ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. Certain important factors may have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations, and they should be carefully considered. Accordingly, in evaluating our business, we encourage you to consider the following discussion of risk factors in its entirety, in addition to other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Other events that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, MARKET AND OPERATING RISKS
Global and regional economic downturns that negatively impact the retail and credit markets, or that otherwise damage the financial health of our retail customers and consumers, can harm our business and financial performance.
We design, manufacture and market a wide variety of consumer products worldwide for sale to our retail customers and directly to consumers. Our financial performance is impacted by the level of discretionary consumer spending in the markets in which we operate. Recessions, credit crises and other economic downturns, or disruptions in credit markets, in the United States and in other markets in which our products are sold can result in lower levels of economic activity, lower employment levels, less consumer disposable income, and lower consumer confidence. The retail industry is subject to volatility, especially during uncertain economic conditions. A downturn in the retail industry in particular may disproportionately affect us because a substantial majority of our net sales are to retail customers. In addition, our business is subject to significant pressure on costs and pricing caused by general inflationary pressures as well as inflation caused by constrained sourcing capacity, the availability of qualified labor and related wage inflation, as well as inflationary pressures to increase commissions and benefits expenses, and associated changes in consumer demand. Significant increases in the costs of other products which are required by consumers, such as gasoline, home heating fuels, or groceries, may reduce household spending on our products. Such cost increases and weakened economic conditions may result from any number of factors, including pandemics or other health crises, terrorist attacks, wars and other conflicts, natural disasters, increases in critical commodity prices or labor costs, tariffs, sovereign debt defaults or the prospect of such events. General inflation in the United States, Europe and other geographies has recently risen to levels not experienced in decades. Such a weakened economic and business climate, as well as consumer uncertainty created by such a climate, has adversely impacted and could in the future materially harm our sales and profitability. Similarly, reductions in the value of key assets held by consumers, such as their homes or stock market investments, can lower consumer confidence and consumer spending power. Any of these factors can reduce the amount which consumers spend on the purchase of our products. This, in turn, can reduce our sales and harm our financial performance and profitability.
In addition to experiencing potentially lower sales of our products during times of economic difficulty, in an effort to maintain sales during such times, we may need to increase our promotional spending or sales allowances, or take other steps to encourage retailer and consumer purchases of our products. Those steps may lower our net sales or increase our costs, thereby decreasing our operating margins and lowering our profitability. As a result of increased inflation or supply constraints, like we have previously faced, we have increased prices of certain products, and may in the future need to increase our prices further in order to cover increased costs of goods sold, which may reduce demand for our products and may not fully offset our increased costs.
The Company maintains the majority of its cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. and multi-national financial institutions, and our deposits at certain of these institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we will be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all.
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Changes in the retail industry and markets for consumer products affecting our retail customers or retailing practices could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our products are primarily sold to consumers through retailers that are our direct customers or customers of our distributors. As such, trends and changes in the retail industry can negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in recent years, the retail industry has faced reductions in sales due to macroeconomic uncertainty which adversely impacted our sales.
Due to the challenging environment for traditional “brick-and-mortar” retail locations caused by declining in-store traffic, many retailers have closed physical stores, and some traditional retailers have engaged in significant reorganizations, filed for bankruptcy and gone out of business. In addition to furthering consolidation in the retail industry, such a trend could have a negative effect on the financial health of our retail customers and distributors, potentially causing them to experience difficulties in fulfilling their payment obligations to us or our distributors, reduce the amount of their purchases, seek extended credit terms or otherwise change their purchasing patterns, alter the manner in which they promote our products or the resources they devote to promoting and selling our products or cease doing business with us or our distributors. If any of our retail customers were to file for bankruptcy, we could be unable to collect amounts owed to us and could even be required to repay certain amounts paid to us prior to the filing. The occurrence of any of these events would have an effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations.
Our substantial sales and manufacturing operations outside the United States subject us to risks associated with international operations.
We operate facilities and sell products in numerous countries outside the United States. Sales to our international customers comprised approximately 40%, 35% and 31% of our sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We expect sales to our international customers to account for an increasing portion of our sales in future fiscal years. Over time, we expect our international sales and operations to continue to grow both in dollars and as a percentage of our overall business as a result of a key business strategy to expand our presence in emerging and underserved international markets. Additionally, as discussed above, we use third-party manufacturers located in Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Mexico to produce most of our products. These international sales and manufacturing operations, including operations in emerging markets, are subject to risks that may significantly harm our sales, increase our costs or otherwise damage our business, including:
• the imposition of and changes in tariffs, quotas, taxes or other protectionist measures by any major country or market in which we operate, which could make it significantly more expensive and difficult to import products into that country or market, raise the cost of such products, decrease our sales of such products or decrease our profitability;
• currency conversion risks and currency fluctuations;
• limitations on the repatriation of earnings;
• potential challenges to our transfer pricing determinations and other aspects of our cross-border transactions, which can materially increase our taxes and other costs of doing business;
• political instability, civil unrest, war and economic instability, such as the current situation with Ukraine and Russia or Israel and Hamas and any impacts on surrounding regions;
• greater difficulty enforcing intellectual property rights and weaker laws protecting such rights;
• complications in complying with different laws and regulations in varying jurisdictions, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, similar anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws and local and international environmental, labor, health and safety laws, and in dealing with changes in governmental policies and the evolution of laws and regulations and related enforcement;
• difficulties understanding the retail climate, consumer trends, local customs and competitive conditions in foreign markets which may be quite different from the United States;
• changes in international labor costs and other costs of doing business internationally;
• proper payment of customs duties and/or excise taxes;
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• natural disasters, pandemics and other health crises, and the greater difficulty and cost in recovering therefrom;
• difficulties in moving materials and products from one country to another, including port congestion, strikes or other labor disruptions, trade route disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and other transportation delays and interruptions; and
• increased investment and operational complexity to make our products compatible with systems in various countries and compliant with local laws.
Because of the importance of international sales, sourcing and manufacturing to our business, our financial condition and results of operations could be significantly harmed if any of the risks described above were to occur or if we are otherwise unsuccessful in managing our increasingly global business.
Increases in tariffs, trade restrictions or taxes on our products could have an adverse impact on our operations.
The commerce we conduct in the international marketplace makes us subject to tariffs, trade restrictions and other taxes when the raw materials or components we purchase, and the products we ship, cross international borders. Trade tensions between the United States and China, Mexico, Canada and other countries have been escalating in recent years. In 2025, the U.S. presidential administration announced tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, including on imports from China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Mexico. U.S. tariff impositions against certain exports were followed by retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to certain countries. Certain of the products we purchase from manufacturers in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Mexico have been or may in the future be subject to these tariffs, which, to the extent we alter our pricing further as a result of such tariffs, could make our products less competitive than those of our competitors whose inputs are not subject to these tariffs. Products we sell into certain foreign markets could also become subject to similar retaliatory tariffs, making the products we sell uncompetitive compared to similar products not subjected to such import tariffs. Certain tariffs enacted in 2025 have been subject to successful legal , but it remains unclear whether and to whom those tariffs may be refunded, and the federal government may attempt to impose new or similar tariffs under alternative statutory mechanisms. This has led and may lead to further continued uncertainty and in U.S. and global financial and economic conditions and commodity markets, consumer confidence, significant inflation and expectations for the economy, and ultimately reduced demand for our products. U.S. tariff impositions Vietnam, Cambodia, China and/or Mexico have had and could continue to have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, trade-related legislation may adversely impact our operations and financial results. See our risk factor "Our use of third-party manufacturers to produce our products presents risks to our business."
As a U.S. company, we are subject to U.S. export control and economic sanctions laws and regulations, and we are required to export our products in compliance with those laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations and economic and trade sanctions programs administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws and regulations prohibit the shipment of specified products and services to countries, governments and persons that are the subject of U.S. sanctions. While we take precautions against doing any business, directly or indirectly, in or with countries, governments and persons subject to U.S. sanctions, such measures may be circumvented. There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance with U.S. export control or economic sanctions laws and regulations in the future. Any such violation could result in criminal or civil fines, penalties or other sanctions and repercussions, including reputational harm that could materially adversely affect our business.
Further changes in U.S. trade policies, tariffs, taxes, export restrictions or other trade barriers, or restrictions on raw materials or components may limit our ability to produce products, increase our manufacturing costs, decrease our profit margins, reduce the competitiveness of our products, or inhibit our ability to sell products or purchase raw materials or components, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and competitive position.
FAH, LLC and certain of its material domestic subsidiaries from time to time (collectively, the "Credit Agreement Parties") are parties to a credit agreement dated as of September 17, 2021 (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, waived or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”), providing for a term loan facility in the amount of $180.0 million (the “Term Loan Facility”) and a revolving credit facility of $125.0 million (the “Revolving Credit Facility” and together with the Term Loan Facility, the “Credit Facilities”). As of December 31, 2025, we had $219.9 million of indebtedness outstanding under our Credit Facilities, consisting of $94.9 million outstanding under our Term Loan Facility (net of unamortized discount of $0.4 million) and $125.0 million of outstanding borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility.
On November 25, 2022, Funko, LLC, Funko Games, LLC, Funko Acquisition Holdings, L.L.C., Funko Holdings LLC and Loungefly, LLC (collectively, “Equipment Finance Credit Parties”), entered into a $20.0 million equipment finance agreement (“Equipment Finance Loan”) with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. The Equipment Finance Loan is secured by certain identified assets held within our Buckeye, Arizona warehouse. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $5.4 million outstanding under the Equipment Finance Loan.
In order to service this indebtedness and any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future, we need to generate cash. Our ability to generate cash is subject, to a certain extent, to our ability to successfully execute our business strategy, as well as general economic, financial, competitive, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will be able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings or other financing will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our indebtedness and fund our other liquidity needs. To the extent we are required to use our cash flow from operations or the proceeds of any future financing to service our indebtedness instead of funding working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes, we will be less able to plan for, or react to, changes in our business, industry and in the economy generally. This will place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less indebtedness.
In addition, the Credit Agreement contains, and any agreements evidencing or governing other future indebtedness may contain, certain restrictive covenants that limit our ability, among other things, to engage in certain activities that are in our long-term best interests, including our ability to:
• incur additional indebtedness;
• incur certain liens;
• consolidate, merge or sell or otherwise dispose of our assets;
• make investments, loans, advances, guarantees and acquisitions;
• pay dividends or make other distributions on equity interests, or redeem, repurchase or retire equity interests;
• enter into transactions with our affiliates;
• enter into sale and leaseback transactions in respect to real property;
• enter into swap agreements;
• enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends;
• issue or sell equity interests or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity interests;
• redeem, repurchase or refinance our other indebtedness; and
• amend or modify our governing documents.
The restrictive covenants in the Credit Agreement also include certain financial covenants that require us to, subject to certain testing holidays and covenant cure rights set forth in the Credit Agreement, comply with (i) on a quarterly basis, a maximum Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement), (ii) on a quarterly basis, a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement), (iii) at all times, a minimum Qualified Cash (as defined in the Credit Agreement) covenant and (iv) for the six-month period ending June 30, 2026, a minimum Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Agreement) covenant (collectively, the "Financial Covenants").
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On February 13, 2026, the Credit Agreement Parties entered into an amendment (the "Fifth Amendment") with the lenders under the Credit Agreement in effect prior to the Fifth Amendment (the "Prior Credit Agreement") and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent. The Fifth Amendment, among other things, amended the Prior Credit Agreement to (i) extend the maturity date of the loans under the Prior Credit Agreement from September 17, 2026 to December 31, 2027, and (ii) amend the financial covenants applicable to FAH, LLC and its subsidiaries under the Prior Credit Agreement to, among other things, (a) waive the minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio financial covenant for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2025 and the fiscal quarters ending March 31, 2026 and June 30, 2026, (b) provide FAH, LLC additional cushion with respect to the minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio financial covenant for the fiscal quarters ending September 30, 2026, December 31, 2026 and March 31, 2027 relative to the minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio covenant set forth in the Prior Credit Agreement, (c) introduce a minimum Consolidated EBITDA covenant for the six-month period ending June 30, 2026, (d) waive the maximum Net Leverage Ratio covenant for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2025 and the fiscal quarters ending March 31, 2026, June 30, 2026 and September 30, 2026 and (e) subject to certain usage restrictions, permit FAH, LLC to forego testing of certain Financial Covenants for any test period (to the extent required to be tested in such test period) if FAH, LLC makes a voluntary prepayment of the loans under the Credit Agreement in an amount not less than $10.0 million prior to the delivery of a compliance certificate for such test period. See Note 10, “Debt” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.
There can be no guarantee that we will not breach these covenants in the future. Our ability to comply with the Financial Covenants and the other covenants and restrictions under our Credit Facilities may be affected by events and factors beyond our control, and there can be no guarantee that we will be able to further amend our Credit Facilities in order to avoid or mitigate the risk of any potential breach that may occur in the future. Our failure to comply with the Financial Covenants as described above, or with any of the other covenants or restrictions under our Credit Facilities, could result in an event of default under our Credit Facilities. This would permit the lending banks under such facilities to take certain actions, including terminating all outstanding commitments and declaring all amounts due under our Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable, including all outstanding borrowings, accrued and unpaid interest thereon, and prepayment premiums with respect to such borrowings and any terminated commitments and exercising other remedies as set forth in the Credit Agreement. In addition, the Lenders would have the right to proceed the collateral we granted to them, which includes substantially all of our assets. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to secure additional financing or refinancing on favorable terms, or at all, to meet our future capital needs.
