Table of Contents



UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark one)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBERFor the fiscal year ended December 31, 20172023

 

OR

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Commission File Number 001-33169For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

 

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.Commission file number 001-33169

crexlogonew.jpg

Creative Realities, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Minnesota

 

41-1967918

(

State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)
organization

 (

I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

   

13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste.Suite 100, Louisville KY

 

40223

(

Address of principal executive offices)offices

 (

Zip Code)Code

(502) 791-8800

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)code

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:None

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which
registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

CREX

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: Common Stock, Par Value $0.01None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐  No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers in response to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 229.405232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)Smaller reporting company

 

Non-accelerated filer ☒

Smaller reporting company ☒

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

 

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates was $16,761,049 as of the issuer aslast business day of June 30, 2017, was approximately $8,645,459 based upon the last sale price of one share on such date. registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

 

As of March 23, 2018,20, 2024, the issuerregistrant had outstanding 82,581,86610,446,659 shares of common stock. stock outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant's definitive proxy statement for its 2024 annual shareholders’ meeting to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated by reference into Part III, Items 10-14 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.



 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS; RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

ii

PART I

  
ITEM 1BUSINESS1

ITEM 1

BUSINESS

1

ITEM 1A

RISK FACTORS

8

7

ITEM 1BUNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS1718
ITEM 21CCYBERSECURITYPROPERTIES1818

ITEM 2

PROPERTIES

19

ITEM 3

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

18

19

ITEM 4

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

18

19

PART II  

PART II

ITEM 5

MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

19

20

ITEM 6

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA[RESERVED]

20

ITEM 7

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

21

20

ITEM 7A

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

30

ITEM 8

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

30

ITEM 9

CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

30

ITEM 9A

CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

31

ITEM 9B

OTHER INFORMATION

31

ITEM 9C

PART IIIDISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

31

  

PART III

ITEM 10

DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

32

ITEM 11

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

35

32

ITEM 12

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

37

32

ITEM 13

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

39

32

ITEM 14

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

40

PART IV32

ITEM 15EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES41
SIGNATURES42
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSF-1
EXHIBIT INDEXE-1

i

PART I

ITEM 1BUSINESS

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.) 

Our Company

Creative Realities, Inc. is a Minnesota corporation that provides innovative digital marketing technology and solutions to retail companies, individual retail brands, enterprises and other organizations throughout the United States and in certain international markets. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the related media management and distribution software platforms and networks, device management, product management, customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. Our technology and solutions include: digital merchandising systems; omni-channel customer engagement systems, interactive digital shopping assistants, advisors and kiosks, and other interactive marketing technologies such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing and web-based media that enable our customers to transform how they engage with consumers. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the following related aspects of our business: content, network management, and connected device software and firmware platforms; customized software service layers; hardware platforms; digital media workflows; and proprietary processes and automation tools. We believe we are one of the world’s leading interactive marketing technology companies that focuses on the retail shopper experience by helping retailers and brands use the latest technologies to create better shopping experiences.

Our main operations are conducted directly through Creative Realities, Inc., and under our wholly owned subsidiaries Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada, Inc., and ConeXus World Global, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company.

We seek to generate revenue in this business by:

consulting with our customers to determine the technologies and solutions required to achieve their specific goals, strategies and objectives;
   

PART IV

designing our customers’ digital marketing experiences, content and interfaces;
   

ITEM 15

EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

engineering the systems architecture delivering the digital marketing experiences we design – both software and hardware – and integrating those systems into a customized, reliable and effective digital marketing experience;

33

ITEM 16FORM 10-K SUMMARY36
   
EXHIBIT INDEXmanaging the efficient, timely and cost-effective deployment of our digital marketing technology solutions for our customers;34
   

SIGNATURES

delivering and updating the content of our digital marketing technology solutions using a suite of advanced media, content and network management software products; and

37

  

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

F-1

i

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS;

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

The information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Report") contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Although we believe that, in making any such statements, our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

the adequacy of funds for future operations;

future expenses, revenue and profitability;

trends affecting financial condition and results of operations;

the ability to convert proposals into customer orders, including our ability to realize the revenues included in our future guidance and backlog reports;

general economic conditions and outlook, including those as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;

the ability of customers to pay for products and services received;

the ability to satisfy our upcoming debt obligations and other liabilities;

the impact of changing customer requirements upon revenue recognition;

customer cancellations;

the availability and terms of additional capital;

the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern;

industry trends and the competitive environment;

the impact of the company’s financial condition upon customer and prospective customer relationships;

potential litigation and regulatory actions directed toward our industry in general;

the influence of our largest shareholder and senior lender, Slipstream Funding, LLC;

our reliance on certain key personnel in the management of our businesses;

employee and management turnover;

the existence of material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting;

the inability to successfully integrate the operations of acquired companies; and

our ability to remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

ii

When used in this Report, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” should,” “may,” “propose,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions), are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described in this Report occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this Report are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary note. This cautionary note should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that we or persons acting on our behalf may issue. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, we disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Report.

A summary of the principal risk factors that make investing in our securities risky and might cause our actual results to differ is set forth below. The following is only a summary of the principal risks that may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. This summary should be read in conjunction with the more complete discussion of the risk factors we face, which are set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Report.

Risks Related to our Business and our Industry

We have generally incurred losses, and may never become or remain profitable.

Our digital marketing business is evolving in a rapidly changing market, and we cannot ensure the long-term successful operation of our business or the execution of our business plan.

Our success and longevity depend on our ability to generate profits from future operations and obtain sufficient capital through financing transactions to refinance our debt obligations, pay any contingent consideration owed to former Reflect stockholders, and meet our other business obligations.

We do not have sufficient capital to engage in material research and development, which may harm our long-term growth.

The variable sales cycle of some of the combined company’s products will likely make it difficult to predict operating results.

There has been, and we expect that there will continue to be, significant consolidation in our industry. Our failure or inability to either lead or participate in that consolidation would have a severe adverse impact on our access to financing, customers, technology, and human resources.

Unpredictability in financing markets could impair our ability to grow our business through acquisitions.

Our success depends on our interactive marketing technologies achieving and maintaining widespread acceptance in our targeted markets.

Our financial condition and potential for continued net losses may negatively impact our relationships with customers, prospective customers and third-party suppliers.

Because we do not have long-term binding purchase commitments from our customers, the failure to obtain anticipated orders or the deferral or cancellation of commitments could have adverse effects on our business.

iii

Our continued growth and financial performance could be adversely affected by the loss of several key customers.

Most of our contracts are terminable by our customers with limited notice and without penalty payments, and early terminations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

It is common for our current and prospective customers to evaluate our products over an extended period of time, most especially during economic downturns that affect our customers’ digital marketingbusinesses, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lengthy and variable sales cycle makes it difficult to predict our operating results.

Our industry is characterized by frequent technological change. If we are unable to adapt our products and services and develop new products and services to keep up with these rapid changes, we will not be able to obtain or maintain market share.

We operate in an intensely competitive industry, and our competitors are developing products and solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning (“ML”). We may not be as successful as our competitors in incorporating AI and ML into our products and solutions.

Issues relating to the use of new and evolving technologies in our offerings, such as AI and ML, may result in increased regulation and costs to comply with such regulations.

We use developed and licensed software technology, solutions by: providing content production and related services; creatingwe could face claims of infringement by others in the industry. Such claims are costly and add uncertainty to our operational results.

Our proprietary platform architectures and data tracking technology underlying certain of our services are complex and may contain unknown errors in design or implementation that could result in system performance failures or inability to scale.

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that interfere with, or exploit security flaws in, our products and services.

We compete with other companies that have more resources, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage.

Our future success depends on key personnel and our ability to attract and retain additional software-based featurespersonnel.

We risk losing directors, officers and functionality; hosting the solutions; monitoring solution service levels;employees, or paying more cash compensation, if our shareholders do not approve our 2023 Stock Incentive Plan.

We are subject to cyber security risks and respondinginterruptions or failures in our information technology systems and those of third-party partners with whom our applications are integrated and will likely need to expend additional resources to enhance our protection from such risks. Notwithstanding our efforts, a cyber incident could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or managing remotefinancial loss.

Our reliance on information management and transaction systems to operate our business exposes us to cyber incidents and hacking of our sensitive information if our outsourced service provider experiences a security breach.

Because our technology, products, platform, and services are complex and are deployed in and across complex environments, they may have errors or onsite field service maintenance, troubleshootingdefects that could seriously harm our business.

We may have insufficient network or server capacity, which could result in interruptions in our services and support calls.loss of revenues.

Our business operations are susceptible to interruptions caused by events beyond our control.

Our competitors are constantly evolving, and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors to our business.

iv

Risks Related to our Securities and our Company

Our largest shareholder and senior lender possesses significant voting power with respect to our common stock, which will limit your influence on our management and affairs, and may discourage parties from initiating potential merger, takeover or other change-of-control transactions.

Our Articles of Incorporation grant our Board of Directors the power to issue additional shares of common and preferred stock and to designate other classes of preferred stock, all without shareholder approval.

We have never paid dividends on our capital stock and we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

We do not have significant tangible assets that could be sold upon liquidation.

We can provide no assurance that our securities will continue to meet Nasdaq listing requirements. If we fail to comply with the continuing listing standards of the Nasdaq, our securities could be delisted.

Significant issuances of our common stock, or the perception that significant issuances may occur in the future, could adversely affect the market price for our common stock.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market by certain of our shareholders could cause our stock price to fall.

There may not be an active market for shares of our common stock.

General Risk Factors

Because of our limited resources, we may not have in place various processes and protections common to more mature companies and may be more susceptible to adverse events.

General global market and economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations.

v

EXPLANATORY NOTE

All currency is rounded to the nearest thousand, except share and per share amounts. On March 27, 2023, the Company effectuated a l-for-3 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. This Report and the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements herein, give retroactive effect to the reverse stock split for all periods presented. The shares of common stock retained a par value of $0.01 per share.

PART I

ITEM1BUSINESS

Our Company

Creative Realities, Inc. (“Creative Realities”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides innovative digital signage and media solutions to enhance communications in a wide-ranging variety of out-of-home environments, key market segments and use cases, including:

Retail

Entertainment and Sports Venues

Restaurants, including quick-serve restaurants (“QSR”)

Convenience Stores

Financial Services

Automotive

Medical and Healthcare Facilities

Mixed Use Developments

Corporate Communications, Employee Experience

Digital out of Home (“DOOH”) Advertising Networks

 

We seekserve market-leading companies, so there is a good chance that if you leave your home today to generateshop, work, eat or play, you will encounter one or more of our digital signage experiences. Our solutions are increasingly viable because we help our enterprise customers achieve a wide range of business objectives including:

Increased brand awareness/engagement

Improved customer support

Enhanced employee productivity and satisfaction

Increased revenue and profitability

Improved guest experience

Increased customer/guest engagement

1

Through a combination of organically grown platforms and a series of strategic acquisitions, including our acquisition of Reflect Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Reflect”), in February 2022, the Company assists customers to design, deploy, manage, and monetize their digital signage networks. The Company sources leads and opportunities for its solutions through its digital and content marketing initiatives, close relationships with key industry partners, equipment manufacturers, and the direct efforts of its in-house industry sales experts. Customer engagements focus on consultative conversations that ensure the Company’s solutions are positioned to help customers achieve their business objectives in the most cost-effective manner possible.

When comparing Creative Realities to other digital signage competitors, our customers value the following competitive advantages:

Breadth of solutions – Creative Realities offers true solutions to our customers. Creative Realities is one of only a few companies in the industry capable of providing the full portfolio of products and services required to implement and run an effective digital signage network. We leverage a ‘single vendor’ approach, providing customers with a one-stop-shop for sourcing digital signage solutions from design through day two services.

Managed labor pool – Unlike most companies in our industry, we have a curated labor pool of qualified and vetted field technicians available to service customers quickly nationwide. We can meet tight schedules even in exceptionally large deployments and still ensure quality and consistency.

In-house creative resources – We assist customers in creating new content or repurposing existing content for digital signage experiences, an activity for which the Company has won several design awards in recent years. In each instance, our services can be essential in helping customers develop an effective content program.

Network scalability and reliability – Our software as a service (“SaaS”) content management platforms power some of the largest and most complex digital signage networks in North America, evidencing our ability to manage enterprise scale projects. This also provides us purchasing power to source products and services for our customers, enabling us to deliver cost effective, reliable, and powerful solutions to small and medium size business customers.

Ad management platform – Our customers are increasingly interested in monetizing their digital signage networks through advertising content. However, efficiently scheduling advertising content into digital signage playlists to meet campaign objectives can be a challenging and labor-intensive process for our customers. AdLogic, our home-grown, content management-agnostic platform, automates this process, allowing network owners to capture more revenue with less expense.

Media sales – Few digital signage solution providers offer their customers media sales as a service. We have in-house media sales expertise to elevate conversations with our customers interested in better understanding network monetization. We believe this meaningful differentiation in the sales process provides us an additional revenue stream compared to our competitors.

Market sector expertise – Creative Realities has in-house experts in key market segments such as automotive, retail, quick-serve restaurants (“QSR”), convenience stores, and Digital Out of Home (“DOOH”) advertising. Our expertise in these business segments enables our teams to provide meaningful business conversations and offer tailored solutions with prospects and customers to their unique business objectives. These experts build industry relationship and create thought leadership that drives lead flow and new opportunities for our business.

Logistics – Implementing a large digital signage project can be a logistical nightmare that can stall an initiative, even before deployment. Our expertise in logistics improves deployment efficiency, reduces delays and problems, and saves customers time and money.

Technical support – Digital signage networks present unique challenges for corporate IT departments. We simplify and improve end user support by leveraging our own Network Operations Center (“NOC”) in Louisville, Kentucky. The NOC resolves many issues remotely and when field support is required, it can be dispatched quickly from the NOC, leveraging our managed labor pool to resolve customer issues quickly and effectively.

Integrations and Application Development – The future of digital signage is not still images and videos on a screen. We believe that interactive applications and integrations with other data sources will dominate the future. From social media feeds, mobile integrations, corporate data stores, or Point of Sale (“POS”) systems, our proven ability to build scalable applications and integrations is a key advantage that customers can leverage to deliver more compelling and engaging experiences for their customers.

2

Hardware support – A number of digital signage providers sell a proprietary media player or align themselves with just one operating system. We utilize a range of media players including Windows, Android and BrightSign to provide customers the flexibility they need to select the appropriate hardware for any application knowing the entire network can still be served by a single digital signage platform, reducing complexity and improving the productivity of our customers.

The three primary sources of revenue through these activities through: bundled-solution sales; service fees for consulting, experience design, content development and production, software development, engineering, implementation, and field services; software license fees; and maintenancethe Company are:

Hardware sales from reselling digital signage hardware from original equipment manufacturers such as Samsung and BrightSign.

Services revenue from helping customers design, deploy and manage their digital signage network, including:

o

Hardware system design/engineering

o

Hardware installation

o

Content development

o

Content scheduling

o

Post-deployment network and field support

o

Media sales

Recurring subscription licensing and support revenue from our digital signage software platforms, which are generally sold via a SaaS model. Our platforms include:

o

ReflectView, the Company’s core digital signage platform for most applications, scalable and cost effective from 10 to 100,000+ devices;

o

Reflect Xperience, a web-based interface that allows customers to give content scheduling access to local users via the web or mobile devices, while still maintaining centralized programming control;

o

Reflect AdLogic, the Company’s ad management platform for digital signage networks, which presently delivers approximately 50 million ads daily;

o

Clarity, the Company’s menu board solution, which has become a market leader for a range of restaurant and convenience store applications;

o

Reflect Zero Touch, which allows customers to turn any screen into an interactive experience by allowing guests to engage using their mobile device;

o

iShowroomProX, an omni-channel digital sales support platform targeted at original equipment manufacturers in the transportation sector, which integrates with dozens of key data services including dealer inventory at the VIN level; and

o

OSx+, a digital VIN-level checklist used to assist in the tracking and delivery of new vehicles in the transportation sector, providing measurable lift in customer satisfaction scores and connected vehicle enrollments and subscription activations.

While hardware sales and support services relatedrevenues can fluctuate more significantly year over year based on new, large-scale network deployments, the Company expects to our software, managed systems and solutions.see continuous growth in recurring SaaS revenue for the foreseeable future as digital signage adoption/utilization continues to expand across the vertical markets we serve.

 


3

Our digital marketing technology and solutions are deployed in and have application across diverse categories: automotive, apparel and accessories, banking, baby/children, beauty, consumer products, department stores, electronics, fashion, fitness, foodservice/quick service restaurants, financial services, gaming, luxury retail, mass merchants, mobile operators, and pharmacy retail. The industries in which we sell our solutions are established, but the planning, development, implementation and maintenance


 

We believe that the adoption and evolution of our digital marketingsignage technology and solutions will increase substantially in years to come both in the industries or categories onin which we currently focus and in others. We also believe that adoption ofThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our technologycurrent and solutions depends upon not only the services and solutionspotential customer base reduced capital expenditures, including capital expenditures that we provide, but also depends heavily upon the cost of hardwarebelieve would have been used to process and display content on them. While theimplement digital technology solutions. The costs of hardware configurations and software media players used to process and display content also increased during that period as a result of supply constraints for semiconductors, a key input to both digital display and digital media player products. Throughout 2021, we faced significant supply chain challenges which limited the availability of each of these components to our sold solutions; however, those supply constraints have materially subsided and the cost of hardware products has again begun to reduce in the most recent trailing twelve month period. We believe that the costs of such hardware will decrease over time as it has done so historically decreased and we believe they will continue to do so at an accelerating rate, flatrate. Flat panel displays and players typically constitute a large portion of the expenditure customers make relative to the entire cost of implementing a digital marketing system implementation and can be a barrier to customer deployment. As a result, we believe that the broader adoption of digital marketing technology solutions is likely to increase, although we cannot predict the rate at which such adoption will occur.

 

Another key component of our business strategy, especially given the evolving dynamics of the industry dynamics in which we operate, is to acquire and integrate other operating companies in the industry in conjunction with pursuing our organic growth objectives. We believe that the selective acquisition and successful integration of certain companies willwill: accelerate our growth;growth in targeted vertical and operating markets; enable us to cost-effectively aggregate multiple customer bases onto a single business and technology platform; provide us with greater operating scale;scale on a consolidated basis; enable us to leverage a common set of processes and tools, and cost efficiencies;efficiencies company-wide; and ultimately result in higher operating profitability and cash flow from operations. Our management teamteam’s primary focus is actively pursuing and evaluating alternativethe continued acceleration of organic growth, but secondarily evaluates acquisition opportunities on an ongoing basis. Our management team and Board of Directors have broad experience with the execution, integration, and financing of acquisitions.acquisitions and seek only accretive strategic transactions with material cost synergies as a result of overlapping or concurrent content management system capabilities with focus on eliminating the associated cost structure for these systems. We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our smaller competitors, and as a result, there may exist acquisition opportunities in the future. We also believe that, based on the foregoing, and other factors, the Companywe can successfully serve as a consolidator of multiple business and technology platforms serving similar markets. As part of our acquisition strategy, we acquired Allure Global Solutions, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“Allure”) in 2018, and Reflect in February 2022.

 

We currently market and sell our technology and solutions primarily through our sales and business development personnel throughout North America, but we also utilize agents, strategic partners, and lead generators who provide us with access to additional sales, business development and licensing opportunities.

We currently operate in one reportable segment, marketing technology solutions. Substantially all property and equipment is located at our offices in the United States, and a data center located in the United States. All sales for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, were in the United States and Canada.

You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information about the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The website of the SEC is www.sec.gov. Additional information about the Company and its public disclosures is available on our website at www.cri.com.

Corporate Organization

Our principal offices are located at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste 100, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, and our telephone number at that office is (502) 791-8800.

The legal entity that is the registrant was originally incorporated and organized as a Minnesota corporation under the name Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. in March 2003. Our business initially focused on the provision of expertise digital media marketing solutions to customers, including digital signage, interactive kiosks, mobile, social media and web-based media solutions. We acquired the assets and business of Broadcast International, Inc., a Utah corporation and public registrant, through a merger transaction that was effective as of August 1, 2014. Then on August 20, 2014, we consummated a merger transaction with Creative Realities, LLC, a privately owned Delaware limited liability company, in which we issued a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. In that merger transaction, we acquired the interactive marketing technology business of Creative Realities that we currently operate. Shortly after that merger, we changed our corporate name from “Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.” to “Creative Realities, Inc.” On October 15, 2015, we acquired the assets and business of ConeXus World Global, LLC, a privately owned Kentucky limited liability company for which we issued preferred and common stock. In that merger transaction, we acquired the systems integration and marketing technology business of ConeXus World that we currently operate. On May 23, 2016, we dissolved Broadcast International, Inc. 


