ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should consider carefully the following risks and uncertainties when reading this Report. If any of the events described below actually occur, the Company’s business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially adversely affected.
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You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks and uncertainties. Consequently, you should not consider the following to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties.
Risks Related to Our Business
The metabolic health and weight management industry is highly competitive and the development and acceptance of weight-loss medicines and other products could result in decreased demand for our services and products.
Competition is intense in the metabolic health and weight management industry and we must remain competitive in the areas of program efficacy, price, taste, client service and brand recognition. Our competitors include companies selling metabolic health and weight loss medications, pharmaceutical products and weight loss programs, digital tools, app-based health and wellness monitoring solutions and wearable trackers, as well as a wide variety of diet foods and meal replacement bars and shakes, appetite suppressants and nutritional supplements. Some of our competitors are significantly larger than we are and have substantially greater resources. Any increased competition from new entrants into our industry or any increased success by existing competition could result in reductions in our sales or prices, or both, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, the entrance into the market and growing acceptance of the favorably perceived and easier to use weight loss medications, such as GLP-1s, has reduced and may further reduce demand for our services and products.
Deterioration of economic conditions, an economic recession or slow growth, periods of inflation or economic uncertainty, could continue to adversely affect consumer spending as well as demand for our products.
General global economic downturns and macroeconomic trends, including the possibility of heightened inflation, capital market volatility, interest rate and currency rate fluctuations, and economic slowdown or recession, may result in unfavorable conditions that could negatively affect consumer spending and demand for our products, and exacerbate some of the other risks that affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, economic forces, including changes in disposable consumer income and/or reductions in discretionary spending, unemployment levels, labor shortages, demographic trends, inflation and consumer confidence in the economy, may cause consumers to defer or decrease purchases of our products which could adversely affect our revenue, gross profit, and/or our overall financial condition and operating results.
We may not be able to successfully implement new strategic transformation, which could adversely impact our business.
We are continuously evaluating changing consumer preferences and the competitive environment of our industry and seeking out opportunities to improve our performance through the implementation of selected strategic initiatives. In October 2025, in response to continuing changes in the weight management industry and market conditions, we announced our strategic transformation, focusing on holistic metabolic health. The goal of these efforts is to position our business around holistic metabolic health, with the objective of expanding our addressable market, improving long-term growth prospects, and reversing recent declines in performance. This strategy involves significant investments in new products, programs, scientific research, marketing initiatives, and coach enablement efforts, as well as changes to how we present our value proposition to consumers and our coach community. Our future growth and revenue depend upon the effectiveness and successful implementation of our strategic transformation plan. Our strategic transformation plan resulted in changes to our business operations and supply chain leadership structure. Our strategic transformation plan is expected to result in additional changes to business priorities, marketing and brand strategies, as well as increased demands on management.
There can be no assurance that the execution of our strategic plan will be successful or that it will be adopted by consumers or coaches at the pace or scale we expect. The metabolic health market is highly competitive and evolving rapidly, with participants ranging from pharmaceutical and medical providers to digital health platforms and consumer wellness brands. If we are unable to clearly differentiate our offerings, effectively communicate our value proposition, or demonstrate meaningful outcomes relative to competing solutions, our growth initiatives may not generate the expected results.
Our future financial performance and projections increasingly depend on the successful execution of our strategic transformation. If demand for our metabolic health offerings does not materialize, if customer acquisition or retention does not improve, if coach engagement or productivity does not increase, or if our investments fail to produce sustainable revenue growth, our operating results, cash flows, and overall financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In such circumstances, we may be required to reassess our strategy, curtail or redirect investments, or take additional actions that could negatively impact our business.
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The success of our business is dependent on our ability to maintain and grow our network of coaches .
We consider our number of active earning coaches and average quarterly revenue per active earning coach to be key indicators of our financial performance and condition. For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the Company had 16,100 total active earning coaches as compared to 19,500 for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 and 27,100 for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. If we are unable to reverse the downtrend of the number of active earning coaches, which has been declining since the first quarter of 2023, our future revenue and operating results will continue to be adversely affected, as we believe that the success of the Company depends on the success of our coaches.