In the future, we expect to require additional capital to respond to business opportunities, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances, including in the event we are unable to maintain compliance with the Financial Covenants or other covenants contained in the Credit Agreement, and may determine to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities or refinance existing indebtedness for other reasons.
The Credit Facilities under the Credit Agreement will mature on December 31, 2027. We may not be able to timely refinance our existing debt, secure additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, or at all, including due to our current financial condition, market volatility and uncertainty resulting from international conflicts or geopolitical tensions, among other factors. If an event of default under our Credit Agreement occurs and is not cured or waived, the Required Lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement immediately due and payable and exercise other remedies as set forth in the Credit Agreement. In addition, the Required Lenders would have the right to enforce their security interests against the collateral pledged to them, which includes substantially all of our assets.
As discussed above, the Credit Agreement contains restrictive covenants that limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness and engage in other capital-raising activities. Any debt financing obtained by us in the future could involve covenants that further restrict our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to operate our business, obtain additional capital and pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. Furthermore, if we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt or other equity-linked securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to grow or support our business, respond to business challenges and continue as a going concern could be significantly limited.
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There can be no assurance that we will be successful in identifying or completing any strategic alternative, that any such strategic alternative will result in additional value for our stockholders or that the process will not have an adverse impact on our business.
Our Board intends to continue to evaluate strategic alternatives for the Company from time to time, aimed at maximizing value for our stockholders. The process of reviewing strategic alternatives may be costly, time consuming and complex and we may incur significant costs related to this review, such as legal, accounting and advisory fees and expenses and other related charges. There can be no assurance that any review of strategic alternatives will result in the identification or consummation of any transaction or action and there is no defined timeline for completion of a review process. There can be no assurance that any potential strategic alternative, if identified, evaluated and consummated, will have a positive impact on our business or provide greater value to our stockholders than that reflected in the current price of our common stock.
Our success depends on our ability to execute our business strategy.
Our net sales and profitability have generally grown rapidly in the last several years; however, this should not be considered indicative of our future performance. Our future growth, profitability and cash flows depend upon our ability to successfully manage our operations and execute our business strategy, which is dependent upon a number of factors, including our ability to:
• expand our market presence in existing sales channels and enter additional sales channels;
• anticipate, gauge and respond to rapidly changing consumer preferences and pop culture trends;
• acquire or enter into new licenses in existing product categories or in new product categories and renew existing licenses;
• successfully launch and grow new product lines similar to Pop! Yourself;
• expand our geographic presence to take advantage of opportunities outside of the United States;
• enhance and maintain favorable brand recognition for our Company and product offerings;
• maintain and expand margins through sales growth and efficiency initiatives;
• effectively manage our relationships with third-party manufacturers;
• effectively manage our debt, working capital and capital investments to maintain and improve the generation of cash flow; and
• execute any acquisitions quickly and efficiently and integrate businesses successfully.
There can be no assurance that we can successfully execute our business strategy in the manner or time period that we expect, particularly in light of the macroeconomic pressures impacting the global economy and consumer demand. Further, achieving these objectives will require investments that may result in short-term costs without generating any current sales or countervailing cost savings and, therefore, may be dilutive to our earnings, at least in the short term. In addition, we have in the past decided and may in the future decide to divest or discontinue certain brands or products or streamline operations and incur other costs or special charges in doing so. We may also decide to discontinue certain programs or sales to certain retailers based on anticipated strategic benefits. The failure to realize the anticipated benefits from our business strategy could have a material adverse effect on our prospects, business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to successfully manage our inventories.
We regularly face challenges in managing our inventory levels. We must maintain sufficient inventory levels to operate our business successfully, but we must also avoid accumulating excess inventory, which increases working capital needs and lowers gross margin. We obtain substantially all of our inventory from third-party manufacturers located outside the United States and must typically order products well in advance of the time these products will be offered for sale to our customers. As a result, at any given time it is difficult to respond to changes in consumer preferences and market conditions, which, for pop culture products, can change rapidly. At the times when we do not accurately anticipate the popularity of certain products, then we may not have sufficient inventory to meet demand. Similarly, when demand or future sales do not reach forecasted levels, it often results and could continue to result in our having excess inventory that we may need to hold for a long period of time, write down, sell at prices lower than expected or discard.
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In addition, we often face and may in the future face difficulties processing inventory through our distribution centers, which could cause us to hold inventory for an extended period of time. When market conditions, demand for our products or consumer preferences shift or we face distribution challenges prior to the sales of the inventory, we have and may in the future have excess inventory that we need to hold for a long period of time, write down, and/or sell at prices lower than expected or discard.
We are also and may in the future be negatively affected by changes in retailers’ inventory policies and practices, including as a result of macroeconomic factors. As a result of the desire of retailers to more closely manage inventory levels, we are required to more closely anticipate demand, and this has, at times required us to carry additional inventory. Policies and practices of individual retailers can adversely affect us as well, including those relating to access to and time on shelf space, price demands, payment terms and favoring the products of our competitors. Our retail customers make no binding long-term commitments to us regarding purchase volumes and make all purchases by delivering purchase orders. Any retailer can therefore freely reduce its overall purchase of our products, including the number and variety of our products that it carries, and reduce the shelf space allotted for our products. If we are not successful in managing our inventory, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. For additional information, please see " Inventory Management" in Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, our financial performance may suffer.
We have generally experienced rapid growth over the last several years, which has placed a strain on our managerial, operational, product design and development, sales and marketing, administrative and financial infrastructure. We also lease distribution centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and utilize third-party distribution centers in Mexico and the Netherlands. Our success depends in part upon our ability to manage our growth effectively. To do so, we must continue to increase the productivity of our existing employees and to hire, train and manage new employees as needed, which we may not be able to do successfully or without compromising our corporate culture. See “Our success is critically dependent on the efforts and dedication of our officers and other employees, and the loss of one or more key employees, or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our corporate culture, could adversely affect our business.” To manage domestic and international growth of our operations and personnel, we have invested and continue to invest in the development of a domestic enterprise resource planning system, warehouse management systems, additional platforms to support our direct-to-consumer experience, and capital build out of new leased warehouse and office spaces. We will need to continue to our product development, supply chain, financial and management controls and our reporting processes and procedures to support our infrastructure and new business initiatives. These additional investments will increase our operating costs, which will make it more for us to offset any future revenue by reducing expenses in the short term. Moreover, if we to scale our operations or manage our growth , our business, financial condition and operating results could be affected.
Our business is dependent upon our license agreements, which involve certain risks.
We generate substantially all of our net sales from products that are produced under license agreements that grant us the right to use certain intellectual property in such products. These license agreements typically have short terms (between two and three years), are not automatically renewable, and, in some cases, give the licensor the right to terminate the license agreement at will.
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Our license agreements typically provide that our licensors own the intellectual property rights in the products we design and sell under the license. As a result, upon termination of the license, we would no longer have the right to sell these products, while our licensors could engage a competitor to do so. We believe our ability to retain our license agreements depends, in large part, on the strength of our relationships with our licensors. Any events or developments adversely affecting those relationships, or changes in our management team, could adversely affect our ability to maintain and renew our license agreements on similar terms or at all. No assurance can be made that the recent and any future changes in our leadership or changes in our financial condition will not have a material adverse impact on our relationships with licensors, and if we fail to manage our licensor relationships successfully, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Our top ten licensors collectively accounted for approximately 63%, 63% and 68% of our sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Moreover, while we have separate licensing arrangements with Disney, LucasFilm and Marvel, these parties are all under common ownership by Disney and collectively these licensors accounted for approximately 28%, 32% and 38% of our sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The or to renew one or more of our license agreements, or the renewal of a license agreement on less terms, could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we may enter into additional license agreements in the future, the terms of such license agreements may be less than the terms of our existing license agreements.
Our license agreements are complex, and typically grant our licensors the right to audit our compliance with the terms and conditions of such agreements. Any such audit could result in a dispute over whether we have paid the proper royalties and a requirement that we pay additional royalties, the amounts of which could be material. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accrual of $29.6 million on our balance sheet related to ongoing and future royalty audits, based on estimates of the costs we expect to incur. In addition to royalty payments, these agreements as a whole impose numerous other obligations on us, including, among other things, obligations to:
• maintain the integrity of the applicable intellectual property;
• obtain the licensor’s approval of the products we develop under the license prior to making any sales;
• permit the licensor’s involvement in, or obtain the licensor’s approval of, advertising, packaging and marketing plans;
• maintain minimum sales levels or make minimum guaranteed royalty payments;
• actively promote the sale of the licensed product and maintain the availability of the licensed product throughout the license term;
• spend a certain percentage of our sales of the licensed product on marketing and advertising for the licensed product;
• sell the products we develop under the license only within a specified territory or within specified sales channels;
• indemnify the licensor in the event of product liability or other claims related to the licensed product and advertising or other materials used to promote the licensed product;
• sell the licensed products to the licensor at a discounted price or at the lowest price charged to our customers;
• obtain the licensor’s consent prior to assigning or sub-licensing to third parties; and
• provide notice to, obtain approval from, or, in limited circumstances, make certain payments to the licensor in connection with certain changes in control.
If we breach any of these obligations or any other obligations set forth in any of our license agreements, we could be subject to monetary penalties and our rights under such license agreements could be terminated, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Our success is also partially dependent on the reputation of our licensors and the goodwill associated with their intellectual property, and their ability to protect and maintain the intellectual property rights that we use in connection with our products, all of which may be harmed by factors outside our control. See also “If we are unable to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights, in particular trademarks and copyrights, or if our licensors are unable to maintain and protect their intellectual property rights that we use in connection with our products, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.”
If we do not effectively maintain and further develop our relationships with retail customers and distributors, our growth prospects, business and results of operations could be harmed.
Historically, a majority of all of our net sales have been derived from our retail customers and distributors, upon which we rely to reach the consumers who are the ultimate purchasers of our products. In the United States, we primarily sell our products directly to specialty retailers, mass-market retailers and e-commerce sites. In international markets, we sell our products directly to similar retailers, primarily in Europe, through our subsidiary Funko UK, Ltd. We also sell our products to distributors for sale to retailers in the United States and in certain countries internationally, typically in those countries in which we do not currently have a direct presence. Our top ten wholesale customers represented approximately 31%, 31% and 32% of our sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
We depend on retailers to provide adequate and attractive space for our products and point of purchase displays in their stores. We further depend on our retail customers to employ, educate and motivate their sales personnel to effectively sell our products. If our retail customers do not adequately display our products or choose to promote competitors’ products or their own private label products over ours, our sales could decrease, and our business could be harmed. Similarly, we depend on our distributors to reach retailers in certain market segments in the United States and to reach international retailers in countries where we do not have a direct presence. Our distributors generally offer products from several different companies, including our competitors. Accordingly, we are at risk that these distributors may give higher priority to selling other companies’ products. If we were to lose the services of a distributor, we might need to find another distributor in that area, and there can be no assurance of our ability to do so in a timely manner or on favorable terms.
In addition, our business could be adversely affected if any of our retail customers or distributors were to reduce purchases of our products, as has occurred in recent periods. Our retail customers and distributors generally build inventories in anticipation of future sales and will decrease the size of their future product orders if sales do not occur as rapidly as they anticipate. Our customers make no long-term commitments to us regarding purchase volumes and can therefore freely reduce their purchases of our products, and as a result we may have excess inventory. Any reduction in purchases of our products by our retail customers and distributors, or the loss of any key retailer or distributor, could adversely affect our net sales, operating results and financial condition. As a result of recent macroeconomic trends, we have had certain of our retail customers reduce and, in some instances, cancel purchase orders as a result of store closures or a shift of purchasing to focus only on essential consumer products.
Furthermore, consumer preferences have shifted, and may continue to shift in the future, to sales channels other than traditional retail, including e-commerce, in which we have more limited experience, presence and development. In addition, our emphasis on building out our e-commerce offerings and our entry into new product categories and geographies has exposed, and may continue to expose, us to new sales channels in which we have less expertise. If we are not successful in developing our e-commerce channel and other new sales channels, our net sales and profitability may be adversely affected.
Our industry is highly competitive and the barriers to entry are low. If we are unable to compete effectively with existing or new competitors, our sales, market share and profitability could decline.
Our industry is, and will continue to be, highly competitive. We compete with toy companies in many of our product categories, some of which have substantially more resources than us, stronger name recognition, longer operating histories and greater economies of scale. We also compete with numerous smaller domestic and foreign collectible product designers and manufacturers. Across our business, we face competitors who are constantly monitoring and attempting to anticipate consumer tastes and trends, seeking ideas that will appeal to consumers and introducing new products that compete with our products for consumer acceptance and purchase.
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In addition to existing competitors, the barriers to entry for new participants in our industry are low, and the increasing use of digital technology, social media and the internet to spark consumer interest has further increased the ability for new participants to enter our markets and has broadened the array of companies against which we compete. New participants can gain access to retail customers and consumers and become a significant source of competition for our products in a very short period of time. Additionally, since we do not have exclusive rights to any of the properties we license or the related entertainment brands, our competitors, including those with more resources and greater economies of scale, can obtain licenses to design and sell products based on the same properties that we license, potentially on more favorable terms. Any of these competitors may be able to bring new products to market more quickly, respond more rapidly than us to changes in consumer preferences and produce products of higher quality or that can be sold at more accessible price points. To the extent our competitors’ products achieve market acceptance than our products, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be affected.
