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Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is -0.20pp more bearish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Risk Factors
-0.20pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
MD&A
-0.19pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
Per-snippet highlights
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
5,810 words
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
We are subject to various risks that may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation or prevent us from achieving our goals. If any of these risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operation may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have generated limited revenue to date, so it is difficult for potential investors to evaluate our business. To date, our operations have consisted of technology research and development, testing, and joint development work with customers, potential customers and strategic partners. Our business model is to derive our revenue primarily from license fees and royalties, but to date we have only recognized minimal revenues. Our limited operating history makes it to evaluate the commercial value of our technology, the viability of our licensing model or our prospective operations. As an early-stage company, we are subject to all the risks inherent in the initial organization, financing, expenditures, and in a new business, including, without :
Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
closed+2
closing+1
Positive rising
achievement+1
MD&A (Item 7)
3,395 words
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of Atomera Incorporated should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the accompanying notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report. Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. We use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements in this Annual Report reflect the faith judgment of our management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by us. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in condition, significance, value and effect, including those risk factors set forth in this Annual Report. Such risks, uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed herein and in ways not readily foreseeable. Readers are urged not to place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report and are based on information currently and reasonably known to us. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this Annual Report. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in this Annual Report, which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
the timing and success of our plan of commercialization;
our ability to replicate on a large commercial scale the benefits of our MST technology that we have demonstrated in preliminary testing;
our ability to execute joint development agreements with potential customers;
our ability to structure, negotiate and enforce license agreements that will allow us to operate profitably;
our ability to advance our license agreement with ST Microelectronics (ST) through the qualification phase, where it is currently on hold;
our ability to advance the licensing arrangements with our RF licensee and our foundry licensee to R&D and HVM licenses and to shipment of royalty-bearing products;
our success in capitalizing on the achievement of the technical milestones in our first JDA in order to enter into one or more distribution and royalty agreements with business units of that JDA customer as well as our success in meeting technical milestones in the JDA with our second JDA customer;
our ability to convert licensees of our MSTcad software to licenses of our MST technology under commercial license agreements and to successfully utilize MSTcad in both internal development and customer evaluations;
our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; and
our ability to raise additional capital as and when needed.
Investors should evaluate an investment in us in light of the uncertainties encountered by developing companies in a competitive environment. There can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful or that we will ultimately be able to attainprofitability.
We have a history of significant operating losses and anticipate continued operating losses for at least the near term. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we have incurred net losses of approximately $20.2 million and $18.4 million, respectively, and our operations have used approximately $14.9 million and $13.2 million of cash, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $241.7 million. We will continue to experience negative cash flows from operations until at least such time as we are able to secure R&D and HVM license agreements with one or more foundries, IDMs or fabless semiconductor manufacturers and such customers ship sufficient volumes of royalty-bearing products and pay upfront license fees to support our cash requirements. While management will endeavor to generate positive cash flows from the commercialization of our MST technology, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so. If we are unable to generate positive cash flow within a reasonable period of time, we may be unable to further pursue our business plan or continue operations.
While we have entered into one commercial license agreement, four integration license agreements and two joint development agreements, there can be no assurance that any of these relationships will advance to further licensing stages or to royalty-based distribution license agreements . Neither of our JDAs commits the customers to take MST to production. ST has successfully installed our MST film recipe and accepted our film under a commercial license agreement executed in April 2023, resulting in the grant of an R&D license to them enabling them to manufacture MST wafers for internal use. However, in October 2025 ST informed us that they would not complete the qualification of MST into their process after deciding to migrate their development of their targeted process to 300mm wafers. There can be no assurance whether or when ST will re-commence qualification of MST technology or that, in the event they do proceed, that MST will deliver the performance, power or other requirements that ST or our other customers seek for their products or that the integration of our technology with our customers’ manufacturing process will be successful in high volume. In addition, even if our MST technology is successfully integrated into the licensees’ products, any or all of our licensees may decide, for reasons unrelated to the price or performance of our MST technology, not to enter the subsequent license phases or execute the additional license agreements required to take MST to commercial production.