Our fiscal year ends December 31. Neither we nor any of our predecessors have been in bankruptcy, receivership or any similar proceeding. Our corporate structure, including our principal operating subsidiaries, is as follows:

 

Recent Acquisitions

Acquisition of ConeXus World Global

There were no acquisitions completed during the years-ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. On October 15, 2015, we completed the acquisition of ConeXus World Global, LLC for 2,080,000 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock, and the conversion of $823 of ConeXus World Global debt into (i) 2,639,258 shares of our common stock, and (ii) $150 in principal amount of our convertible debt.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement and plan of merger and reorganization, an additional 416,000 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock and 4,000,000 shares of common stock were to be issued upon the reorganization of the capital structure of a Belgian affiliate of ConeXus (the “Holdback Shares”). Since the passage of the March 31, 2016 date targeted for the completion of the reorganization of the Belgian affiliate, the parties have determined that the value of the Belgian affiliate was de minimis.

An agreement was reached on September 1, 2017 by Creative Realities, Inc. and the prior shareholders of ConeXus to recognize the value obtained by Creative Realities, Inc. as a result of the merger and to issue the Holdback Shares to the prior shareholders of ConeXus.  Creative Realities, Inc. has waived the contingency relating to the issuance of the Holdback Shares and issued to the shareholders 5,631,373 shares of common stock. 3,198,054 of these shares were issued to Rick Mills, a majority shareholder of ConeXus, a related party, and the CEO of Creative Realities, Inc. Since the measurement period for the business combination has expired, the issuance of the shares is recognized as a charge to operations during the year of $1.9 million. 

As used throughout this report, the “Company” generally refers to the registrant (Creative Realities, Inc., formerly known as Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.), unless the context otherwise indicates or requires. Use of the first person “we” refers to the Company or, if the context so requires, to the historical business of Creative Realities or the registrant itself, in each case prior to the consummation of the August 20, 2014 merger transaction.


Common Stock

In 2017 and 2016 the following Preferred Stock conversions took place:

Convertible Preferred Stock Conversions
  Number of Convertible Preferred Series A  Number of Convertible Preferred Series A-1  Shares of Common Stock Received 
Q4 2017  -   -   - 
Q3 2017  132,200   1,860,561   7,814,749 
Q2 2017  12,750   -   50,000 
Q1 2017  240,250   -   942,157 
             
Q4 2016  132,000   -   517,647 
Q3 2016  75,500   -   296,078 
Q2 2016  -   -   - 
Q1 2016  100,000   -   392,157 

In 2016, in conjunction with the structured settlement program, the Company issued 409,347 shares of its restricted common stock to creditors and 809,842 shares of stock were issued to investors.

The Company and the investors entered into registration rights agreements requiring Creative Realities to register under the Securities Act of 1933 the resale of the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the secured notes and upon exercise of the warrants. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1/A on May 13, 2016 registering 23,272,184 shares of common stock and that registration statement became effective on June 1, 2016.

Preferred Stock

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had outstanding 5,833,549 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 0 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock.


The preferred stock entitles its holders to a 6% dividend, payable semi-annually in cash or in kind through the three-year anniversary of the original issue date, and from and after such three-year anniversary in duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock. The three-year anniversary of the initial investment date occurred during the second half of 2017 for $5.2 million of the $5.5 million originally issued Convertible Preferred Stock and therefore dividends on those investments were paid via issuance of common shares as of the year-end date.

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, the Company issued an aggregate of 245,816 and 452,224 shares of preferred stock in satisfaction of its semi-annual dividend obligation. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 respectively, the Company issued an aggregate of 718,840 and 0 shares of common stock in satisfaction of its semi-annual dividend obligation. 

The preferred stock may be converted into our common stock at the option of a holder at an initial conversion price as adjusted of $0.255 per share. Subject to certain conditions, we may call and redeem the preferred stock after three years. During such time as a majority of the preferred stock sold remains outstanding, holders will have the right to elect a member to our Board of Directors. The preferred stock has full-ratchet price protection in the event that we issue common stock below the conversion price, as adjusted, subject to certain customary exceptions. The warrants issued to purchasers of the preferred stock contain weighted-average price protection in the event that we issue common stock below the exercise price, as adjusted, again subject to certain customary exceptions. In the Securities Purchase Agreement, we granted purchasers of the preferred stock certain registration rights pertaining to the common shares they may receive upon conversion of their preferred stock and upon exercise of their warrants.

In 2017, 385,200 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 1,860,561 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock were converted into 8,806,906 shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.255 per share.

In 2016, 307,500 shares of Series A Preferred Stock were converted into 1,205,882 shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.255 per share. 

Changes in Management and Board of Directors

During 2017, the Company transitioned the finance and accounting function from Fairfield, NJ to the corporate headquarters in Louisville, KY which included hiring a new VP of Finance. There were no changes in the Board of Directors. 

On May 2, 2016, Eric J. Bertrand was appointed to the Board of Directors of Creative Realities, Inc.  Mr. Bertrand possesses voting and investment power over shares beneficially held by Lincoln Road Media Partners LLC, which was the holder of a convertible promissory note and is the holder of a warrant issued in a private placement transaction on April 14, 2016.  See Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.  Mr. Bertrand was appointed to the board in connection with Lincoln Road Media’s investment in the convertible note and warrant. 

Business Strategy

 

We believe that our existing business model is highly scalable and can be expanded successfully as we continue to grow organically, seek to acquire and integrate other companies in our recent merger transactions,target markets, strengthen our operational practices and procedures, further streamline our administrative office functions, and continue to capitalize on various marketing programs and activities.

 


Industry Background

 

Over the past 18-24 months, approximately, weWe believe certain digital marketing technology industry trends are creating the opportunity for retailers, brands, venue-operators, enterprises, non-profits and other organizations to create innovative shopping, marketing, and informational experiences for their customers and other stakeholders in various venues worldwide. These trends include: (i) the expectations of technology-savvy consumers; (ii) addressing on-line competitors by improving physical experiencesexperiences; (iii) acceleratinga decline in the cost of hardware configurations (primarily flat panel displays) and software media players; (ii)(iv) the continued evolution of mobile, social, software and hardware technologies, applications and tools; (iii) the(v) increasing sophistication of social networking platforms; (iv)(vi) increasingly complex customer requirements related to their specific digital marketing technology and solution objectives; and (v) customers challenging service providers with the delivery(vii) customer expectations of a satisfactory consumer experienceexperiences with the traditional pressure on reducingreduced installation and ongoing operating costs.

 

As a result, a growing number of retailers, brands, venue-operators, and other organizations have identified the need and opportunity to implement increasingly agile, automated, targeted and cost-effective and “sales-lifting” digital marketing, and interactive experiences to market to their customers. These experiences include creating unique and customized experiences for targeted, timely offerings and relevant promotions; improving engagement resulting in increased sales; and increasing shopping basket size. We believe our clientscustomers consider capitalizing on these industry trends to be increasingly critical to any successful “store of the future” retail and brand sales environment, especially where sales staff turnover is high, training outcomes are inconsistent and product knowledge is low.

 

Companies are accomplishing their strategies by implementing various digital marketing technology solutions, which: are implemented in multiple forms and types of configurations and locations; attempt to achieve any of a broad range of individual or combination of objectives; contain various levels of targeting; have the ability to instantly manage single or multiple locations remotely from a customer’s desktop or other connected device at each location; and are built to deliver or contain a standard or customized customer experience unique to and within the customer’s environment. Examples of such solutions include:

 

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Digital Merchandising Systems, which aim to inform and interact with customers through various types of content in an integrated experience, improve in-store customer experiences and increase overall sales, upsells, and/or cross-sales;

 

Digital Sales Assistants, which aim to replace or augment existing sales resources and the level of interactive and informational sales assistance inside the store;

 

Digital Way-Finders, which aim to help customers navigate their way around individual retail stores and multi-store locations or venues, or within individual brand categories;

 

Digital Kiosks, which aim to provide data, specialized and customized broadcasts, promotional information and coupons, train, and other forms of information and interaction with customers in a variety of deployment forms, types, configurations and experiences;

 

Digital Menu-Board Systems, which aim to enable various types of restaurant operators the ability to remotely and on a scheduled basis, update and modify menu information, promotions, and other forms of content dynamically; and

 

Dynamic Digital Signage, which aimsincluding Advertising Networks, to deliver and manage in-store marketing and advertising campaigns, specialized and customized broadcasts, and various other forms of messaging targeting customers in a particular experience or environment.

 

Our Markets

 

We currently market and sell our marketing technology solutions through our direct sales force, inside sales team, and word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers. Select strategic partnerships and lead generation programs also drive business to the Company through targeted business development initiatives. We market to companies that seek digital marketing solutions across multiple connected devices and who specifically seek or could benefit from enhancements to the customer experience offered in their stores, venues, brands or organizations.

 


Our digital marketing technology solutions have applicationapply in a wide variety of industries. The industries in which we primarily sell our solutions are established and include hospitality, brandedautomotive, retail, automotive, food serviceDOOH including advertising networks and retail healthcare, but the planning, development, implementationmedia networks, foodservice/QSR, financial services, gaming, and maintenance of technology-enabled experiences is relatively newsports and evolving.  Moreover, aentertainment venues. A number of participants in these industries have only recently started considering or expanding the adoption of these types of technologies, solutions, and experiences as part of their overall marketing strategies.

 

Seasonality

A portion of our customer activity is influenced by seasonal effects related to traditional end of calendar year peak retail sales periods, traditional spring stadium/venue opening seasons, and certain other factors that arise from our target customer base. Nevertheless, our revenues can be materially affected by the launch of new markets, the timing of production rollouts, and other factors, any of which have the ability to reduce or outweigh certain seasonal effects.

 

Effect of General Economic Conditions on our Business

 

We believe that demand for our services will increase in the future in part as a resultbecause of recovering retail-related real estate investments and new construction and remodeling activities of pre-existing retail, convenience store, stadium, and event venues. While we do see reductions in retail footprints across the recent economic recoveryU.S., we see a continued focus on integration of digital into the retail marketplace and a focus on digital refreshes within the retail space to stay relevant in general. Thesean evolving e-commerce marketplace. Recent general economic improvements generally make it easier for our customers to justify decisions to invest in digital marketing technology solutions. A change in the macroeconomic trend in the U.S. could have a negative impact on our customers’ ability and/or willingness to advance their digital initiatives.

 

Effect of Supply Chain Constraints

A key component of our business includes the sale of digital media players, digital displays, and mounts supplied by third-party manufacturing partners. While the disruptions we experienced throughout 2021 and the first half of 2022 with respect to semiconductors have mostly subsided, we are still exposed to potential disruptions and delays related to fulfillment of inventory purchases from vendors as a result of increased lead times post-COVID-19 pandemic, which represent the key components to our digital signage solutions, because of a global shortage of semiconductor chips. In instances in which inventory was available, we experienced delays in the transportation of these goods from manufacturers to the Company, and in delivery of our solutions to our customers.

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Regulation

 

We are subject to regulation by various federal and state governmental agencies. Such regulation includes radio frequency emission regulatory activities of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the consumer protection laws of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, product safety regulatory activities of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and environmental regulation in areas in which we conduct business. Some of the hardware components that we supply to customers may contain hazardous or regulated substances, such as lead. A number of U.S. states have adopted or are considering “takeback” bills addressing the disposal of electronic waste, including CRT style and flat panel monitors and computers. Electronic waste legislation is developing. Some of the bills passed or under consideration may impose on us, or on our customers or suppliers, requirements for disposal of systems we sell and the payment of additional fees to pay costs of disposal and recycling. Presently, we do not believe that any such legislation or proposed legislation will have a materially adverse impact on our business.

 

Competition

 

While we believe there is presently no direct competitor with the comprehensive offering of technologies, solutions, and services we provide to our customers, there are multiple individual competitors who offer piecessubsets of our solution stack.product and service offerings. These include digital signage software companies such as Stratacache Four Winds Interactive, and Reflect Systems;Poppulo; marketing services companies such as Sapient NitroNitro; or digital signage systems integrators such as Convergent.SageNet. Some of these competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical, and marketing resources than we do and may be able to respond more rapidly than we can to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. We believe that our holistic sales and business development capabilities, network operations / field service management capabilities, our comprehensive offering of digital marketingsignage technology and solutions, brand awareness, and proprietary processes are the primary factors affectingproviding our competitive position.advantage.

 

TerritoriesMajor Customers

 

No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023. We had three customers that accounted for 44% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.

We had two and three customers that in the aggregate accounted for 50% and 49% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Decisions by one or more of these key customers to not renew, terminate, or substantially reduce their use of our products, technology, services, and platform could substantially slow our revenue growth and lead to a decline in revenue. Our Company sellsbusiness plan assumes continued growth in revenue, and it is unlikely that we will become profitable without a continued increase in revenue.

Territories

We sell products and services primarily throughout North America.America, with limited software licensing agreements operating in other international jurisdictions.

 

EmployeesHuman Capital

 

We have a workforce comprised of approximately 100152 employees as of December 31, 2017.March 20, 2024. We do not have any employees that operate under collective-bargaining agreements.

 

Our principal offices are located at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste 100, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, and our telephone number at that office is (502) 791-8800. We have additional offices in the Dallas, TX, Atlanta, GA, and Windsor, Ontario (Canada) metro areas.

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Corporate Organization

We originally incorporated and organized as a Minnesota corporation under the name “Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.” in March 2003 and focused on our expertise in digital media marketing solutions, including digital signage, interactive kiosks, mobile, social media, and web-based media solutions. We acquired the interactive marketing technology business that we currently operate in a 2014 merger with Creative Realities, LLC. Shortly after that merger, we changed our corporate name from “Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.” to “Creative Realities, Inc.” On October 15, 2015, we acquired the systems integration and marketing technology business of ConeXus World Global, LLC. On November 20, 2018, we acquired Allure, an enterprise software development company. On February 17, 2022, we acquired Reflect.

ITEM 1A

ITEM 1ARISK FACTORS  

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securitiesOur business involves a high degree of risk. YouIn evaluating our business, you should carefully consider the specific risks described below, and any risks described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, before making an investment decision. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”Act. Any of the risks we describe below could cause our business, financial condition, results of operations or future prospects to be materially adversely affected. In addition, some of the following statements are forward-looking statements.

 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND OUR INDUSTRY

 

We have generally incurred losses, and may never achieve profitability.become or remain profitable.

Except for the secondWe have incurred historical net losses, and fourth quarters of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, we have incurred net losses, havehad negative cash flows from operationsoperations. While we have been able to achieve net income in 2021 and have2022, we incurred a working capital deficit. We incurred net lossesloss in each of the years ended December 31, 20172023 and 2016, respectively.it is uncertain whether we will be able to sustain or increase our profitability in successive periods.

 

We have formulated our business plans and strategies based on certain assumptions regarding the acceptance of our business model and the marketing of our products and services. Nevertheless, our assessments regarding market size, market share, market acceptance of our products and services and a variety of other factors may prove incorrect. Our future success will depend upon many factors, including factors which may be beyond our control or whichand those that cannot be predicted at this time.

 

Our digital marketing business is evolving in a rapidly changing market, and we cannot ensure the long-term successful operation of our business or the execution of our business plan.

 

Our digitalDigital marketing technology and solutions are an evolving business offering and the markets in which we compete are rapidly changing. As a result, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by growing companies in new and rapidly evolving markets. We may be unable to accomplish any of the following, which would materially impact our ability to implement our business plan:

 

timely and successfully developing new technology, solution, service, and platform features, including but not limited to the utilization of artificial intelligence, and increasing the functionality and features of our existing technology, solution, service, and platform offerings;

establishing and maintaining broad market acceptance of our technology, solutions, services, and platforms, and converting that acceptance into direct and indirect sources of revenue;

 

establishing and maintaining adoption of our technology, solutions, services, and platforms in and on a variety of environments, experiences, and device types;types;

 

timely and successfully developing new technology, solution, service, and platform features, and increasing the functionality and features of our existing technology, solution, service, and platform offerings;

developing technology, solutions, services, and platforms that result in a high degree of customer satisfaction and a high level of end-customer usage;

 

successfully responding to competition, including competition from emerging technologies and solutions;

 

developing and maintaining strategic relationships to enhance the distribution, features, content and utility of our technology, solutions, services, and platforms;

 

identifying, attracting and retaining talented engineering, network operations, program management, technical services, creative services, and other personnel at reasonable market compensation rates in the markets in which we employ such personnel; and

 

integration of

integrating operations, personnel and technology from our acquisitions.

 

Our business strategy may be unsuccessful and we may be unable to address the risks we face in a cost-effective manner, if at all. If we are unable to successfully accomplish these tasks, our business will be harmed.

 

Adequate fundsOur success and longevity depend on our ability to generate profits from future operations and obtain sufficient capital through financing transactions to refinance our debt obligations, pay any contingent consideration owed to former Reflect stockholders, and meet our other business obligations.

The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 included an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after that date that the Consolidated Financial Statements are issued.

At December 31, 2023, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $53,346, negative working capital of $1,587, including current debt obligations of $3,690, and cash of $2,910. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated operating income of $1,346 and generated positive net cash flows from operations may not be available, requiringof $5,167. Pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement (the "Credit Agreement") between the Company and Slipstream, the Company is required and began to make monthly repayments of principal on the Consolidation Term Loan on September 1, 2023. The monthly principal payment is approximately $370 and will continue on the first day of each month thereafter until the Maturity Date on February 17, 2025, with total principal repayments of $4,037 during the twelve months subsequent to the reporting date of our Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, the Company is required to repay the principal balance on the Acquisition Term Loan of $10,000 at maturity and resolve the contingent consideration (described below), currently estimated for accounting purposes at $11,208, each of which mature on February 17, 2025 and collectively raises substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern under the technical framework within ASU 205-40. See “Note 1: Nature of Organization of Organization and Operations- Liquidity and Financial Consideration“ to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Report for a description of our payment obligations under the Credit Agreement.

The merger agreement in which we acquired Reflect requires us to raisepay to former Reflect stockholders additional financing or else curtailcontingent cash consideration after February 17, 2025 (subject to a six-month extension under certain circumstances), if the closing price of our activities significantly.shares of common stock on such date is less than $6.40 per share (the "Guaranteed Price"). The actual amount of such contingent consideration cannot be determined until such time, but our financial statements reflect $11,208 as the amount of such payment as of December 31, 2023, which include an increase in the Guaranteed Price to reflect the Company’s 1-for-3 reverse stock split that occurred on March 23, 2023. See “Note 5 Business Combinations” to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Report for a description of our obligations to pay the contingent consideration.

 

We do not anticipate that we will likelyhave adequate funds from our operations to satisfy these obligations in February 2025. In response to these conditions, the Company plans to evaluate its available options for refinancing, via recapitalization, debt financing or equity financing, its upcoming obligations associated with the Acquisition Term Loan, Consolidation Term Loan, and contingent consideration.  However, these plans have not been finalized, are subject to market conditions, and are not within the Company’s control, and therefore cannot be requireddeemed probable. As a result, the Company has concluded that management's plans do not alleviate substantial doubt about the Company's ability to raise additional funding through public or private financings, includingcontinue as a going concern.

Any equity financings in 2018. Any additional equity financings maywill likely be dilutive to shareholders and may be completed at a discount to the then-current market price of our common stock.securities. Debt financing, if available, would likelymay involve restrictive covenants on our operations or pertaining to future financing arrangements. Nevertheless, we may not successfully complete any future equity or debt financing. Adequate funds for our operations, whether from financial markets, collaborative or other arrangements, may not be available when needed or on terms attractive to us. If adequate funds are not available, our plans to operate our business may be adversely affected and we could be required to curtail our activities significantly and/or cease operating.

 

We do not have sufficient capital to engage in material research and development, which may harm our long-term growth.

In light of our limited resources in general, we have limited material investments in research and development over the past several years. This conserves capital in the short term. In the long term, as a result of our failure to invest in research and development, our technology and product offerings may not keep pace with the market, and we may lose any current existing competitive advantage. Over the long term, this may harm our revenues growth and our ability to become profitable.

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The variable sales cycle of our products will likely make it difficult to predict operating results.

Although we are reliantfocusing on increasing our revenues from SaaS services to our customers, our overall revenues in any quarter depend substantially upon contracts signed and the continued supportrelated shipment and installation or delivery of hardware and software products in that quarter. It is therefore difficult for us to accurately predict revenues and this difficulty also will affect the Company. It is difficult to forecast the timing of large individual hardware and software sales with a high degree of certainty due to the extended length of the sales cycle and the generally more complex contractual terms that may be associated with our products that could result in the deferral of some or all of the revenue to future periods.

Accordingly, large individual sales have sometimes occurred in quarters subsequent to when we anticipated or not at all. If we receive any significant cancellation or deferral of customer orders, or it is unable to conclude license negotiations by the end of a related partyfiscal quarter, our operating results may be lower than anticipated. In addition, any weakening or uncertainty in the economy may make it more difficult for adequate financing of our operations.

