance. We may ultimately be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage with increased self-retention risk or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage in the future. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Common Stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
The additional reporting and other obligations imposed by various rules and regulations applicable to public companies has and is expected to continue to increase legal and financial compliance costs and the costs of related legal, auditing, accounting and administrative activities. These increased costs will require us to divert a significant amount of money that could otherwise be used to expand the business and achieve strategic objectives. Advocacy efforts by shareholders and third parties may also prompt additional changes in governance and reporting requirements, which could further increase costs.
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Our existing indebtedness, and any indebtedness we incur in the future, could adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to operate our business, our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and our ability to pay our debts and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.
Our level of indebtedness increases the possibility that we may be unable to generate cash sufficient to pay the principal of, interest on, or other amounts due with respect to our indebtedness. Our leverage and debt service obligations could adversely impact our business, including by:
impairing our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest or principal, including periodic principal payments;
increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
requiring the dedication of a portion of our cash flow from operations to service our debt, thereby reducing the amount of our cash flow available for other purposes, including capital expenditures, dividends to stockholders or to pursue future business opportunities;
requiring us to sell debt or equity securities or to sell some of our core assets, possibly on unfavorable terms, to meet payment obligations;
limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industries in which we compete; and
placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with less leveraged competitors and competitors that may have better access to capital resources.
Any of the foregoing factors could have negative consequences on our financial condition and results of operations.
Limited insurance coverage and availability may prevent us from obtaining insurance to cover all risks of loss.
We have insured certain products and launches to the extent that insurance was available at acceptable premiums. This insurance will not protect us against all losses due to specified exclusions, deductibles and material change limitations.
We have obtained and maintain insurance for director and officers, cybersecurity, business owner, commercial general liability and workers’ compensation, based on a variety of factors, including the availability of insurance in the market, the cost of available insurance and the redundancy of our operating entities. Higher premiums on insurance policies will increase our costs and consequently reduce our operating income by the amount of such increased premiums. If the terms of these insurance policies become less favorable than those currently available, there may be limits on the amount of coverage that we can obtain or we may not be able to obtain insurance at all. Even as obtained, our insurance will not cover any loss in revenue incurred as a result of a partial or total loss.
Moreover, our insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover our liabilities related to such hazards or operational risks. In addition, passenger insurance may not be accepted or may be prohibitive to procure. Moreover, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at rates we consider reasonable and commercially justifiable, and insurance may not continue to be available on terms as favorable as our current arrangements. The occurrence of a significant uninsured claim, or a claim in excess of the insurance coverage limits maintained by us, could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Charter”) contains anti-takeover provisions that could adversely affect the rights of our stockholders.
Our Charter contains provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of the Company or cause it to engage in change-of-control transactions, including, among other things:
provisions that authorize its board of directors, without action by its stockholders, to issue additional shares of Common Stock and preferred stock with preferential rights determined by its board of directors; and
provisions that permit only a majority of its board of directors, the chairperson of the board of directors or the chief executive officer to call stockholder meetings and therefore do not permit stockholders to call special meetings of the stockholders.
These provisions could have the effect of depriving our stockholders of an opportunity to sell their Common Stock at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction.
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Our Charter provides, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
Our Charter requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company; (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders; (c) any action asserting a claim against the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), our Charter or the bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; (d) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Charter or the bylaws. Subject to the preceding sentence, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. However, such forum selection provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction.
The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the Charter to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Additionally, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As noted above, the Charter will provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will have jurisdiction over any action arising under the Securities Act. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision. Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our Charter.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
Future sales or resales of our Common Stock could cause the market price for our Common Stock to decline significantly, even if the Company’s business is doing well.
We had 126,819,145 shares of Class A common stock outstanding as of September 25, 2025. We filed two resale registration statements which became effective on August 14, 2024 and March 6, 2025, which registered the offer and sale from time to time by certain selling stockholders of up to 35,825,689 shares of our common stock. The Company’s stockholders may sell our common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, which could have the effect of increasing the volatility in the trading price of our common stock or putting significant downward pressure on the price of our common stock.