We expect that our product qualification and licensing cycle will be lengthy and costly, and our marketing, engineering and sales efforts may be unsuccessful. We have incurred significant engineering, marketing and sales expenses during customer engagements without entering into license agreements, generating a license fee or establishing a royalty stream from the customer and we expect that such investments ahead of license revenue will continue to be necessary in the future. The introduction of any new process technology into semiconductor manufacturing is a lengthy process and we cannot forecast with any degree of assurance the length of time it takes to establish a new licensing relationship. However, based on our engagements with potential customers to date, we believe the time from initial engagement until our customers incorporate our technologies in their semiconductor products can take 18 to 36 months or longer. Our integration license agreements with our current licensees do not commit them to R&D or HVM licenses and we expect those licensees to perform additional tests on evaluation wafers under their respective integration licenses before deciding whether to enter the next stages of licensing MST. As such, we will incur additional expenses in our engagements with our licensees before we receive license fees, if any, for manufacturing and distribution and before any subsequent royalty stream begins.. While we believe our JDAs and our integration license agreements should accelerate licensing decisions by other customers, the evaluation process for new technologies in the semiconductor industry is inherently long and complex and there can be no assurance that we will successfully convert other customer prospects into paying customers or that any of these customers will generate sufficient revenue to cover our expenses.
Qualification of our MST technology requires access to our potential customers’ manufacturing tools and facilities, as well as to leased tools and facilities, which may not be available on a timely basis or at all. The qualification of a new process technology like MST entails the integration of our MST film into the complex manufacturing processes employed by our potential customers. In order to validate the benefits of MST, our customer engagement process involves fabrication of wafers that incorporate MST deposited by us using our epitaxial deposition tools and then completing the manufacturing of the wafers in our customers’ facilities using their tools. The semiconductor industry in 2025 exceeded $700 billion in sales. The combination of recovery from COVID-era supply-chain disruptions and the rapid growth in demand driven by AI, some segments of the industry have been characterized by product shortages as strong demand has outstripped supply, resulting in tight capacity among our potential customers, while other segments have experienced softness and excess supply. We have experienced delays in completing the processing of evaluation wafers by our customers as those customers prioritize utilization of their equipment for production use. If our customers do not dedicate their equipment and facilities to testing our products in a timely fashion, we may experience delays that will increase our expenses and delay our customers’ decisions on entering into commercial licenses with us. Additionally, we conduct our ongoing research and development and portions of our customer evaluation activities using leased epitaxial (epi) deposition tools that we believe will accelerate internal development work and customer engagements. However, epi tools require ongoing, complex maintenance and they have been and will continue to be subject to both planned and unplanneddowntime. Any interruption in our epi tool availability may negatively impact the progress of customer work as well as our internal research and development and accordingly could delay or prevent customers from entering into commercial licenses.
The long-term success of our business is dependent on a royalty-based business model, which is inherently risky. The long-term success of our business is dependent on future royalties paid to us by licensee-customers, whose business require them to market products to their end customers. Royalty payments under our licenses are generally expected to be based on a percentage of the selling price of wafers made using MST or the selling price of MST-enabled semiconductor die sold, depending on the customer type and the negotiation of our full commercial license agreements. We will depend upon our ability to structure, negotiate and enforce agreements for the determination and payment of royalties, as well as upon our licensees’ compliance with their agreements. We face risks inherent in a royalty-based business model, many of which are outside of our control, such as the following:
the rate of adoption and incorporation of our technology by semiconductor designers and manufacturers and the manufacturers of semiconductor fabrication equipment;
customers’ willingness to agree to an ongoing royalty model, which may impact their product costs and margins;
customers’ ability to successfully market MST-enabled products to their end customers;
the length of the design cycle and the ability to successfully integrate our MST technology into integrated circuits;
the demand for products incorporating semiconductors that use our licensed technology;
the cyclicality of supply and demand for products using our licensed technology;
the impact of economic downturns; and
the timing of receipt of royalty reports and the applicable revenue recognition criteria, which may result in fluctuation in our results of operations.
We may need additional financing to execute our business plan and fund operations, which additional financing may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. As of December 31, 2025, we had total assets of approximately $21.1 million, cash and cash-equivalents of approximately $19.2 million and working capital of approximately $17.6 million. On February 24, 2026, we completed a registered direct offering of shares of our common stock to institutional investors that resulted in net proceeds to us of approximately $23.6 million after commissions and offering expenses. We believe that we have sufficient capital as of the date of this report to fund our current business plans and obligations over, at least, the 24 months following the date of this Annual Report. However, even after installation of MST in a customer’s fab under a manufacturing license, the full production qualification of a new technology like MST can take more than an additional year, and we have limited ability to influence our customers’ testing and qualification processes. Accordingly, we may require additional capital prior to obtaining a royalty-based license or prior to such a license generating sufficient royalty income to cover our ongoing operating expenses. In the event we require additional capital over and above the amount of our presently available working capital, we will endeavor to seek additional funds through various financing sources, including the sale of our equity and debt securities, licensing fees for our technology and joint ventures with industry partners. In addition, we will consider alternatives to our current business plan that may enable us to achieve material revenue with a smaller amount of capital. However, there can be no guarantees that such funds will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be unable to further pursue our business plan and we may be unable to continue operations.