We will likely be requiredthe Company to raise additional funding through public or private financings, including equity financings, through at least 2018. As of the date of this filing, the Company’s majority shareholder and investor, Slipstream Communications LLC is the holder of 100% of the Company’s outstanding debt instruments including the term loan, secured revolving promissory note and convertible promissory notes. If we are unable to extend the maturity or replace our existing financing agreementspredict quarterly results in the future, our plans to operateand could negatively impact our business, may be adversely affectedfinancial condition, and we could be required to curtail our activities significantly and/or cease operating.results of operations for an indefinite period of time.

 

We may be unable to implement our business plan ifThere has been, and we cannot raise sufficient capital and may be required to pay a high price for capital.

We will need to obtain additional capital to implement our business plan and meet our financial obligations as they become due. We may not be able to raise the additional capital needed or may be required to pay a high price for capital. Factors affecting the availability and price of capital may include the following:

the availability and cost of capital generally;
our financial results;

the experience and reputation of our management team;
market interest, or lack of interest, in our industry and business plan;
the trading volume of, and volatility in, the market for our common stock;
our ongoing success, or failure, in executing our business plan;
the amount of our capital needs; and
the amount of debt, options, warrants, and convertible securities we have outstanding.

We may be unable to meet our current or future obligations or to adequately exploit existing or future opportunities if we cannot raise sufficient capital. If we are unable to obtain capital for an extended period of time, we may be forced to discontinue operations.

We expect that there will continue to be, significant consolidation in our industry. Our failure or inability to either lead or participate in that consolidation would have a severe adverse impact on our access to financing, customers, technology, and human resources.

Our industry is currently composed of a large number of relatively small businesses,businesses; no single one of which is dominantbusiness dominates or which provides integrated solutions and product offerings incorporating much of the available industry technology. Accordingly, weWe believe that substantial consolidation may occuris occurring in our industry and will continue to do so in the near future. We believe that our prior acquisitions of Allure and Reflect illustrate acquisition opportunities that exist in our industry. If we doare not play a positive roleactive participants in that consolidation, either as a leaderconsolidator or as a participant whose capability is merged in a larger entity,target, we may be left out of this process, with product offerings of limited value compared with those of our consolidated competitors. Moreover, even if we lead the consolidation process, we may incur unknown liabilities in such consolidations, fail to fully integrate the operations, personnel, or technology from such consolidations, and the market may not validate the decisions we make in that process.

 


Unpredictability in financing markets could impair our ability to grow our business through acquisitions.

 

We anticipate that opportunities to acquire similar businesses will materially depend on, among other things, the availability of financing options for us with acceptable terms. Poor credit and other market conditions or uncertainty in financial markets could adversely affect our ability to obtain such financing, and as a result, materially limit our ability to grow through acquisitions.

Our success depends on our interactive marketing technologies achieving and maintaining widespread acceptance in our targeted markets.

Our success will depend to a large extent on broad market acceptance of our interactive marketing technologies among our current and prospective customers. Our prospective customers may still not use our solutions for a number of other reasons, including preference for static advertising, lack of familiarity with our technology, preference for competing technologies or perceived lack of reliability. We believe that the acceptance of our interactive marketing technologies by prospective customers will depend primarily on the following factors:

 

 

our ability to demonstrate the economic and other benefits attendant to our interactive marketing technologies;

 

our customers becoming comfortable with using our interactive marketing technologies; and

 

the reliability of our interactive marketing technologies.

 

Our interactive technologies are complex and must meet stringent user requirements. Some undetected errors or defects may only become apparent as new functions are added to our technologies and products. The need to repair or replace products with design or manufacturing defects could temporarily delay the sale of new products and adversely affect our reputation. Delays, costs, and damage to our reputation due to product defects could harm our business.

 

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Our financial condition and potential for continued net losses may negatively impact our relationships with customers, prospective customers and third-party suppliers.

Our financial condition and potential for continued net losses may cause current and prospective customers to defer placing orders with us, to require terms that are less favorable to us, or to place their orders with competing marketing technology suppliers,our competitors, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. On the same basis, third-party suppliers may refuse to do business with us, or may do so only on terms that are unfavorable to us, which also could cause our revenueexpenses to decline.increase.

 

Because we do not have long-term purchase commitments from our customers, the failure to obtain anticipated orders or the deferral or cancellation of commitments could have adverse effects on our business.

Our business is characterized by short-term purchase orders, and contracts that do not require that purchases be made.made by our customers, and monthly subscription contracts (SaaS) that may be terminated with minimal notice. This makes forecasting our sales difficult. The failure to obtain anticipated orders and deferrals or cancellations of purchase commitments or SaaS services because of changes in customer requirements, or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We have experienced such challenges in the past and may experience such challenges in the future.

Our continued growth and financial performance could be adversely affected by the loss of several key customers, including a significant related party customer.customers.

Our largest customers account for a majority of our total revenue. We had two customers thatNo customer accounted for 63% and 71%more than 10% of accounts receivable as ofrevenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. In addition, we2023. We had three customers that accounted for 56% and 56%44% of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. 2022.

Decisions by one or more of these key customers and/or partners to not renew, terminate, or substantially reduce their use of our products, technology, services, and platform could substantially slow our revenue growth and lead to a decline in revenue. Our business plan assumes continued growth in revenue, and it is unlikely that we will become profitable without a continued increase in revenue.

 

Our financial performance, condition and continued growth could be adversely affected by a key related party.

For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had sales of $3,390 and $1,344, respectively, with a related party entity that is 22.5% owned by a member of senior management. Accounts receivable due from the related party was $3,017 and $543 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.


Most of our contracts are terminable by our customers with limited notice and without penalty payments, and early terminations could have a material adverse effect on our business, operatingfinancial condition, and results and financial condition.of operations.

Most of our contracts are terminable by our customers following limited notice and without early termination payments or liquidated damages due from them. In addition, each stage of a project often represents a separate contractual commitment, at the end of which the customers may elect to delay or not to proceed to the next stage of the project. We cannot assure you that one or more of our customers will not terminate a material contract or materially reduce the scope of a large project. The delay, cancellation or significant reduction in the scope of a large project or a number of projects could have a material adverse effect on our business, operatingfinancial condition and results and financial condition.of operations.

 

It is common for our current and prospective customers to take a long time to evaluate our products over an extended period of time, most especially during economic downturns that affect our customers’ businesses.customers businesses, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lengthy and variable sales cycle makes it difficult to predict our operating results.

It is difficult for us to forecast the timing and recognition of revenue from sales of our products and services because our actual and prospective customers often take significant time to evaluate our products before committing to a purchase. Even after making their first purchases of our products and services (or "pilot program" purchases), existing customers may not make significant purchases of those products and services for a long period of time following their initial purchases, if at all. The period between initial customer contact and a purchase by a customer may be years with potentially an even longer period separating initial purchases and any significant purchases thereafter. During the evaluation period, prospective customers may decide not to purchase or may scale down proposed orders of our products for various reasons, including:

 

 

reduced need to upgrade existing visual marketing systems;

 

introduction of products by our competitors;

 

lower prices and sometimes free services (for limited periods of time) offered by our competitors; and

 

changes in budgets and purchasing priorities.

 

Our prospective customers routinely require education regarding the use and benefit of our products.products and solutions. This may also lead to delays in receiving customers’ orders.

 

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Our industry is characterized by frequent technological change. If we are unable to adapt our products and services and develop new products and services to keep up with these rapid changes, we will not be able to obtain, or maintain, market share.

The market for our products and services is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changes in customer needs, heavy competition, and frequent new product and service introductions. If we fail to develop new products and services or modify or improve existing products and services in response to these changes in technology, customer demands, or industry standards, our products and services could become less competitive or obsolete.

 

We must respond to changing technology and industry standards in a timely and cost-effective manner. We may not be successful in using new technologies, developing new products and services or enhancing existing products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner. Furthermore, even if we successfully adapt our products and services, these new technologies or enhancements may not achieve sufficient market acceptance.

 

A portion ofWe operate in an intensely competitive industry, and our competitors are developing products and solutions that incorporate AI and ML. We may not be as successful as our competitors in incorporating AI and ML into our products and solutions.

Our competitors may be larger, more diversified, better funded, and have access to more advanced technology, including AI and ML. These competitive advantages may enable our competition to innovate their products and solutions faster or better than we can, or to provide increased competition on quality and price, which could adversely affect our business involvesand profitability. Burgeoning interest in AI and ML may increase competition and disrupt the Company’s business model. AI and ML may lower barriers to entry in our industry and the Company may be unable to effectively compete with the products or services offered by new competitors. Changes to the products and services we offer related to AI and ML may affect customer expectations, requirements, or tastes in ways that the Company cannot adequately anticipate or adapt to, causing its business to lose revenues.

Issues relating to the use of new and evolving technologies in our offerings, such as AI and ML, may result in increased regulation and costs to comply with such regulations.

We are exploring manners to integrate AI and ML into many of our offerings. We may need to increase our operational, research and development and compliance costs, or divert resources from other research and development efforts, to address potential issues related to AI and ML in a quickly evolving social, legal, and regulatory environment. As with many cutting-edge innovations, AI and ML present new risks and challenges, and existing laws and regulations may apply to us in new ways, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict. Potential government regulation related to AI, including relating to ethics and social responsibility, may also increase the burden and cost of compliance and research and development.

We use developed and licensed software technology, that we have developed or licensed. Industries involving the ownership and licensing of software-based intellectual property are characterized by frequent intellectual-property litigation, and we could face claims of infringement by others in the industry. Such claims are costly and add uncertainty to our operational results.results.

A portion of our business involves our ownership and licensing of software. This market space is characterized by frequent intellectual-propertyintellectual property claims and litigation. We could be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual-property rights resulting in significant expense and the potential loss of our own intellectual-propertyintellectual property rights. From time to time, third parties may assert copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual-propertyintellectual property rights to technologies that are important to our business. Any litigation to determine the validity of these claims, including claims arising through our contractual indemnification of our business partners, regardless of their merit or resolution, would likely be costly and time consuming and divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. If any such litigation resulted in an adverse ruling, we could be required to:

 

 

pay substantial damages;

 

cease the development, use, licensing or sale of infringing products;

 

discontinue the use of certain technology; or

 

obtain a license under the intellectual property rights of the third party claiming infringement, which license may not be available on reasonable terms or at all.

 


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Our proprietary platform architectures and data tracking technology underlying certain of our services are complex and may contain unknown errors in design or implementation that could result in system performance failures or inability to scale.

The platform architecture, data tracking technology, and integration layers underlying our proprietary platforms, our contract administration, procurement, timekeeping, content and network management, network services, device management, virtualized services, software automation and other tools, and back-end services are complex and include specially developed software and code used to generate customer invoices.code. This software and code isare developed internally, licensed from third parties, or integrated by in-house personnel and third parties. Any of the system architecture, system administration, integration layers, software, or code may contain errors, or may be implemented or interpreted incorrectly, particularly when they are first introduced or when new versions or enhancements to our tools and services are released. Consequently, our systems could experience performance failure, or we may be unable to scale our systems, which may:

 

 

adversely impact our relationship with customers and others who experience system failure, possibly leading to a loss of affected and unaffected customers;

 

 

increase our costs related to product development or service delivery; or

 

 

adversely affect our revenues and expenses.

 

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that interfere with, or exploit security flaws in, our products and services.

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that make changes to our customers’ computer systems and interfere with the operation and use of our products or products that impact our business. These applications may attempt to interfere with our ability to communicate with our customers’ devices. The interference may occur without disclosure to or consent from our customers, resulting in a negative experience that our customers may associate with our products and services. These applications may be difficult or impossible to uninstall or disable, may reinstall themselves and may circumvent other applications’ efforts to block or remove them. The ability to provide customers with a superior interactive marketing technology experience is critical to our success. If our efforts to combat these malicious applications fail, or if our products and services have actual or perceived vulnerabilities, there may be claims based on such failure or our reputation may be harmed, which would damage our business and financial condition.

 

We compete with other companies that have more resources, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage.

The market for interactive marketing technologies is generally highly competitive and we expect competition to increase in the future. Some of ourMany competitors or potential competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical, and marketing resources than us. These competitors may be able to respond more rapidly than we can to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer preferences or requirements. They may also devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products and services than us.

 

We expect competitors to continue to improve the performance of their current products, services, and technologies and to introduce new products, services, and technologies.technologies as well. Successful new product and service introductions or enhancements by our competitors could reduce sales and the market acceptance of our products and services, cause intense price competition, or make our products and services obsolete. To be competitive, we must continue to invest significant resources in research and development, sales and marketing and customer support. If we do not have sufficient resources to make these investments or are unable to make the technological advances necessary to be competitive, our competitive position will suffer. Increased competition could result in price reductions, fewer customer orders, reduced margins, and loss of market share. Our failure to compete successfully against current or future competitors could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

 


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Our future success depends on key personnel and our ability to attract and retain additional personnel.

Our key personnel include:

 

 

Richard

Rick Mills, our Chief Executive Officer;Officer and Chairman; and

 

 

John Walpuck,

Will Logan, our Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer; and

Officer.

Will Logan, our Vice President of Finance.

 

If we fail to retain our key personnel or to attract, retain, and motivate other qualified employees, our ability to maintain and develop our business may be adversely affected. Our future success depends significantly on the continued service of our key technical, sales, and senior management personnel and their ability to execute our growth strategy. The loss of the services of our key employees could harm our business. We may be unable to retain our employees or to attract, assimilate and retain other highly qualified employees who could migrate to other employers who offer competitive or superior compensation packages.

 

UnpredictabilityWe risk losing directors, officers, and employees, or paying more cash compensation, if our shareholders do not approve our 2023 Stock Incentive Plan.

Our ability to issue incentive awards under our 2014 Stock Incentive Plan expired in financing markets could impair2023.  Nasdaq’s listing rules require us to obtain our shareholder’s approval of a stock incentive plan before we may issue any shares under the plan or any option issued under the plan may be exercised. On November 8, 2023, our Board of Directors adopted a 2023 stock incentive plan (the “2023 Plan”), and we intend to seek shareholder approval of such plan at our 2024 annual shareholder meeting.

As a company with limited capital resources, we have historically relied upon our ability to growissue incentives from our stock incentive plans to our directors, officers and employees in lieu of cash-based compensation.  Currently, we may only issue options under the 2023 Plan that cannot be exercised unless shareholder approval of the 2023 Plan is obtained in advance of the exercise of any option.  We cannot issue restricted stock awards or stock awards, which we have issued in the past to incentivize our directors, officers and employees and to mitigate the cash compensation that would otherwise be payable to such persons. This limited use of the 2023 Plan limits the value of these incentives, and will require us to use cash in place of incentives under the 2023 Plan until shareholder approval is obtained, or we risk losing the services of our officers, directors and employees.

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain shareholder approval of the 2023 Plan. Our shareholders failed to approve at our 2023 annual shareholder meeting a 2023 equity incentive plan that authorized the issuance of up to 1,500,000 shares under such plan.

We are subject to cyber security risks and interruptions or failures in our information technology systems and those of third party partners with whom our applications are integrated, and will likely need to expend additional resources to enhance our protection from such risks. Notwithstanding our efforts, a cyber incident could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption, and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies to process and record financial and operating data and rely on sophisticated information technology systems and infrastructure to support our business, through acquisitions.

We anticipate that opportunities to acquire similar businesses will materially depend onincluding process control technology. At the trading pricesame time, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks, have increased. Our technologies, systems and networks and those of our common stock and the availability of financing alternatives with acceptable terms. As a result, poor creditvendors, suppliers, and other market conditionsbusiness partners may become the target of cyberattacks or uncertainty in financial marketsinformation security breaches that could materially limit our ability to grow through acquisitions since such conditions and uncertainty will result in a lower trading pricethe unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of proprietary and other information, or other disruption of business operations. In addition, certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance, may remain undetected for an extended period. Our systems for protecting against cyber security risks may not be sufficient. As the sophistication of cyber incidents continues to evolve, we will likely be required to expend additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber incidents. Additionally, any of these systems may be susceptible to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, usage errors by employees, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, or other security breaches or similar events. The failure of any of our information technology systems may cause disruptions in our operations, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

Additionally, we engage third-party service providers to assist us in providing products and services for our common stockcustomers.  Those third-party services providers also subject to the foregoing risks to their systems.  We do not have a process to oversee and make obtaining financing more difficult.identify risks from cyber security threats associated with our use of such third-party service providers, and any such incidents occurring on their system could similarly affect us, our revenues and profitability.

 

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Our reliance on information management and transaction systems to operate our business exposes us to cyber incidents and hacking of our sensitive information if our outsourced service provider experiences a security breach.

Effective information security internal controls are necessary for us to protect our sensitive information from illegal activities and unauthorized disclosure in addition to denial of service attacks and corruption of our data. In addition, we rely on the information security internal controls maintained by anour outsourced service provider. Breaches of our information management system could also adversely affect our business reputation. Finally, significant information system disruptions could adversely affect our ability to effectively manage operations or reliably report results.

 

Because our technology, products, platform, and services are complex and are deployed in and across complex environments, they may have errors or defects that could seriously harm our business.

Our technology, proprietary platforms, products, and services are highly complex and are designed to operate in and across data centers, large and complex networks, and other elements of the digital media workflow that we do not own or control. On an ongoing basis, we need to perform proactive maintenance services on our platform and related software services to correct errors and defects. In the future, there may be additional errors and defects in our software that may adversely affect our services. We may not have in place adequate reporting, tracking, monitoring, and quality assurance procedures to ensure that we detect errors in our software in a timely manner. If we are unable to efficiently and cost-effectively fix errors or other problems that may be identified, or if there are unidentified errors that allow persons to improperly access our services, we could experience loss of revenues and market share, damage to our reputation, increased expenses and legal actions by our customers.

 


We may have insufficient network or server capacity, which could result in interruptions in our services and loss of revenues.

Our operations are dependent in part upon: network capacity provided by third-party telecommunications networks; data center services and provider owned and leased infrastructure and capacity; the Company’sour dedicated and virtualized server capacity located at its data center services provider partner and a geo-redundant micro-data center location; and the Company’sour own infrastructure and equipment. Collectively, this infrastructure, equipment, and capacity must be sufficiently robust to handle all of our customers’ web-traffic, particularly in the event of unexpected surges in high-definition video traffic and network services incidents. We (and our service providers) may not be adequately prepared for unexpected increases in bandwidth and related infrastructure demands from our customers. In addition, the bandwidth we have contracted to purchase may become unavailable for a variety of reasons, including payment disputes, outages, or such service providers going out of business. Any failure of these service providers or the Company’sour own infrastructure to provide the capacity we require, due to financial or other reasons, may result in a reduction in, or interruption of, service to our customers, leading to an immediate decline in revenue and possible additional decline in revenue as a result of subsequent customer losses.

 

We do not have sufficient capital to engage in material research and development, which may harm our long-term growth.

In light of our limited resources in general, we have made no material investments in research and development over the past several years. In the long term, as a result of our failure to invest in research and development, our technology and product offerings may not keep pace with the market and we may lose any existing competitive advantage. Over the long term, this may harm our revenue growth and our ability to become profitable.

Our business operations are susceptible to interruptions caused by events beyond our control.

Our business operations are susceptible to interruptions caused by events beyond our control. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in authorities implementing numerous preventative measures to contain or mitigate the outbreak of the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limitations on business activity, quarantines, and shelter-in-place orders. These measures caused business slowdowns and shutdowns in certain affected areas, both regionally and worldwide, which significantly adversely impacted our business and results of operations. We are vulnerable to the following potential problems when events beyond our control arise, including, among others:

 

 

our platform, technology, products, and services and underlying infrastructure, or that of our key suppliers, may be damaged or destroyed by events beyond our control, such as fires, earthquakes, floods, power outages, or telecommunications failures;

 

 

we and our customers and/or partners may experience interruptions in service as a result of the accidental or malicious actions of Internet users, hackers, or current or former employees;

 

 

we may face liability for transmittingtransmit viruses to third parties that damage or impair their access to computer networks, programs, data or information. Eliminatinginformation, and eliminating computer viruses and alleviating other security problems may require interruptions, delays or cessation of service to our customers;customers and cause us to face liability;

 

 

failure of our systems or those of our suppliers may disrupt service to our customers (and from our customers to their customers), which could materially impact our operations (and the operations of our customers), adversely affect our relationships with our customers and lead to lawsuits and contingent liability.liability;

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delays in product development or releases, or reductions in manufacturing production and sales of consumer hardware, as a result of inventory shortages, supply chain or labor shortages;

significant volatility and disruption of global financial markets, which could negatively impact our ability to access capital in the future;

our inability to recognize revenue, collect payment, or generate future revenue from customers, including from those that have been or may be forced to close their businesses or are otherwise adversely impacted by any resulting economic downturn;

negative impact on our workforce productivity, product development, and research and development due to difficulties resulting from our personnel working remotely

illnesses to key employees, or a significant portion of our workforce, which may result in inefficiencies, delays, and disruptions in our business; and

increased volatility and uncertainty in the financial projections we use as the basis for estimate used in our financial statements.