Until such time that the registration statements are no longer effective or all securities thereunder are sold, the registration statements will permit the resale of these securities. The resale, or expected or potential resale, of a substantial number of our Common Stock in the public market could adversely affect the market price for our Common Stock and make it more difficult for our stockholders to sell their Common Stock at times and prices that they feel are appropriate. Furthermore, we expect that, because there was a large number of shares registered pursuant to the registration statement, the selling stockholders will continue to offer the securities covered by the registration statement for a significant period of time, the precise duration of which cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the adverse market and price pressures resulting from an offering pursuant to a registration statement may continue for an extended period of time.
Further, sales of our Common Stock upon expected expiration of resale restrictions could encourage short sales by market participants. Generally, short selling means selling a security, contract or commodity not owned by the seller. The seller is committed to eventually purchase the financial instrument previously sold. Short sales are used to capitalize on an expected decline in the security’s price. As such, short sales of our Common Stock could have a tendency to depress the price of our Common Stock, which could further increase the potential for short sales.
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We cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of shares of our Common Stock or the availability of shares of our Common Stock for sale will have on the market price of our Common Stock prevailing from time to time. Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that those sales will occur, could cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline or be depressed.
We may issue our securities if we need to raise capital in connection with a capital expenditure, working capital requirement or acquisition. The number of shares of our Common Stock issued in connection with a capital expenditure, working capital requirement or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of Common Stock. Any perceived excess in the supply of our shares in the market could negatively impact our share price and any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to you.
In addition, registration rights we may grant in the future, including in the ordinary course of the Company’s business, may further depress market prices if these registration rights are exercised or shares of our Common Stock are sold under the registration statements, the presence of additional shares trading in the public market may also adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.
An active market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to factors specific to us as well as to general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Issuances of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Pacsquare Purchase Agreement, or to settle accrued expenses and obligations, and conversion of any amounts under the Funicular Note, the Winston & Strawn Agreement, the Company’s securities purchase agreements or pursuant to the ELOC Agreement or the Second ELOC Agreement, have resulted and would continue to result in substantial dilution of our stockholders and have had and may continue to have a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock.
In connection with the Closing, AtlasClear Holdings entered into the Funicular Purchase Agreement amendments to the Broker-Dealer Acquisition Agreement and other notes to settle accrued expenses and obligations. As of the date of this filing, Pacsquare has received an aggregate of 13,933 shares of Common Stock. The notes, including the Convertible Notes are convertible into shares of our Common Stock, at various conversion prices (which may be reduced under certain circumstances). The issuance of any of these shares will dilute our other equity holders, which could cause the price of our Common Stock to decline. The Funicular Note is convertible, in whole or in part, into shares of Common Stock at the election of the holder at any time at an initial conversion price of $10.00 per share, (the “Conversion Price”). The Conversion Price is subject to adjustment monthly to a price equal to the trailing five-day VWAP, subject to a floor of $2.00 per share (provided that if the Company sells stock at an effective price below $2.00 per share, such floor would be reduced to such effective price now determined to be $0.15 per share).
The shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Pacsquare Purchase Agreement and the conversion of any amounts under the notes, including the Funicular Note and the convertible notes under the securities purchase agreements, to the extent exercised, converted and issued, would impose significant dilution on our stockholders. Also in connection with the Closing, AtlasClear Holdings agreed to settle certain accrued expenses and other obligations to certain parties through the issuance shares of Common Stock and intends to, in the future, issue additional shares of Common Stock, to settle other accrued expenses and obligations.
Pursuant to the Winston & Strawn Agreement, the Company may issue up to $2,500,000 worth of shares of Common Stock as payment for legal services, in three equal installments of $833,333 beginning on August 9, 2024. The Company has not issued any shares in connection with the Winston & Strawn Agreement and the amounts payable remain due. Additionally, pursuant to the ELOC Agreement, Tau has committed to purchase, upon the terms thereof and subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, up to $12.5 million of Common Stock of the Company, at a price per share equal to 97% of the lowest VWAP of the Common Stock during a pricing period of three consecutive trading days following Tau’s receipt of the applicable advance notice sent by the Company from time to time, over the course of 24 months from the date of the ELOC Agreement. As of June 30, 2025, the Company has issued and settled 1,566,885 shares in connection with the ELOC agreement. Each advance may be up to the greater of 100,000 shares or 50% of the average daily volume traded of the shares during the 30 trading days immediately prior to the date the Company requests each advance. All of the foregoing issuances would result in substantial dilution of our stockholders and may have a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock.