Unfavorable geopolitical and macroeconomic developments could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our business could be adversely affected by conditions in the U.S. and global economies, the United States and global financial markets, potential imposition of tariffs, increased export controls and adverse geopolitical and macroeconomic developments, including inflation rates, the Ukrainian/Russian and Israeli/Palestinian conflicts and related sanctions, bank failures, and economic uncertainties related to these conditions.
Recent efforts to create national self-sufficiency of the semiconductor supply chain by various countries around the world creates new competitive and economic dynamics that are difficult to predict and may lead to semiconductor industry instability. For example, the U.S. government has been imposing increasingly strict export controls, particularly on exports to China, which have already impacted the financial performance and business outlook of certain semiconductor vendors and vendors of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Increased restrictions on the availability and use of critical semiconductor IP and equipment by various foreign entities may limit Atomera’s ability to license our IP in some parts of the world.
Our internal computer systems, or those of our collaborators or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our development programs. Our internal computer systems and those of our current and any future collaborators and other contractors or consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we have not experienced any such material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a disruption of our development programs and our business operations, whether due to a loss of our or our customers’ trade secrets or other proprietary information or other similar disruptions. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability, our competitive position could be harmed and the further development and commercialization of our technology could be delayed.
We could be subject to risks caused by misappropriation, misuse, leakage, falsification or intentional or accidental release or loss of information maintained in the information systems and networks of our company and our vendors, including personal or confidential information of our employees, customers and vendors. In addition, outside parties may attempt to penetrate our systems or those of our customers or vendors or fraudulently induce our personnel or the personnel of our customers or vendors to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data and/or systems. We may experience threats to our data and systems, including malicious codes and viruses, phishing and other cyberattacks. The number and complexity of these threats continue to increase over time. If a material breach of, or accidental or intentionalloss of data from, our information technology systems or those of our customers or vendors occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed and our reputation and credibility could be damaged. We could be required to expend significant amounts of money and other resources to repair or replace information systems or networks. In addition, we could be subject to regulatory actions and/or claims made by individuals and groups in private litigation involving privacy issues related to data collection and use practices and other data privacy laws and regulations, including claims for misuse or inappropriate disclosure of data, as well as unfair or deceptive practices.
Although we develop and maintain systems and controls designed to prevent these events from occurring, and we have a process to identify and mitigate threats, the development and maintenance of these systems, controls and processes is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become increasingly sophisticated. Moreover, despite our efforts, the possibility of these events occurring cannot be eliminated entirely. As we outsource more of our information systems to vendors, engage in more electronic transactions with customers and vendors, and rely more on cloud-based information systems, the related security risks will increase and we will need to expend additional resources to protect our technology and information systems. In addition, there can be no assurance that our internal information technology systems or those of our third-party contractors, or our consultants’ efforts to implement adequate security and control measures, will be sufficient to protect us againstbreakdowns, service disruption, data deterioration or loss in the event of a system malfunction, or prevent data from being stolen or corrupted in the event of a cyberattack, security breach, industrial espionage attacks or insider threat attacks which could result in financial, legal, business or reputational harm.
Our revenues may be concentrated in a few customers and if we lose any of these customers, or these customers do not pay us, our revenues could be materially adversely affected. If we are able to secure the adoption of our MST by one or more foundries, IDMs or fabless semiconductor manufacturers, we expect that for at least the first few years substantially all of our revenue will be generated from license fees and engineering services before customers commence royalty-bearing shipments. Due to the concentration and ongoing consolidation within the semiconductor industry, we may also find that over the longer term our royalty-based revenues are dependent on a relatively few customers. If we lose any of these customers, or these customers do not pay us, our revenues could be materially adversely affected.
If we are unable to manage future expansion effectively, our business, operations and financial condition may suffer significantly, resulting in decreased productivity. If our MST proves to be commercially valuable, it is likely that we will experience a rapid growth phase that could place a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, technical, operational and financial resources. Our organization, procedures and management may not be adequate to fully support the expansion of our operations or the efficient execution of our business strategy. If we are unable to manage future expansion effectively, our business, operations and financial condition may suffer significantly, resulting in decreased productivity.
It may be difficult for us to verify royalty amounts owed to us under our licensing agreements, and this may cause us to lose revenues. We will endeavor to provide that the terms of our license agreements require our licensees to document their use of our technology and report related data to us on a regular basis. We will endeavor to provide that the terms of our license agreements give us the right to audit books and records of our licensees to verify this information, however audits can be expensive, time consuming, and may not be cost justified based on our understanding of our licensees’ businesses. We will endeavor to audit certain licensees to review the accuracy of the information contained in their royalty reports in an effort to decrease the likelihood that we will not receive the royalty revenues to which we are entitled under the terms of our license agreements, but we cannot give assurances that such audits will be effective to that end.