 

The occurrence of any of the foregoing could result in claims for consequential and other damages, significant repair and recovery expenses and extensive customer losses and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

Our competitors are constantly evolving, and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors to our business.

The market in which we operate is increasingly competitive.  Our current competitors generally include general digital signage companies, specialized digital signage operators targeting certain vertical markets (e.g., financial services, retail, or food services), content management software companies, or integrators and vertical solution providers who develop single implementations of content distribution, digital marketing technology, and related services. These competitors, including future new competitors who may emerge, may be able to develop comparable or superior solution capabilities, software platform, technology stack, and/or series of services that provide a similar or more robust set of features and functionality than our technology, products and services. If this occurs, we may be unable to grow as necessary to make our business profitable. In addition, our existing and potential future competitors may be able to use their extensive resources to:

develop and deploy new products and services more quickly and effectively than we can;

develop, improve, and expand their platforms and related infrastructures more quickly than we can;

offer less expensive products, technology, platform, and services as a result of a lower cost structure, greater capital reserves, or otherwise;

adapt more swiftly and completely to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements;

take advantage of acquisition and other opportunities more readily; and

devote greater resources to the marketing and sales of their products, technology, platform, and services.

If we are unable to compete effectively in our various markets, or if competitive pressures place downward pressure on the prices at which we offer our products and services, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

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RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES AND OUR COMPANY

Our largest shareholder and senior lenderpossesses significant voting power with respect to our common stock, which will limit your influence on our management and affairs, and may discourage parties from initiating potential merger, takeover, or other change-of-control transactions.

As of March 20, 2024, our largest shareholder and investor, Slipstream is the holder of all of our outstanding debt instruments, including two term loans, and has beneficial ownership of approximately 26% of our common stock (on an as-converted, fully diluted basis including conversion of outstanding warrants, and assuming no other convertible securities, options and warrants are converted or exercised by other parties).

Slipstream has significant influence on our management and affairs, including the election and removal of our Board of Directors and all other matters requiring shareholder approval, including the future merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This stockholder position, especially in light of Pegasus' prior proposals described below, may discourage others from initiating any potential merger, takeover, or other change-of-control transaction that may otherwise be beneficial to our shareholders. Furthermore, this concentrated ownership will limit the practical effect of your participation in Company matters, through shareholder votes and otherwise.

On February 2, 2023 and May 1, 2023, we received unsolicited proposals from Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P., on behalf of itself and certain of its affiliates, including Slipstream (collectively, “Pegasus”), to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company that are not owned by Pegasus for purchase prices of $0.83 per share in cash (or, as a result of our 1-for-3 reverse stock split effectuated in March 2023, $2.49 per share), and $2.85 per share in cash, respectively. Pegasus is the beneficial owner of our common stock owned of record by Slipstream. The Special Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”) concluded that each proposal undervalued the Company based on the Special Committee’s views of the intrinsic value of the Company’s existing business and current and future prospects, and was not in the best interests of the Company’s existing shareholders. Consequently, the Special Committee advised Pegasus that it rejected each proposal, and since such time, Pegasus has not made any subsequent acquisition proposal.

Our Articles of Incorporation grant our Board of Directors the power to issue additional shares of common and preferred stock and to designate other classes of preferred stock, all without shareholder approval.

Our authorized capital consists of 116,666,666 shares of capital stock, 50,000,000 of which is undesignated preferred stock. Pursuant to authority granted by our Articles of Incorporation, our Board of Directors, without any action by our shareholders, may designate and issue shares in such classes or series (including other classes or series of preferred stock) as it deems appropriate and establish the rights, preferences and privileges of such shares, including dividends, liquidation and voting rights, provided such designation is consistent with Minnesota law. The rights of holders of other classes or series of stock that may be issued could be superior to the rights of holders of our common shares. The designation and issuance of shares of capital stock having preferential rights could adversely affect other rights appurtenant to shares of our common stock. Furthermore, any issuances of additional stock (common or preferred) will dilute the percentage of ownership interest of then-current holders of our capital stock and may dilute our book value per share.

We have never paid dividends on our capital stock and we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

We have never paid dividends on any of our capital stock and currently intend to retain any future earnings to fund the growth of our business. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, general business conditions, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

We do not have significant tangible assets that could be sold upon liquidation.

We have nominal tangible assets. As a result, if we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, there will be no tangible assets to liquidate and no corresponding proceeds to disburse to our shareholders. If we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, shareholders will likely not receive any cash proceeds on account of their shares.

16

We can provide no assurance that our securities will continue to meet Nasdaq listing requirements. If we fail to comply with the continuing listing standards of the Nasdaq, our securities could be delisted.

In 2022, the bid price of the Company’s common stock closed for 30 consecutive trading days below the $1.00 per share minimum required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”).  Although the Company cured such noncompliance as a result of its 1-for-3 reverse stock split in March 2023, the trading price of the Company’s common stock has been subject to large movement in the past, especially in light of historically low trading volumes. We cannot be certain that the Company will be able to comply with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement and the other continued listing requirements of Nasdaq in the future, in which case the Company’s common stock may be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market. In the event our common stock is delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market and we are also unable to maintain listing on another alternate exchange, trading in our common stock could thereafter be conducted in FINRA’s OTC Bulletin Board or in the over-the-counter markets in the so-called “pink sheets.” In such event, the liquidity of our common stock would likely be further impaired, not only in the number of shares which could be bought and sold, but also through delays in the timing of the transactions, and there would likely be a reduction in our coverage by security analysts and the news media, thereby resulting in lower prices for our common stock than might otherwise prevail.

Significant issuances of our common stock, or the perception that significant issuances may occur in the future, could adversely affect the market price for our common stock.

Significant actual or perceived potential future issuance of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Generally, issuances of substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, and the availability of shares for future sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock, and could cause the market price of our common stock to remain low for a substantial amount of time.

We cannot foresee the impact of potential securities issuances of common shares on the market for our common stock, but it is possible that the market for our shares may be adversely affected, perhaps significantly. It is also unclear whether or not the market for our common stock could absorb a large number of attempted sales in a short period of time, regardless of the price at which they might be offered.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market by certain of our stockholders could cause our stock price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock. 

There may not be an active market for shares of our common stock.

In general, there has been minimal trading volume in our common stock. Small trading volumes would likely make it difficult for our shareholders to sell their shares as and when they choose. Furthermore, small trading volumes are generally understood to depress market prices. As a result, you may not always be able to resell shares of our common stock publicly at the time and prices that you feel are fair or appropriate.

GENERAL RISK FACTORS

Because of our limited internal resources, we may not have in place various processes and protections common to more mature companies and may be more susceptible to adverse events.

We have limited internal resources. As a result, we may not have in place systems, processes, and protections that many of our competitors have or that may be essential to protect against various risks. For example, we have in place only limited resources and processes addressing human resources, timekeeping, data protection, business continuity, personnel redundancy, and knowledge institutionalization concerns. As a result, we are at risk that one or more adverse events in these and other areas may materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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General global market and economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations.

Our business has been and could continue to be affected by general global economic and market conditions. WeaknessAny downturn in the United States and worldwide economy could have a negative effect on our operating results, including a decrease in revenue and operating cash flow. To the extent our customers are unable to profitably leverage various forms of digital marketing technology and solutions, and/or the content we create, deliver and publish on their behalf, they may reduce or eliminate their purchase of our products and services. Such reductions in traffic would lead to a reduction in our revenues. Additionally, in a down-cycle economic environment, we may experience the negative effects of increased competitive pricing pressure, customer loss, slowdown in commerce over the Internet, and corresponding decrease in traffic delivered over our network and failures by our customers to pay amounts owed to us on a timely basis or at all. Suppliers on which we rely for equipment, field services, servers, bandwidth, co-location, and other services could also be negatively impacted by economic conditions that, in turn, could have a negative impact on our operations or revenues. Flat or worsening economic conditions may harm our operating results and financial condition.


The markets in which we operate are rapidly emerging, and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors to our business.

The market in which we operate is becoming increasingly competitive. Our current competitors generally include general digital signage companies, specialized digital signage operators targeting certain vertical markets (e.g., financial services), content management software companies, or integrators and vertical solution providers who develop single implementations of content distribution, digital marketing technology, and related services. These competitors, including future new competitors who may emerge, may be able to develop a comparable or superior solution capabilities, software platform, technology stack, and/or series of services that provide a similar or more robust set of features and functionality than the technology, products and services we offer. If this occurs, we may be unable to grow as necessary to make our business profitable.

 

Whether or not we have superior products, many of these current and potential future competitors have a longer operating history in their current respective business areas and greater market presence, brand recognition, engineering and marketing capabilities, and financial, technological and personnel resources than we do. Existing and potential competitors with an extended operating history, even if not directly related to our business, have an inherent marketing advantage because of the reluctance of many potential customers to entrust key operations to a company that may be perceived as unproven. In addition, our existing and potential future competitors maybusiness could be able to use their extensive resources to:

develop and deploy new products and services more quickly and effectively than we can;

develop, improve and expand their platforms and related infrastructures more quickly than we can;

reduce costs, particularly hardware costs, because of discounts associated with large volume purchases and longer term relationships and commitments;

offer less expensive products, technology, platform, and services as a result of a lower cost structure, greater capital reserves or otherwise;

adapt more swiftly and completely to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements;

take advantage of acquisition and other opportunities more readily; and

devote greater resources to the marketing and sales of their products, technology, platform, and services.

If we are unable to compete effectively in our various markets,adversely affected by the effects of a widespread outbreak of contagious disease, including another outbreak of COVID-19 or if competitive pressures place downward pressure on the prices at which we offer our products and services, our business, financial condition and resultsanother illness. A significant outbreak of operations may suffer.

Risks Related to Our Securities and Our Company

Because of our limited resources, we may not have in place various processes and protections common to more mature companies and may be more susceptible to adverse events.

We have limited resources after accounting for a significant amount of restructuring and integration costs incurred in connection with prior acquisition activities, and we expect to incur additional restructuring and integration costs related to additional acquisitionscontagious diseases in the future. Ashuman population could result in a result, we may not havewidespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in place systems, processes and protectionsan economic downturn that many ofcould affect demand for our competitors have or that may be essential to protect against various risks. For example, we have in place only limited resources and processes addressing human resources, timekeeping, data protection, business continuity, personnel redundancy, and knowledge institutionalization concerns. As a result, we are at risk that one or more adverse events in these and other areas may materially harm our business, balance sheet, revenues, expenses or prospects.


Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could limitproducts, our ability to detectcollect against existing trade receivables and prevent fraud and thereby adversely affect our business and stock price.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. Nevertheless, all internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Our inability to maintain an effective control environmentoperating results. Specifically, such event may cause investorsus, our customers or suppliers to lose confidencetemporarily suspend operations in our reported financial information,the affected city or country, and customers may suspend or terminate capital improvements including in-store digital deployments or refresh projects, all of which could in turnmay have a material adverse effect on our stock price. We have identified several material weaknesses in internal controls and have concluded in our 2017 filings that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting were not effective at the reasonable assurance level. business.

 

ITEM 1B UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 1C CYBERSECURITY

Our controlling shareholder possesses controlling voting power with respectCybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We have developed and implemented cybersecurity risk management processes intended to our common stockprotect the confidentiality, integrity, and voting preferred stock, which will limit your influence on corporate matters.

Our controlling shareholder, Slipstream Communications, LLC, has beneficial ownership of 74,070,970 shares of common stock, including common shares that are beneficially owned by an affiliate of Slipstream Communications named Slipstream Funding, LLC. These shares represent beneficial ownership of approximately 58.39%availability of our common stock (on an as-converted basis) as of the date of this annual report on form 10-K. In addition,critical systems and information. While everyone at our company plays a part in the last quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC purchased all ofmanaging cybersecurity risks, primary cybersecurity oversight responsibility is shared by our outstanding debt from the original debtholders. The terms of the debt have remained the same. As a result, Slipstream Funding has the ability to control our management and affairs through the election and removal of our entire Board of Directors and all other matters requiring shareholder approval,senior management. Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program.

Our cybersecurity risk management program includes:

physical, technological, and administrative controls intended to support our cybersecurity and data governance framework, including protections designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our key information systems and customer, employee, partner, and other third-party information stored on those systems, such as access controls, encryption, data handling requirements, and other cybersecurity safeguards, and internal policies that govern our cybersecurity risk management and data protection practices;

a defined procedure for timely incident detection, containment, response, and remediation, including a written security incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents;

cybersecurity risk assessment processes designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems, information, products, services, and broader enterprise IT environment;

cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, incident response personnel, and senior management;

a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents;

the use of external consultants or other third-party experts and service providers, where considered appropriate, to assess, test, or otherwise assist with aspects of our cybersecurity controls; and.

annual cybersecurity and privacy training of employees, including incident response personnel and senior management, and specialized training for certain teams depending on their role and/or access to certain types of information, such as consumer information.

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Over the past fiscal year, we have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents we have experienced from time to time, that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, operating results, or financial condition. We will continue to monitor and assess our cybersecurity risk management program as well as invest in and seek to improve such systems and processes as appropriate. If we were to experience a material cybersecurity incident in the future, merger, consolidation or salesuch incident may have a material adverse effect on our operations, business strategy, operating results, and financial condition. For more information regarding cybersecurity risks that we face and potential related impacts on our business, see the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could discourage others from initiating any potential merger, takeover or other change-of-control transaction that may otherwise be beneficial to our shareholders. Furthermore, this concentrated control will limit the practical effect of your participation in Company matters, through shareholder votes and otherwise. Report.

 

Board Governance

Our Articlesfull Board of Incorporation grantDirectors oversees our risk management, including our information technology and cybersecurity policies, procedures, and risk assessments. Our management reports to our Board of Directors on information security matters as necessary, regarding any significant cybersecurity incidents, as well as any incidents with lesser impact potential.

One of the power to issue additional shareskey functions of common and preferred stock and to designate other classes of preferred stock, all without shareholder approval.

Our authorized capital consists of 250 million shares of capital stock. Pursuant to authority granted by our Articles of Incorporation, our Board of Directors without any action by our shareholders, may designate and issue shares in such classes or series (including other classes or series of preferred stock) as it deems appropriate and establish the rights, preferences and privileges of such shares, including dividends, liquidation and voting rights, provided it is consistent with Minnesota law. The rights of holders of other classes or series of stock that may be issued could be superior to the rights of holdersinformed oversight of our common shares. The designation and issuancevarious processes for managing risk. An overall review of sharesrisk is inherent in our Board of capital stock having preferential rights could adversely affect other rights appurtenant to sharesDirectors ongoing consideration of our common stock. Furthermore,long-term strategies, transactions and other matters presented to and discussed by the Board of Directors. This includes a discussion of the likelihood and potential magnitude of various risks, including cybersecurity risks, and any issuancesactions management has taken to limit, monitor or control those risks. The Board of additional stock (common or preferred) will diluteDirectors receives briefings from management periodically on our cyber risk management program and presentations on cybersecurity topics as part of the percentageBoard of ownership interest of then-current holders of our capital stock and may dilute our book value per share.Directors’ continuing education on topics that impact public companies.

 

Significant issuances of our common stock, or the perception that significant issuances may occur in the future, could adversely affect the market price for our common stock.ITEM 2PROPERTIES

Significant actual or perceived potential future issuance our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Generally, issuances of substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, and the availability of shares for future sale could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock and could cause the market price of our common stock to remain low for a substantial amount of time.

We cannot foresee the impact of potential securities issuances of common shares on the market for our common stock, but it is possible that the market for our shares may be adversely affected, perhaps significantly. It is also unclear whether or not the market for our common stock could absorb a large number of attempted sales in a short period of time, regardless of the price at which they might be offered.

Our common stock trades in an illiquid trading market.

Trading of our common stock is conducted on the OTC Markets (OTCQX). This has an adverse effect on the liquidity of our common stock, not only in terms of the number of shares that can be bought and sold at a given price, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in security analysts’ and the media’s coverage of us and our common stock. This may result in lower prices for our common stock than might otherwise be obtained and could also result in a larger spread between the bid and asked prices for our common stock if we were listed on a more liquid exchange.


There is not now and there may not ever be an active market for shares of our common stock.

In general, there has been minimal trading volume in our common stock. The small trading volume will likely make it difficult for our shareholders to sell their shares as and when they choose. Furthermore, small trading volumes are generally understood to depress market prices. As a result, investors and shareholders may not always be able to resell shares of our common stock publicly at the time and prices that such investors and shareholders feel are fair or appropriate.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We will, however, pay dividends on our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

When permitted by Minnesota law, we are required to pay dividends to the holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, each share of which carries a $1.00 stated value. There are presently approximately 5.8 million shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding. All shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock were converted to common stock in September 2017. Our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock entitles its holders to:

a cumulative 6% dividend, payable on a semi-annual basis in cash unless (i) we are unable to pay the dividend in cash under applicable law, or (ii) we have demonstrated positive cash flow during the prior quarter reported on our Form 10-Q, in which case we may at our election pay the dividend through the issuance of additional shares of preferred stock up through August 20, 2017 and thereafter through the issuance of additional shares of common stock;

in the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Company, a preference in the amount of all accrued but unpaid dividends plus the stated value of such shares before any payment shall be made or any assets distributed to the holders of any junior securities, including our common stock;

convert their preferred shares into our common shares at a conversion rate of $0.255 per share, subject, however, to full-ratchet price protection in the event that we issue common stock below the then-current conversion price (subject to certain customary exceptions); and

vote their preferred shares on an as-if-converted basis.

We currently have the right to (1) call and redeem some or all of such preferred shares, subject to a 30-day notice period and certain other conditions, at a price equal to $1.00 per share plus accrued but unpaid dividends thereon and (2) pay all dividends in the form of shares of common stock. Holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have no preemptive or cumulative-voting rights. 

We do not anticipate that we will pay any dividends for the foreseeable future on our common stock. Accordingly, any return on an investment in us will be realized only when a shareholder sells shares of our common stock. When legally permitted, we must expect to pay dividends to our preferred shareholders.

We do not have significant tangible assets that could be sold upon liquidation.

We have nominal tangible assets. As a result, if we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, there will be no tangible assets to liquidate and no corresponding proceeds to disburse to our shareholders. If we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, shareholders will likely not receive any cash proceeds on account of their shares.

ITEM 1BUNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.


ITEM 2PROPERTIES

 

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)

 

Our corporate headquarters are currentlyis located at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Suite 100, Louisville, KentuckyKY 40223. The corporate phone number is (502) 791-8800. We lease warehouse andThere, we have approximately 17,500 square-feet of office space, including approximately 6,500 square-feet of approximately 6,400 square feet and 8,300 square feetwarehouse space, which we believe is sufficient for our Kentucky operations under aprojected near-term future growth. The lease agreement through May 30, 2021was modified and March 31, 2021, respectively. Theextended during 2022 and the monthly lease payment foramount is currently $27 and escalates 1% annually through the warehouse is $0.3 for September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016 and $5 for September 1, 2016 through May 30, 2021. The monthlyend of the lease payment for the office space is $6 for April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2017 and $12 for April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2021. term in December 2025.

We also lease office space of approximately 10,0006,000 square feet to support our Canadian operations at a facility located at 45104600 Rhodes Drive, Suite 800,Drives, Unit 3 & 4, Windsor, Ontario under a lease through Junethat expires November 30, 20182025 and with a monthly rental, inclusive of CAMs and related taxes, of $7 per month.

We also lease office space of approximately 4,500 square feet to support our Atlanta operations at a facility known as Northridge Center II, located at 365 Northridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30350. This property lease began in July 2022 and expires in December 2027 with a monthly rental of $4 CAD per month. We also lease 3,650 square feet of office space in Dallas, Texas, and 4,100 square feet of office space and 5,100 square feet of warehouse space in El Segunda California for monthly lease payments of $4 and $4 per month which have lease terms ending on December 31, 2018 and June 30, 2019, respectively. $9, escalating 3% annually.

 

We havealso lease agreements for office space withof approximately 18,00015,350 square feet to support the Reflect operations at a facility located at 22 Audrey Place, Fairfield, New Jersey 07004 which housed our previous2221 Lakeside Blvd, Richardson, TX 75082 under a lease that expires March 31, 2024 and with a monthly rental, inclusive of CAMs, utilities and related taxes, of $40 per month. Commencing April 1, 2024, we will begin leasing approximately 3,300 square feet to support the Reflect operations center. We announced the planned closureat a facility located at 5345 Towne Square Drive, Plano, Texas under a lease that expires on May 31, 2027 and with a monthly base rental of this location on August 10, 2017 and fully exited the facility in early 2018. The monthly lease amount is currently $22 and escalates to $23 by the end of the lease term on September 2020. We currently have two subtenants which provide $13 of monthly subtenant rental income. Our agreements with these subtenant lessees extend through October 2018 with an additional one-year extension at the option of the lessee. We are currently in negotiations with the landlord to exit this lease arrangement. No lease termination expense has been accrued as of December 31, 2017 as we had not ceased use of the facilities by the year-end date. 