In addition, certain of our licensors have reserved the rights to manufacture, distribute and sell identical or similar products to those we design and sell under our license agreements. These products could directly compete with our products and could be sold at lower prices than those at which our products are sold, resulting in higher margins for our customers compared to our products, potentially lessening our customers’ demand for our products and adversely affecting our sales and profitability.
Furthermore, competition for access to the properties we license is intense, and we must vigorously compete to obtain licenses to the intellectual property we need to produce our products. This competition could lessen our ability to secure, maintain, and renew our existing licenses, or require us to pay licensors higher royalties and higher minimum guaranteed payments in order to obtain new licenses or retain our existing licenses. To the extent we are unable to license properties on commercially reasonable terms, or on terms at least as favorable as our competitors, our competitive position and demand for our products will suffer. Because our ability to compete for licensed properties is based largely on our ability to increase fan engagement and generate royalty revenues for our licensors, any reduction in the demand for and sales of our products will further inhibit our ability to obtain licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all. As a result, any such reduction in the demand for and sales of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
For example, our former Chief Executive Officer, Brian Mariotti and other former Funko executives, have created a collectible products company that recently launched with certain products that compete with our offerings. Mr. Mariotti may rely on licensing, supplier, marketing and other relationships he established while at Funko to produce, market and sell his products. He may be able to sell competing products for higher margins or at lower cost, and he may divert demand for our products, particularly from our customers who are collectors, all of which may adversely affect our sales and profitability in the future.
We also increasingly compete with toy companies and other product designers for shelf space at specialty, mass-market and other retailers. Our retail customers will allocate shelf space and promotional resources based on the margins of our products for our customers, as well as their sales volumes. If toy companies or other competitors produce higher margin or more popular merchandise than our products, our retail customers may reduce purchases of our products and, in turn, devote less shelf space and resources to the sale of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability.
Our gross margin may not be sustainable and may fluctuate over time.
Our gross margin has historically fluctuated, primarily as a result of changes in product mix, changes in our costs, including inventory management, price competition and acquisitions. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, our gross margins (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), calculated as net sales less cost of sales as a percentage of net sales, were 38.7%, 41.4% and 30.4%, respectively. Our current or historical gross margins may not be sustainable or predictive of future gross margins, and our gross margin may decrease over time. A decrease in gross margin can be the result of numerous factors, including, but not limited to:
• changes in customer, geographic, or product mix;
• introduction of new products, including our expansion into additional product categories;
• increases in the royalty rates under our license agreements;
• new or increased tariffs impacting our products or raw materials for our products;
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• inability to meet minimum guaranteed royalties;
• increases in, or our inability to reduce, our costs, including as a result of inflation;
• entry into new markets or growth in lower margin markets;
• increases in raw materials, labor or other manufacturing- and inventory-related costs;
• increases in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, and increased shipping costs to meet customer demand;
• increased price competition;
• changes in the dynamics of our sales channels, including those affecting the retail industry and the financial health of our customers;
• inability to increase prices in order to meet increased costs;
• increases in sales discounts and allowances provided to our customers;
• acquisitions of companies with a lower gross margin than ours; and
• overall execution of our business strategy and operating plan.
Certain of these factors have adversely impacted our business and results of operations in the past. If any of these factors, or other factors unknown to us at this time, occur in the future, then our gross margin could be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business is largely dependent on content development and creation by third parties.
We spend considerable resources in designing and developing products in conjunction with planned movie, television, video game, music and other content releases by various third-party content providers. The timing of the development and release, and the ultimate consumer interest in and success of, such content depends on the efforts of these third parties, as well as conditions in the media and entertainment industry generally. We do not control when or if any particular project will be greenlit, developed or released, and the creators of such projects may change their plans with respect to release dates or cancel development altogether. This can make it difficult for us to successfully develop and market products in conjunction with a given content release, given the lead times involved in product development and successful marketing efforts. Additionally, unforeseen factors in the media and entertainment industry, including labor strikes and unforeseen developments with talent such as accusations of a star’s wrongdoing, may also delay or the release of such projects.
As a purveyor of licensed pop culture consumer products, we may not be able to design and develop products that will be popular with consumers, and we may not be able to maintain the popularity of successful products.
The interests of consumers evolve extremely quickly and can change dramatically from year to year. To be successful we must correctly anticipate both the products and the movies, TV shows, video games, music, sports and other content releases (including the related characters) that will appeal to consumers and quickly develop and introduce products that can compete successfully for consumers’ limited time, attention and spending. Evolving consumer tastes and shifting interests, coupled with an ever changing and expanding pipeline of products and content that compete for consumers’ interest and acceptance, create an environment in which some products and content can fail to achieve consumer acceptance, while others can be popular during a certain period of time but then be rapidly replaced. As a result, consumer products, particularly those based on pop culture such as ours, can have short life cycles. In addition, given the growing market for digital products and the increasingly digital nature of pop culture, there is also a risk that consumer demand for physical products may decrease over time. If we devote time and resources to developing and marketing products that consumers do not find appealing enough to buy in sufficient quantities, our sales and profits may decline, and our business performance may be . Similarly, if our product offerings to correctly anticipate consumer interests, our sales and earnings will be affected.
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Additionally, our business is increasingly global and depends on interest in and acceptance of our products and our licensors’ brands by consumers in diverse markets around the world with different tastes and preferences. As such, our success depends on our ability to successfully predict and adapt to changing consumer tastes and preferences in multiple markets and geographies and to design products that can achieve popularity globally over a broad and diverse consumer audience. There is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully develop and market products with global appeal.
Consumer demand for pop culture products can and does shift rapidly and without warning. As a result, even if our product offerings are initially successful, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to maintain their popularity with consumers. Accordingly, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to continually design and introduce new products that consumers find appealing. To the extent we are unable to do so, our sales and profitability will be adversely affected. If consumer demand for our products were to decrease, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected unless we were able to develop and market additional products that generated an equivalent amount of net sales at a comparable gross margin, which there is no guarantee we would be able to do.
We may not realize the full benefit of our licenses if the properties we license have less market appeal than expected or if sales from the products that use those properties are not sufficient to satisfy the minimum guaranteed royalties.
We seek to fulfill consumer preferences and interests by designing and selling products primarily based on properties owned by third parties and licensed to us. The popularity of the properties we license can significantly affect our sales and profitability. If we produce products based on a particular movie, TV show or video game, the success of the underlying content has a critical impact on the level of consumer interest in the associated products we are offering. Although we license a wide variety of properties, sales of products tied to major movie franchises have been significant contributors to our business. In addition, the theatrical duration of movie releases has decreased over time, and we expect this trend to continue with the increase of content made available on video streaming services. This may make it increasingly difficult for us to sell products based on such properties or lead our customers to reduce demand for our products to minimize their inventory risk. In recent periods, we have seen a shift away from major movie franchises and consumer tastes are increasingly focused on streaming and other digital media content that is not produced by major movie studios. If these trends continue, or if we fail to license content that appeals to consumers, our results of operations could be affected. In addition, competition in our industry for access to licensed properties can lessen our ability to secure, maintain, and renew our existing licenses on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, and to attract and retain the talented employees necessary to design, develop and market products based on these properties.
Our license agreements usually also require us to pay minimum royalty guarantees, which may in some cases be greater than what we are ultimately able to recoup from actual sales. When our licensing agreements require minimum royalty guarantees, we accrue a royalty liability based on the contractually required percentage, as revenues are earned. In the case that a minimum royalty guarantee is not expected to be met through sales, we will accrue up to the minimum amount required to be paid. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we recorded reserves of $0.8 million and $8.5 million, respectively, related to prepaid royalties we estimated would not be recovered through sales. Acquiring or renewing licenses may require the payment of minimum guaranteed royalties that we consider to be too high to be profitable, which may result in losing licenses that we currently hold when they become available for renewal, or missing business opportunities for new licenses. Additionally, we have no guarantee that any particular property we license will translate into a successful product. Products tied to a particular content release may be developed and released before demand for the underlying content is known. The underperformance of any such product may result in reduced sales and operating profit for us.
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An inability to develop and introduce products in a timely and cost-effective manner may damage our business.
Our sales and profitability depend on our ability to bring products to market to meet customer demands and before consumers begin to lose interest in a given property. There is no guarantee that we will be able to manufacture, source, ship and distribute new or continuing products in a timely manner or on a cost-effective basis to meet constantly changing consumer demands. This risk is heightened by our customers’ increasingly compressed shipping schedules and the seasonality of our business. Furthermore, our license agreements typically require us to obtain the licensor’s approval of the products we develop under a particular license prior to making any sales, which can have the effect of delaying our product releases. Additionally, for products based on properties in our movie, TV show and video game categories, this risk may also be exacerbated by our need to introduce new products on a timeframe that corresponds with a particular content release. These time constraints may lead our customers to reduce their demand for these products in order to minimize their inventory risk. Moreover, unforeseen delays or in the development process, significant increases in the planned cost of development, manufacturing or distribution or changes in anticipated consumer demand for our products and new brands, or the related third-party content, may cause the introduction date for products to be later than anticipated, may reduce or eliminate the of such products or, in some situations, may cause a product or new brand introduction to be .
If we are unable to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights, in particular trademarks and copyrights, or if our licensors are unable to maintain and protect their intellectual property rights that we use in connection with our products, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.
Our intellectual property is a valuable asset of our business. As of December 31, 2025, we owned approximately 112 registered U.S. trademarks, 346 registered international trademarks, 5 pending U.S. trademark applications and 24 pending international trademark applications . The market for our products depends to a significant extent upon the value associated with our product design, our proprietary brands and the properties we license. Although certain of our intellectual property is registered in the United States and in several of the foreign countries in which we operate, there can be no assurances with respect to the rights associated with such intellectual property in those countries, including our ability to register, use, maintain or defend key trademarks and copyrights. We rely on a combination of trademark, trade dress, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our intellectual property or other proprietary rights. However, these laws, procedures and restrictions provide only limited and uncertain protection and any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, infringed or misappropriated, including by and parallel importers. In addition, our intellectual property portfolio in many foreign countries is less extensive than our portfolio in the United States, and the laws of foreign countries, including many emerging markets in which our products are produced or sold, may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. The costs required to protect our trademarks and copyrights may be substantial.
In addition, we may fail to apply for, or be unable to obtain, protection for certain aspects of the intellectual property used in or beneficial to our business. Further, we cannot provide assurance that our applications for trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights will be granted, or, if granted, will provide meaningful protection. In addition, third parties have in the past and could in the future bring infringement, invalidity or similar claims with respect to any of our current trademarks and copyrights, or any trademarks or copyrights that we may seek to obtain in the future. Any such claims, whether or not successful, could be extremely costly to defend, divert management’s attention and resources, damage our reputation and brands, and substantially harm our business and results of operations.
In order to protect or enforce our intellectual property and other proprietary rights, or to determine the enforceability, scope or validity of the intellectual or proprietary rights of others, we may initiate litigation or other proceedings against third parties. Any lawsuits or proceedings that we initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Litigation and other proceedings also put our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated, or if not invalidated, may result in the scope of our intellectual property rights being narrowed. In addition, our efforts to try to protect and defend our trademarks and copyrights may be ineffective. Additionally, we may provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits or other proceedings that we initiate, and the or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially . The occurrence of any of these events may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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In addition, most of our products bear the trademarks and other intellectual property rights of our licensors, and the value of our products is affected by the value of those rights. Our licensors’ ability to maintain and protect their trademarks and other intellectual property rights is subject to risks similar to those described above with respect to our intellectual property. We do not control the protection of the trademarks and other intellectual property rights of our licensors and cannot ensure that our licensors will be able to secure or protect their trademarks and other intellectual property rights. The loss of any of our significant owned or licensed trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our licensors may engage in activities or otherwise be subject to negative publicity that could harm their reputation and impair the value of the intellectual property rights we license from them, which could reduce consumer demand for our products and adversely affect our business financial condition and results of operations.
Our success depends on our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the trademarks, copyrights and proprietary rights of other parties.
Our commercial success depends at least in part on our ability to operate without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the trademarks, copyrights and other proprietary rights of others. However, we cannot be certain that the conduct of our business does not and will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate such rights. Many companies have employed intellectual property litigation as a way to gain a competitive advantage, and to the extent we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company, we may also face a greater risk of being the subject of such litigation. For these and other reasons, third parties may allege that our products or activities, including products we make under license, , or otherwise their trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights. While we typically receive intellectual property indemnities from our licensors, the indemnities are often limited to third-party copyright to the extent arising from our use of the licensed material. and could be expensive, take significant time, management’s attention from other business , and getting our products to market. In addition, if we are found to be , or otherwise third-party trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights, we may need to obtain a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or may need to redesign or rebrand our products, which may not be possible. We may also be required to pay substantial or be subject to a court order prohibiting us and our customers from selling certain products or engaging in certain activities. Any of others’ intellectual property, even those without merit, could therefore have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operating results may be adversely affected and damage to our reputation may occur due to production and sale of counterfeit versions of our products.
As we have expanded internationally, and the global popularity of our products has increased, our products are increasingly subject to efforts by third parties to produce counterfeit versions of our products. There can be no guarantee that our efforts, including our work with customs officials and law enforcement authorities, to block the manufacture of counterfeit goods, prevent their entry in end markets, and detect counterfeit products in customer networks will be successful or result in any material reduction in the availability of counterfeit goods. Any such counterfeit sales, to the extent they replace otherwise legitimate sales, could adversely affect our operating results and damage our reputation and brand.
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Our success is critically dependent on the efforts and dedication of our officers and other employees, and the loss of one or more key employees, or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our corporate culture, could adversely affect our business.