Our business operations could suffer in the event of information technology systems’ failures or security breaches . While we believe that we have implemented adequate security measures within our internal information technology and networking systems, our information technology systems may be subject to security breaches, damages from computer viruses, natural disasters, terrorism, and telecommunication failures. Any system failure or security breach could cause interruptions in our operations, including but not limited to our technology computer-aided design, or TCAD, modeling using Synopsys software, in addition to the possibility of losing proprietary information and trade secrets. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in inappropriate disclosure of our confidential information, our competitive position may be adversely affected, and we may incur liability or additional costs to remedy the damages caused by these disruptions or security breaches.
If integrated circuits incorporating our technologies are used in defective products, we may be subject to product liability or other claims. If our MST technology is used in defective or malfunctioning products, we could be sued for damages, especially if the defect or malfunction causes physical harm to people. While we will endeavor to carry product liability insurance, contractually limit our liability and obtain indemnities from our customers, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain insurance at satisfactory rates or in adequate amounts or that any insurance and customer indemnities will be adequate to defendagainst or satisfy any claims made against us. The costs associated with legal proceedings are typically high, relatively unpredictable and not completely within our control. Even if we consider any such claim to be without merit, significant contingencies may exist, similar to those summarized in the above risk factor concerning intellectual property litigation, which could lead us to settle the claim rather than incur the cost of defense and the possibility of an adverse judgment. Product liability claims in the future, regardless of their ultimate outcome, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and reputation, and on our ability to attract and retain licensees and customers.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
If we fail to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights and our confidential information, our business will suffer. We rely primarily on a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions and patent, trade secret and copyright laws to protect our technology and intellectual property. If we fail to protect our technology and intellectual property, our licensees and others may seek to use our technology and intellectual property without the payment of license fees and royalties, which could weaken our competitive position, reduce our operating results and increase the likelihood of costlylitigation. The growth of our business depends in large part on our ability to secure intellectual property rights in a timely manner, our ability to convince third parties of the applicability of our intellectual property rights to their products, and our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights. In certain instances, we attempt to obtain patent protection for portions of our technology, and our license agreements typically include both issued patents and pending patent applications as well as our proprietary know-how. If we fail to obtain patents in a timely manner or if the patents issued to us do not cover all of the inventionsdisclosed in our patent applications, others could use portions of our technology and intellectual property without the payment of license fees and royalties.
We also rely on trade secret laws rather than patent laws to protect other portions of our proprietary technology. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. The misappropriation of our trade secrets or other proprietary information could seriouslyharm our business. We protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, through confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, suppliers and customers. We cannot be certain that these contracts have not been and will not be breached, that we will be able to timely detect unauthorized use or transfer of our technology and intellectual property, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. If we fail to use these mechanisms to protect our technology and intellectual property, or if a court fails to enforce our intellectual property rights, our business will suffer. We cannot be certain that these protection mechanisms can be successfully asserted in the future or will not be invalidated or challenged.
Further, the laws and enforcement regimes of certain countries do not protect our technology and intellectual property to the same extent as do the laws and enforcement regimes of the U.S. In certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to protect our technology and intellectual property adequatelyagainstunauthorized use, which could adversely affect our business.
A court invalidation or limitation of our key patents could significantly harm our business . Our patent portfolio contains some patents that are particularly significant to our MST technology. If any of these key patents are invalidated, or if a court limits the scope of the claims in any of these key patents, the likelihood that companies will take new licenses and that any current licensees will continue to agree to pay under their existing licenses could be significantly reduced. The resulting loss in license fees and royalties could significantly harm our business. Moreover, our stock price may fluctuate based on developments in the course of ongoing litigation.
We may become involved in material legal proceedings in the future to enforce or protect our intellectual property rights, which could harm our business. From time to time, we may identify products that we believe infringe on our patents. In that event, we expect to initially seek to license the manufacturer of the infringing products, however if the manufacturer is unwilling to enter into a license agreement, we may have to initiate litigation to enforce our patent rights against those products. Litigation stemming from such disputes could harm our ability to gain new customers, who may postpone licensing decisions pending the outcome of the litigation or who may, as a result of such litigation, choose not to adopt our technologies. Such litigation may also harm our relationships with existing licensees, who may, because of such litigation, cease making royalty or other payments to us or challenge the validity and enforceability of our patents or the scope of our license agreements.