On August 4, 2025, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement ( “August Securities Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional investor under which the Company agreed to issue and sell, in a private placement, Series A convertible debentures (a “Debenture”) for an aggregate principal amount of $500,000, for a gross purchase price of $490,000, net of legal fees. The Debenture
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bears a 10% interest and matures on August 3, 2026. The holder is entitled to convert the unpaid face amount of this Debenture, plus accrued interest and penalties, any time following a closing date, at $0.15 per share. If, at any time after closing, the Company receives financing from a third party (excluding the holder), the Company is required to pay to the holder, in the form of cash, equity, or a combination of the two, solely at the discretion of the holder, 100% of the proceeds raised from the third party in excess of an aggregate amount of $10,000,000 until such time as the face amount of the Debenture has been paid in full. The Company agreed that, within sixty (60) calendar days after the closing date, the company will file a registration statement registering the resale of the conversion shares underlying the Debenture.
On September 16, 2025, September 19, 2025 and September 23, 2025, the Company entered into separate securities purchase agreements (each, a “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional investors (each, an “Investor”) under which the Company agreed to issue and sell, in a private placement, convertible promissory notes (each, a “Note” and collectively, the “Notes”) for an aggregate principal amount of $6,000,000, for a gross purchase price of $5,000,000, reflecting a 20% original issue discount, before fees and other expenses. The Notes do not bear interest, and mature on the earlier of six months from issuance or the date that the Company completes a Qualified Financing (meaning an issuance and sale of capital stock raising gross proceeds of at least $10 million, as defined in the Notes). The Notes may be converted into equity, at each holder’s option, at the closing of a Qualified Financing, at the same per share price as the securities sold in the Qualified Financing. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes and working capital. The Notes are subject to customary events of default and related remedies.
Our issuance of additional capital stock in connection with future financings, acquisitions, investments, the AtlasClear 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”) or otherwise will dilute all other stockholders.
We expect to issue additional capital stock in the future that will result in dilution to all other stockholders. We expect to grant equity awards to employees, directors and consultants under the Incentive Plan. We may also raise capital through equity financings in the future. We may acquire or make investments in complementary companies or technologies and issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition or investment. Any such issuances of additional capital stock may cause stockholders to experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of our Common Stock to decline.
If we are not able to raise sufficient capital to satisfy our payment obligations under the Convertible Notes, or otherwise restructure the Convertible Notes, and payment of principal and accrued and unpaid interest thereon is demanded by the holders thereof, we will be in default, and may not be able to continue as a going concern.
We have not timely satisfied certain payment obligations under the Funicular Note and the convertible notes under the Securities Purchase Agreement. In the event we are not able to raise sufficient capital to pay such notes, or otherwise restructure the same, and payment of principal and accrued interest thereon is demanded by the holders thereof, we will be in default, and may not be able to continue as a going concern. Although none of the holders of such promissory notes have elected to pursue remedies against us, we cannot assure you that they will not do so in the future. The institution of collection actions could have a material adverse effect on our business and could force us to seek relief through insolvency or other proceedings. On each interest payment date, the accrued and unpaid interest shall, at the election of the Company in its sole discretion, be either paid in cash or paid in-kind by increasing the principal amount of the Funicular Note. In the event of an Event of Default (as defined in the Funicular Note), in addition to Funicular’s other rights and remedies, the interest rate would increase to 20% per annum. The convertible notes under the September 2025 Securities Purchase Agreement mature on the earlier of six months from issuance or the date that the Company completes a Qualified Financing (meaning an issuance and sale of capital stock raising gross proceeds of at least $10 million, as defined in the Notes). The Notes may be converted into equity, at each holder’s option, at the closing of a Qualified Financing, at the same per share price as the securities sold in the Qualified Financing.