Our officers and employees are at the heart of all of our efforts. It is their skill, creativity and hard work that drive our success. In particular, our success depends to a significant extent on the continued service and performance of our senior management team. We are dependent on their talents and continuing employment, and believe they are integral to our relationships with our licensors, certain of our key retail customers and to our overall selling and creative design processes. In August 2025, we announced that Josh Simon was appointed Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Michael Lunsford, a former member of our Board of Directors and former Interim Chief Executive Officer. The recent and any future changes in our leadership could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The loss or temporary absence of any member of our senior management team, or of any other key employees, or the inability to complete planned management transitions, could our ability to execute our business plan and could therefore have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not currently maintain key person life insurance policies on any member of our senior management team or on our other key employees.
In addition, competition for qualified personnel is intense. We compete with many other potential employers in recruiting, hiring and retaining our senior management team and our many other skilled officers and other employees around the world. Our headquarters is located near Seattle and competition in the Seattle area for qualified personnel, particularly those with technology-related skills and experience, is intense due to the increasing number of technology and e-commerce companies with a large or growing presence in Seattle, some of whom have greater resources than us and may be located closer to the city of Seattle than we are.
Furthermore, as we continue to grow our business and hire new employees, it may become increasingly challenging to hire people who will maintain our corporate culture. We believe our corporate culture, which fosters speed, teamwork and creativity, is one of our key competitive strengths. As we continue to grow, we may be unable to identify, hire or retain enough people who will maintain our corporate culture, including those in management and other key positions. Conversely, when we furlough or lay off employees, there have been and may in the future be adverse consequences for our corporate culture and employee morale. No assurance can be made that our cost cutting measures will not harm our corporate culture, employee morale, or have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our corporate culture could also be adversely affected by the increasingly global distribution of our employees, as well as their increasingly diverse skill sets. If we are unable to maintain the strength of our corporate culture, our competitive ability and our business may be affected.
Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year due to the seasonality of our business, as well as due to the timing and popularity of new product releases.
The businesses of our retail customers are highly seasonal, with a majority of retail sales occurring during the period from August through November in anticipation of the holiday season. As a consequence, we have experienced moderate seasonality in our business. Approximately 58%, 56% and 55%, of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, were made in the third and fourth quarters, as our customers build up their inventories in anticipation of the holiday season. This seasonal pattern requires significant use of working capital, mainly to manufacture inventory during the portion of the year prior to the holiday season and requires accurate forecasting of demand for products during the holiday season in order to avoid losing potential sales of highly popular products or producing excess inventory of less popular products. In addition, as a result of the seasonal nature of our business, we would be significantly and adversely affected, in a manner disproportionate to the impact on a company with sales spread more evenly throughout the year, by unforeseen events such as a terrorist attack or economic shock that harm the retail environment or consumer buying patterns during our key selling season, or by events such as strikes or port that with the shipment of goods during the months up to the holiday shopping season.
The timing and mix of products we sell in any given year will depend on various factors, including the timing and popularity of new releases by third-party content providers and our ability to license properties based on these releases. Sales of a certain product or group of products tied to a particular content release can dramatically increase our net sales in any given quarter or year.
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Our results of operations may also fluctuate as a result of factors such as the delivery schedules set by our customers and holiday shut down schedules set by our third-party manufacturers. Additionally, the rapid growth we have experienced in recent years may have masked the full effects of seasonal factors on our business to date, and as such, these factors may have a greater effect on our results of operations in future periods.
Our use of third-party manufacturers to produce our products presents risks to our business.
We use third-party manufacturers to manufacture all of our products and have historically concentrated production with a small number of manufacturers and factories. As a result, the loss or unavailability of one of our manufacturers or one of the factories in which our products are produced, even on a temporary basis, could have a materially negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. This risk is exacerbated by the fact that we do not have written contracts reserving capacity or providing loss contingencies with certain of our manufacturers. While we believe our external sources of manufacturing can be shifted, to alternative sources of supply, we would require significant planning to make such a shift. Because we believe our products represent a significant percentage of the total capacity of each factory in which they are produced, such a shift may require us to establish relationships with new manufacturers, which we may not be able to do on a timely basis, on similar terms, or at all. We may also be required to seek out additional manufacturers in response to increased demand for our products, as our current manufacturers may not have the capacity to increase production. If we were prevented from or in obtaining a material portion of the products produced by our manufacturers, or if we were required to shift manufacturers (assuming we would be to do so), our sales and could be significantly reduced.
In addition, while we require that our products supplied by third-party manufacturers be produced in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and we have the right to monitor compliance by our third-party manufacturers with our manufacturing requirements and to oversee the quality control process at our manufacturers’ factories, there is risk that one or more of our third-party manufacturers will not comply with our requirements, and that we will not promptly discover such non-compliance. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the "CPSIA") limits the amounts of lead and phthalates that are permissible in certain products and requires that our products be tested to ensure that they do not contain these substances in amounts that exceed permissible levels. In the past, products manufactured by certain of our third-party manufacturers have tested positive for phthalates. Though the amount was not in excess of the amount permissible under the CPSIA, we cannot guarantee that products made by our third-party manufacturers will not in the future contain phthalates in excess of permissible amounts, or will not otherwise violate the CPSIA, other consumer or product safety requirements, or labor or other applicable requirements. Any failure of our third-party manufacturers to comply with such requirements in manufacturing products for us could result in to our reputation, our brand image and sales of our products and potentially create liability for us.
Additionally, there are increasing expectations in various jurisdictions that companies monitor the environmental and social performance of their suppliers, including compliance with a variety of labor practices, as well as consider a wider range of potential environmental and social matters, including the end-of-life considerations for products. These laws may be standalone or incorporated into other regimes, such as trade controls. Compliance can be costly, require us to establish or augment programs to diligence or monitor our suppliers, or, in the case of legislation such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA"), to design supply chains to avoid certain regions altogether. Failure to comply with such regulations can result in fines, reputational damage, import ineligibility for our products, or otherwise adversely impact our business. Although laws like the UFLPA establish presumptive standards that can be overcome, those actions may require us to spend significant time and resources and may not ultimately be successful. Monitoring compliance by independent manufacturers is by the fact that expectations of ethical business practices continually evolve, may be substantially more demanding than applicable legal requirements and are driven in part by legal developments and by diverse groups active in publicizing and organizing public responses to perceived ethical shortcomings. Accordingly, we cannot predict how such expectations might develop in the future and cannot be certain that our manufacturing requirements, even if complied with, would all parties who are active in monitoring and publicizing perceived shortcomings in labor and other business practices worldwide.
Additionally, the third-party manufacturers that produce or assemble most of our products are located in Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Mexico. As a result, we are subject to various risks resulting from our international operations. See “Our substantial sales and manufacturing operations outside the United States subject us to risks associated with international operations.”
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We are subject to a series of risks related to climate change.
There are inherent climate-related risks wherever business is conducted. Various meteorological phenomena and extreme weather events (including, but not limited to, storms, flooding, drought, wildfire, and extreme temperatures) may disrupt our operations and those of our suppliers, requiring us or our suppliers to incur additional operating or capital expenditures, or otherwise adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations, either directly or indirectly through impacting our suppliers. Climate change may impact the frequency and/or intensity of such events as well as contribute to certain chronic changes, such as changes to meteorological or hydrological patterns, which may have various adverse impacts. While we may take various actions to mitigate our business risks associated with climate change, this may require us to incur substantial costs and may not be successful, due to, among other things, the uncertainty associated with the longer-term projections associated with managing climate risks.
Additionally, regulatory, market, and other changes to respond to climate change may adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Developing products that satisfy the market’s evolving expectations for product composition may require us to incur significant costs. Certain stakeholders also seek increased information on climate related risks, which could impose increased oversight obligations on our management and board of directors and cause us to incur significant additional costs to comply. These requirements are not uniform, and may not be interpreted or applied uniformly, which may result in increased costs and complexity of compliance, along with any related risks. In addition, all of these risks may also impact our suppliers or business partners, which may indirectly impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Increased attention to, and evolving expectations for, sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) initiatives could increase our costs or otherwise adversely impact our business and reputation.
Expectations surrounding climate change, human capital, and other ESG matters continue to evolve rapidly. For example, we have previously been subject to media scrutiny for our management of product inventory. Unfavorable perceptions of our ESG performance may have a negative impact on our business, whether from a reputational perspective, a reduction in interest in our stock or products, issues in attracting/retaining customers, employees, or business partners, or otherwise.
Simultaneously, there are efforts by some parties to reduce companies’ efforts on certain ESG-related matters. Both advocates and opponents to certain ESG matters increasingly resort to a range of activism forms, including media campaigns and litigation, to advance their perspectives. Addressing these varying demands and expectations (including any associated regulatory obligations) may be costly, and our efforts may not be successful or have the desired effect. Any failure to successfully navigate such divergent or conflicting expectations may also result in increased costs, changes in demand for certain products, reputational harm, enhanced compliance or disclosure obligations, or other adverse impacts to our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Certain of our suppliers and business partners may be subject to similar expectations, which may augment or create additional risks, including risks that may not be known to us.
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Our operations, including our corporate headquarters, primary distribution facilities and third-party manufacturers, are concentrated in certain geographic regions, which makes us susceptible to adverse conditions in those regions.
Our corporate headquarters are currently located in Everett, Washington and our primary distribution warehouse is located in Buckeye, Arizona. We also have additional warehouse facilities and/or offices located in Coventry, England; London, England; Burbank, California; and San Diego, California. In addition, the factories that produce most of our products are located in Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Mexico. As a result, our business may be more susceptible to adverse conditions in these regions than the operations of more geographically diverse competitors. Such conditions could include, among others, adverse economic and labor conditions, as well as demographic trends. Furthermore, Buckeye is the location from which most of the products we sell are received, stored and shipped to our customers. We depend heavily on ocean container delivery to receive products from our third-party manufacturers located in Asia and contracted third-party delivery service providers to deliver our products to our distribution facilities. Any disruption to or failures in these delivery services, at our headquarters or at our warehouse facilities, whether as a result of extreme or severe weather conditions, natural disasters, labor or otherwise, affecting western Washington or Arizona in particular, or the West Coast in general, or in other areas in which we operate, could significantly our operations, or our equipment and inventory and cause us to incur additional expenses, any of which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although we possess insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business, this insurance, and in particular earthquake insurance, which is subject to various limitations and requires large deductibles or co-payments, may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses, and may be cancelled by us in the future or otherwise cease to be available to us on reasonable terms or at all. Similarly, natural disasters and other adverse events or conditions affecting east or southeast Asia, where most of our products are produced, could halt or disrupt the production of our products, impair the movement of finished products out of those regions, damage or destroy the molds and tooling necessary to make our products and otherwise cause us to incur additional costs and expenses, any of which could also have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We are subject to income taxes in a number of jurisdictions, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and our tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
• changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
• expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
• tax effects of equity-based compensation;
• costs related to intercompany restructurings; or
• changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof.
We may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by the tax authorities in a number of different taxing jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate and tax liability are based on the application of current tax laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are complex, and the manner which they apply to us and our diverse set of business arrangements is often open to interpretation. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. Outcomes from audits could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Further, under tax rules applicable to partnerships like FAH, LLC, audit adjustments to the tax items of FAH, LLC that are generally “passed through” to its equity holders may result in income tax assessments that are paid at the FAH, LLC-level, notwithstanding that FAH, LLC generally is not an entity-level taxpayer with respect to the income taxes that are the subject of the adjustment. This could result in the then-current owners of FAH, LLC equity interests (including us) bearing the burden of income tax audit adjustments in accordance with their then-current ownership of FAH, LLC, even if their ownership percentage of FAH, LLC during the taxable period that gave rise to the audit adjustment was different.
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In addition, changes in law and policy relating to taxes could adversely affect us. Taxing authorities and other officials regularly propose significant changes to tax laws, some of which may affect our business. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) announced an accord commonly referred to as “Pillar Two” to set a minimum global corporate tax rate of 15%, which is being or may be implemented in many jurisdictions. The OECD is also issuing guidelines that are different, in some respects, than current international tax principles, and adoption of these guidelines may increase tax uncertainty and increase taxes applicable to us. In January 2026, more than 145 countries in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed to have U.S.-headquartered companies remain subject to only U.S. global minimum taxes while exempting them from Pillar Two. This side-by-side agreement recognizes the tax sovereignty of the United States over the worldwide operations of U.S. companies and the tax sovereignty of other countries over business activity within their own borders. However, the precise contours of this side-by-side agreement as well as the details about its implementation by specific jurisdictions are uncertain. In addition, in July 2025, Public Law No: 119-21, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (the “Tax Reform Bill”), was signed into law. The Tax Reform Bill made multiple changes to U.S. federal income tax laws, which could have implications for us and also for investors. The Tax Reform Bill modified federal income tax rules relating to the expensing of research and development costs, certain other capital expenditures and certain business interest expense. Moreover, various aspects of the Tax Reform Bill are unclear, and administrative guidance is anticipated regarding the application of numerous provisions in the Tax Reform Bill. There can be no assurance that the Tax Reform Bill and any resulting administrative guidance would not affect us and the tax consequences to an investor. We cannot predict whether the U.S. Congress or any other governmental body may enact new tax legislation or tax regulations, or offer any assurance that new legislation or regulations, including changes to existing laws and regulations, will not have an effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects.
Our business depends in large part on our vendors and outsourcers, and our reputation and ability to effectively operate our business may be harmed by actions taken by these third parties outside of our control.