In addition, the costs associated with legal proceedings are typically high, relatively unpredictable and not completely within our control. These costs may be materially higher than expected, which could adverselyimpair our working capital, affect our operating results and lead to volatility in the price of our common stock. Whether or not determined in our favor or ultimately settled, litigation would divert our managerial, technical, legal and financial resources from our business operations. Furthermore, an adverse decision in any of these legal actions could result in a loss of our proprietary rights, subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses from others, limit the value of our licensed technology or otherwise negatively impact our stock price or our business and financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Even if we prevail in our legal actions, significant contingencies may exist to their settlement and final resolution, including the scope of the liability of each party, our ability to enforce judgments against the parties, the ability and willingness of the parties to make any payments owed or agreed upon and the dismissal of the legal action by the relevant court, none of which are completely within our control. Parties that may be obligated to pay us royalties could be insolvent or decide to alter their business activities or corporate structure, which could affect our ability to collect royalties from such parties.
Our technologies may infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, which could lead to costlydisputes or disruptions . The semiconductor industry is characterized by frequent allegations of intellectual property infringement. Any allegation of infringement could be time consuming and expensive to defend or resolve, result in substantial diversion of management resources, cause suspension of operations or force us to enter into royalty, license, or other agreements rather than dispute the merits of such allegation. Furthermore, third parties making such claims may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief that could block our ability to further develop or commercialize some or all of our technologies, and the ability of our customers to develop or commercialize their products incorporating our technologies, in the U.S. and abroad. If patent holders or other holders of intellectual property initiate legal proceedings, we may be forced into protracted and costlylitigation. We may not be successful in defending such litigation and may not be able to procure any required royalty or license agreements on acceptable terms or at all.
Risks Related to Owning Our Common Stock
The market price of our shares may be subject to fluctuation and volatility. You could lose all or part of your investment . The market price of our common stock is subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Between January 1, 2025 and February 20, 2026, the reported high and low sales prices of our common stock have ranged from $1.89 to $17.55. The market price of our shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:
actual or anticipated variations in our results of operations and financial condition;
market acceptance of our MST technology;
success or failure of our research and development projects;
announcements of technological innovations by us;
failure by us to achieve a publicly announced milestone;
failure by us to meet expectations of investors, some of which may not be within our control or be related to our public announcements;
delays between our expenditures to develop and market new or enhanced technological innovations and the generation of licensing revenue from those innovations;
developments concerning intellectual property rights, including our involvement in litigation brought by or against us;
changes in the amounts that we spend to develop, acquire or license new technologies or businesses;
our sale or proposed sale, or the sale by our significant stockholders, of our shares or other securities in the future;
changes in our key personnel;
changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if we continue to be covered by analysts;
the trading volume of our shares; and
general economic and financial market conditions and other factors, including factors unrelated to our operating performance.
These factors and any corresponding price fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of our shares and result in substantial losses being incurred by our investors. In the past, following periods of market volatility, public company stockholders have often instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could impose a substantial cost upon us and divert the resources and attention of our management from our business.
We have not paid dividends in the past and have no immediate plans to pay dividends. We plan to reinvest all of our earnings, to the extent we have earnings, to cover operating costs and otherwise become and remain competitive. We do not plan to pay any cash dividends with respect to our securities in the foreseeable future. We cannot assure you that we would, at any time, generate sufficient surplus cash that would be available for distribution to the holders of our common stock as a dividend. Therefore, you should not expect to receive cash dividends on our common stock.
Our charter documents and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover that stockholders consider favorable . Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and applicable provisions of Delaware law may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. The provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws:
limit who may call stockholder meetings;
do not permit stockholders to act by written consent;
allow us to issue blank check preferred stock without stockholder approval;
do not provide for cumulative voting rights; and
provide that all vacancies may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum.
In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may limit our ability to engage in any business combination with a person who beneficially owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock unless certain conditions are satisfied. This restriction lasts for a period of three years following the share acquisition. These provisions may have the effect of entrenching our management team and may deprive you of the opportunity to sell your shares to potential acquirers at a premium over prevailing prices. This potential inability to obtain a control premium could reduce the price of our common stock.
Our bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with the Company . Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us or any our directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This forum selection provision in our bylaws may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers or other employees.
Our board of directors may issue blank check preferred stock, which may affect the voting rights of our holders and could deter or delay an attempt to obtain control of us. Our board of directors is authorized, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock in series and to fix and state the voting rights and powers, designation, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of the shares of each such series and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof. Preferred stock may rank prior to our common stock with respect to dividends rights, liquidation preferences, or both, and may have full or limited voting rights. If issued, such preferred stock would increase the number of outstanding shares of our capital stock, adversely affect the voting power of holders of our common stock and could have the effect of deterring or delaying an attempt to obtain control of us.