ITEM 3LEGAL PROCEEDINGS  

Litigation$9, plus utilities.

 

We are involvedOur corporate phone number is (502) 791-8800.

ITEM 3LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Information regarding legal proceedings can be found in a variety of legal claimsNote 9 Commitments and proceedings related to our business described in Note 7Contingencies to the Company’s financial statements,Commitments and ContingenciesConsolidated Financial Statements included in this Report.

 

While we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of these ordinary course claims and proceedings, management believes there is not a reasonable possibility that the costs and liabilities of such ordinary course matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.ITEM 4MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 4MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

 

Not applicable.

 


19

PART II

 

ITEM 5MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

ITEM 5MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)

 

Market Information

 

Our common stock is listed for trading on the OTC Bulletin Board, the “OTCQX,”Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CREX.”“CREX”. The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Limited, 401 2nd Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401. The following table sets forth the high and low bid prices for our common stock as reported by the OTC Markets in 2017 and 2016. These quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, markdown, or commission, and may not represent actual transactions. Trading in the Company’s common stock during the period represented was sporadic, exemplified by low trading volume and many days during which no trades occurred.

  High  Low 
2017      
First Quarter $0.31  $0.18 
Second Quarter $0.37  $0.22 
Third Quarter $0.45  $0.25 
Fourth Quarter $0.40  $0.17 
         
  High  Low 
2016        
First Quarter $0.23  $0.15 
Second Quarter $0.23  $0.14 
Third Quarter $0.23  $0.11 
Fourth Quarter $0.31  $0.16 

 

Shareholders

 

As of March 23, 2018, there were approximately 50420, 2024, we had 378 holders of record of our common stock.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to operate and expand our business and to finance the development and expansion of our business, subject to our obligation to pay dividends to our preferred stockholders as described below.business. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any payment of cash dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our boardBoard of directorsDirectors and will depend upon our results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, and other factors deemed relevant by our boardBoard of directors. Directors.

 

Holders of our common stock are entitled to share pro rata in dividends and distributions with respect to the common stock when, as and if declared by our Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor. In addition, we must first pay dividends on our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, which have priority over any dividends to be paid to holdersfor distribution.

Recent Sales of our common stock. The current dividend payable to the holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has been satisfied through the issuance of preferred and common stock. The current dividend for the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock aggregates to up to approximately $175 on a semi-annual basis (which we may be able to satisfy our dividend-payment obligations relating to the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock through the issuance of additional shares of preferred stock through August 20, 2017 and thereafter the issuance of additional shares of common stock). Other than with respect to shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, future dividend policy is subject to the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements and our financial condition.Unregistered Securities


None.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

See “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters”Information about our equity compensation plans is set forth in Item 12 for information regarding securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans.

Sales of Unregistered Securities During the Fiscal Year 2017

Common Stock

During 2017, accredited investors converted 385,200 sharesPart III of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 1,860,561 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock for 8,806,906 shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.255 per share. These shares were issued pursuant to the private placement exemptions provided under Section 4(a)(2) and 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act. 

Effective December 31, 2017, we issued 718,840 shares of common stock in satisfaction of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock dividend for the period July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. The preferred stock entitles its holders to a 6% dividend, payable semi-annually in cash or in kind through the three-year anniversary of the original issue date, and from and after such three-year anniversary in duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock. The three-year anniversary of the initial investment date occurred during the second half of 2017 for $5.2 million of the $5.5 million originally issued Convertible Preferred Stock and therefore dividends on those investments were paid via issuance of common shares as of the year-end date. The common stock we issued as dividends on account of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock was issued pursuant to the private placement exemptions provided under Section 4(a)(2) and 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act.

During 2016, accredited investors converted 307,500 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock for 1,205,882 shares of common stock. These shares were issued pursuant to the private placement exemptions provided under Section 4(a)(2) and 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act.

Secured Notes

On December 12, 2016, we entered into a $1.0 million secured revolving promissory note pursuant to the August 17, 2016 Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, addressed below, with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on February 1, 2017. In connection with the loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,542,452 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment), all pursuant to a securities purchase agreement. The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $136. This note was repaid on January 12, 2017. These securities transactions were effected pursuant to the private placement exemptions provided under Section 4(a)(2) and 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act.this Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Share Repurchase ProgramITEM 6 [RESERVED]

On August 9, 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to 5 million shares of our outstanding common stock through August 9, 2019. The authorization allows for the repurchases to be conducted through open market or privately negotiated transactions. Shares acquired under the stock repurchase program are expected to be retired and returned to the status of authorized but unissued shares of common stock. The stock repurchase program can be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time at our discretion.  During the fourth quarter of 2017, 1,185,968 shares of common stock were repurchased at an aggregate price of $149 and were immediately cancelled, as follows:

Period (a)
Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased
  (b)
Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit)
  (c)
Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
  (d)
Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
 
October 1-October 31, 2017            
November 1-November 30, 2017  1,185,968   0.1265   1,185,968     
December 1-December 31, 2017                
Total  1,185,968       1,185,968   3,814,032 

ITEM 6SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

Not applicable.

ITEM 7MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSISOF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS


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

 

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.) 

Forward-Looking Statements 

 

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are included elsewhere in this Report. This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Although we believe that in making any such statement, our expectationsare forward-looking. These statements are based on reasonablecurrent expectations and assumptions anythat are subject to risk, uncertainties and other factors. These statements are often identified by the use of words such statement may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. When used in the following discussion, the words “anticipates,as “may,“believes,“will,“expects,“expect,“intends,“believe,“plans,“anticipate,“estimates”“intend,” “could,” “estimate,” or “continue,” and similar expressions as they relate to us or our management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risksvariations.

You should review the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements; Risk Factor Summary", and uncertainties"Risk Factors" sections of this Report for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actualthe results to differ materially from those anticipated, certain of which are beyond our control, are set forth in Item 1A under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expresseddescribed in or implied by forward-looking statements. Accordingly, we cannot be certain that any of the events anticipated by forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do occur, what impact they will have on us. We caution you to keep in mind the cautions and risks described in this documentthe following discussion and to refrain from attributing undue certainty to any forward-looking statements, which speak only asanalysis.

20

Overview

 

OverviewThe Company transforms environments through digital solutions by providing innovative digital signage solutions for key market segments and use cases, including:

 

Creative Realities, Inc. is a Minnesota corporation that provides innovative digital marketing technology solutions to retail companies, individual retail brands, enterprises, and organizations throughout the United States and in certain international markets. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the related media management and distribution software platforms and networks, device management, product management, customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. Our technology and solutions include: digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems, interactive digital shopping assistants, advisors and kiosks, and other interactive marketing technologies such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing and web-based media that enable our customers to transform how they engage with consumers. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the following related aspects of our business: content, network management, and connected device software and firmware platforms; customized software service layers; hardware platforms; digital media workflows; and proprietary processes and automation tools. 

Retail

 

Entertainment and Sports Venues

Our main operations are conducted directly through Creative Realities, Inc. (f/k/a Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.), and under our wholly owned subsidiaries Creative Realities, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada, Inc., a Canadian corporation, and ConeXus World Global, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company.

Restaurants, including QSRs

Convenience Stores

Financial Services

Automotive

Medical and Healthcare Facilities

Mixed Use Developments

Corporate Communications, Employee Experience

DOOH Advertising Networks

 

We generate revenue in thisserve market-leading companies, so there is a good chance that if you leave your home today to shop, work, eat or play, you will encounter one or more of our digital signage experiences. Our solutions are increasingly visible because we help our enterprise customers achieve a range of business by:objectives including:

 

 

consulting

Increased brand awareness;

Improved customer support;

Enhanced employee productivity and satisfaction;

Increased revenue and profitability;

Improved guest experience; and

Increased customer/guest engagement.

Through a combination of organically grown platforms and a series of strategic acquisitions, including our acquisition of Reflect in February 2022, the Company assists customers to design, deploy, manage, and monetize their digital signage networks. The Company sources leads and opportunities for its solutions through its digital and content marketing initiatives, close relationships with key industry partners, specifically equipment manufacturers, and the direct efforts of its in-house industry sales experts. Customer engagements focus on consultative conversations that ensure the Company’s solutions are positioned to help customers achieve their business objectives in the most cost-effective manner possible.

21

When comparing us to other digital signage providers, our customers value the following competitive advantages:

Breadth of solutions – Creative Realities offers a wide breadth of solutions to our customers. Creative Realities is one of only a few companies in the industry capable of providing the full portfolio of products and services required to implement and run an effective digital signage network. We leverage a ‘single vendor’ approach, providing customers with a one-stop-shop for sourcing digital signage solutions from design through day two services.

Managed labor pool – Unlike most companies in our industry, we have a curated labor pool of qualified and vetted field technicians available to service customers quickly nationwide. We can meet tight schedules even in exceptionally large deployments and still ensure quality and consistency.

In-house creative resources – We assist customers in creating new content or repurposing existing content for digital signage experiences, an activity for which the Company has won several design awards in recent years. In each instance, our services can be essential in helping customers develop an effective content program.

Network scalability and reliability – Our SaaS content management platforms power some of the largest and most complex digital signage networks in North America, evidencing our ability to manage enterprise scale projects. This also provides us purchasing power to source products and services for our customers, enabling us to deliver cost effective, reliable and powerful solutions to small and medium size business customers.

Ad management platform – Our customers are increasingly interested in monetizing their digital signage networks through advertising content. However, efficiently scheduling advertising content into digital signage playlists to meet campaign objectives can be a challenging and labor-intensive process for our customers. AdLogic, our home-grown, content management-agnostic platform, automates this process, allowing network owners to capture more revenue with less expense.

Media sales – Few digital signage solution providers offer their customers media sales as a service. We have in-house media sales expertise to elevate conversations with our customers interested in better understanding network monetization. We believe this meaningful differentiation in the sales process provides us an additional revenue stream compared to determine the technologies and solutions required to achieve their specific goals, strategies and objectives;our competitors.

 

 

designing

Market sector expertise – Creative Realities has in-house experts in key market segments such as automotive, retail, QSRs, convenience stores, and DOOH advertising. Our expertise in these business segments enable our customers’ digital marketing experiences, contentteams to provide meaningful business conversations and interfaces;offer tailored solutions with prospects and customers to their unique business objectives. These experts build industry relationship and create thought leadership that drives lead flow and new opportunities for our business.

 

 

engineering the systems architecture delivering the

Logistics – Implementing a large digital marketing experiences we design – both softwaresignage project can be a logistical nightmare that can stall an initiative, even before deployment. Our expertise in logistics improves deployment efficiency, reduces delays and hardware –problems, and integrating those systems into a customized, reliablesaves customers time and effective digital marketing experience;money.

 

 

managing

Technical support – Digital signage networks present unique challenges for corporate IT departments. We simplify and improve end user support by leveraging our own NOC in Louisville, Kentucky. The NOC resolves many issues remotely and when field support is required, it can be dispatched quickly from the efficient, timelyNOC, leveraging our managed labor pool to resolve customer issues quickly and cost-effective deploymenteffectively.

Integrations and Application Development – The future of digital signage is not still images and videos on a screen. We believe that interactive applications and integrations with other data sources will dominate the future. From social media feeds, mobile integrations, corporate data stores, or POS systems, our proven ability to build scalable applications and integrations is a key advantage that customers can leverage to deliver more compelling and engaging experiences for their customers.

Hardware support – A number of digital signage providers sell a proprietary media player or align themselves with just one operating system. We utilize a range of media players including Windows, Android and BrightSign to provide customers the flexibility they need to select the appropriate hardware for any application knowing the entire network can still be served by a single digital signage platform, reducing complexity and improving the productivity of our digital marketing technology solutions for our customers;customers.

 


22
delivering and updating the content of our digital marketing technology solutions using a suite of advanced media, content and network management software products; and

maintaining our customers’ digital marketing technology solutions by: providing content production and related services; creating additional software-based features and functionality; hosting the solutions; monitoring solution service levels; and responding to and/or managing remote or onsite field service maintenance, troubleshooting and support calls.

 

These activities generate revenue through: bundled-solution sales; service fees for consulting, experience design, content development and production, software development, engineering, implementation, and field services; software license fees; and maintenance and support services related to our software, managed systems and solutions.

Our Sources of Revenue

 

We generateThe three primary sources of revenue through digital marketingfor the Company are:

Hardware sales from reselling digital signage hardware from original equipment manufacturers such as Samsung and BrightSign.

Services revenue from helping customers design, deploy and manage their digital signage network, including:

o

Hardware system design/engineering

o

Hardware installation

o

Content development

o

Content scheduling

o

Post-deployment network and field support

o

Media sales

Recurring subscription licensing and support revenue from our digital signage software platforms, which are generally sold via a SaaS model. Our platforms:

o

ReflectView, the Company’s core digital signage platform for most applications, scalable and cost effective from 10 to 100,000+ devices;

o

Reflect Xperience, a web-based interface that allows customers to give content scheduling access to local users via the web or mobile devices, while still maintaining centralized programming control;

o

Reflect AdLogic, the Company’s ad management platform for digital signage networks, which presently delivers approximately 50 million ads daily;

o

Clarity, the Company’s menu board solution, which has become a market leader for a range of restaurant and convenience store applications;

o

Reflect Zero Touch, which allows customers to turn any screen into an interactive experience by allowing guests to engage using their mobile device;

o

iShowroomProX, an omni-channel digital sales support platform targeted at original equipment manufacturers in the transportation sector, which integrates with dozens of key data services including dealer inventory at the VIN level; and

o

OSx+, a digital VIN-level checklist used to assist in the tracking and delivery of new vehicles in the transportation sector, providing measurable lift in customer satisfaction scores and connected vehicle enrollments and subscription activations.

While hardware sales which include system hardware, professional and implementation services, software design and development, software licensing, deployment, and maintenance and support services.services revenues can fluctuate more significantly year over year based on new, large-scale network deployments, the Company expects to see continuous growth in recurring SaaS revenue for the foreseeable future as digital signage adoption/utilization continues to expand across the vertical markets we serve.

 

We currently market and sell our technology and solutions primarily through our sales and business development personnel, but we also utilize agents, strategic partners, and lead generators who provide us with access to additional sales, business development and licensing opportunities.

23

 

Our Expenses

 

Our expenses are primarily comprised of three categories: sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative. Sales and marketing expenses include salaries and benefits for our sales, business development solution management and marketing personnel, and commissions paid on sales. This category also includes amounts spent on marketing networking events, promotional materials, hardware and software to prospective new customers, including those expenses incurred in trade shows and product demonstrations, and other related expenses. Our research and development expenses represent the salaries and benefits of those individuals who develop and maintain our proprietary software platforms and other software applications we design and sell to our customers. Our general and administrative expenses consist of corporate overhead, including administrative salaries, real property lease payments, salaries and benefits for our corporate officers and other expenses such as legal and accounting fees.

 

Recent Developments

Public Offering

On August 17, 2023, the Company conducted a public offering for the sale by the Company of an aggregate of 3,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share at a public offering price of $2.00 per share and received approximately $5,454 in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting fees of $478 and offering costs of $68.

Reverse stock split

On March 23, 2023, the Company filed Articles of Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota to effectuate, effective March 27, 2023, a 1-for-3 stock split of the shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

As a result of the reverse stock split, effective 12:01 am on March 27, 2023, every three shares of common stock then-issued and outstanding automatically combined into one share of common stock, with no change in par value per share.  No fractional shares were outstanding following the reverse stock split and any fractional shares resulting from the reverse split were rounded up to the nearest whole share of common stock.  In connection with the reverse stock split, the total number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance was reduced from 200,000,000 shares to 66,666,666 shares in proportion to the reverse stock split.

Effective as of the same time as the reverse stock split, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the Company's equity compensation plans were reduced in proportion to the reverse stock split.  The reverse stock split also resulted in the number of shares of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants, or the exercise or vesting of equity awards, in proportion to the reverse stock split and caused a proportionate increase in exercise price or share-based performance criteria, where applicable.

Rejection of unsolicited offers

On February 2, 2023 and May 1, 2023, we received unsolicited proposals from Pegasus, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company that are not owned by Pegasus for purchase prices of $0.83 per share in cash (or, as a result of our 1-for-3 reverse stock split effectuated in March 2023, $2.49 per share), and $2.85 per share in cash, respectively. Pegasus is the beneficial owner of our common stock owned of record by Slipstream. The Special Committee concluded that each proposal undervalued the Company based on the Special Committee’s views of the intrinsic value of the Company’s existing business and current and future prospects, and was not in the best interests of the Company’s existing shareholders. Consequently, the Special Committee advised Pegasus that it rejected each proposal, and since such time, Pegasus has not made any subsequent acquisition proposal.

Please see Note 5 Business CombinationsNote 8 Loans PayableNote 11 Warrants, and Note 12 Stock-based Compensation to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Report for a description of other recent developments of the Company that occurred during, and subsequent to, the year ended December 31, 2023.

24

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Our management is responsible for our financial statements and has evaluated the accounting policies to be used in their preparation. Our management believes these policies are reasonable and appropriate. The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 2Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Company’s consolidated financial statementsConsolidated Financial Statements included within Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report. The following discussion identifies those accounting policies that we believe are critical in the preparation of our financial statements, the judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of those policies and the possibility that materially different amounts will be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions.

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAPgenerally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires that management make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of commitments and contingencies at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Revenue Recognition

We recognized revenue in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Under ASC 606, we account for revenue using the following steps:

Identify the contract, or contracts, with a customer;

Identify the performance obligations in the contract;

Determine the transaction price;

Allocate the transaction price to the identified performance obligations; and

Recognize revenue when, or as, we satisfy our performance obligations.

 

See Note 2 “SummarySummary of Significant Accounting Policies”  and Note 4 Revenue Recognitionin our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, for a complete discussion of our revenue recognition policies.

 

We recognize revenue primarily from these sources:

Hardware:
System hardware sales
Services and Other:
Professional and implementation services
Software design and development services
Software and software license sales
Maintenance and support services


We recognize revenue in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 910, Contractors-Construction, ASC 605, Revenue Recognition, ASC 605-25, Accounting for Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.and ASC subtopic 985-605, Software. In the event of a multiple-element arrangement, we evaluate each element of the transaction to determine if it represents a separate unit of accounting, taking into account all factors following the guidelines set forth in FASB ASC 985-605-25-5:

(i)persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists;
(ii)delivery has occurred, which is when product title transfers to the customer, or services have been rendered;
(iii)customer payments are fixed or determinable and free of contingencies and significant uncertainties; and
(iv)collection is reasonably assured. If it is determined that collection of a fee is not reasonably assured, we defer the revenue and recognize it at the time collection becomes reasonably assured, which is generally upon receipt of cash payment, revenues are reported on a gross basis.

On January 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue From Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09,” as codified in “ASC 606”), which outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The adoption of the standard did not have a significant impact on our financial statements or our critical accounting policies related to revenue recognition. Based on our initial evaluation of the Company’s current contracts and the related revenue streams and performance obligations, the Company expects that the allocation of revenue between hardware, services and other will have insignificant changes as compared with current GAAP. However, for certain sales transactions, the timing of revenue recognition for hardware and certain services sales may occur earlier, with the remaining service and other sales, occurring later than under current GAAP. The largest impacts as a result of the new standard are the new required qualitative and quantitative disclosures. See Note 2, “Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements,” in our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report for additional information. 

Accounts Receivable

Our unsecured accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms, carried at their face value less an allowance for doubtful accounts. We had a factoring arrangement with Allied Affiliated Funding for the majority of our accounts receivable during the period October 15, 2015 to August 16, 2016. We record an allowance for doubtful accounts receivable for amounts due from third parties that we do not expect to collect. We estimate the allowance based on historical write-off experience and current economic conditions and also consider factors such as customer credit, past transaction history with the customer and changes in customer payment terms when determining whether the collection of a receivable is reasonably assured. Historically, less than 1.0% of net sales ultimately prove to be uncollectible. Accounts receivable are written off after all reasonable collection efforts have failed.

We have not made any material changes in the accounting methodology we use to measure the estimated liability for doubtful accounts during the past two fiscal years. We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to establish the liability for doubtful accounts. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to losses or gains that could be material.

Approximately 51% or $3,017 of our accounts receivable at December 31, 2017 is from a related party (see Note 8).