Additionally, coaches are subject to high turnover, and we depend on our network of coaches to continually grow their businesses by supporting clients and attracting, training and motivating new coaches. Our failure to provide the business essentials, education, and competitive compensation necessary to motivate coaches to grow their businesses will adversely affect our future growth and operating results. The growth and sustainability of our network of coaches is also subject to risks which may be outside of our control. These include: potential misconduct or improper claims by coaches; negative public perceptions of multi-level marketing; general economic conditions; failure to develop innovative products to meet consumer demands; adverse opinions of our products, services, or industry; and regulatory actions against our Company, competitors in our industry, or other direct selling companies.
If we do not continue to develop innovative new products or if our products do not continue to appeal to the market, or if we are unable to successfully expand or respond to consumer trends, our business may suffer.
The increasing focus of consumers on more integrated lifestyle and fitness approaches rather than just food, nutrition and diet could adversely impact the popularity of our programs. Our future success depends on our ability to continue to develop and market new, innovative products and to enhance our existing products, each on a timely basis to respond to new and evolving consumer demands, achieve market acceptance and keep pace with new nutritional, weight management, technological and other developments. We may not be successful in developing, introducing on a timely basis or marketing any new or enhanced products, and we cannot assure you that any new or enhanced products will appeal to the market. Our results of operations are highly dependent on the number of product sales generated by our coaches. Our failure to develop new products and to enhance our existing products, and the failure of our products to continue to appeal to the market could have an adverse impact on our ability to attract and retain clients and thus adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, we commit and invest substantial time and resources into developing innovative new products. There is no assurance that any new products, including the reformulation of our Essential line of products, will be successfully adopted by our client base, or that we will be able promote such new products without taking steps such as reducing pricing or incurring acquisition costs that would affect our revenues and/or profitability.
Our business depends on the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing programs, including the strength of the Company's and our coaches’ social media presence, to attract and retain clients. Use of social media may materially and adversely affect our reputation or subject us to fines or other penalties, and restrictions on the use of or access to social media may adversely impact sales of our products and services.
Our business success depends on our ability to attract and retain clients. Our ability to attract and retain clients depends significantly on the effectiveness of our coaches’ advertising and marketing practices. Our coaches support our clients and market our products and services primarily through word of mouth, email and via social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and video conferencing platforms. If their advertising and marketing campaigns do not generate a sufficient number of clients, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
We and our coaches, as well as social media influencers or other brand ambassadors that we may utilize from time to time, use email and social media platforms as a means of communicating with clients. We use digital marketing, social media, and email marketing, among other means, to attract and retain clients. Unauthorized or inappropriate use of these channels could result in harmful publicity or negative consumer experiences, which could have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of our marketing through these channels. In addition, the rising popularity of social media and other consumer-oriented technologies has increased the speed and accessibility of information dissemination. Our target consumers often value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Negative or false commentary about us may be posted on social media platforms or similar devices at any time and may harm our business, brand, reputation, coaches, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the information’s accuracy.
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An increase in the use of social media for product promotion and marketing may cause an increase in the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials and increase the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations. As laws and regulations, including FTC enforcement, rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms and devices, the failure by us, our employees, or our coaches or other third parties acting at our direction to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms and devices could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations or subject us to fines or other penalties.
Our direct selling model may be challenged, which could harm our business.
We may be subject to challenges by government regulators regarding our direct selling model. Legal and regulatory requirements concerning the direct selling industry generally do not include “bright line” rules and are inherently fact-based and subject to interpretation. As a result, regulators and courts have discretion in their application of these laws and regulations, and the enforcement or interpretation of these laws and regulations by government agencies or courts can change. Additionally, the direct selling industry is also under regular scrutiny by the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, which is one of the Better Business Bureau's National Programs, and other non-profit organizations. These organizations identify perceived violations of laws and regulations by direct sellers in an effort to force companies to change their practices. If companies do not voluntarily modify practices identified by these reviewing entities, they may report the perceived violations to law enforcement agencies.