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Overview
We are engaged in the business of developing, commercializing and licensing proprietary processes and technologies for the $700+ billion semiconductor industry. Our lead technology, named Mears Silicon Technology™, or MST ® , is a thin film of reengineered silicon, typically 100 to 300 angstroms (or approximately 20 to 60 silicon atomic unit cells) thick. MST is our proprietary and patent-protected performance enhancement technology that we believe addresses a number of key engineering challenges facing the semiconductor industry. We believe that by incorporating MST, transistors can be made smaller, with increased speed, reliability and power efficiency. In addition, since MST is an additive and low-cost technology, we believe it can be deployed on an industrial scale, with machines commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing. We believe that MST can be widely incorporated into the most common types of semiconductor products, including analog, logic, optical and memory integrated circuits.
We do not design or manufacture integrated circuits directly. Instead, we develop and license technologies and processes that we believe offer the designers and manufacturers of integrated circuits a low-cost solution to the industry’s need for greater performance and lower power consumption. Our customers and partners include:
foundries, which manufacture integrated circuits on behalf of fabless manufacturers;
integrated device manufacturers, or IDMs, which are the fully-integrated designers and manufacturers of integrated circuits;
fabless semiconductor manufacturers, which are designers of integrated circuits that outsource the manufacturing of their chips to foundries;
Manufacturers of semiconductor wafers, which provide the substrates upon which integrated circuits are fabricated:;
original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, that manufacture the epitaxial, or epi, machines used to deposit semiconductor layers, such as the MST film, onto silicon wafers; and
electronic design automation companies, which make tools used throughout the industry to simulate performance of semiconductor products using different materials, design structures and process technologies.
Our commercialization strategy is to generate revenue through licensing arrangements whereby foundries, IDMs and fabless semiconductor manufacturers pay us a license fee for their right to use MST technology in the manufacture of silicon wafers as well as a royalty for each silicon wafer or device that incorporates our MST technology. We also license our MSTcad software to our customers for use in simulating the effects of using MST technology on their wafers and/or devices. To date, we have generated revenue from (i) licensing agreements with ST and AKM, both of which are IDMs, one fabless manufacturer and one foundry, (ii) a joint development agreement, or JDA, with a leading semiconductor provider, (iii) engineering services provided to foundries, IDMs and fabless companies and (iv) licensing MSTcad.
We were organized as a Delaware limited liability company under the name Nanovis LLC on November 26, 2001. On March 13, 2007, we converted to a Delaware corporation under the name Mears Technologies, Inc. On January 12, 2016, we changed our name to Atomera Incorporated.
On May 31, 2022, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC (“Craig-Hallum”), as agents, under which we offered and sold, from time to time at our sole discretion, shares of our common stock in an at the market offering to or through the agents, having aggregate offering proceeds of up to $50.0 million (the “2022 ATM”). The 2022 ATM expired on March 18, 2025.
On May 27, 2025, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Craig-Hallum as agent, under which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, shares of our common stock in an “at-the-market” offering to or through the agent, having aggregate offering proceeds of up to $50.0 million (the “2025 ATM”).
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold approximately 1.6 million shares pursuant to the 2022 ATM and the 2025 ATM at an average price per share of approximately $5.15, resulting in approximately $7.6 million of net proceeds to us after deducting commissions and other offering expenses.
On February 23, 2026, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional investors pursuant to which we agreed to issue and sell, in a registered direct offering (the “Offering”), an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares of our common stock, at a purchase price of $5.00 per share, for gross proceeds from the Offering of $25 million, before deducting the placement agent fee and estimated offering expenses. On February 24, 2026 we closed the Offering, resulting in net proceeds to us of approximately $23.6 million after commissions and expenses.
Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
Revenues. To date, we have only generated limited revenue from customer engagements for engineering services, integration license agreements, R&D licenses granted under a JDA and under our license agreement with ST and licensing of MSTcad. Our MSTcad licenses grant customers the right to use MSTcad software to simulate the effects of incorporating MST technology into their semiconductor manufacturing process. MSTcad licenses are granted on a monthly or yearly basis and revenue is recognized over time.