We rely significantly on vendor and outsourcing relationships with third parties for services and systems including manufacturing, transportation, logistics and information technology. We use third-party logistics companies to process and fulfill customer orders in Europe and the U.S. Any shortcoming of one of our vendors or outsourcers, including our third-party logistics providers, particularly one affecting the quality of these services or systems, may be attributed by customers to us, thus damaging our reputation and brand value, and potentially affecting our results of operations. This includes potential shipping delays as a result of container availability or other global capacity constraints. In addition, problems with transitioning these services and systems to, or operating failures with, these vendors and outsourcers could cause delays in product sales, reduce the efficiency of our operations and require significant capital investments to remediate.
We are subject to various government regulations and may be subject to additional regulations in the future, violation of which could subject us to sanctions or otherwise harm our business.
As a company that designs and sells consumer products, we are subject to significant government regulation, including, in the United States, under the Child Status Protection Act (the “CPSA”), the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (the “FHSA”), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (the “CPSIA”) and the Flammable Fabrics Act (the “FFA”), as well as under product safety and consumer protection statutes in our international markets. There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance, and failure to comply with these acts could result in sanctions which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. This risk is exacerbated by our reliance on third parties to manufacture our products. See “Our use of third-party manufacturers to produce our products presents risks to our business.”
Governments and regulatory agencies in the markets in which we manufacture and sell products may enact additional regulations relating to product safety and consumer protection in the future and may also increase the penalties for failing to comply with such regulations. In addition, one or more of our customers might require changes in our products, such as the non-use of certain materials, in the future. Complying with any such additional regulations or requirements could impose increased costs on our business. Similarly, increased penalties for non-compliance could subject us to greater expense in the event any of our products were found to not comply with such regulations. Such increased costs or penalties could harm our business. In addition, new and changing laws, regulations, executive orders and enforcement priorities can also create uncertainty about how such laws and regulations will be interpreted and applied, which may decrease customer spending or adversely impact capital markets.
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As discussed above, our international operations subject us to a host of other governmental regulations throughout the world, including antitrust, customs and tax requirements, anti-boycott regulations, environmental regulations and the FCPA. Complying with these regulations imposes costs on us which can reduce our profitability, and our failure to successfully comply with any such legal requirements could subject us to monetary liabilities and other sanctions that could further harm our business and financial condition.
As digital assets are a relatively new and emerging asset class, the regulatory, commercial, and legal framework governing digital assets and associated products and services is likely to evolve both in the U.S. and internationally and implicates issues regarding a range of matters, including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, consumer protection, privacy and cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, sanctions and currency, tax, money transmission, commodity, and securities law compliance under federal and state laws. We may need to comply with new licensing or registration requirements, revise our compliance and risk mitigation measures, institute a ban on certain digital assets or transactions thereof, and/or suspend or shut down our products or services in one or more jurisdictions. We may also face substantial costs to operationalize and comply with new legal or regulatory requirements. It is difficult to predict how the legal and regulatory framework and oversight/enforcement infrastructure around digital assets will develop and how such developments will impact our business and these new product offerings since the market for digital assets, and NFTs in particular, is relatively nascent.
Our e-commerce business is subject to numerous risks that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Sales through our websites have continued to grow as a percentage of our net sales and we expect them to continue to grow in the future. Though sales through our websites generally have higher profit margins and provide us useful insight on the sales impact of certain of our marketing campaigns, further development of our e-commerce business also subjects us to a number of risks. Our online sales may negatively impact our relationships with our retail customers and distributors if they perceive that we are competing with them. In addition, online commerce is subject to increasing regulation by states, the federal government and various foreign jurisdictions. Compliance with these laws will increase our costs of doing business, and our failure to comply with these laws could also subject us to potential fines, claims for damages and other remedies, any of which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, some jurisdictions have implemented, or may implement, laws that require remote sellers of goods and services to collect and remit taxes on sales to customers located within the jurisdiction. In particular, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (an ongoing, multi-year effort by U.S. state and local governments to pursue federal legislation that would require collection and remittance of sales tax by out-of-state sellers) could allow states that meet certain simplification and other criteria to require out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales taxes on goods purchased by in-state residents. These collection responsibilities and the complexity associated with tax collection, remittance and audit requirements increase the costs associated with our e-commerce business.
Furthermore, our e-commerce operations subject us to risks related to the computer systems that operate our websites and related support systems, such as system failures, viruses, computer hackers, cyberattacks and similar disruptions, or the perception thereof. If we are unable to continually add software and hardware, effectively upgrade our systems and network infrastructure and take other steps to improve the efficiency of our systems, system interruptions or delays could occur that adversely affect our operating results and harm our brand. While we depend on our technology vendors to manage “up-time” of the front-end e-commerce store, manage the intake of our orders, and export orders for fulfillment, we could begin to run all or a greater portion of these components ourselves in the future. Any failure on the part of our third-party e-commerce vendors or in our ability to transition third-party services effectively could result in sales and our brand.
There is a risk that consumer demand for our products online may not generate sufficient sales to make our e-commerce business profitable, as consumer demand for physical products online may be less than in traditional retail sales channels. To the extent our e-commerce business does not generate more net sales than costs, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
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We could be subject to future product liability suits or product recalls which could have a significant adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
As a company that designs and sells consumer products, we may be subject to product liability suits or involuntary product recalls or may choose to voluntarily conduct a product recall. While costs associated with product liability claims and product recalls have generally not been material to our business, the costs associated with future product liability claims or product recalls in any given fiscal year, individually or in the aggregate, could be significant. In addition, any product recall, regardless of the direct costs of the recall, could harm consumer perceptions of our products, subject us to additional government scrutiny, divert development and management resources, adversely affect our business operations and otherwise put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to other companies in our industry, any of which could have a significant effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We are currently subject to securities class action and may be subject to similar or other litigation in the future, all of which will require significant management time and attention, result in significant legal expenses and may result in unfavorable outcomes, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition, and negatively affect the price of our Class A common stock.
We are, and may in the future become, subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in or outside the ordinary course of business. For example, on January 18, 2022, a purported stockholder filed a putative class action lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, captioned Shumacher v. Mariotti, et al. , relating to our corporate “Up-C” structure and bringing direct claims for breach of fiduciary duties against certain current and former officers and directors, seeking declaratory, monetary, and injunctive relief. On March 31, 2022, we moved to dismiss the action. In response to defendants’ motion to dismiss, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on May 25, 2022. The amendment did not materially change the claims at issue, and the Defendants again moved to dismiss on August 12, 2022. On December 15, 2022, the ’ motion to and also moved for attorneys’ fees. On December 18, 2023, the Court ’ motion to and ’ application for an interim fee. On March 13, 2024, the representative moved to withdraw as a in the action, and another stockholder moved to intervene as representative . On October 28, 2024, the Court granted the ’s motion to withdraw and granted the new representative ’s motion to intervene. As a result, the is now captioned Lynch vs. Mariotti, et al. In October 2025, the parties participated in a mediation to the . On February 18, 2026, the parties executed a settlement agreement pursuant to which the Company agreed, through its insurers, to the remaining for $5.4 million, and to pay plaintiff's counsel a mootness fee of $3.0 million. The parties have submitted the settlement agreement to the Court of Chancery for approval.
On June 2, 2023, a purported stockholder filed a putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, captioned Studen v. Funko, Inc., et al. On August 17, 2023, the Court appointed two lead plaintiffs, and those plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on October 19, 2023. The amended complaint alleges that the Company and certain individual defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, as amended, as well as Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making allegedly materially misleading statements in documents filed with the SEC, as well as in earnings calls and presentations to investors, regarding a planned upgrade to its enterprise resource planning system and the relocation of a distribution center, as well as by omitting material facts about the same subjects necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading. seek to represent a putative class of investors who purchased or acquired Funko common stock between March 3, 2022 and March 1, 2023, and seek, among other things, compensatory and attorneys' fees and costs. On May 16, 2024, the Court granted the Company’s motion to with leave for to file a second amended . On July 1, 2024, notified the Court of their decision to not amend their , and the Court the with on July 8, 2024. filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on August 6, 2024, under the amended caption Construction Laborers Pension Trust of St. Louis v. Funko, Inc., et al. ’ opening brief was filed on October 21, 2024, and briefing was completed on February 10, 2025. Oral was held on May 23, 2025. On February 4, 2026, the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the District Court's decision. Specifically, it affirmed the of all based on statements made on earnings calls and presentations to investors, but reversed the of based on certain risk factor disclosures made in the Company's SEC filings.
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On April 12, 2024, a former employee of the Company filed a putative class action in San Diego Superior Court, seeking to represent all non-exempt workers of the Company in the State of California. The complaint alleges various wage and hour violations under the California Labor Code and related statutes. Plaintiff has also served a Private Attorneys General Act notice for the same alleged wage and hour violations. The claims predominantly relate to alleged unpaid wages (overtime) and missed meal and rest breaks. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, compensatory damages, statutory penalties, attorneys’ fees and costs. On May 20, 2025, the parties participated in mediation and reached an immaterial monetary settlement in exchange for a release of all that were or could have been asserted in the for the period from April 12, 2020 through July 19, 2025. In January 2026, the Court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement. The settlement administrator mailed class notices to the class members in February 2026. The final approval hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2026.
On March 2, 2026, a purported stockholder filed a derivative lawsuit on behalf of the Company as a nominal defendant against certain of our current and former directors in the District Court for the Western District of Washington, captioned Marconi v. Perlmutter et al. The derivative complaint alleges breach of fiduciary duty, gross mismanagement, corporate waste, and unjust enrichment claims, as well as a violation of Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act, arising from substantially similar factual predicate as alleged in the Studen v. Funko, Inc. matter discussed above and seeks monetary damages, attorneys’ fees and costs and corporate governance reforms. This matter is currently in the early stages of litigation.
The results of the securities class action lawsuits, derivative lawsuits, and any future legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. Also, our insurance coverage may be insufficient, our assets may be insufficient to cover any amounts that exceed our insurance coverage, and we may have to pay damage awards or otherwise may enter into settlement arrangements in connection with such claims. Any such payments or settlement arrangements in current or future litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. Even if the plaintiffs’ claims are not successful, current or future litigation could result in substantial costs and significantly and adversely impact our reputation and divert management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition, and affect the price of our Class A common stock. In addition, such lawsuits may make it more to finance our operations.
We may not realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or investments, the realization of such benefits may be delayed or reduced or our acquisitions or investments may have unexpected costs.
Acquisitions can broaden and diversify our brand holdings and product offerings, expand our distribution capabilities and allow us to build additional capabilities and competencies. We cannot be certain that the products and offerings of companies we may acquire, or acquire an interest in, will achieve or maintain popularity with consumers in the future or that any such acquired companies or investments will allow us to more effectively distribute our products, market our products, develop our competencies or grow our business.
In some cases, we expect that the integration of the companies that we may acquire into our operations will create production, distribution, marketing and other operating synergies which will produce greater sales growth and profitability and, where applicable, cost savings, operating efficiencies and other advantages. However, we cannot be certain that these synergies, efficiencies and cost savings will be realized. Even if achieved, these benefits may be delayed or reduced in their realization. In other cases, we may acquire or invest in companies that we believe have strong and creative management, in which case we may plan to operate them more autonomously rather than fully integrating them into our operations. We cannot be certain that the key individuals at these companies would continue to work for us after the acquisition or that they would develop popular and profitable products, in the future. There is no guarantee that any acquisition or investment we may make will be or or that we will be to manage the integration process , and acquisitions can consume significant amounts of management attention and other resources, which may impact other aspects of our business.
The further development and acceptance of blockchain networks, which are part of a new and rapidly changing industry, are subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of blockchain networks and blockchain assets could have an adverse material effect on the successful development and adoption of our NFT and digital collectible business.
The growth of the blockchain industry in general, as well as the blockchain networks on which our NFT and digital collectible business relies, is subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The factors affecting the further development of blockchain networks and digital assets, include, without limitation:
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• worldwide growth in the adoption and use of digital assets and other blockchain technologies;
• further government and quasi-government regulation of digital assets and their use, or restrictions on or regulation of access to and operation of blockchain networks or similar systems;
• the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of blockchain networks;
• changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences;
• the availability and popularity of other forms or methods of buying and selling goods and services, or trading assets including new means of using government-backed currencies or existing networks;
• the extent to which current purchaser interest in cryptocurrencies represents a speculative “bubble;"
• the extent to which historic price volatility in cryptocurrencies and digital assets continues into the future;
• general economic conditions in the United States and the world;
• the regulatory environment relating to cryptocurrencies and blockchains; and
• a decline in the popularity or acceptance of cryptocurrencies or other blockchain-based tokens.
Moreover, if and to the extent we are unable to successfully expand our NFT and digital collectible business, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing these initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as the generation of additional revenues.
The digital assets industries as a whole have been characterized by rapid changes and innovations and are constantly evolving. Although they have experienced significant growth in recent years, the slowing or stopping of the development, general acceptance and adoption and usage of blockchain networks and blockchain assets may deter or delay the acceptance and adoption of our NFT and digital collectible business and, as a result, adversely affect the future prospects of our NFT and digital collectible business as well as our financial results and financial condition.
Digital assets are a novel asset class that carries unique risks, including extreme price volatility.
Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, coins, tokens, NFTs, stablecoins, and other digital or crypto assets or instruments that are issued and transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology (collectively referred to herein as “digital assets”) are a new and evolving asset class. The characteristics of particular digital assets within this broad asset class may differ significantly.