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

 

Goodwill is evaluated for impairment annually as of September 30 and whenever events or circumstances make it more likely than not that impairment may have occurred. The Company hasWe have no other indefinite-lived intangible assets. We test goodwill for impairment by comparing the book value to the fair value at the reporting unit level. The Company hasWe have only one reporting unit, and therefore the entire goodwill is allocated to that reporting unit. The fair value of the reporting unit is determined by using a discounted cash flow analyses consisting of various assumptions, including expectations of future cash flows based on projections or forecasts derived from analysis of business prospects and economic or market trends that may occur. We use these same expectations in other valuation models throughout theour business. In addition to the discounted cash flow analysis, we utilize a leveraged buy-out model, trading compscomparables and market capitalization to ultimately determine an estimated fair value of our reporting unit based on weighted average calculations from these models. The Company bases itsWe base our fair value estimates on assumptions it believeswe believe to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. If the carrying amount exceeds the fair value, further analysis is performed to measure the impairment loss.

 


In addition, the Company’sour market capitalization could fluctuate from time to time. Such fluctuation may be an indicator of possible impairment of goodwill if the Company’sour market capitalization falls below its book value. If this situation occurs, the Company willwe perform the required detailed analysis to determine if there is impairment.

 

We have not made any material changes inNo impairment was recorded as a result of our reporting units or the accounting methodology we use to assess impairmentannual assessment completed as of goodwill since September 30, 2017. We updated our goodwill analysis as of December 31, 2017 using actual fourth quarter 2017 results and updated projected 2018 results and concluded no impairment exists. 2023.   

The valuation of goodwill and intangible assets is subject to a high degree of judgment, uncertainty and complexity. We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates orand assumptions we useused to test for impairment losses on goodwill.goodwill are reasonable. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to an impairment charge that could be material.

 

Intangible assets include the following and are being amortized over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Acquired Intangible Asset:Amortization Period: (years)
Technology platform and patents4 and 5
Trademark5
Customer relationships3
25

 

Intangible assets are evaluated for impairment if events and circumstances warrant by comparing the fair value of the intangible asset with its carrying amount. The impairment evaluation involves testing the recoverability of the asset on an undiscounted cash-flow basis, and, if the asset is not recoverable, recognizing impairment charge, if necessary, to reduce the asset’s carrying amount to its fair value. There were no indicators of impairment identified in 2017. The Company recognized an impairment loss on its technology platform for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Income Taxes

 

Accounting for income taxes requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities. These deferred taxes are measured by applying the provisions of tax laws in effect at the balance sheet date, including the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) enacted on December 22, 2017. The Tax Act made broad and significant changes to the U.S. tax code that affects the year ended December 31, 2017 including, but not limited to, a change in the federal rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.(the “Tax Act”).

 

The Company recognizesWe recognize in income the effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period that includes the enactment date.


As of December 31, 2017 and 20162023, a full valuation allowance is recorded against our deferred tax assets to reduce the consolidated deferred tax asset to zero.tax. The valuation allowance is based, in part, on our estimate of future taxable income, the expected utilization of federal and state tax loss carryforwards, and credits and the expiration dates of such tax loss carryforwards. Significant assumptions are used in developing the analysis of future taxable income for purposes of determining the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets which, in our opinion, are reasonable under the circumstances.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). Inputs are broadly defined as assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

FASB ASC 820-10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, requires disclosure of the estimated fair value of an entity’s financial instruments. Such disclosures, which pertain to the Company’s financial instruments, do not purport to represent the aggregate net fair value of the Company.

The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments. The fair value of the warrant liabilities is calculated using a Black-Scholes model, which approximates a binomial model due to probability factors used to determine the fair value. The calculation of this liability is based on Level 3 inputs. See Notes 3 and 11 for further discussion on the valuation of warrant liabilities.

Impact of Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

Refer to Note 2 “Recently IssuedSummary of Significant Accounting Pronouncements,” Policiesin our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects on results of operations and financial condition, which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

25

Results of Operations

 

Note: All dollar amounts reported in Results of Operations are in thousands, except per-share information.

Year Ended December 31, 20172023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 20162022

The tables presented below compare our results of operations adjusted for full retrospective adoption of certain accounting guidance described in Note 2 from one period to another, and present the results for each period and the change in those results from one period to another in both dollars and percentage change.

 

  For the Years Ended       
  December 31,  Change 
  2017  2016  Dollars  % 
Sales $17,698  $13,673  $4,025   29%
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below)  10,309   6,815   3,494   51%
Gross profit  7,389   6,858   531   8%
Sales and marketing expenses  2,078   1,061   1,017   96%
Research and development expenses  991   893   98   11%
General and administrative expenses  6,944   6,393   551   9%
Depreciation and amortization expense  1,505   2,003   (498)  -25%
ConeXus acquisition stock issuance expense  1,971   -   1,971   NM 
Impairment loss on intangible assets  -   1,065   (1,065)  -100%
Total operating expenses  13,489   11,415   2,074   18%
Operating loss  (6,100)  (4,557)  (1,543)  34%
Other income (expenses):                
Interest expense  (1,610)  (1,636)  26   -2%
Change in fair value of warrant liability  (153)  (42)  (111)  264%
Gain on settlement of debt  872   1,008  ��(136)  -13%
Other income  2   164   (162)  -99%
Total other expense  (889)  (506)  (383)  76%
Net loss before income taxes  (6,989)  (5,063)  (1,926)  38%
Benefit/(provision) from income taxes  39   365   (326)  -89%
Net loss $(6,950) $(4,698) $(2,252)  48%
  

Year Ended December 31,

  

Change

 
  

2023

  

2022

      

%

 

Sales

 $45,166  $43,350  $1,816   4%

Cost of sales

  22,983   25,611   (2,628)  10%

Gross profit

  22,183   17,739   4,444   25%

Sales and marketing expenses

  5,247   3,651   1,596   44%

Research and development expenses

  1,574   1,251   323   26%

General and administrative expenses

  10,795   11,892   (1,097)  9%

Depreciation and amortization expense

  3,221   2,833   388   14%

Deal and transaction

  -   592   (592)  100%

Total operating expenses

  20,837   20,219   618   3%

Operating income (loss)

  1,346   (2,480)  3,826   154%

Other expense (income):

                

Interest expense

  2,992   2,743   249   9%

Change in fair value of contingent consideration

  1,419   (1,074)  2,493   232%

Change in fair value of warrant liability

  -   (7,902)  7,902   100%

Loss on debt waiver consent

  -   1,212   (1,212)  100%

Loss on warrant amendment

  -   345   (345)  100%

Loss on settlement of debt

  -   237   (237)  100%

Other expense (income)

  (211)  4   (215)  5375%

Total other expense (income)

  4,200   (4,435)  8,635   195%

Net (loss) income before income taxes

  (2,854)  1,955   (4,809)  246%

Income tax expense

  (83)  (79)  (4)  5%

Net (loss) income

 $(2,937) $1,876  $(4,813)  257%

26

 

NM - not meaningful

Sales

Sales increased by $4,025$1,816, or 29%4%. Hardware revenues were $20,303, an increase of $408 or 2%.  While hardware revenues were effectively flat year over year, the composition in 2017 compared to 2016.each year was substantially different, with the current year comprised of lower customer concentration (including no customer greater than 19% of hardware revenues) and an increasing number of customers making consistent, repeated purchases of similar solutions on a regular cadence. The $4,025prior year included a single customer that represented 43% of hardware revenues..  Services and other revenues were $24,863, an increase wasof $1,408 or 6%, driven by managed services revenue.  Managed services revenue, which includes both SaaS and help desk technical subscription services increased to $15,916 from $14,320.  The increase is driven by increasing software subscription revenue, with the annual recurring run rate of our subscription license revenue growing from $14,826 as of December 31, 2022 to $16,336 as of December 31, 2023.  This represents a year-over-year growth rate of approximately $1,230 from two new large customers and the broadening of sales within existing customer relationships, including an increase11% in sales to a related party of $1,344. our higher margin, typically subscription-based, managed service revenue.

 

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased $4,444 to $22,183 from $17,739, or 25%, through a combination of a 4% increase in revenue and an 8% increase in gross margin percentage.  Gross margin increased to 49% from 41% driven by expanding margins in our services revenue and entry into a material, long-term media sales contract for which revenue is recognized on a percentagenet basis decreased to 42% in 2017 from 50% in 2016, and increased by $531 in absolute dollars during the same period. The decrease in gross profit margin percentage and increase in absolute dollars is primarily the result of a lower margin sales mix on increased sales to customers. current year.

 

Sales and Marketing Expenses

Sales and marketing expenses generally include the salaries, taxes, and benefits of our sales and marketing personnel, as well as trade show activities, travel, and other related sales and marketing costs. Total salesSales and marketing expenses increased by $1,596, or 44%, driven primarily by the Company’s enhanced investments into sales and marketing activities. Following our acquisition of Reflect via merger (the "Merger"), the Company adopted certain tools, technology, and processes – particularly with respect to $2,078 in 2017 from $1,061 in 2016. The increase was primarily duelead generation and brand marketing – that were historically undercapitalized by the Company and have since accelerated new customer acquisition. Through completion of the Merger, the Company also acquired a media sales business unit that serves to an increase in payroll expense relatedmonetize customer networks via the direct sale of advertising to our growingbe displayed on digital advertising networks owned by those customers. This business utilizes internal and third-party sales forceagents - the salaries and related travel expenses.

commissions of which are included within Sales and Marketing Expense within the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

 


Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses generally include personnel and development tools costs associated with the continued development of the Company’s content management systems and other related application development. The Company capitalizes certain of these expenses and amortizes those costs through the Consolidated Statement of Operations on a straight-line basis over the economic useful life of the software feature or functionality. Research and development expenses increased 11%by $323, or 26%, driven primarily by incremental headcount added via completion of the Merger on February 17, 2022, and a higher rate of bug and maintenance work as compared to $991 in 2017 from $893 in 2016, primarily ascapitalized activities during the year. Through the Merger, we acquired a result of additional headcount focusedfully staffed, experienced software development team and elected to keep that team in-tact, particularly given current competitive employment market conditions with respect to talented software engineers. We integrated the development teams which has enhanced speed to market on thesenew feature and functionality development activities.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

Total generalGeneral and administrative expenses decreased $1,097, or 9% driven by a decrease of $1,553 in stock compensation expense as outstanding performance awards were fully expensed as of December 31, 2022. This decrease was partially offset by increased 9% to $6,944personnel costs as a result of higher headcount following the Merger and scaled up operations in 2017 from $6,393 in 2016. The increase was primarily dueresponse to an increase in personnel costs, including recruiting fees, offset primarily by decreases in legal fees.customer acquisition and associated planned deployments.

 

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and amortization expenses decreased 25% to $1,505increased by $388, or 14%. This was driven by a full year of amortization on the $17,160 in 2017 from $2,003 in 2016 primarilyamortizing intangible assets acquired as a result of the reduction of intangible assets from the impairment recognizedMerger. Depreciation was consistent in the third quarter of 2016.both periods. 

 

Interest Expense

 

See Note 6 8 Loans Payableto the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s debt and related interest expense obligations.

 

27

Change in Fair Value of Contingent Consideration

The Company has a contingent consideration arrangement related to the Merger to potentially pay additional cash amounts in future periods based on the lack of achievement of certain share price performance goals of our common stock. Such contingent consideration arrangements are recorded at fair value and are classified as liabilities on the acquisition date and are remeasured at each reporting period in accordance with ASC 805-30-35-1 using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The change in the period represents the mark-to-market adjustment as of the balance sheet date.

Changes in Fair Value of Warrant LiabilityLiability; Loss on Warrant Amendment

See During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded a gain of $7,902 as the result of assessing the fair value of warrant liabilities associated with the Company’s issuance of warrants in its debt and equity offerings completed in February 2022 to finance the Merger. These warrants were initially assessed at fair value through Black Scholes calculation, with changes in fair value recognized at each period end.See Note 311 Warrants to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s non-cash change in Warrant Liability.Company's warrant activity.

 

GainLoss on Debt Waiver

During 2022, in connection with obtaining a waiver of certain restrictions in investment documents between an investor and the Company in order to consummate the financing contemplated by the Company's credit agreement with Slipstream, the Company paid consideration to such investor in the form of a purchaser warrant to purchase 466,667 shares of Company common stock (the “Purchaser Warrant”). The number of shares of Company common stock subject to the Purchaser Warrant was equal to the waiver fee ($175) divided by $0.375 per share. The exercise price of the Purchaser Warrant is $4.23 per share, and the Purchaser Warrant became exercisable on August 17, 2022. The Purchaser Warrant expires on February 17, 2028. On the date of issuance, the Company performed a Black-Scholes valuation of the Purchaser Warrant, resulting in a fair value of $2.5968 per warrant. In recording the warrant liability, the Company recorded an expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations associated with the issuance of the Purchaser Warrant of $1,212. No such transactions occurred in the current year.

Loss on Warrant Amendment

Effective June 30, 2022, the Company amended the terms of certain of its outstanding warrants. The amendments to such warrants removed the holder’s option to determine the value of such warrants utilizing the volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of the Company’s common stock on the trading day immediately preceding the date of a notice in a cashless exercise, and removed the condition to exercising such warrants that the Company’s shareholders approve the exercise thereof (which had already been obtained). The amendments to the warrants also extended the term of such warrants for an additional one year. As a result of the extension in term provided in exchange for the amendment, the Company reassessed the fair value of each of the affected warrants, resulting in the Company recording a loss on the fair value of these warrants of $345.

Loss on Settlement of DebtObligations

 

During 2017,On February 17, 2022, the Company settled and/or wrote offrefinanced its debt facilities with Slipstream. The Company assessed the combination of $1,159the pre-existing senior secured term loan and secured convertible loan in accordance with ASC 470 Debt and determined the transaction should be accounted for $288 cash payment and recognizedas an extinguishment of debt, in part as the Consolidation Term Loan eliminated a gainsubstantive conversion feature. In aggregate the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of $872. This$295, primarily associated with the write-off of pre-existing debt included $693 of payables previously recorded by our dissolved subsidiary Broadcast International, Inc, as we had exhausted all efforts to identify and settle these obligations in the first quarter of 2017.discounts.

 

In August 2016, the Company settled debt of $90 for $35 cash payment, resulting in a gain on debt settlement of $55. In June 2016, the Company settled debt of $614 for $123 cash payment and the issuance of 409,347 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, fair value at conversion date of $85, and recognized a gain on debt restructuring of $406. In conjunction with this debt settlement, an additional 809,842 shares of restricted common stock were issued to investors for cash to facilitate the settlement of a portion of the $614 debt. In March 2016, the Company issued 8.00% nonconvertible promissory notes in favor of certain general unsecured creditors in the aggregate principal amount of $288 to settle an aggregate amount of $839 of accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities. The aggregate amount of payables, accrued expenses and other liabilities was subsequently revised to $796. In September 2016, the amounts previously settled with nonconvertible promissory notes were paid in cash of $249 resulting in a gain on the debt settlement of $547. No gain was previously recorded.


Summary Quarterly Financial Information

The following represents unaudited financial information derived from the Company’s annual and quarterly financial statements, as adjusted for the retrospective adoption of ASU No. 2017-11:

Quarters ended December 31,
2017
  September 30,
2017
  June 30,
2017
  March 31,
2017
 
Net sales $4,136  $3,575  $3,568  $6,419 
Cost of sales  2,636   2,157   1,944   3,572 
Gross profit  1,500   1,418   1,624   2,847 
Operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization  2,793   4,631   2,238   2,322 
Depreciation/amortization  321   374   408   402 
Operating (loss)/income  (1,614)  (3,587)  (1,022)  123 
Other expenses/(income)  (177)  679   717   (369)
Net (loss)/income  (1,437)  (4,266)  (1,739)  492 

Quarters ended December 31,
2016
  September 30,
2016
  June 30,
2016
  March 31,
2016
 
Net sales $5,501  $2,708  $3,029  $2,435 
Cost of sales  2,826   1,387   1,312   1,290 
Gross profit  2,675   1,321   1,717   1,145 
Operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization  2,108   2,060   1,976   2,203 
Depreciation/amortization  388   540   536   539 
Impairment loss on intangible assets  -   1,065   -   - 
Operating (loss)/income  179   (2,344)  (795)  (1,597)
Other expenses/(income)  934   (130)  (913)  250 
Net (loss)/income  (755)  (2,214)  118   (1,847)

Supplemental Operating Results on a Non-GAAP Basis

 

The following non-GAAP data, which adjusts for the categories of expenses described below, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Our management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful information for investors, shareholders and other stakeholders of our Company in gauging our results of operations on an ongoing basis. We believe that EBITDAearnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) is a performance measure and not a liquidity measure, and therefore a reconciliation between net loss/(loss) income, a GAAP financial measure, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA has been provided. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss/(loss) income as an indicator of performance or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as an indicator of cash flows, in each case as determined in accordance with GAAP, or as a measure of liquidity. In addition, EBITDA does not take into account changes in certain assets and liabilities as well as interest and income taxes that can affect cash flows. We do not intend the presentation of these non-GAAP measures to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statementsConsolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.GAAP that are included elsewhere in this Report.

 


28

      

Quarters Ended

 
  

Year Ended

  

December 31,

  

September 30,

  

June 30,

  

March 31,

 

Quarters ended

 

2023

  

2023

  

2023

  

2023

  

2023

 

GAAP net (loss) income

 $(2,937) $1,419  $(1,931) $(1,425) $(1,000)

Interest expense:

                    

Amortization of debt discount

  1,443   366   363   358   356 

Other interest, net

  1,549   302   371   429   447 

Depreciation/amortization:

                    

Amortization of intangible assets

  3,055   781   766   754   754 

Amortization of employee share-based awards

  383   4   3   151   225 

Depreciation of property and equipment

  166   48   50   43   25 

Income tax expense (benefit)

  83   10   (15)  45   43 

EBITDA

 $3,742  $2,930  $(393) $355  $850 

Adjustments

                    

Loss (Gain) on fair value of contingent consideration

  1,419   (42)  1,369   16   76 

Stock-based compensation – Director grants

  150   21   43   43   43 

Other expense (income)

  (211)  (79)  3   (123)  (12)

Adjusted EBITDA

 $5,100  $2,830  $1,022  $291  $957 

      

Quarters Ended

 
  

Year Ended

  

December 31,

  

September 30,

  

June 30,

  

March 31,

 

Quarters ended

 

2022

  

2022

  

2022

  

2022

  

2022

 

GAAP net income (loss)

 $1,876  $(1,334) $(554) $1,262  $2,502 

Interest expense:

                    

Amortization of debt discount

  1,268   364   363   360   181 

Other interest, net

  1,475   423   394   390   268 

Depreciation/amortization:

                    

Amortization of intangible assets

  2,702   743   848   431   680 

Amortization of employee share-based awards

  1,689   448   456   316   469 

Depreciation of property and equipment

  131   30   37   37   27 

Income tax expense (benefit)

  79   33   (10)  53   3 

EBITDA

 $9,220  $707  $1,534  $2,849  $4,130 

Adjustments

                    

Gain on fair value of warrant liability

  (7,902)  -   -   (2,433)  (5,469)

Loss (gain) on settlement of obligations

  237   -   (37)  (21)  295 

Loss on debt waiver consent

  1,212   -   -   -   1,212 

Loss on warrant amendment

  345   -   -   345   - 

(Gain) loss on fair value of contingent consideration

  (1,074)  (705)  (442)  73   - 

Disposal of Safe Space Solutions inventory

  909   909   -   -   - 

Deal and transaction costs

  592   54   110   37   391 

Other income

  4   7   2   1   (6)

Stock-based compensation – Director grants

  302   56   82   82   82 

Adjusted EBITDA

 $3,845  $1,028  $1,249  $933  $635 

29

 

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP EBITDA

The following unaudited table presents the Company’s GAAP (Net Loss) measure, and the corresponding adjustments, to calculate “EBITDA” for the quarters ending December 31, 2017 and 2016, September 30, 2017 and 2016, June 30, 2017 and 2016 and March 31, 2017 and 2016, as adjusted for the retrospective adoption of ASU No. 2017-11:

Quarters ended December 31,
2017
  September 30,
2017
  June 30,
2017
  March 31,
2017
 
GAAP net (loss)/income  (1,437)  (4,266)  (1,739)  492 
Interest expense:                
Amortization of debt discount  100   328   133   195 
Other interest  330   169   140   215 
Gain on settlement of debt  (6)  -   -   (866)
Change in warrant liability  (340)  116   369   8 
Additional ConeXus acquisition expense  -   1,971   -   - 
Depreciation/amortization  321   374   408   402 
Other expenses/(income)  (261)  66   75   79 
EBITDA  (1,293)  (1,242)  (614)  525 

Quarters ended December 31,
2016
  September 30,
2016
  June 30,
2016
  March 31,
2016
 
GAAP net (loss)/income $(755) $(2,214) $118  $(1,847)
Interest expense:                
Amortization of debt discount  297   224   177   154 
Other interest  228   187   175   194 
Gain on settlement of debt  (55)  (547)  (406)  - 
Impairment loss on intangible assets  -   1,065   -   - 
Change in warrant liability  400   84   (293)  (148)
Depreciation/amortization  388   540   536   539 
Other expenses/(income)  64   (78)  (566)  51 
EBITDA $567  $(739) $(259) $(1,057)

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. As of December 31, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents of $1,003 and a working capital deficit of $(3,801). On November 13, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, extended the maturity date of our term loan to August 17, 2019 and extended the maturity date of our promissory notes on a rolling quarter addition basis which is now April 10, 2019. While management believes that due to the extension of our debt maturity date, our current cash balance and our operational forecast for 2018, we can continue as a going concern through at least March 31, 2019, given our net losses and working capital deficit, we obtained a continued support letter from Slipstream Communications, LLC through March 31, 2019. We can provide no assurance that our ongoing operational efforts will be successful which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. 