For recognizing integration service revenue from integration license agreements, we assess (i) whether the license grant is distinct from or combined with the transfer of goods or services and (ii) whether the license is a right to access intellectual property or a right to use the intellectual property. For licenses that are not distinct, but combined with other goods or services, the revenue is recognized at a point in time or over time as the obligations to perform the combined services and/or deliver the combined goods are satisfied. Our engineering service agreements contain a technology grant as well as a performance obligation to deliver wafers with our technology deposited on them. We have historically determined the grant of rights in these agreements is not distinct from the obligation to deliver wafers and accordingly, revenue from these agreements is recognized at the time we deliver wafers. For R&D licenses, revenue is recognized at the point in time when we deliver our MST recipe because the license to manufacture products using MST technology is a right to use the Company’s technology and not a right to access the technology over time. However, in cases where our R&D license grants include a customer acceptance requirement, revenue is recognized over time. Likewise, we recognize revenue from HVM licenses at the point in time when process qualification is complete because the license to sell MST-enabled products is a right to use the Company’s technology and not a right to access the technology over time.
Revenue for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $65,000 and $135,000, respectively. Our revenue in 2025 and 2024 consisted of MSTcad licensing and related consulting services revenue, and engineering services revenue from the delivery of MST wafers.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists of costs of materials, as well as direct compensation and expenses incurred to provide integration engineering services, support for customer installation and qualification and MSTcad support. Cost of revenue was approximately $321,000 and $123,000 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Cost of revenue is recorded when incurred and may not coincide with the recognition of revenue based on revenue recognition policies and guidance. We anticipate that our cost of revenue will vary substantially depending on the mix of license and engineering services revenues we receive and the nature of products and/or services delivered in each customer engagement.
Operating Expenses. Operating expenses consist of research and development, general and administrative, and selling and marketing expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, our operating expenses totaled approximately $20.9 million and $19.3 million, respectively.
Research and development expenses. To date, our operations have focused on the research, development, and commercialization of our MST technology and related technologies such as MSTcad. Our research and development costs primarily consist of payroll and benefit costs for our engineering staff and costs of outsourced fabrication (including epi tool leases) and metrology of semiconductor wafers incorporating our MST technology.
For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we incurred approximately $12.3 million and $11.0 million, respectively, of research and development expense, an increase of approximately $1.3 million, or 12%. This increase was primarily due to an increase of approximately $676,000 in outsourced fabrication costs as well as increases of approximately $487,000 in stock-based compensation expenses and approximately $124,000 in employee-related expenses. Stock-based compensation expenses increased primarily due to our adoption of performance-based RSUs for executives, which have a higher valuation than time-based RSUs and options which had been our primary type of executive equity compensation issued in 2024.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of payroll and benefit costs for administrative personnel, office-related costs and professional fees. General and administrative costs for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $7.8 million and $7.3 million, respectively, representing an increase of approximately $540,000, or 7%. The increase in costs was primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation expense of approximately $810,000 and an approximately $114,000 increase in corporate legal fees, partially offset by a decline of approximately $421,000 in employee-related costs. Stock-based compensation expenses increased primarily due to an increase in the valuation of performance based
RSUs newly issued this year compared to time-based RSUs and options. The decrease in employee-related costs is primarily due to a reduction in executive annual bonus accrual.
Selling and marketing expenses. Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salary and benefits for our sales and marketing personnel and business development consulting services. Selling and marketing expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $758,000 and $1.1 million, respectively, representing a decrease of approximately $295,000, or 28%. The decrease in costs is primarily related to a reduction in headcount which decreased employee-related costs, stock-based compensation and travel expenses, partially offset by increases in recruiting costs to fill open positions.
Interest income. Interest income for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2025 was approximately $931,000 and $779,000, respectively, an increase of approximately $152,000, or 20%. Interest income reflects interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and are impacted by current interest rates and average balances over the periods presented.
Accretion income. Accretion income for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $6,000 and $178,000, respectively. Accretion income relates to the increase in value of our available-for-sale securities from the purchase date through the maturity date. Accretion income relates to the increase in value of our available-for-sale securities from the purchase date through the maturity date. As of December 31, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents were held as cash and mutual funds.
Other income/expense, net. Other income for the years December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $72,000 and $73,000, respectively. Other income consisted primarily of a refundable state research and development tax credit, net of filing costs and tax consulting services for both years.
Interest expense. Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $60,000 and $129,000, respectively. Interest expense is related to the tool financing lease entered into in August 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2025, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $19.2 million and working capital of approximately $17.6 million. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we had a net loss of approximately $20.2 million and used approximately $14.9 million of cash and cash equivalents in operations. Since inception, we have incurred recurring operating losses. On February 24, 2026, we closed on the sale of 5,000,000 shares of our common stock, at a price of $5.00 per share, in a registered direct offering for the net proceeds of approximately $23.6 million after commissions and offering expenses.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold approximately 1.6 million shares of our common stock pursuant to our 2022 and 2025 ATM facilities at an average price per share of approximately $5.15, resulting in approximately $7.6 million of net proceeds to us after deducting commissions and other offering expenses.