Settlements between the FTC and other direct selling companies and guidance from the FTC have addressed inappropriate earnings and lifestyle claims and the importance of focusing on consumer sales. These developments have created a level of ambiguity as to the proper interpretation of the law and related court decisions. Any adverse rulings or legal actions could impact our business if direct selling laws or anti-pyramid laws are interpreted more narrowly or in a manner that results in additional burdens or restrictions on direct selling companies. For example, in 2019, the FTC took aggressive actions against a multi-level marketing company, which ultimately led to the company being permanently prohibited from using a multilevel compensation plan in the United States. If our coaches make improper claims regarding our products or business, or if regulators determine we are making any improper claims, this could lead to an FTC investigation and could harm our business.
We continue to monitor developments to assess whether we should make any changes to our compensation structure. If we are required to make changes or if the FTC seeks to enforce similar measures in the industry, either through rulemaking or an enforcement action against us, our business could be harmed.
The FTC has also increased its scrutiny of the use of testimonials, which we also utilize, as well as the role of endorsers. We cannot be sure that the FTC will not challenge our advertising or other operations in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
In addition, our ability to sustain satisfactory levels of sales is dependent in significant part on our ability to introduce innovative products. However, governmental regulations can delay or prevent the introduction, or require the reformulation or withdrawal, of certain of our products. Any such regulatory action, whether or not it results in a final determination adverse to us, could create negative publicity, with detrimental effects on the motivation and recruitment of coaches and, consequently, on sales.
We could also be subject to challenges by private parties in civil actions. We are aware of recent civil actions against other companies in the United States that use a direct selling model, which have and may in the future result in significant legal costs. Allegations against companies that use a multi-level marketing strategy in various markets have also created intense public scrutiny of companies in the direct selling industry. Similarly, the FTC continues to scrutinize multi-level marketers. All of these actions and any future scrutiny of us or the direct selling industry could generate negative publicity or further regulatory actions that could result in fines, restrict our ability to conduct our business, enter into new markets, and ultimately attract clients.
Risks related to Artificial Intelligences
The development, adoption and use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies are rapidly transforming the health and wellness industry, enabling faster data analysis and automation through machine learning and predictive modeling. Many of our competitors, including technology-enabled health platforms, pharmaceutical companies, and digitally native wellness providers, are investing heavily in AI-driven capabilities to enhance customer acquisition, personalization, pricing optimization, supply chain efficiency, product development, and marketing effectiveness. If we are unable to adopt and deploy AI effectively as quickly as our competitors, it may cause us to be relatively less productive or innovative, adversely impacting our
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competitiveness, our ability to effectively execute our strategic transformation and requiring additional investments that increase our costs.
Laws and regulations regarding AI are rapidly evolving as well, including in the areas of data privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and data protections. Compliance with new or changing laws, regulations, or industry standards relating to AI may impose significant operational and financial burdens and may limit our ability to develop, deploy, or use AI in our business.
We rely on third parties to provide us with a majority of the products we sell and we manufacture the remaining portion. We also rely on third parties to distribute and deliver our products. The inability to obtain the necessary products from our third-party manufacturers, produce the products we manufacture in-house or distribute and deliver our products could cause our revenue, earnings or reputation to suffer.
We rely on third-party manufacturers to supply a majority of the food and other products we sell. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity, quality and variety of foods and other products from these manufactures in a timely and low-cost manner, we will be unable to fulfill our clients’ orders in a timely manner, which may cause us to lose revenue and market share or incur higher costs, as well as damage our reputation and the value of our brands. We also rely on third-parties to distribute and deliver our products.
Therefore, it is critical that we maintain good relationships with our manufacturers and third parties that distribute and deliver our products. The services we require from these parties may be disrupted due to a number of factors associated with their businesses, including the following:
• public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics;
• labor disruptions;
• delivery and transportation problems;
• financial condition or results of operations;
• internal inefficiencies;
• power failures;
• equipment failure;
• severe weather, climate and other adverse environmental conditions;
• fire;
• natural or man-made disasters, war, terrorism, or political instability;
• adverse changes in third-party contract terms;
• shortages or increases in prices of ingredients; and
• USDA or FDA compliance issues.