 

See Note 6Nature of Organization and Operations to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for an additionala detailed discussion of the Company’s debt obligations.liquidity and financial resources.

Operating Activities

 

We do not currently generate positive cash flow. Our operational costs have been greater than sales generated to date. As of December 31, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of $(26,231). The cash flows provided by / used in(used in) operating activities was $655were $5,167 and ($4,106)$(708) for the years ended December 31, 20172023 and 2016,2022, respectively. The majorityCompany generated a net loss of the cash consumed by operations for both periods was attributed to our net losses$2,937, which included depreciation and amortization expense (inclusive of $(6,950) and $(4,698) for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Included in our net losses were non-cash charges consisting of depreciation, amortization of debt discount related to convertible preferred stock / issued for debt-issuance costs,discount) of $4,664 and a loss on the change in warrant liability, impairment on intangible assets, stock-based compensation, stock issuance expenses related to the ConeXus acquistion andfair value of contingent consideration of $1,419.  The Company generated a $1,261 increase in cash provided by changes in the allowance for doubtfuloperating assets and liabilities, primarily due to increases in accounts totaling $4,669payable, and $4,320 for the years ended December 31, 2017customer deposits, a decrease in prepaid expenses and 2016, respectively.other current assets, partially offset by an increase to accounts receivable.

 


Investing Activities

 

Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 20172023 was $(569)$4,027 as compared to $(292) during 2016.$21,475 for the same period in 2022. The increaseuse of cash in cash used in investing activities is primarily due to more capital expenditures during the period.prior year was driven by completion of the Merger. We currently do not have any material commitments for capital expenditures as of December 31, 2017, nor do2023; however, we anticipate any significanta reduction in capital expenditures entering 2024 as we complete the modernization and internationalization of our automotive platform in 2018. an effort to capture incremental SaaS-based revenue contracts.

Financing Activities

 

Net cash used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2017 was $(435) compared to net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 20162023 was $137 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $4,389.$20,933 for the same period in 2022. The decreasechange is mainly due to the issuanceresult of newthe Company’s completion of equity and debt financing in the first quarter of 2022 to facilitate the Merger, which providednet cash of $10,109 and warrants$9,868, respectively.  Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023, is primarily the result of a common stock offering completed in 2016. August 2023, generating cash of $5,454, net of offering expenses, offset by repayments made on the Consolidation Term Loan, Term Loan (2022), and Secured Promissory Note of $2,040, $2,000 and $1,254, respectively.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

During the year ended December 31, 2017,2023, we did not engage in any off-balance sheet arrangements set forth in Item 303(a) (4) of Regulation S-K.

 

ITEM 7AQUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

ITEM 7AQUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 8FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

ITEM 8 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

 

See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on Page F-1.F-1.

 

ITEM 9CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

ITEM 9CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

 

None

 


30
ITEM 9ACONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

ITEM 9ACONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

The Company,An evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of itsour management, including theour Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and the Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer), evaluatedof the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s “disclosureour disclosure controls and procedures” (asprocedures, as defined in RuleRules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act, of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this report.Report. Based on that evaluation, theour management, including our Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, concluded that the Company’sour disclosure controls and procedures were not effective atas of December 31, 2023, and designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the reasonable assurance level dueExchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the material weaknesses described below.our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Management’sManagements Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.of achieving their control objectives.

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 20172023 based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”).Commission. Based on our assessment and those criteria, management identifiedbelieves that the Company’swe maintained effective internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2017 and that material weaknesses exist including: (1) a deficient process to close the monthly consolidated financial statements and prepare comprehensive and timely account analysis, (2) adequately identify and document multiple elements and deliverables, including allocation, deferral and cost estimates in support of revenue recognition, as well as not completing our analysis of the transition to and (3) the implementation and adoption of ASC 606Revenue Recognition2023.

 

A material weakness is a control deficiency or combination of control deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Management has already implemented certain practices and procedures during 2017 to address the foregoing deficiencies, including the hiring of new accounting personnel and plans to expand the scope of its assessment of the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting at the consolidated Company in 2018, and develop a plan to complete the remediation of the foregoing deficiencies. 

This annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit the Company, as a smaller reporting company, to provide only management’s report in its annual report.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarteryear ended December 31, 2017,2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 9B

ITEM 9BOTHER INFORMATION

None.


PART III

ITEM 10DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Our Board of Directors consists of Alec Machiels (Chairman), Rick Mills (CEO), David Bell, Donald Harris, Patrick O’Brien and Eric Bertrand. The following table sets forth the name and position of each of our current directors and executive officers.

NameAgePositions
Alec Machiels45Director (Chairman)
David Bell74Director
Donald Harris65Director
Richard Mills63Director, Chief Executive Officer
John Walpuck56Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Patrick O’Brien71Director
Eric J. Bertrand45Director

The biographies of the above-identified individuals are set forth below:

Alec Machiels is a Partner at Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P., a private equity fund manager, and joined our Board of Directors in August 2014 in connection with the Creative Realities merger. Mr. Machiels is a member of the Executive, Investment and Sustainability Committees, as well as the co-chair of the Energy and Wellness Committees at Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.  He has over 17 years of private equity investing and investment banking experience.  Previously, Mr. Machiels was a Financial Analyst in the Financial Services Group at Goldman Sachs International in London and in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs and Co. in New York.  Investments in which he has been highly involved in include Molycorp Minerals, Traxys, Pure Biofuels, Olympus, Slipstream Communications, Coffeyville Resources and Merisant Company.  Mr. Machiels currently serves on the boards of Pure Biofuels, Olympus, Slipstream Communications, NSI, and Valogix.  He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Federation of Arts and Chair of its Endowment Committee 2011- 2013.  Mr. Machiels also co-founded Potentia Pharmaceuticals and Apellis Pharmaceuticals – two biotechnology companies in the complement immunotherapy space – as well as Revon Systems, a healthcare IT company.  Mr. Machiels is a graduate of Harvard Business School, KU Leuven Law School in Belgium and Konstanz University in Germany. 

David Bell joined our Board of Directors in August 2014 in connection with the Creative Realities merger. Mr. Bell brings over 40 years of advertising and marketing industry experience to the board, including serving as CEO of three of the largest companies in the industry–Bozell Worldwide, True North Communications and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. Since 2007, Mr. Bell has led Slipstream Communications, LLC which is an international company providing strategic branding, digital marketing, and public relations services and served as a Senior Advisor to Google Inc. from 2006 to 2009. He is currently a Senior Advisor to AOL and has been an Operating Advisor at Pegasus Capital Advisors since 2004. He has also served on the boards of multiple publicly traded companies, including Lighting Science Group Corporation and Point Blank Solutions, Inc., and Primedia, Inc., and served as President and CEO of The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Bell served as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Time, Inc. from June 2014 to January 2018.

Donald A. Harris was appointed to our Board of Directors in August 2014 in connection with the Broadcast International merger. He has been President of 1162 Management, the General Partner of 5 Star Partnership, a private equity firm, since June 2006. Mr. Harris has been President and Chief Executive Officer of UbiquiTel Inc., a telecommunications company organized by Mr. Harris and other investors, since its inception in September 1999 and also its Chairman since May 2000. Mr. Harris served as the President of Comcast Cellular Communications Inc. from March 1992 to March 1997. Mr. Harris received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Columbia University. Mr. Harris’s experience in the telecommunications industry and his association with private equity funding is valuable to the Company.


Richard Mills is currently our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mills possesses over 32 years of industry experience. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of ConeXus World Global, a leading digital media services company, which he founded in 2010, and which was acquired by Creative Realities as reported herein. Prior to founding ConeXus, Mr. Mills was President and Director at Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc., a public telecom and technology infrastructure services provider. Previous to that, he joined publicly traded Pomeroy Computer Resources, Inc. in 1993 and served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors from 1995 until 1999. Mr. Mills helped grow sales at Pomeroy during his time there from $100 million to $700 million. Mr. Mills was also a founder of Strategic Communications LLC.

John Walpuck has served as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer since April 2014. Mr. Walpuck brings over 25 years of experience in financial and general management to Creative Realities, and over 20 years of experience in a broad range of digital media services, software, Internet services, online businesses, virtualization, and other technology industry sectors. Prior to Creative Realities, Mr. Walpuck served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of AllDigital, Inc. a digital broadcasting solutions company for the period from 2010 through 2013. Mr. Walpuck also served as the President and CEO of Disaboom, Inc., an online business and social network dedicated to people with disabilities, where he worked from 2007 to 2010. Prior to Disaboom, from 2005 to 2007, he served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nine Systems Corporation, a digital media services company. Mr. Walpuck has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a CMA, CPA and holds other professional certifications.

Patrick O’Brien has been a member of our Board of Directors since November 2015. Mr. O’Brien is the Managing Director& Principal of Granville Wolcott Advisors, which he formed in 2009 to provide consulting, due diligence and asset management services. Mr. O’Brien is a seasoned executive and business advisor, with 40 years of multi-unit international management experience with an emphasis in financial analysis and strategic business development. During the past five years, Mr. O’Brien has served on the boards of Merriman Holdings, Inc., Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation, Cinedigm, Inc., and is Chairman and CEO of LVI Liquidation Corp. (formerly Livevol, Inc.) He is a graduate of the Eli Broad School of Business of Michigan State University with BA in Hotel Management

Eric J. Bertrand joined our Board of Directors in May, 2016. Mr. Bertrand is the Chief Executive Officer and a partner of modop, a full-service advertising agency with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Portland and Panama City, Panama.  Prior to modop, Mr. Bertrand was a PE/VC fund manager, having invested $300 million in 60+ companies over the past 20 years.  Mr. Bertrand was a General Partner with Palisade Capital Management, where he jointly managed a private equity fund and venture capital funds.   Mr. Bertrand began his private equity career with Aetna’s Private Equity Group. Today, Mr. Bertrand is a Board Member of modop, Silverlight Digital, several privately held companies as well as international charities, Unite For Sight and the Alive Inside Foundation. Eric holds an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurial Studies from New York University. He graduated from Bryant University with a BS in Business Administration concentrating on Finance and Applied Actuarial Mathematics. 

Under our corporate bylaws, all of our directors serve for indefinite terms expiring upon the next annual meeting of our shareholders. The holders of a majority of our outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock also have the right, but not the obligation, to designate one person to serve as a director on our board. As of the date of this Annual Report, the preferred shareholders have not exercised this right.

When considering whether directors and nominees have the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills to enable the Board of Directors to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of our business and structure, the Board of Directors focuses primarily on the industry and transactional experience, and other background, in addition to any unique skills or attributes associated with a director. With regard to Mr. Machiels, the Board of Directors considered his background and experience with the private investing market and his long-standing oversight of the Creative Realities business during such time as it was wholly owned by Pegasus Capital. With regard to Mr. Bell, the Board considered his deep experience within the advertising and marketing industries and his prior management of large enterprises. With regard to Mr. Bertrand, the Board considered his deep experience within the media industry and significant private equity background. With regard to Mr. Mills, the Board of Directors considered his extensive background and experience in the industry. With regard to Mr. O’Brien, the Board of Directors considered his background as an advisor and extensive management experience. Finally, with regard to Mr. Harris, the Board of Directors considered his extensive experience in the telecommunications industry and association with private equity investors. 


The Board of Directors has determined that there are no “independent” directors as such term is defined in Section 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq listing rules, and meets the criteria for independence set forth in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The preceding disclosure respecting director independence is required under applicable SEC rules. Nevertheless, as a corporation whose shares are listed for trading on the OTCQX Markets, we presently are not required to have any independent directors at all on our board, or any independent directors serving on any particular committees of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has determined that at least one member of the board, Mr. Machiels, is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Mr. Machiels’ relevant experience in this regard is detailed above, which includes past employment experience in finance and investment banking. Mr. Machiels is not an “independent” member of the board as described above. The Board of Directors has determined that each director is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements.

Board and Committee Matters

The Company does not have a standing nominating committee, compensation committee or audit committee. Instead, the entire Board of Directors shares the responsibility of identifying potential director-nominees to serve on the Board of Directors, making compensation decisions and performing the functions of an audit committee. The Board believes the engagement of all directors in these functions is important at this time in the Company’s development in light of the Company’s recent acquisition activities.

Communications with Board Members

Our board of directors has provided the following process for shareholders and interested parties to send communications to our board and/or individual directors. All communications should be addressed to Creative Realities, Inc., 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste. 100, Louisville, KY 40223, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Communications to individual directors may also be made to such director at our company’s address. All communications sent to any individual director will be received directly by such individuals and will not be screened or reviewed by any company personnel. Any communications sent to the board in the care of the Corporate Secretary will be reviewed by the Corporate Secretary to ensure that such communications relate to the business of the company before being reviewed by the board.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

 

Compliance with Section 16(a)Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, none of the officers (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 16a-1(f)) or directors of the Company adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” (as defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K) intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1(c) or any non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.

 

Earnings Release

On March 21, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing its financial condition and results of operations for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference into this Item 9B in lieu of separately furnishing such press release under Item 2.02 of Form 8-K. This disclosure, including Exhibit 99.1 hereto, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 16(a)18 of the Exchange Act, requires our officers, directors and persons who own more thanor otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any of the Company’s filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.

Not applicable.

31

PART III

ITEM 10 percent of a registered class of our equity securities to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Such officers, directors and shareholders areDIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The information required by the SECthis Item is incorporated herein by reference to furnish us with copiesour definitive proxy statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of all such reports. To our knowledge, based solely on a review of copies of reportsShareholders (the "Proxy Statement"), which will be filed with the SEC during 2017 and written representations from such persons that no other reports were required, all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements were timely met except as follows: Richard Mills has not yet filed a report relatingpursuant to Regulation 14A under the issuance of shares to him by the Company in connection with the Second Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization and Waiver, which agreement is an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Exchange Act.

 

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers (including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions) and directors. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics satisfies the requirements of Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available, free of charge, upon written request to our Corporate Secretary at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste. 100, Louisville, KY 40223.  


ITEM 11EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Executive Compensation

Summary Compensation TableITEM 11EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

The following table sets forth information concerningrequired by this Item is incorporated by reference from the compensation of our named executive officers for 2017 and 2016:Proxy Statement.

 

Name and Principal Position (a) Years Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)
  Stock Awards ($) (c)  Option Awards ($)  Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)  All Other Compensation ($)  Total
($)
 
Richard Mills 2017  270,000   -   -   -   -   -   270,000 
Chief Executive Officer and Director 2016  270,000   -   -   -   -   -   270,000 
                               
John Walpuck 2017  240,000   -   -   -   -   -   240,000 
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer 2016  240,000   -   -   -   -   -   240,000 

(a)Mr. Mills joined the Company effective October 15, 2015.  Mr. Walpuck joined the company effective May 2014.

The material terms of employment agreements and payments to be made upon a change in control are discussed below, in the narrative following “Employment Agreements.”ITEM 12 SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

 

Our named executive officers are eligibleSecurities Authorized for retirement benefits on the same terms as non-executives under the company’s defined contribution 401(k) retirement plan. Employees may contribute pretax compensation to the plan in accordance with current maximum contribution levels proscribed by the Internal Revenue Service. There are currently plans to implement an employer contribution match of 50% of employee wages up to 6%, for an effective match of 3% on April 1, 2018.


OutstandingIssuance Under Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-EndCompensation Plans

 

The following table below sets forth certain information, concerning outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2017:

  Option Awards (a)  Stock Awards
  Number of  Number of Securities        Number Market value
  Securities  Underlying        of shares of shares
  Underlying  Unexercised        or units of or units of
  Unexercised  Options  Option     stock stock
  Options  (#)  Exercise  Option  that has that have
  (#)  Non-  Price  Expiration  not vested not vested
Name Exercisable  Exercisable  ($)  Date  (#) ($)
John Walpuck  170,000(b)  -  $0.65   5/29/2024  - -
   50,000(b)  -  $0.45   8/18/2024     
       480,685(d) $0.45   10/9/2024     
       1,449,432(c) $0.32   1/22/2025     
       1,069,882(e) $0.19   11/20/2025     

(a)Unless otherwise indicated, represents shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted under our Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

(b)These stock options became fully exercisable upon the effectiveness of the Company’s merger transaction with Creative Realities, LLC.

(c)This stock option became exercisable to the extent of 25 percent of the shares purchasable thereunder on January 22, 2016, with additional increments of 25 percent becoming exercisable annually thereafter.

(d)

This stock option became exercisable to the extent of 25 percent of the shares purchasable thereunder on October 9, 2015, with additional increments of 25 percent becoming exercisable annually thereafter.

(e)This stock option becomes exercisable to the extent of 25 percent of the shares purchasable thereunder on November 20, 2016, with additional increments of 25 percent becoming exercisable annually thereafter.

Director Compensation Table

Non-employee directors received no compensation during 2017 and 2016.

36

ITEM 12SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

As of the close of business on March 13, 2018, we had outstanding two classes of voting securities – common stock, of which there were 82,581,866 shares issued and outstanding and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, of which there were 5,663,946 shares issued and outstanding. Each share of common stock is currently entitled to one vote on all matters put to a vote of our shareholders, and each share of preferred stock votes on an as-converted basis, which means that each preferred share is currently entitled to two and one-half votes on all matters put to a vote of our shareholders. Our preferred stock votes together with our common stock as a single class. The following table sets forth the number of common shares, and percentage of outstanding common shares, beneficially owned as of December 31, 2017, by: 2023, regarding equity compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our securities were then authorized for issuance.

 

         

Number of

         

Securities

         

Remaining

  

Number of

     

Available for

  

Securities to be

  

Weighted-

 

Issuance Under

  

Issued Upon

  

Average

 

Equity

  

Exercise of

  

Exercise Price of

 

Compensation

  

Outstanding

  

Outstanding

 

Plans (excluding

  

Options,

  

Options,

 

securities

  

Warrants and

  

Warrants and

 

reflected in

  

Rights

  

Rights

 

column (a))

   (a)   (b) (c)

Equity compensation plans approved by shareholders

  1,636,132 (1)  6.51 

None

Equity compensation plans not approved by shareholders

  1,500,000 (2)  N/A 

None

(1)

each person known by us

Shares reflected are issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options issued under the 2006 Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan or the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan. The Company's ability to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of our outstanding common stockissue new awards under its 2014 Stock Incentive Plan expired in 2023.

   

(2)

each current director

each executive officer

On November 8, 2023, our Board of Directors adopted the 2023 Plan that authorizes the issuance of up to 1,500,000 shares under such plan. The Company and other persons identified as a named executive inintends to seek shareholder approval of such plan at our 2024 annual shareholder meeting. At this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and

time, no awards have been issued under the 2023 Plan.

all current executive officers and directors as a group.

 

Unless otherwise indicated,For information regarding the addressmaterial features of each of the following persons is 22 Audrey Place, Fairfield, NJ 07004, and each such person has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite his, her or its name.above plans see Note 12 Stock-based Compensation in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Report.

 

Name and Address Common Shares Beneficially Owned[1]  

Percentage of

Common Shares1

 

Slipstream Funding, LLC[2]

c/o Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.

99 River Road

Cos Cob, CT 06807

  30,349,949   35.98%

Slipstream Communications, LLC[3]

c/o Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.

99 River Road

Cos Cob, CT 06807

  74,070,970   58.39%
Horton Capital Partners Fund, L.P.[4]  8,679,847   9.95%
Eric Bertrand[5]  911,857   1.09%
John Walpuck[6]  2,082,358   2.46%
Donald A. Harris[7]  2,688,547   3.23%
Alec Machiels[8]  0   * 
David Bell[9]  0   * 
Richard Mills[10]  17,974,915   21.70%
Patrick O’Brien[11]  0   * 
All current executive officers and directors as a group[12]  20,750,562   24.07%

* less than 1%


(1)Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and includes general voting power and/or investment power with respect to securities. Shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options or warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of the record rate, and shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of other securities currently convertible or convertible within 60 days, are deemed outstanding for computing the beneficial ownership percentage of the person holding such securities but are not deemed outstanding for computing the beneficial ownership percentage of any other person. Under applicable SEC rules, each person’s beneficial ownership is calculated by dividing the total number of shares with respect to which they possess beneficial ownership by the total number of outstanding shares of the Company. In any case where an individual has beneficial ownership over securities that are not outstanding, but are issuable upon the exercise of options or warrants or similar rights within the next 60 days, that same number of shares is added to the denominator in the calculation described above. Because the calculation of each person’s beneficial ownership set forth in the “Percentage of Common Shares” column of the table may include shares that are not presently outstanding, the sum total of the percentages set forth in such column may exceed 100%.