We receive payments in digital assets in connection with our secondary sales in our NFT and digital collectibles business. We also purchase digital assets for use as a currency for certain expenses related to our NFT and digital collectibles business. There is no guarantee that these investments and payments will maintain their value as measured against fiat currencies or that such digital assets can be converted into or sold for fiat currencies. Digital assets continue to be an emerging asset class based on emerging technologies, and our use of digital assets is subject to a number of factors relating to the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies, such as the infancy of their development, their dependence on the internet and other technologies, their dependence on the role played by miners, validators and developers and the potential for malicious activity, including manipulation of the keys that access and are used to maintain underlying records, among other factors. Further, there can be no assurance that the blockchain technology on which digital assets are transacted does not have undiscovered flaws that may allow for such digital assets to be compromised, resulting in the loss of some or all of the digital assets we hold. Finally, the intrinsic value of digital assets is particularly uncertain and to determine due to the novel and rapidly changing nature of digital asset markets. There can be no assurance that digital assets will maintain their value in the future, or that acceptance of using digital assets as currency or to make payments by mainstream retail merchants and commercial businesses, or for any other uses, will continue to grow. Moreover, due to the novelty of the asset class and the evolving patchwork of regulatory oversight of digital asset markets, and market are not uncommon in such markets, all of which could impact the value of our digital assets and have an impact on our business.
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Use of digital marketing and social media may materially and adversely affect our reputation or subject us to fines or other penalties.
We rely to a large extent on our online presence to reach consumers and use third-party social media platforms as marketing tools. We rely on internet search engines, such as Google and we maintain Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts. Search engines and social media platforms frequently update and change the algorithms that determine the placement and display of results of a user's search or the content a user sees. If we are unable to appear prominently in the search results or social media feeds for relevant queries or if changes to these algorithms reduce the visibility of our content, traffic to our website could decline and we may not be able to replace this traffic with traffic from other channels in a timely manner or at all, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. If we are unable to cost-effectively use social media platforms as marketing tools, our ability to acquire new consumers and our financial condition may suffer. Furthermore, as laws and regulations rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms, the failure by us, our employees or third parties acting at our direction to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms could subject us to regulatory , class action lawsuits, liability, or other and have a material effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations.
Failure to successfully operate our information systems and implement new technology effectively could disrupt our business or reduce our sales or profitability.
We rely extensively on various information technology systems and software applications, including our enterprise resource planning software (collectively, "IT Systems"), to manage many aspects of our business, including product development, management of our supply chain, sale and delivery of our products, financial reporting and various other processes and transactions. We are critically dependent on the integrity, security and consistent operations of these IT Systems and related back-up systems. These IT Systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, usage errors by our employees, software bugs or misconfigurations, cybersecurity attacks, computer viruses, malware and other security breaches, as well as catastrophic events such as hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, acts of war or terrorism and global pandemics or other health crises. The efficient operation and successful growth of our business depends on these IT Systems, including our ability to operate and upgrade them effectively and to select and implement adequate recovery systems . The of these IT Systems to perform as designed, our to operate them effectively or address known in a timely and comprehensive manner, or a security or , or the perception thereof, in operation of our IT Systems could our business, require significant capital investments to remediate a or subject us to liability.
In addition, we have recently implemented, and expect to continue to invest in and implement, modifications and upgrades to our IT Systems and procedures to support our growth and the development of our e-commerce business. These modifications and upgrades could require substantial investment and may not improve our profitability at a level that outweighs their costs, or at all. Moreover, any integration of artificial intelligence in our or any third-party’s operations, products or services is expected to pose new or unknown cybersecurity risks and challenges. In addition, the process of implementing any new technology systems involves inherent costs and risks, including potential delays and system failures, the potential disruption of our internal control structure, the diversion of management’s time and attention, and the need to re-train or hire new employees, any of which could disrupt our business operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
For more information on risks related to our IT Systems, see the risk factor “If we or our third-party providers fail to protect confidential information and/or experience data security incidents, there may be damage to our brand and reputation, material financial penalties, and legal liability, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.”
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE RISKS
TCG has significant influence over us, including over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, and its interests, along with the interests of our Continuing Equity Owners and certain other parties, in our business may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.
Each share of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock entitles its holders to one vote per share on all matters presented to our stockholders. TCG currently has significant influence over substantially all transactions and other matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, such as a merger, consolidation, dissolution or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, the issuance or redemption of certain additional equity interests, and the election of directors. This influence may increase the likelihood that we will consummate transactions that are not in the best interests of other holders of our Class A common stock or, conversely, prevent the consummation of transactions that are in the best interests of other holders of our Class A common stock.
We entered into a Stockholders Agreement with TCG (the “Stockholders Agreement") in connection with TCG’s acquisition of our stock from another stockholder, as well as a Joinder and Amendment to our Registration Rights Agreement, both of which became effective at the closing of the ACON Sale. Pursuant to the Stockholders Agreement, TCG has the right to designate certain of our directors, which we refer to as the TCG Directors, which will be two TCG Directors for as long as the TCG Related Parties (as defined in the Stockholders Agreement) beneficially own, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate at least 20% of our Class A common stock, and one TCG Director for as long as the TCG Related Parties beneficially own directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, less than 20% but at least 10% or more of our Class A common stock (assuming in each such case that all outstanding common units in FAH, LLC are redeemed for newly issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis). The TCG Related Parties are not entitled to designate any TCG director designee if at any time, the TCG Related Parties beneficially own, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate less than 10% of all issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock (assuming in each such case that all outstanding common units in FAH, LLC are redeemed for newly issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis). Additionally, we are required to take all commercially reasonable action to cause (1) the board of directors to be comprised of at least seven directors or such other number of directors as our board of directors may determine; (2) the individuals designated in accordance with the terms of the Stockholders Agreement to be included in the slate of nominees to be elected to the board of directors at each annual meeting of our stockholders at which a director’s term expires; and (3) the individuals designated in accordance with the terms of the Stockholders Agreement to fill the applicable vacancies on the board of directors.
In addition, the Stockholders Agreement provides that for as long as the TCG Related Parties beneficially own, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, 22% or more of all issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock (assuming that all outstanding common units in FAH, LLC are redeemed for newly issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, excluding for this purpose any shares of Class A common stock issued, from time to time, in at-the-market offerings, up to a maximum of $40.0 million), we will not take, and will cause our subsidiaries not to take, certain actions or enter into certain transactions (whether by merger, consolidation, or otherwise) without the prior written approval of TCG, including:
• entering into any transaction or series of related transactions in which any person or group (other than the TCG Related Parties and any group that includes the TCG Related Parties), acquires, directly or indirectly, in excess of 50% of the then outstanding shares of any class of our or our subsidiaries’ capital stock, or following which any such person or group has the direct or indirect power to elect a majority of the members of our board of directors or to replace us as the sole manager of FAH, LLC (or to add another person as co-manager of FAH, LLC);
• the reorganization, voluntary bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution or winding up of us or any of our subsidiaries;
• the sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of our and our subsidiaries’ property and assets;
• the resignation, replacement or removal of us as the sole manager of FAH, LLC, or the appointment of any additional person as a manager of FAH, LLC;
• the creation of a new class or series of capital stock or other equity securities of us or, in the event such creation would materially and adversely impair the rights of the TCG Related Parties as holders of our Class A common stock, any of our subsidiaries;
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• the issuance of additional shares of Class A common stock, Class B common stock, preferred stock or other equity securities of us other than (x) under any stock option or other equity compensation plan approved by our board of directors or the compensation committee, or (y) pursuant to the exercise or conversion of any options, warrants or other securities existing as of the date of the Stockholders Agreement or, in the event such creation would materially and adversely impair the rights of the TCG Related Parties as holders of our Class A common stock, equity securities of any of our subsidiaries;
• any amendment or modification of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or any similar organizational documents of any of our subsidiaries that would, in either case, materially and adversely impair the rights of the TCG Related Parties as holders of our Class A common stock, and
• except to the extent of the express restrictions applicable to TCG and its controlled affiliates in the Stockholders Agreement, any action to adopt, approve or implement any plan, agreement or provision that would, among other things, negatively affect TCG’s or its controlled affiliates’ ability to continue to hold or acquire additional shares of our capital stock or other securities.
Additionally, the Continuing Equity Owners who, as of March 10, 2026, collectively hold approximately 0.2% of the combined voting power of our common stock, and certain transferees of former Continuing Equity Owners that have been joined to our TRA (the "TRA Parties") may receive payments from us under the Tax Receivable Agreement in connection with our purchase of common units of FAH, LLC directly from certain of the Continuing Equity Owners upon a redemption or exchange of their common units in FAH, LLC, including the issuance of shares of our Class A common stock upon any such redemption or exchange. Moreover, Continuing Equity Owners own interests in our business by holding interests in FAH, LLC directly (rather than through ownership of our Class A common stock). As a result of these considerations, the interests of the Continuing Equity Owners and such transferees as well as the TRA Parties may conflict with the interests of holders of our Class A common stock. For example, the TRA Parties may have different interests in the tax positions or other actions that we take which could influence their decisions regarding whether and when to dispose of assets, whether and when to incur new or refinance existing indebtedness, and whether and when we should terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement and accelerate our obligations thereunder. In addition, the structuring of future transactions may take into consideration tax or other considerations of the TRA Parties even in situations where no similar considerations are relevant to us.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of “corporate opportunity” does not apply with respect to any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries.
The doctrine of corporate opportunity generally provides that a corporate fiduciary may not develop an opportunity using corporate resources, acquire an interest adverse to that of the corporation or acquire property that is reasonably incident to the present or prospective business of the corporation or in which the corporation has a present or expectancy interest, unless that opportunity is first presented to the corporation and the corporation chooses not to pursue that opportunity. The doctrine of corporate opportunity is intended to preclude officers or directors or other fiduciaries from personally benefiting from opportunities that belong to the corporation. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of “corporate opportunity” does not apply with respect to any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries. Any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries therefore has no duty to communicate or present corporate to us, and has the right to either hold any corporate for their (and their affiliates’) own account and or to recommend, assign or otherwise transfer such corporate to persons other than us, including to any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries.
As a result, certain of our stockholders, directors and their respective affiliates are not prohibited from operating or investing in competing businesses. We therefore may find ourselves in competition with certain of our stockholders, directors or their respective affiliates, and we may not have knowledge of, or be able to pursue, transactions that could potentially be beneficial to us. Accordingly, we may lose a corporate opportunity or suffer competitive harm, which could negatively impact our business or prospects.
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Our principal asset consists of our interest in FAH, LLC, and accordingly, we depend on distributions from FAH, LLC to pay taxes and expenses, including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. FAH, LLC’s ability to make such distributions may be subject to various limitations and restrictions.
We have no material assets other than our ownership of 55,327,398 common units of FAH, LLC as of December 31, 2025, representing approximately 99.7% of the economic interest in FAH, LLC. We have no independent means of generating revenue or cash flow, and our ability to pay dividends in the future, if any, is dependent upon the financial results and cash flows of FAH, LLC and its subsidiaries and distributions we receive from FAH, LLC. There can be no assurance that our subsidiaries will generate sufficient cash flow to dividend or distribute funds to us or that applicable local law and contractual restrictions, including negative covenants in our debt instruments, will permit such dividends or distributions.
FAH, LLC is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as such, generally is not subject to entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, taxable income is allocated to holders of its common units, including us. As a result, we incur income taxes on our allocable share of net taxable income of FAH, LLC. Under the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement, FAH, LLC is obligated to make tax distributions to its members, including us, except to the extent such distributions would render FAH, LLC insolvent or are otherwise prohibited by law or any limitations or restrictions in our debt agreements. The amount of such tax distribution is calculated based on the highest combined federal, state and local tax rate that may potentially apply to any one of FAH, LLC’s members, regardless of the actual final tax liability of any such member. As a result of the foregoing, FAH, LLC may be obligated to make tax distributions in excess of some or all of its members’ actual tax liability, which could reduce its cash available for its business operations. In addition to tax expenses, we also incur expenses related to our operations, our interests in FAH, LLC and related party agreements, including payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement and expenses and costs of being a public company, all of which could be significant. We intend, as its managing member, to cause FAH, LLC to make distributions in an amount sufficient to allow us to pay our taxes and operating expenses, including any ordinary course payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. However, FAH, LLC’s ability to make such distributions may be subject to various and restrictions including, but not limited to, restrictions on distributions that would either any contract or agreement to which FAH, LLC is then a party, including debt agreements, or any applicable law, or that would have the effect of rendering FAH, LLC . If FAH, LLC does not have sufficient funds to pay tax distributions or other liabilities to fund our operations, we may have to borrow funds, which could materially affect our liquidity and financial condition and subject us to various restrictions imposed by any such lenders. To the extent that we are to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that for a specified period may constitute a material of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore may accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. If FAH, LLC does not have sufficient funds to make distributions, our ability to declare and pay cash dividends may also be restricted or . See “Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock Risks.”
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In certain circumstances, FAH, LLC will be required to make distributions to us and the Continuing Equity Owners and certain of their transferees, and the distributions that FAH, LLC will be required to make may be substantial.