We believe that our available working capital as of the date of this report, and after giving effect to our February 2026 registered direct offering, is sufficient to fund our presently forecasted working capital requirements for, at least, the next 24 months following the date of the filing of this report. However, our future capital requirements and the adequacy of our available funds will depend on many factors, including our ability to successfully commercialize our MST technology, competing technological and market developments, and the need to enter into collaborations with other companies or acquire technologies to enhance or complement our current offerings. If we are not able to generate sufficient revenue from license fees and royalties in a time frame that satisfies our cash needs, we will need to raise more capital. In the event we require additional capital, we will endeavor to acquire additional funds through various financing sources, including our ATM Facility, follow-on equity offerings, debt financing and joint ventures with industry partners. In addition, we will consider alternatives to our current business plan that may enable us to achieve revenue-producing operations and meaningful commercial success with a smaller amount of capital. If we are unable to secure additional capital, we may be required to curtail our research and development initiatives and take additional measures to reduce costs in order to conserve our cash.
Cash Flows from Operating, Investing and Financing Activities:
Net cash used in operating activities of approximately $14.9 million for year ended December 31, 2025 resulted primarily from our net loss of approximately $20.2 million, adjusted by approximately $5.0 million of stock-based compensation expense.
Net cash used in operating activities of approximately $13.2 million for year ended December 31, 2024 resulted primarily from our net loss of approximately $18.4 million, adjusted by approximately $3.9 million of stock-based compensation expense and amortization of right-of-use assets of approximately $1.3 million.
Net cash provided in investing activities of approximately $951,000 for year ended December 31, 2025 consisted primarily of the maturity of short-term available-for-sale investments, offset by the acquisition of property and equipment.
Net cash provided in investing activities of approximately $6.1 million and for year ended December 31, 2024 consisted primarily of the maturity of short-term available-for-sale investments, offset by the purchase of short-term available-for-sale investments.
Net cash provided by financing activities of approximately $7.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 related primarily to net proceeds from our ATM Facility and the exercise of stock options, offset in part by approximately $1.2 million in principal payments on our financing lease.
Net cash provided by financing activities of approximately $20.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 related primarily to net proceeds from our ATM Facility, offset in part by approximately $1.1 million in principal payments on our financing lease.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with those accounting principles requires us to use judgment in making estimates and assumptions based on the relevant information available at the end of each period. These estimates and assumptions have a significant effect on reported amounts of assets, liabilities, sales and expenses as well as the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities because they result primarily from the need to make estimates and assumptions on matters that are inherently uncertain. Actual results could differ from our estimates.
Leases
We account for leases in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). We determine if a contract contains a lease in whole or in part at the inception of the contract. Right-of-use (“ROU”) assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term while lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. All leases greater than 12 months result in the recognition of a ROU asset and a liability at the lease commencement date based on the present value of the lease payments over the lease term. Lease expenses for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line-basis over the lease term. Lease expenses for financing leases consists of amortization of the ROU assets over the life of the lease and interest expense is recognized on the liability.
Stock-based Compensation
We have stock-based compensation programs, which include restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), Restricted stock Units (“RSUs”) and stock options and an employee stock purchase plan. We account for stock-based compensation expense, including the expense for grants of RSAs and stock options that may be settled in shares of our common stock, based on the fair values of the equity instruments issued. The fair value is determined on the measurement date, which is the date of grant. The fair value of our RSAs is measured at the market price of our common stock on the measurement date amortized over the vesting period of the award. The fair value of our time-based RSUs is based on the closing price on the day of grant and they vest over zero to four years. Awards of performance-based restricted stock units we issue have a performance period of one, two and three years with the vesting of each award tranche dependent on our Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) relative to the TSR of companies in the Russell 2000 Index over that tranche’s performance period. The fair value for performance-based awards is fixed at the grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation and the amount of compensation expense is not adjusted during the performance period regardless of changes in the level of TSR achievement. The fair value for our stock option awards is determined at the grant date using the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model and amortized over the vesting period of the option.
Assumptions for the Black-Scholes valuation model used for employee stock awards include:
Expected term – We derived the expected term for employee stock awards using historical information to develop expectations about future exercise patterns and behavior after employment termination.
Expected volatility – Volatility is estimated using Atomera’s historical volatility for similar terms.
Expected dividend rate – We have not declared or paid dividends to our stockholders and have no plans to pay dividends; therefore, we have assumed an expected dividend yield of 0%.
Risk-free interest rate – The risk-free interest rate is based on the yields of U.S. Treasury securities with maturities similar to the expected terms of the associated awards.
The fair value of our common stock is measured at the market price on the measurement date.