We manufacture and produce a portion of our products, which account for approximately 40% of our total unit sales, at our manufacturing facility in Owings Mills, Maryland. As a result, we are dependent upon the uninterrupted and efficient operation of this manufacturing facility. The operations at this facility may be disrupted by a number of factors, including the following:
• public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics;
• labor disruptions;
• power failures;
• equipment failure;
• internal inefficiencies;
• severe weather, climate and other adverse environmental conditions;
• fire;
• natural or man-made disasters, war, terrorism, or political instability; and
• USDA or FDA compliance issues.
There can be no assurance that the occurrence of these or any other operational problems at our sole facility would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
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Our ability to source quality ingredients and other products is critical to our business, and any disruption to our supply or supply chain could materially adversely affect our business.
We depend on frequent deliveries of ingredients and other products from domestic and foreign suppliers, especially for our non-powder products. Some of our suppliers may depend on a variety of other local, regional, national and international suppliers to fulfill the purchase orders we place with them. The availability of such ingredients and other products at competitive prices depends on many factors beyond our control, including the number and size of the suppliers that provide the raw materials that meet our quality and production standards.
We rely on our suppliers, and their supply chains, to meet our quality and production standards and specifications and supply ingredients and other products in a timely and safe manner. However, no safety and quality measures can eliminate the possibility that suppliers may provide us with defective or out-of-specification products against which regulators may take action or which may subject us to litigation or require a recall. Suppliers may provide us with ingredients that are or may be unsafe, below our quality standards or improperly labeled. In addition to a negative client experience, we could face possible seizure or recall of our products and the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions if we incorporate a defective or out-of-specification item into one of our deliveries.
Furthermore, there are many factors beyond our control which could cause shortages or interruptions in the supply of our ingredients and other products, including adverse weather, climate and environmental factors, natural disasters, unanticipated demand, labor or distribution problems, changes in law or policy, food safety issues by our suppliers and their supply chains, and the financial health of our suppliers and their supply chains. Production or yield of the agricultural crops that are used as ingredients in our products may also be materially adversely affected by drought, water scarcity, temperature extremes, scarcity of agricultural labor, changes in government agricultural programs or subsidies, import restrictions, scarcity of suitable agricultural land, crop conditions, crop or animal diseases or crop pests. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential effect of such events, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results, particularly in circumstances where an ingredient or product is sourced from a single supplier or location.
In addition, unexpected delays in deliveries from suppliers or increases in transportation costs (including through increased fuel costs) could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Labor shortages or work stoppages in the transportation industry, long-term disruptions to the national transportation infrastructure, reduction in capacity and industry-specific regulations such as hours-of-service rules that lead to delays or interruptions of deliveries could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
We currently source certain of our ingredients from suppliers located outside of the United States. Any event causing a disruption or delay of imports from suppliers located outside of the United States, including weather, drought, crop-related diseases, the imposition of import or export restrictions, restrictions on the transfer of funds or increased tariffs, destination-based taxes, value-added taxes, quotas or increased regulatory requirements, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of our ingredients and the other materials required by our product offerings, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Furthermore, our suppliers’ operations may be adversely affected by political and financial instability, resulting in the disruption of trade from exporting countries, restrictions on the transfer of funds or other trade disruptions, each of which could adversely affect our access or ability to source ingredients and other materials used in our product offerings on a timely or cost-effective basis.
We may be subject to claims that our coaches are unqualified to provide proper metabolic health and weight loss advice.