We cannot assure you that we will continue to be able to comply with the continued listing standards of the NYSE American, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our continued eligibility to maintain the listing of our Common Stock on the NYSE American depends on a number of factors, including the price of our Common Stock and the number of persons that hold our Common Stock. Our Common Stock has traded below the $1.00 minimum share price requirement since March 25, 2025. If the NYSE American delists our securities from trading on its exchange for failure to meet its listing standards, and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, then our Common Stock could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we and our stockholders could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
reduced liquidity for our securities;
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a determination that the Common Stock is a “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading the Common Stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for shares of Common Stock;
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
a decreased ability for us to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our securities adversely, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline.
The trading market for our securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, markets, revenue streams, and competitors. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, our share price and trading volume would likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who may cover us adversely change their recommendation regarding our shares of Common Stock or provide relatively more favorable recommendations with respect to competitors, the price of our shares of Common Stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to finance the further development and expansion of our business and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in the Stockholders’ Agreement and future agreements and financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors as our Board deems relevant.
Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Common Stock at a price greater than what you paid for it.
We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of our Common Stock will be at the sole discretion of the Board. The Board may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions, implications of the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us and such other factors as the Board may deem relevant. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in the Common Stock unless you sell your Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
Our Warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Common Stock.
In connection with the Business Combination, 10,062,500 public warrants (the “Public Warrants”) and 5,562,500 private placement warrants (the “Private Warrants” and collectively, the “Warrants”) became exercisable to purchase our Common Stock, each exercisable to purchase one share of our Common Stock at $11.50 per share. Such Warrants, when and if exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock and may reduce the value of the Common Stock.
The exercise of Warrants, and any proceeds we may receive from their exercise, are highly dependent on the price of our Common Stock and the spread between the exercise price of the Warrant and the price of our Common Stock at the time of exercise. For example, to the extent that the price of our Common Stock exceeds $690 per share, it is more likely that holders of our Warrants will exercise their warrants. If the price of our Common Stock is less than $690 per share, we believe it is much less likely that such holders will exercise their warrants. On September 24, 2025, the closing price of the Common Stock as reported by the NYSE American was $0.67 per share, which price was less than the $690 per share exercise price of the Private Warrants. We cannot assure you that our Warrants will be in the money after the date of this report and prior to their expiration. Quantum Ventures and its distributees have the option to exercise the Private Warrants on a cashless basis. Holders of public warrants may generally only exercise such warrants for cash, subject to very limited exceptions in certain circumstances as provided for in the Warrant Agreement relating to the warrants.
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Our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and were recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Common Stock.
In accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), the Company’s warrants are classified as derivative liabilities and measured at fair value on its balance sheet, with any changes in fair value to be reported each period in earnings on our statement of operations.
As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors that are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by us or our stockholders in the public market following could cause the market price for the Common Stock to decline.
The sale of shares of our Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of Common Stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for the us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that it deems appropriate.
As of September 25, 2025, we had a total of 126,819,145 shares of Common Stock outstanding (i) without giving effect to any awards that may be issued under the Incentive Plan or any earnout shares that may be issued in the future, and (ii) assuming no exercise of the outstanding Warrants. All shares currently held by public stockholders and all of the shares issued in the Business Combination to former AtlasClear’s stockholders are freely tradable without registration under the Securities Act, and without restriction by persons other than our “affiliates” (as defined under Rule 144), including our directors, executive officers and other affiliates.
In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of the Common Stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of the then-outstanding shares of the Common Stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.
We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. We may continue to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We cannot predict whether investors will find securities issued by us less attractive because we elect to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find those securities less attractive as a result of its reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, 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 another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: (i) June 30, 2026, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion; (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year; or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Our operating results may be negatively impacted by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment.
Our operating results may be negatively impacted by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment, including tariffs or other trade barriers, rising inflation, and other macroeconomic shifts. These factors may materially affect investor confidence and the success of a potential business combination, including one involving a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The global macroeconomic environment remains challenging and uncertain. For example, uncertainty regarding global central bank monetary policy, instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East, and tensions surrounding China-Taiwan relations, may continue to pressure global economic conditions. If these conditions were to deteriorate further, we could experience material harm to our business, operating results, and financial condition, which may in turn affect the attractiveness and valuation of any proposed business combination.