As discussed above, under the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement, FAH, LLC is obligated to make tax distributions to us and the Continuing Equity Owners and certain of their transferees based on the highest combined federal, state and local tax rates that may potentially apply to any one member of FAH, LLC and such distributions will generally be made to such holders pro rata based on their interests in FAH, LLC. As a result of potential differences in the amount of net taxable income allocable to us and to the Continuing Equity Owners and certain of their transferees, as well as the use of an assumed tax rate in calculating FAH, LLC’s distribution obligations (and certain other considerations), we may receive distributions significantly in excess of our tax liabilities and obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Funds we receive from FAH, LLC to satisfy its tax distribution obligations may not be available for reinvestment in our business. Our board of directors will determine the appropriate uses for any excess cash so accumulated, which may include, among other uses, the payment of a cash dividend on our Class A common stock, the payment of obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, the declaration of a stock dividend on our Class A common stock, along with the purchase of a corresponding number of common units in FAH, LLC, or the purchase of additional common units in FAH, LLC, along with a recapitalization of all of the outstanding common units in FAH, LLC. To the extent we do not take such actions in the future and instead, for example, hold such cash balances or lend them to FAH, LLC, the Continuing Equity Owners and certain of their transferees that hold interests in FAH, LLC would from any value attributable to such accumulated cash balances as a result of their ownership of Class A common stock following an exchange of their common units for Class A common stock. No adjustments are or will be made as a result of such cash balances to the consideration that the Continuing Equity Owners receive in connection with an election to have their common units redeemed in exchange for, at our election, a newly-issued share of our Class A common stock or a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each common unit redeemed.
Our Tax Receivable Agreement requires us to make cash payments in respect of certain tax benefits to which we may become entitled, the amounts that we may be required to pay could be significant, and we may not realize such tax benefits.
In connection with the consummation of the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement. Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, we are required to make cash payments to the TRA Parties equal to 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we realize, or in some circumstances are deemed to realize as a result of (1) any future redemptions funded by us or exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of common units for Class A common stock or cash, and (2) certain additional tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The tax benefits that we realize in connection with the matters covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement will vary depending on a number of factors (some of which are likely to change over time), including the timing of redemptions or exchanges by the TRA Parties, the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the tax rate to which we are subject. However, the amount of the cash payments that we may be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement could be significant. Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, which are subject to challenge by taxing authorities. Payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement will not be returned upon a successful challenge by a taxing authority to our reporting positions. Any payments made by us to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us. To the extent that we are to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, the amounts will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid by us. for a specified period may constitute a material of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement and therefore may accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Furthermore, our future obligation to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement could make us a less target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that may be deemed realized under the Tax Receivable Agreement upon a change of control. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are also not conditioned upon the TRA Parties maintaining a continued ownership interest in FAH, LLC.
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The amounts that we may be required to pay to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be accelerated in certain circumstances and may also significantly exceed the actual tax benefits that we ultimately realize.
The Tax Receivable Agreement provides that if certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control were to occur, if we materially breach any of our material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement or if, at any time, we elect an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement, then the Tax Receivable Agreement will terminate and our obligations, or our successor’s obligations, to make future payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would accelerate and become immediately due and payable. In those circumstances members of FAH, LLC would be deemed to exchange any remaining outstanding common units of FAH, LLC for Class A common stock and would generally be entitled to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting from such deemed exchange. The amount due and payable in those circumstances is determined based on certain assumptions, including an assumption that we would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize all potential future tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement. We may need to incur debt to finance payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement to the extent our cash resources are insufficient to meet our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
As a result of the foregoing, we would be required to make an immediate cash payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits that are the subject of the Tax Receivable Agreement (calculated utilizing the assumptions described above), which payment may be made significantly in advance of the actual realization, if any, of such future tax benefits. We could also be required to make cash payments to the TRA Parties that are greater than the specified percentage of the actual benefits we ultimately realize in respect of the tax benefits that are subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement. The interests of the TRA Parties with respect to potential mergers, asset sales, or other forms of business combination or change of control are different than those of the holders of our Class A common stockholders, it may be difficult or not possible for us to negotiate modifications to the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement in connection with any such transactions, and our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control. There can be no assurance that we will be to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement. For a discussion of our Tax Receivable Agreement, see Note 13, "Liabilities under Tax Receivable Agreement" of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.
We will not be reimbursed for any payments made to the TRA Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement in the event that any tax benefits are disallowed.
We will not be reimbursed for any cash payments previously made to the TRA Parties pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement if any tax benefits initially claimed by us are subsequently challenged by a taxing authority and are ultimately disallowed. Instead, any excess cash payments made by us to a TRA Party will be netted against any future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement. However, a challenge to any tax benefits initially claimed by us may not arise for a number of years following the initial time of such payment or, even if challenged early, such excess cash payment may be greater than the amount of future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement and, as a result, there might not be future cash payments from which to net against. The applicable U.S. federal income tax rules are complex and factual in nature. Significant management judgment is required in connection with interpreting applicable tax laws and in taking valuation positions relevant to our tax compliance obligations. We are constantly evaluating our tax return positions, and changes in our return positions could affect our liabilities and risks that we face in connection with determining the taxes we owe and the amounts that we are required to pay in connection with the Tax Receivable Agreement. There can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not with our tax reporting positions. As a result, it is possible that we could incur additional costs in connection with these risks, including by making cash payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement that are substantially than our actual cash tax savings.
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Our organizational structure, including the Tax Receivable Agreement, confers certain benefits upon the TRA Parties that will not benefit Class A common stockholders to the same extent as it will benefit the TRA Parties, Continuing Equity Owners and transferees.
Our organizational structure, including the Tax Receivable Agreement, confers certain benefits upon the TRA Parties and the Continuing Equity Owners and certain of their transferees that will not benefit the holders of our Class A common stock to the same extent. We have entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with FAH, LLC and the TRA Parties, and it provides for the payment by us to the TRA Parties of 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, that we realize, or in some circumstances are deemed to realize, as a result of (1) redemptions funded by us or exchanges (or deemed exchanges in certain circumstances) of common units for Class A common stock or cash and (2) certain additional tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. This and other aspects of our organizational structure may adversely impact the future trading market for our Class A common stock.
OWNERSHIP OF OUR CLASS A COMMON STOCK RISKS
The Continuing Equity Owners own common units in FAH, LLC, and the Continuing Equity Owners have the right to redeem their common units in FAH, LLC pursuant to the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement for shares of Class A common stock or cash.
As of March 10, 2026, we had an aggregate of 144,555,396 shares of Class A common stock authorized but unissued, as well as approximately 186,797 shares of Class A common stock issuable, at our election, upon redemption of FAH, LLC common units held by the Continuing Equity Owners. FAH, LLC has entered into the FAH LLC Agreement, and subject to certain restrictions set forth in such agreement, the Continuing Equity Owners are entitled to have their common units redeemed from time to time at each of their options (subject in certain circumstances to time-based vesting requirements) for, at our election, newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each common unit redeemed, in each case, in accordance with the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement; provided that, at our election, we may effect a direct exchange by us of such Class A common stock or such cash, as applicable, for such common units. The Continuing Equity Owners may exercise such redemption right for as long as their common units remain outstanding. We also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement pursuant to which the shares of Class A common stock issued to certain of the Continuing Equity Owners (including each of our then-current executive officers) upon such redemption and remaining shares of Class A common stock issued to the Former Equity Owners in connection with the Transactions (such shares now being held by TCG) are eligible for resale, subject to certain limitations set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement.
We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our Class A common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our Class A common stock may have on the market price of our Class A common stock. Sales or distributions of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock, including shares issued in connection with an acquisition, or the perception that such sales or distributions could occur, may cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.
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You may be diluted by future issuances of additional Class A common stock or common units in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions or otherwise; future sales of such shares in the public market, or the expectations that such sales may occur, could lower our stock price.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue shares of our Class A common stock and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to our Class A common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our board of directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. In addition, we, FAH, LLC and the Continuing Equity Owners are party to the FAH LLC Agreement under which the Continuing Equity Owners (or certain permitted transferees thereof) have the right (subject to the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement) to have their common units redeemed from time to time at each of their options (subject in certain circumstances to time-based vesting requirements) by FAH, LLC in exchange for, at our election, newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or a cash payment equal to a volume-weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each common unit redeemed, in each case, in accordance with the terms of the FAH LLC Agreement; provided that, at our election, we may effect a direct exchange by us of such Class A common stock or such cash, as applicable, for such common units. The Continuing Equity Owners may exercise such redemption right for as long as their common units remain outstanding. The market price of shares of our Class A common stock could decline as a result of these redemptions or exchanges or the perception that a redemption or exchange could occur. These redemptions or exchanges, or the possibility that these redemptions or exchanges may occur, also might make it more for holders of our Class A common stock to sell such stock in the future at a time and at a price that they deem appropriate.
We originally reserved for issuance 5,518,518 shares of Class A common stock under our 2017 Incentive Award Plan (the “2017 Plan”), including, as of December 31, 2025, 1,310,692 shares of Class A common stock underlying stock options we granted to certain of our directors, executive officers and other employees, 2,374,748 shares of Class A common stock underlying restricted stock units we granted to certain of our executive officers, consultants and other employees and 750,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying performance stock units we granted to certain of our executive officers. We have also reserved for issuance an aggregate number of shares under the Company’s 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the “2019 Plan”) equal to the sum of (i) 3,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on and including January 1, 2029, equal to the lesser of (A) 2% of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding as of the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year on a fully-diluted basis and (B) such lesser number of shares of Class A common stock as determined by our board of directors. As of December 31, 2025, we had granted 2,360,372, shares of Class A common stock underlying stock options, 42,367 shares of Class A common stock underlying performance stock units and 4,194,069 shares of Class A common stock underlying restricted stock units under the 2019 Plan to certain of our executive officers, consultants and other employees. In May 2024, we reserved for issuance 1,500,000 shares of Class A common stock under our 2024 Inducement Award Plan. As of December 31, 2025, we had granted 1,256,805 shares of Class A common stock underlying restricted stock units to certain executive officers under the 2024 Inducement Award Plan. Any shares of Class A common stock that we issue, including under our 2017 Plan, our 2019 Plan, our 2024 Inducement Award Plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, would dilute the percentage ownership held by the holders of our Class A common stock.
In the future, we may also issue additional securities if we need to raise capital, including, but not limited to, in connection with acquisitions, which could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of Class A common stock. Further, in connection with the completion of the IPO, we entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with certain of the Original Equity Owners (including each of our then-current executive officers), pursuant to which TCG has been joined as a party.
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We do not intend to pay dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to repay indebtedness. As a result, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our Class A common stock in the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, industry trends and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Any such decision will also be subject to compliance with contractual restrictions and covenants in the agreements governing our current and future indebtedness. Our Credit Facilities contain certain covenants that restrict the ability of FAH, LLC and its subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions. Because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock depends on our receipt of cash distributions from FAH, LLC and, through FAH, LLC, cash distributions and dividends from our other direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. In addition, we may incur additional indebtedness, the terms of which may further restrict or prevent us from paying dividends on our Class A common stock. As a result, you may have to sell some or all of your Class A common stock after price appreciation in order to generate cash flow from your investment, which you may not be able to do. Our inability or decision not to pay dividends, particularly when others in our industry have elected to do so, could also affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Delaware law and certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may prevent efforts by our stockholders to change the direction or management of our company.
We are a Delaware corporation, and the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law impose various impediments to the ability of a third- party to acquire control of us, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors, including, but not limited to, the following:
• our board of directors is classified into three classes, each of which serves for a staggered three-year term;
• only the chairperson of our board of directors or a majority of our board of directors may call special meetings of our stockholders;
• we have authorized undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval;
• any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders at an annual meeting or special meeting of stockholders may not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting;
• our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may be amended or repealed by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2 / 3 % of the votes which all our stockholders would be entitled to cast in any annual election of directors and our amended and restated bylaws may also be amended or repealed by a majority vote of our board of directors;
• we require advance notice and duration of ownership requirements for stockholder proposals; and
• we have opted out of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, however, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that are similar to Section 203 of the DGCL (except with respect to TCG and certain other parties, including certain affiliates, associates and transferees of TCG).
These provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions you desire, including actions that you may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team.
Please see “Organizational Structure Risks—TCG has significant influence over us, including over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, and its interests, along with the interests of our other Continuing Equity Owners and certain other parties, in our business may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.”
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, subject to certain exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters and our amended and restated bylaws designate the federal district courts of the United States as the exclusive forum for actions arising under the Securities Act, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; (3) any action asserting a claim against us, any director or our officers and employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or as to which the DGCL confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery; or (4) any action asserting a claim against us, any director or our officers or employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. In addition, our bylaws provide that the federal district courts of the United States are the exclusive forum for any complaint raising a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. These provisions would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds for with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders which may lawsuits with respect to such . Alternatively, if a court were to find either of the choice of forum provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may issue shares of preferred stock in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our Class A common stock, which could depress the price of our Class A common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our board of directors has the authority to determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of the shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to the rights of our Class A common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discouraging bids for our Class A common stock at a premium to the market price, and materially and adversely affect the market price and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A common stock.
As a public reporting company, we are subject to rules and regulations established from time to time by the SEC regarding our internal control over financial reporting. Any failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures may cause us to not be able to accurately report our financial results or report them in a timely manner.
We are a public reporting company subject to the rules and regulations established from time to time by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market. These rules and regulations require, among other things, that we have and periodically evaluate procedures with respect to our internal control over financial reporting. Reporting obligations as a public company are likely to continue to place a considerable strain on our financial and management systems, processes and controls, as well as on our personnel. Under Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act our management is required to assess and report annually on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and to identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires our independent registered public accounting firm to issue an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the year.