Our coaches are independent contractors and, accordingly, we are not in a position to provide the same level of oversight as we would if these coaches were our own employees. As a result, there can be no assurance that our coaches will comply with our policies and procedures. Additionally, most of our coaches do not have extensive training or certification in nutrition, diet or health fields and have only undergone the education they receive from us. We may be subject to claims from our clients alleging that our coaches lack the qualifications necessary to provide proper advice regarding metabolic health, weight loss, and related topics. We may also be subject to claims that our coaches have provided inappropriate advice or have failed to recommend clients consult with their health care providers during the course of the clients’ metabolic health and weight loss journey, as recommended in the Company’s Medical Disclaimer. Such claims could result in lawsuits, damage to our reputation and divert management’s attention from our business, which would adversely affect our business.
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We may be subject to health or advertising related claims from our clients.
We do not engage physicians or nurses to monitor the progress of our clients. Many people who are overweight suffer from other physical conditions, and our target consumers could be considered a high-risk population. A client who experiences health problems could allege or bring a lawsuit against us on the basis that those problems were caused or worsened by participating in our programs, including outcomes based on interactions with our independent coaches. Further, clients who allege that they were deceived by any statements that we made in advertising or labeling could bring a lawsuit against us under consumer protection laws. From time-to-time we are subject to such allegations and have been involved in such litigation. We may ultimately be unsuccessful in defending ourselves against such claims. Also, defending ourselves against such claims, regardless of their merit and ultimate outcome, may be lengthy and costly, and could adversely affect our brand image, client loyalty and results of operations.
We are dependent on our key executives for future success. If we lose the services of any of our key executives and we are unable to timely retain a qualified replacement, our business could be harmed.
Our future success depends to a significant degree on the skills, experience and efforts of our key executives. The loss of the services of any of these individuals could harm our business, including the previously announced departure of Anthony Tyree, our former Chief Business Operations Officer and planned transition of Dan Chard, our Chief Executive Officer to non-executive Chairman of our Board of Directors, could harm our business. Leadership transitions can be inherently difficult to manage, and an inadequate transition may cause disruption to our business. In addition, we cannot provide assurances that key personnel, including our executive officers, will continue to be employed by us or that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to retain or attract key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Information Technology and Cyber Security Risks
Any failure of our technology or systems to perform satisfactorily could result in an adverse impact on our business.
We rely on software, hardware, network systems, including cloud-based technology, that is either developed by us or licensed from or maintained by third parties to operate our websites. As much of this technology is complex, there may be future errors, defects or performance problems, including when we update our technology or integrate new technology to expand and enhance our capabilities. Our technology may malfunction or suffer from defects that become apparent only after extended use. The integrity of our technology may also be compromised as a result of third-party cyber-attacks, such as hacking, spear phishing campaigns and denial of service attacks, which are increasingly negatively impacting companies. In addition, our operations depend on our ability to protect our information technology systems against damage from third-party cyber-attacks, fire, power loss, water, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, and similar unexpected adverse events. Interruptions in our websites, services and products, or network systems could result from unknown technical defects, insufficient capacity or the failure of our third-party providers to provide continuous and uninterrupted service. While we maintain disaster recovery capabilities to return to normal operation in a timely manner, we do not have a fully redundant system that includes an instantaneous recovery capability.
As a result of such possible defects, failures, interruptions or other problems, our services and products could be rendered unreliable or be perceived as unreliable by clients, which could result in harm to our reputation and brand. Any failure of our technology or systems could result in an adverse impact on our business.
Our business is subject to online security risks, including security breaches and identity theft.
Unauthorized users who penetrate our information security systems could misappropriate proprietary or client information or data or cause interruptions to the product offerings on our website. As a result, it may become necessary to expend significant additional amounts of capital and resources to protect against, or to alleviate, problems caused by unauthorized users. These expenditures, however, may not prove to be a timely remedy against unauthorized users who are able to penetrate our information security systems. In addition to purposeful security breaches, the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could adversely affect our computer systems and, in turn, harm our business.
Existing, proposed or new data privacy legislation and regulations, including interpretations thereof, could also significantly affect our business. For example, data protection and privacy laws have been enacted by the U.S. federal and state governments, including the California Privacy Rights Act, which became effective on January 1, 2023 and replaced the previously established California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other relevant statutes. These laws typically impose significant penalties for non-compliance. Further, a significant number of states require that clients be notified if a security breach results in the disclosure of their personal financial account or other information. Additional states and governmental entities are considering such “notice”
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laws. In addition, other public disclosure laws may require that material security breaches be reported. If we experience a security breach and such notice or public disclosure is required in the future, our reputation and our business may be harmed. The effects of these new and evolving laws, regulations, and other obligations potentially are far-reaching and may require us to further modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply.
In addition, if we choose to expand our business internationally in the future, we may be subject to international privacy, data protection, consumer protection and other laws and regulations, which in some cases are more restrictive than those in the United States. For example, the European Union traditionally has imposed stricter obligations under such laws than the United States. Consequently, any future expansion of our international operations may require changes to the ways we collect and use consumer information. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and utilize proprietary and client information and data. As a result, we have developed systems that are designed to protect consumer information and prevent fraudulent transactions and other security breaches. Privacy concerns among prospective and existing clients regarding our use of such information or data collected on our website or through our services and products, such as weight management information, financial data, email addresses and home addresses, could keep them from using our website or purchasing our services or products. We currently face certain legal obligations regarding the manner in which we treat such information and data. Businesses have been criticized by privacy groups and governmental bodies for their use and handling of such information and data. We rely on third-party software products to secure our credit card transactions. Failure to prevent or mitigate fraudulent payment transactions or security breaches or changes in industry standards or regulations may adversely affect our business and operating results or cause us to lose our ability to accept credit cards as a form of payment and result in chargebacks of fraudulently charged amounts. Furthermore, widespread credit card fraud may lessen our clients’ willingness to purchase our products on our website.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
Third parties may infringe on our brand, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, which may have an adverse impact on our business.
We currently rely on a combination of trademark and other intellectual property laws and confidentiality procedures to establish and protect our proprietary rights, including our brand. Because our business relies heavily on a direct-to-consumer business model, our brand is an important element of our business strategy. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, the value of our brand, services and products could be diminished and our business may suffer. Additionally, failure to protect our intellectual property could result in the entry of a competitor into the market. Our precautions may not prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property by state actors, competitors, or individuals or groups that are or are not affiliated with the Company. Any legal action that we may bring to protect our brand and other intellectual property could be unsuccessful and expensive and could divert management’s attention from other business concerns. In addition, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of intellectual property, especially in Internet-related businesses, are uncertain and evolving. We cannot assure you that these evolving legal standards will sufficiently protect our intellectual property rights in the future.
We may in the future be subject to intellectual property rights claims.
Third parties may, in the future, make claims against us alleging infringement of their intellectual property rights. Any intellectual property claims, regardless of merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle and could significantly divert management’s attention from other business concerns. In addition, if we were unable to successfully defend against such claims, we may have to pay damages, stop selling the service or product or stop using the software, technology or content found to be in violation of a third-party’s rights, seek a license for the infringing service, product, software, technology or content or develop alternative non-infringing services, products, software, technology or content. If we cannot license on reasonable terms, develop alternatives or have to stop using the service, product, software, technology or content for any infringing aspects of our business, we may be forced to limit our service and product offerings. Any of these results could reduce our revenue and our ability to compete effectively, increase our costs or harm our business.
Risks Related to Our Industry
Changes in consumer preferences could negatively impact our operating results.
The metabolic health and weight management industry is subject to changing consumer demands based, in large part, on the efficacy and popular appeal of weight management programs. The popularity of weight management programs is dependent, in part, on their ease of use, cost and channels of distribution as well as consumer trends, which continue to evolve with the
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introduction of new technologies and innovations, and, on an ongoing basis, many existing and potential providers of metabolic health and weight loss solutions, including many pharmaceutical firms with significantly greater financial and operating resources than we have, are developing new products and services. The growing popularity of weight loss solutions, such as a drug therapy or GLP-1 medications, which may be perceived to be safe, effective and “easier” than a portion-controlled meal plan has affected the marketplace and could negatively impact our results of operations.