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We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, as discussed in Part II, Item 9A of the Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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 company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In addition to taking remediation measures in response to the material weaknesses we identified, we may need to expend additional resources and provide additional management oversight in order to establish effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training of our employees, entail substantial costs, take a significant period of time to complete or divert management’s attention from other business concerns. The material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until our remediation plan has been fully implemented, the applicable controls operate for a sufficient period of time, and we have concluded, through testing, that the newly implemented and controls are operating effectively. At this time, we cannot predict the of such efforts or the outcome of our assessment of the remediation efforts. We can give no assurance that our efforts will remediate the material in our internal control over financial reporting, or that additional material will not be identified in the future. Our to implement and maintain internal control over financial reporting could result in in our consolidated financial statements that could result in a of our financial statements, and could cause us to to meet our reporting obligations, any of which could investor confidence in us and cause a in the price of our common stock. Additionally, internal control over financial reporting could us to an increased risk of financial reporting and the of assets and subject us to potential from the stock exchange on which we list or to other regulatory and civil or sanctions. In addition, as a result of our current material or future material in our internal control over financial reporting, we could be subject to sanctions or by the SEC, the Nasdaq Stock Market or other regulatory authorities, a of public and investor confidence, and from investors and stockholders, any of which could have a material effect on our business and our stock price. Our to implement and maintain internal control over financial reporting could result in in our consolidated financial statements that could result in a of our financial statements, and could cause us to to meet our reporting obligations, any of which could also investor confidence in us and cause a in the price of our common stock. Additionally, internal control over financial reporting could us to an increased risk of financial reporting and the of assets and subject us to potential from the stock exchange on which we list or to other regulatory and civil or sanctions.
GENERAL RISKS
Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can significantly impact our reported financial performance.
Our increasingly global operations mean we produce, buy, and sell products in many different markets with many different currencies. As a result, if the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and a local currency for an international market in which we have significant sales or operations changes, our financial results as reported in U.S. dollars may be meaningfully impacted even if our business in the local currency is not significantly affected. Similarly, our expenses can be significantly impacted, in U.S. dollar terms, by exchange rates, meaning the profitability of our business in U.S. dollar terms can be negatively impacted by exchange rate movements which we do not control. In recent years, certain key currencies, such as the euro and the British pound sterling, depreciated significantly compared to the U.S. dollar. Depreciation in key currencies may have a significant negative impact on our sales and earnings as they are reported in U.S. dollars.
If we or our third-party providers fail to protect confidential information and/or experience data security incidents, there may be damage to our brand and reputation, material financial penalties, and legal liability, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We rely extensively on various IT Systems for internal and external operations that are critical to our business, and while we operate certain of these IT Systems, we also rely on third-party providers for a host of technologies, products and services. In addition, in the ordinary course of business, both we and our third-party providers collect, process and maintain significant amounts of data, including proprietary and confidential business information as well as personal information (collectively "Confidential Information"). This Confidential Information relates to all aspects of our business, including but not limited to current and future products and entertainment under development, and also contains certain customer, consumer, supplier, partner and employee data.
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We face numerous and evolving cybersecurity risks that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and privacy of our IT Systems and Confidential Information. In addition, we may provide Confidential Information to our third-party business partners in certain cases. While we seek to obtain assurances from those parties that they have systems and processes in place designed to protect such Confidential Information, and where applicable, that they will take steps to assure the protections of such Confidential Information by third parties, nonetheless those partners may also be subject to cybersecurity risks or otherwise compromise the protection of such Confidential Information. Successful cyberattacks that disrupt or result in unauthorized access to the systems of such business partners can materially impact our operations and financial results. Moreover, there can also be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our IT Systems and Confidential Information.
We and many third parties have experienced and expect to continue to experience cyberattacks and other security incidents. While to date no incidents have had a material impact on our operations or financial results, we cannot guarantee that material incidents will not occur in the future. Threat actors are becoming more sophisticated and increasingly using techniques and tools, including artificial intelligence, designed to circumvent security controls, to evade detection and to obfuscate or remove forensic evidence, which means we may be unable to timely or effectively detect, identify, contain, or remediate future attacks or incidents. Disruptive attacks, such as through ransomware and other extortion-based tactics, that can temporarily or permanently disable our IT Systems or otherwise disrupt our business are becoming increasingly prevalent. Such attacks may involve internal or external actors, including state-sponsored organizations, hackers and hacktivists, and may result from the of bugs, misconfigurations or in our IT Systems (or open-source or commercial software that is integrated into our IT Systems), human , social engineering/phishing, supply chain attacks, or malware deployment (for example, ransomware). Also, remote working arrangements increase the risk that actors will inherent in many non-corporate home networks.
Any compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of Confidential Information (including that of our customers, consumers, suppliers, partners, employees or ourselves) or our IT Systems, or failure to prevent or mitigate the loss of or damage to this Confidential Information or our IT Systems could substantially disrupt our operations, harm our customers, consumers and other business partners, damage our reputation, violate applicable laws and regulations and subject us to litigation (including class action lawsuits) or regulatory actions, and result in additional costs for remediation and compliance, as well as to liabilities and loss of business that could be material. Additionally, global consumer protection, data privacy and cybersecurity legal requirements, such as under the GDPR and the CCPA, are evolving rapidly and increasingly exposing companies to significant fines and for , including in relation to security . While we carry insurance, our policies may not cover, or may not fully cover or reimburse us for, any or all costs and associated with cybersecurity related events, or applicable insurance may not be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms or at all.
Any impairment in the value of our goodwill or other assets could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are required, at least annually, or as facts and circumstances warrant, to test goodwill and other assets to determine if impairment has occurred. Impairment may result from any number of factors, including adverse changes in assumptions used for valuation purposes, such as actual or projected net sales growth rates, profitability or discount rates, or other variables. If the testing indicates that impairment has occurred, we are required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value of the goodwill or other assets and the implied fair value of the goodwill or the fair value of other assets in the period the determination is made. We cannot always predict the amount and timing of any impairment of assets and we have incurred impairment charges in the past. Should the value of goodwill or other assets become impaired, it would have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting estimates prove to be incorrect, our operating results could be adversely affected.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities and equity, and the amount of revenues and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include those related to sales-related discounts and allowances, royalty reserves, inventory reserves, carrying value of goodwill and intangibles, and income taxes. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the price of our Class A Common Stock.
Our Class A common stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.
Volatility in the market price of our Class A common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for them. Many factors, which are outside our control, may cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fluctuate significantly, including those described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, as well as the following:
• our operating and financial performance and prospects;
• our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in our industry compared to market expectations;
• conditions that impact demand for our products;
• future announcements concerning our business, our customers’ businesses or our competitors’ businesses;
• the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;
• the size of our public float;
• coverage by or changes in financial estimates by securities analysts or failure to meet their expectations;
• market and industry perception of our success, or lack thereof, in pursuing our growth strategy;
• short sales of our stock or trading phenomena such as "short squeezes";
• strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
• changes in laws or regulations which adversely affect our industry, our licensors or us;
• changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
• changes in senior management or key personnel;
• issuances, exchanges or sales, or expected issuances, exchanges or sales of our capital stock;
• changes in our dividend policy;
• adverse resolution of new or pending litigation against us;
• the imposition of fines or other remedial measures as a result of regulatory violations or civil liability; and
• changes in general market, economic and political conditions in the United States and global economies or financial markets, including those resulting from increased tariffs, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, acts of war, pandemics or other health crises and responses to such events.
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As a result, volatility in the market price of our Class A common stock may prevent investors from being able to sell their Class A common stock at or above the price they paid for them or at all. These broad market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our Class A common stock is low. As a result, you may suffer a loss on your investment.
We may fail to meet analyst expectations, or analysts may issue unfavorable commentary about us or our industry or downgrade our Class A common stock, which could cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline.
Our Class A common stock is traded publicly, and various securities analysts follow our company and issue reports on us. These reports include information about our historical financial results as well as the analysts’ estimates of our future performance. The analysts’ estimates are based upon their own independent opinions and may be different from our own estimates or expectations. If our operating results are below the estimates or expectations of public market analysts and investors, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline. In addition, one or more analysts could cease to cover our company, which could cause us to lose visibility in the market, and one or more analysts could downgrade our Class A common stock or issue other negative commentary about our company or our industry. As a result of one or more of these factors, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline.
Our ability to use certain tax attributes may be limited.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change," the corporation’s ability to use certain of its tax attributes (including any net operating loss carryforwards) to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an "ownership change" occurs if there is a cumulative change in ownership of the relevant corporation by "5% shareholders" (as defined under U.S. income tax laws) that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules apply under state tax laws. If we were to experience one or more ownership changes, then we may be limited in our ability to use certain tax attributes. Any such limitations on the ability to use tax attributes could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Failure to comply with anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws could result in fines, criminal penalties and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
A significant risk resulting from our global operations is compliance with a wide variety of U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. laws, regulations and policies, including laws related to anti-corruption, anti-bribery and laundering. The FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 and similar anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies, their officers, directors, employees and third-party intermediaries, business partners, and agents from making improper payments or other improper things of value to government officials or other persons. There has been an increase in anti-bribery and anti-corruption law enforcement activity in recent years, with more frequent and aggressive investigations and enforcement proceedings by both the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC, increased enforcement activity by non-U.S. regulators, and increases in criminal and civil proceedings brought companies and individuals. We operate in parts of the world that are considered high-risk from an anti- and anti- perspective, and strict compliance with anti- and anti- laws may with local customs and practices. We cannot you that our internal controls, policies and procedures will protect us from conduct by our officers, directors, employees, third-party intermediaries, business partners or agents. To the extent that we learn that any of these parties do not adhere to our internal control policies, we are committed to taking appropriate remedial action. In the event that we believe or have reason to believe that any such party has or may have such laws, we may be required to or have outside counsel the relevant facts and circumstances, and detecting, and resolving actual or can be expensive and require a significant of time, resources and attention from senior management. Any of U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. anti- and anti- laws, regulations and policies could result in substantial , sanctions, civil or , and of operations in the U.S. or other applicable jurisdictions. In addition, actual or could our reputation and ability to do business. Any of the foregoing could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Any actual or perceived failure to comply with new or existing laws, regulations, and other requirements relating to privacy and the protection of personal information may result in negative publicity, claims, investigations and litigation, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial performance.
In connection with running our business, we receive, store, use and otherwise process information that relates to individuals and/or constitutes “personal data,” “personal information,” “personally identifiable information,” or similar terms under applicable data privacy laws (collectively, “Personal Information”), including from and about actual and prospective customers, as well as our employees and business contacts. We are therefore subject to laws, rules, and regulations in the United States, the European Union, and other jurisdictions relating to the collection, use, and security of Personal Information. Additionally, the privacy- and data protection-related laws, rules, regulations, and other obligations applicable to us are subject to significant change, and may be interpreted and enforced inconsistently over time and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Several jurisdictions have passed new laws and regulations in this area, and other jurisdictions are considering imposing additional restrictions.
For example, our operations are subject to the GDPR, which imposes data privacy and security requirements on companies doing business in the European Union, including: providing detailed disclosures about how Personal Information is collected and processed; demonstrating an appropriate legal basis; granting new rights for data subjects in regard to their Personal Information; and imposing limitations on retention of Personal Information; and maintaining a record of data processing. Each of the GDPR and the UK data protection regime can result in fines up to the greater of EUR 20 million or £17 million, as applicable, or 4% of total global annual turnover. We are also subject to rules with respect to cross-border transfers of Personal Information out of the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the United Kingdom. Recent legal developments in Europe have created complexity and uncertainty regarding transfers of Personal Information from the EEA and the United Kingdom to the United States. These recent developments may require us to review and amend the legal mechanisms by which we make and/or receive Personal Information transfers to/in the U.S.
In the U.S., the CCPA, imposes similar requirements on companies handling the Personal Information of California residents and creates a potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the CCPA. The CCPA, imposes data protection obligations on certain companies that do business in California and process the Personal Information of California residents, including consumer rights processes, limitations on Personal Information uses, and opt outs for certain disclosures of Personal Information and uses of sensitive Personal Information. The enactment of the CCPA prompted a wave of similar laws in other states in the United States, which created a patchwork of overlapping but different state privacy laws (with additional privacy laws expected to be forthcoming at both the federal and state level). We are also subject to general consumer protection laws, rules and regulations, such as the authority of the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce “unfair” or “deceptive” trade practices, including statements made in our public-facing website, privacy policy, and other statements.
In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that either legally or contractually apply to us. One example of such self-regulatory standards to which we may be contractually bound is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ("PCI DSS"). Though we currently use third-party vendors to process and store credit card data in connection with our e-commerce business, we are subject to various aspects of the PCI DSS, and fines, penalties, and a loss of the ability to process credit card payments could result from any failure to comply with the PCI DSS.
It is possible that new laws, regulations and other requirements, or amendments to or changes in interpretations of existing laws, regulations and other requirements, may require us to incur significant costs, implement new processes, or change our processing of Personal Information and business operations, which could ultimately hinder our ability to grow our business by extracting value from our data assets. In addition, any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with laws, regulations and other requirements relating to the privacy, security and processing of Personal Information could result in legal claims or proceedings (including class actions), regulatory investigations or enforcement actions. We could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims and, if found liable, pay significant damages or fines or be required to make changes to our business. These proceedings and any subsequent adverse outcomes may subject us to significant publicity and an of trust. If any of these events were to occur, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially affected.
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