Changes in consumer tastes and preferences away from our pre-packaged food and support and coaching services, and any failure to provide innovative responses to these changes, may have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flows and prospects. Our success is also dependent on our food innovation including maintaining a robust array of food items and improving the quality of existing items. If we do not continually expand our food items or provide clients with items that are desirable in taste and quality, our business could be harmed. Additionally, we anticipate competition from other companies that provide telehealth services associated with weight management, and certain of these competitors have greater financial and other resources than us and have operations in therapeutic or other areas where we may seek to expand in the future.
The metabolic health and weight loss industry is subject to adverse publicity, which could harm our business.
The metabolic health and weight loss industry receives adverse publicity from time to time, and the occurrence of such publicity could harm us, even if the adverse publicity is not directly related to us. Congressional hearings about practices in the weight loss industry have also resulted in adverse publicity and a consequent decline in the revenue of weight loss businesses. Future research or investigative reports or publicity that is perceived as unfavorable or that question certain weight loss programs, products or methods could result in a decline in our revenue. Because of our dependence on consumer perceptions, adverse publicity associated with illness or other undesirable effects resulting from the consumption of our products or similar products by competitors, whether or not accurate, could also damage client confidence in our weight loss program and result in a decline in revenue. Adverse publicity could arise even if the unfavorable effects associated with weight loss products or services resulted from the user’s failure to use such products or services appropriately.
Our industry is subject to governmental regulation that could increase in severity and hurt results of operations.
Our industry is subject to federal, state, and other governmental regulations. Certain federal and state agencies, such as the FTC and the U.S. states’ consumer protection agencies, regulate and enforce laws relating to advertising, disclosures to consumers, privacy, consumer pricing and billing arrangements and other consumer protection matters. A determination by a federal or state agency, or a court, that any of our practices do not meet existing or new laws or regulations could result in liability, adverse publicity, and restrictions of our business operations. Some advertising practices in the weight loss industry have led to investigations from time to time by the FTC and other governmental agencies. Many companies in the weight loss industry, including our predecessor businesses, have entered into consent decrees with the FTC relating to weight loss claims and other advertising practices. In 2009, the FTC promulgated nonbinding Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“Endorsement Guides”) which explained what endorsement practices the FTC views as being unfair or deceptive acts or practices. In 2020, the FTC sought public comments on whether the Endorsement Guides should be amended. The last time the FTC sought similar public comments led to a major revision of the Endorsement Guides. Consequently, the FTC could bring an enforcement action based on practices that are inconsistent with the current Endorsement Guides as it considers revisions. Under the current Endorsement Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her atypical experience with a product or service are required to clearly disclose the typical results that consumers can generally expect. We cannot be sure that the FTC will not challenge our advertising or other operations in the future, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Other aspects of our industry are also subject to government regulation. For example, the labeling and distribution of food products, including dietary supplements, are subject to strict USDA and FDA requirements and food manufacturers are subject to rigorous inspection and other requirements of the USDA and FDA, and companies operating in foreign markets must comply with those countries’ requirements for proper labeling, controls on hygiene, food preparation, and other matters. If federal, state, local, or foreign regulation of our industry increases for any reason, then we may be required to incur significant expenses, as well as modify our operations to comply with new regulatory requirements, which could harm our operating results. Additionally, remedies available in any potential administrative or regulatory actions may include product recalls and require us to refund amounts paid by all affected clients or pay other damages, which could be substantial.
Laws and regulations directly applicable to communications, operations or commerce over the Internet such as those governing intellectual property, privacy, libel and taxation, are more prevalent and remain unsettled. If we are required to comply with
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new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations, or if we are unable to comply with these laws, regulations, or interpretations, our business could be adversely affected.
Future laws or regulations, including laws or regulations affecting our marketing and advertising practices, relations with consumers, employees, service providers, or our services and products, may have an adverse impact on us.
The manufacture and sale of ingested products are subject to product liability claims and other risks.
Like other manufacturers and distributors of products that are ingested, we face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims if the use of our products results in illness or injury. The foods and products that we manufacture and sell in the United States are subject to laws and regulations, including those administered by the USDA and FDA that establish manufacturing practices and quality standards for food products. Product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business as existing insurance coverage may not be adequate. Distributors of weight loss food products, including dietary supplements, have been named as defendants in product liability lawsuits from time to time. The successful assertion or settlement of an uninsured claim, a significant number of insured claims or a claim exceeding the limits of our insurance coverage would harm us by adding costs to the business and by diverting the attention of senior management from the operation of the business. We may also be subject to claims that our products contain contaminants, are improperly labeled, include inadequate instructions as to use, or include inadequate warnings covering interactions with other substances. Additionally, the manufacture and sale of these products involves the risk of injury to consumers due to tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination. Product liability litigation, even if not meritorious, is very expensive and could also entail adverse publicity for us and reduce our revenue. Furthermore, the products we manufacture and distribute, or certain components of those products, may be subject to product recalls or other deficiencies. Any negative publicity associated with these actions would adversely affect our brand and may result in decreased product sales and, as a result, lower revenue and profits.
General Risk Factors
Actions of activist stockholders could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert management's attention and resources, and have an adverse effect on our business.
We have been the target of activist stockholder activities in the past. If a new activist investor purchased our stock, our business could be adversely affected because responding to proxy contests and reacting to other actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming, disruptive to our operations and divert the attention of management and our employees. In addition, perceived uncertainties as to our future direction, strategy or leadership created as a consequence of activist stockholder initiatives may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, harm our ability to attract new investors, clients, employees, suppliers and other strategic partners, and cause our share price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation.
There can be no assurance that we will declare cash dividends in the future or in any particular amounts.
On December 13, 2023, we announced that the Company updated its capital allocation priorities following a thorough review, and decided to discontinue the Company’s quarterly cash dividend. Our Board of Directors periodically reviews our capital allocation strategy to ensure that it is in the best interest of our stockholders and is in compliance with all applicable laws and agreements. Our capital allocation strategy may change from time to time, and we cannot provide any assurance that we will declare dividends in the future or in any particular amounts.
Our stock price fluctuates from time to time and may fall below expectations of securities analysts and investors, and could subject us to litigation, which may result in you suffering a loss on your investment.
The market price of the Company’s common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, many of which are out of our control. These factors include: quarterly variations in operating results; changes in accounting treatments or principles; announcements by us or our competitors of new products and services offerings; significant contracts, acquisitions, or strategic relationships; additions or departures of key personnel; any future sales of the Company’s common stock or other securities; stock market price and volume fluctuations of publicly-traded companies; and general political, economic and market conditions. In some future quarter our operating results may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, which could result in a decrease in the trading price of the Company’s common stock. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. We may be the target of similar litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management's attention and resources, which could seriously harm our business and operating results.
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Provisions in our certificate of incorporation may deter or delay an acquisition of us or prevent a change in control, even if an acquisition or a change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders.
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation (as amended) may have the effect of deterring unsolicited takeovers or delaying or preventing a third-party from acquiring control of us, even if our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over the then current market prices. In addition, these provisions may limit the ability of our stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests.
Our certificate of incorporation (as amended) permits our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval upon such terms as the Board of Directors may determine. The rights of the holders of the Company’s common stock will be junior to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third-party to acquire, or discourage a third-party from acquiring, a majority of the Company's outstanding common stock. The issuance of a substantial number of preferred shares could adversely affect the price of the Company’s common stock.
If we do not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we could fail to report our financial results accurately.
Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. In the future, if we identify a control deficiency that rises to the level of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, this material weakness may adversely affect our ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information timely and accurately and, as a result, our financial statements may contain material misstatements or omissions. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we could be required to take costly and time-consuming corrective measures, to remedy any number of deficiencies, significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, be required to restate the affected historical financial statements, be subjected to investigations and/or sanctions by federal and state securities regulators, and be subjected to civil lawsuits by security holders. Any of the foregoing could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and in our Company and could result in a decline in the market price of our stock and in our ability to raise additional financing if needed in the future.