(2)Investment and voting power over shares held by Slipstream Funding, LLC is held by Slipstream Communications, LLC, its sole member. See table footnote 3 for further information regarding Slipstream Communications, LLC. The share figure includes 1,779,015 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of an outstanding warrant issued to the shareholder in connection with the Company’s merger transaction with Creative Realities, LLC.
(3)Investment and voting power over shares held by Slipstream Communications, LLC is held by BCOM Holdings, LP, its managing member. Slipstream Communications is the sole member of Slipstream Funding, LLC, and as a result share figure includes the 28,570,934 shares of common stock, and 1,779,015 common shares issuable upon exercise of an outstanding warrant, issued to and held by Slipstream Funding, LLC in connection with the merger transaction with Creative Realities, LLC. Share figure also includes 15,461,920 common shares issued on account of a convertible promissory note, 3,111,761 common shares issuable upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 25,706,248 common shares purchasable upon exercise of outstanding warrants.

(4)Includes 3,485,518 common shares issuable upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 1,205,358 common shares purchasable upon exercise of outstanding warrants. The warrants to purchase shares held by Horton Capital Partners Fund, LP contain “blocker” provisions that limits its ability to exercise such warrants to the extent that such exercise would cause the shareholder’s beneficial ownership in the Company to exceed 4.99% of the Company’s shares outstanding. The calculation of beneficial ownership does not take into account the effect of such “blocker” provisions.

(5)Includes 892,857 common shares purchasable upon exercise of outstanding warrants. The warrants to purchase shares held Eric Bertrand contain “blocker” provisions that limits its ability to exercise such warrants to the extent that such exercise would cause the shareholder’s beneficial ownership in the Company to exceed 4.99% of the Company’s shares outstanding. The calculation of beneficial ownership does not take into account the effect of such “blocker” provisions.
(6)Mr. Walpuck is our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Shares reflected in the table are common shares issuable upon exercise of vested options.
(7)Mr. Harris is a director of the Company. Share figure includes 225,549 common shares issuable upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 419,643 shares purchasable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants.  

(8)Mr. Machiels is a director of the Company.
(9)Mr. Bell is a director of the Company.

(10)Mr. Mills is a director of the Company and Chief Executive Officer. Includes 2,639,258 common shares and 267,857 common shares purchasable upon exercise of outstanding warrants, each held by RFK Communications, LLC. The warrants to purchase shares held by RFK Communications, LLC contain “blocker” provisions that limits its ability to exercise such warrants to the extent that such exercise would cause the shareholder’s beneficial ownership in the Company to exceed 4.99% of the Company’s shares outstanding. The calculation of beneficial ownership does not take into account the effect of such “blocker” provisions.
(11)Mr. O’Brien is a director of the Company.
(12)Includes Messrs. Walpuck, Harris, Machiels, Bell, Mills, O’Brien and Bertrand.

ITEM 13CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Employment AgreementsAll other information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement.

 

We employ Richard Mills as our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mills’ employment agreement is effective for a two-year term, which automatically renews for additional one-year periods unless either we or Mr. Mills elects not to extend the term. The agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $270,000 subject to annual increases but generally not subject to decreases, and includes provisions for the right to receive up to 4,951,557 performance shares of common stock in connection with a series of performance-based requirements. Under the agreement, Mr. Mills is eligible to participate in performance-based cash bonus or equity award plans for our senior executives. Mr. Mills will participate in our employee benefit plans, policies, programs, perquisites and arrangements to the extent he meets applicable eligibility requirements. In the event of a termination of employment for good reason, as defined, without cause, as defined, or within 12 months following a change in control, as defined, other than for reason of death, disability or for cause, any of which occur during the first year of Mr. Mills’ employment, Mr. Mills will be entitled to receive a severance payment equal to six months of his base salary. After the one-year anniversary of his employment, the severance amount increases to 12 months of then-current base salary. The agreement provides that any severance payments would be paid in installments over the course of the severance. The agreement contains certain non-solicitation and non-competition provisions that continue after employment for a period of one year. The agreement also contains other customary restrictive and other covenants relating to the confidentiality of information, the ownership of inventions and other matters. 

We employ John Walpuck as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Walpuck’s employment agreement is effective for a one-year term, which automatically renews for additional one-year periods unless either the Company or Mr. Walpuck elects not to extend the employment term. The agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $240,000, subject to annual increases but generally not subject to decreases. Mr. Walpuck is eligible to participate in performance-based cash bonus or equity award plans for the Company’s senior executives. In addition, Mr. Walpuck will participate in employee benefit plans, policies, programs, perquisites and arrangements to the extent he meets eligibility and other requirements. In the event of a termination of employment for good reason, as defined, without cause, as defined, or within 12 months following a change in control, as defined, other than for reason of death, disability or for cause, any of which occur during the first year of Mr. Walpuck’s employment, Mr. Walpuck will be entitled to receive a severance payment equal to six months of his base salary. After the one-year anniversary of his employment, the severance amount increases to 12 months of then-current base salary. The agreement provides that any severance payments would be paid in installments over the course of a one-year period. The agreement contains certain non-solicitation and non-competition provisions that continue after employment for a period of one year. The agreement also contains other customary restrictive and other covenants relating to the confidentiality of information, the ownership of inventions and other matters.

IndependenceITEM13CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

 

The Company does not have a standing nominating committee, compensation committee or audit committee. Instead,information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from the entire Board of Directors shares the responsibility of identifying potential director-nominees to serve on the Board of Directors, making compensation decisions and performing the functions of an audit committee. The board believes the engagement of all directors in these functions is important at this time in the Company’s development in light of the Company’s recent acquisition activities.Proxy Statement.

ITEM 14PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

 

The Boardinformation required by this Item is incorporated by reference from the Proxy Statement.

32

 

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)PART IV

 

The following table presents fees for audit and other services provided by EisnerAmper LLP for 2017 and 2016. Fees for tax services were provided by Eichen & Dimeglio, CPAs, PC in both 2017 and 2016.

  2017  2016 
       
Audit fees (a) $207  $193 
Audit related fees (b)  0   4 
Tax fees (c)  53   33 
         
  $260  $230 

(a)Audit fees for 2017 and 2016 relate to professional services provided in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements, the reviews of our quarterly condensed consolidated financial statements and audit services provided in connection with other regulatory filings.

(b)Audit-related fees relate to professional services provided in connection with filing Form S-1.

(c)Tax fees consisted of the aggregate fees billed for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning.

Our Board of Directors reviewed the audit services rendered by EisnerAmper, LLP during 2017 and 2016 and concluded that such services were compatible with maintaining the auditor’s independence.


PART IVITEM 15EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

 

ITEM 15EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

 

(a)

See “Index to Consolidated Financial Statements” on page F-1 and “Exhibit Index” on page E-1..

 (b)

 

(b)

See “Exhibit Index” on page E-1.34.

 (c)Not applicable.

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

41

 

ExhibitNo.

Description

2.1

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 12, 2021, by and between the registrant, CRI Acquisition Corporation, Reflect Systems, Inc., and RSI Exit Corporation  (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 15, 2021)

2.2

Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 8, 2022, by and among the registrant, CRI Acquisition Corporation, Reflect Systems, Inc., and RSI Exit Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 9, 2022)

2.3Second Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of February 11, 2023 by and among the registrant, Reflect Systems, Inc. and RSI Exit Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 15, 2023)

3.1*

Articles of Incorporation, as amended

3.2

Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 2, 2011)

4.1

Specimen certificate evidencing shares of Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form SB-2 (File No. 333-136972))

4.2*

Description of Securities

4.3

Warrant dated January 16, 2018, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Form S-1 filed with the SEC on June 25, 2018)

4.4

Warrant to Purchase Common Stock issued to Slipstream Communications, LLC on April 27, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.31 of the registrant’s Form S-1 filed with the SEC on June 25, 2018).

4.5

Investor Warrant dated June 30, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 7, 2022)

4.6

Lender Warrant dated June 30, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 7, 2022)

4.7

Investor Warrant dated June 30, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 7, 2022)

10.1+

Employment Agreement dated as of November 12, 2021 by and between the registrant and Rick Mills (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed November 15, 2021).

10.2+

Employment Agreement dated as of November 12, 2021 by and between the registrant and Will Logan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed November 15, 2021)

10.3

Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement by and among the registrant, its subsidiaries and Slipstream Communications, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)

10.4First Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2022)

10.5

$10,000,000 Acquisition Term Note (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)

ExhibitNo.Description

10.6

$7,185,319.06 Consolidation Term Note (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)

10.7Note and Security Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)
10.8First Amendment to Note and Security Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 15, 2023)

10.9+

2014 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit A to the registrant's definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on June 12, 2020)

10.10+2023 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed November 9, 2023)

10.11+

Retention Bonus Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)

10.12+

Form of Retention Bonus Plan Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 18, 2022)

10.13+Amendment to Stock Option Agreement dated June 15, 2022 between the Company and Rick Mills (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2022)
10.14+Amendment to Stock Option Agreement dated June 15, 2022 between the Company and Will Logan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2022)
10.15+Stock Option Agreement dated June 15, 2022 between the Company and Rick Mills (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2022)
10.16+Stock Option Agreement dated June 15, 2022 between the Company and Will Logan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 17, 2022)
10.17Placement Agency Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 21, 2023

14.1

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 of the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018)

19.1*Insider Trader Policy

 

ExhibitNo.Description

21.1*

List of Subsidiaries

23.1*

Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP

31.1*

Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).

31.2*

Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).

32.1*

Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

32.2*

Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

99.1*(1)Press Release dated March 21, 2024

101.INS*

Inline XBRL Instance Document.

101.SCH*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

101.CAL*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

101.DEF*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

101.LAB*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

101.PRE*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

104*

Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).

*

Filed herewith

+

Compensatory Plan or arrangement required to be filed pursuant to Item 15(b) of Form 10-K.

(1)

This exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any of the Company’s filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.

None.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York, on authorized. 

March 26, 2018.21, 2024.

 

 

Creative Realities, Inc.

   
 

By 

/s/ Richard Mills

 

Richard Mills

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

By 

/s/ John WalpuckWill Logan

 John Walpuck

Will Logan

 

Chief Financial Officer and

Chief Operating Officer

 

In accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

     

/s/ Richard Mills

 

Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

 March 26, 201821, 2024

Richard Mills

and Chairman of the Board of Directors  
     

/s/ John L. WalpuckWill Logan

 

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Chief Operating Officer (Principal

 

March 26, 201821, 2024

John J. Walpuck

Will Logan

 Financial Officer and

Principal Accounting Officer)

  
     

/s/ Alec MachielsDavid Bell

 Chairman of the Board of Directors

Director

 

March 26, 201821, 2024

Alec  Machiels

David Bell

  
     

/s/ David  BellDonald Harris

 

Director

 

March 26, 201821, 2024

David  Bell

Donald Harris

  
     

/s/ Donald  HarrisSteve Nesbit

 

Director

 

March 26, 201821, 2024

Donald  Harris
/s/ Patrick O’BrienDirectorMarch 26, 2018
Patrick O’Brien

Steve Nesbit

   

/s/ Eric J. BertrandDirectorMarch 26, 2018
Eric J. Bertrand

 

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting FirmsFirm (PCAOB ID No. 34)

F-2

Consolidated Financial Statements

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets

F-4

F-5

Consolidated Statements of Operations

F-5

F-6

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity

F-6

F-7

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

F-7

F-8

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

F-9

F-8

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors and Shareholders of

Creative Realities, Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Opinion on the Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Creative Realities, Inc. and Subsidiariessubsidiaries (the “Company”"Company") as of December 31, 20172023 and 2016, and2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’shareholders' equity, and cash flows, for each of the two years thenin the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes to the financial statements (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”"financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 20172023 and 20162022, and the consolidated results of theirits operations and theirits cash flows for each of the two years thenin the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern

 

Change in Accounting Principle

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 21 to the financial statements, the Company has changedis experiencing difficulty in generating sufficient cash flow to service its methoddebt and contingent consideration obligations, which raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of accounting for the classification of certain equity-linked financial instruments with down-round features in 2017 due to the adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-11.this uncertainty.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’sCompany's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’sCompany's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”)(PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

 

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Goodwill Refer to Notes 2 and 7 to the Financial Statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company operates as a single reportable segment, operating segment and reporting unit. The Company’s evaluation of goodwill for impairment involves comparing the book value of the reporting unit to its estimated fair value. The Company’s determination of estimated fair value of the reporting unit is based on a discounted cash flow model and market approach. The Company used the discounted cash flow model to estimate fair value which requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to the valuation of the reporting unit, including assumptions regarding discount rates and forecasts of future revenue and EBITDA margins. The market approach requires management to make assumptions regarding guideline public company transactions and estimated market multiples. Changes in these assumptions could have a significant impact on either the fair value of the reporting unit, the amount of any goodwill impairment charge, or both.

The Company’s annual impairment assessment date is September 30. Accordingly, management performed an impairment assessment as of September 30, 2023. The estimated fair value of the reporting unit exceeded the carrying value as of September 30, 2023 and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.

We identified the valuation of goodwill as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management made to estimate the fair value of the reporting unit and the highly sensitive nature of Company’s operations to changes in demand. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve internal fair value specialists, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s estimates and assumptions.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the significant estimates and assumptions included in the discounted cash flow model, including projected revenues, gross profit, EBITDA, working capital as a percentage of revenue, and capital expenditures, and the selection of the long-term growth rate and discount rate for the reporting unit included the following, among others:

We evaluated the design and implementation of management's controls around the valuation of the reporting unit and the selection and review of critical assumptions used in the discounted cash flow and market approaches.

We evaluated the reasonableness of management’s forecasts of revenue, gross profit, operating income/EBITDA, and capital expenditures by comparing the forecasts to:

(1)

historical revenue, gross profit, EBITDA, working capital as a percentage of revenue and capital expenditures;

(2)

internal communications to management and the Board of Directors, and;

(3)

forecasted information included in industry reports for the Company.

We evaluated management's historical contract win experience to assess whether forecasted revenues are reasonable.

We performed a retrospective review of forecasted assumptions from the prior year to evaluate the credibility of management's forecasting process.

For significant new revenue contracts, we obtained evidence of the executed contract, project timeline, and project scope, as applicable.

We evaluated changes in forecasted information from the previous quantitative assessment to the annual assessment date and obtained supporting evidence for any significant changes in forecasted information.

With the assistance of our internal fair value specialists:

o

We evaluated the reasonableness of the discounted cash flow valuation methodology and performed underlying procedures on the mathematical accuracy of the calculations.

o

We evaluated the selection of guideline public companies and selection of multiples utilized within the market approach.

o

We evaluated the reasonableness of the long-term growth rate used in the discounted cash flow model by comparing the information used by the Company to third party economic and industry related information.

o

We evaluated the reasonableness of the discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model by testing the underlying source information, developing an independent range of estimated discount rates and comparing that range to the discount rate selected by the Company.

o

We evaluated the reasonableness of the company-specific risk premium used in the discounted cash flow model by comparing the risk premium to a range based on our independent research of the facts and circumstances.

o

We evaluated the reasonableness of the control premiums used by management and management’s valuation specialists by developing an independent range of control premiums and comparing that range to the rate selected by the Company.

/s/ EisnerAmperDeloitte & Touche LLP

Louisville, Kentucky

March 21, 2024

 

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.2020.

 

EISNERAMPER LLP

Iselin, New JerseyCREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

March 26, 2018CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

 


  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

ASSETS

        

Current Assets:

        

Cash and cash equivalents

 $2,910  $1,633 

Accounts receivable, net

  12,468   8,263 

Inventories, net

  2,567   2,267 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

  665   1,819 

Total Current Assets

  18,610   13,982 

Property and equipment, net

  499   201 

Goodwill

  26,453   26,453 

Other intangible assets, net

  24,062   23,752 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

  1,041   1,584 

Other non-current assets

  112   43 

Total Assets

 $70,777  $66,015 
         

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

        

Current Liabilities:

        

Accounts payable

 $7,876  $3,757 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

  3,761   3,828 

Deferred revenues

  1,132   1,223 

Customer deposits

  3,233   2,478 

Current maturities of operating leases

  505   711 

Short-term portion of Secured Promissory Note

  -   1,248 

Short-term portion of related party Consolidation Term Loan, net of $747 and $745 discount, respectively

  3,690   1,251 

Short-term related party Term Loan (2022)

  -   2,000 

Total Current Liabilities

  20,197   16,496 

Long-term Secured Promissory Note

  -   208 

Long-term related party Acquisition Term Loan, net of $787 and $1,484 discount, respectively

  9,213   8,516 

Long-term related party Consolidation Term Loan, net of $94 and $840 discount, respectively

  616   4,349 

Long-term obligations under operating leases

  536   873 

Contingent consideration, at fair value

  11,208   9,789 

Other non-current liabilities

  176   205 

Total Liabilities

  41,946   40,436 
         

Shareholders' Equity

        

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 66,666 shares authorized; 10,409 and 7,266 shares issued and outstanding, respectively

  104   72 

Additional paid in capital

  82,073   75,916 

Accumulated deficit

  (53,346)  (50,409)

Total Shareholders' Equity

  28,831   25,579 

Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

 $70,777  $66,015 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETSSTATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

  

For the Years Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Sales

        

Hardware

 $20,303  $19,895 

Services and other

  24,863   23,455 

Total sales

  45,166   43,350 
         

Cost of sales

        

Hardware

  15,280   16,613 

Services and other

  7,703   8,998 

Total cost of sales

  22,983   25,611 

Gross profit

  22,183   17,739 
         

Operating expenses:

        

Sales and marketing

  5,247   3,651 

Research and development

  1,574   1,251 

General and administrative

  10,795   11,892 

Depreciation and amortization

  3,221   2,833 

Deal and transaction costs

  -   592 

Total operating expenses

  20,837   20,219 

Operating income (loss)

  1,346   (2,480)
         

Other expense (income):

        

Interest expense, including amortization of debt discount

  2,992   2,743 

Change in fair value of contingent consideration

  1,419   (1,074)

Change in fair value of warrant liability

  -   (7,902)

Loss on debt waiver consent

  -   1,212 

Loss on warrant amendment

  -   345 

Loss on settlement of obligations

  -   237 

Other expenses (income), net

  (211)  4 

Total other expense (income)

  4,200   (4,435)

Net (loss) income before income taxes

  (2,854)  1,955 

Income tax expense

  (83)  (79)

Net (loss) income

 $(2,937) $1,876 

Net (loss) income per common share - basic

 $(0.35) $0.28 

Net (loss) income per common share - diluted

 $(0.35) $0.28 

Weighted average shares outstanding - basic

  8,479   6,664 

Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted

  8,479   6,664 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

(in thousands, except shares)

          

Additional

         
  

Common Stock

  

paid in

  

Accumulated

     

Year ended December 31, 2023

 

Shares

  

Amount

  

capital

  

(Deficit)

  

Total

 

Balance as of December 31, 2022

  7,266,382  $72  $75,916  $(50,409) $25,579 

Stock-based compensation

  -   -   445   -   445 

Shares issued to directors as compensation

  51,616   1   95   -   96 

Shares issued to vendors as compensation

  28,554   -   55   -   55 

Shares issued to employees pursuant to the Retention Bonus Plan

  62,475   1   138   -   139 

Issuance of common stock, net

  3,000,000   30   5,424   -   5,454 

Net loss

  -   -   -   (2,937)  (2,937)

Balance as of December 31, 2023

  10,409,027  $104  $82,073  $(53,346) $28,831 

          

Additional

         
  

Common Stock

  

paid in

  

Accumulated

     

Year ended December 31, 2022

 

Shares

  

Amount

  

capital

  

(Deficit)

  

Total

 

Balance as of December 31, 2021

  4,002,843  $40  $60,943  $(52,254) $8,729 

Stock-based compensation

  -   -   1,887   -   1,887 

Shares issued to vendors as compensation

  41,369   -   100   -   100 

Shares issued and warrants exercised in private investment in public entity ("PIPE")

  2,388,836   24   2,254   -   2,278 

Shares issued in Reflect Systems, Inc. Merger

  833,334   8   4,992   -   5,000 

Warrant repricing events

  -   -   31   (31)  - 

Warrant amendment

  -   -   5,709   -   5,709 

Net income

  -   -   -   1,876   1,876 

Balance as of December 31, 2022

  7,266,382  $72  $75,916  $(50,409) $25,579 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

  

For the Years Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Operating Activities:

        

Net (loss) income

 $(2,937) $1,876 

Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to be used in operating activities:

        

Depreciation and amortization

  3,221   2,833 

Amortization of debt discount

  1,443   1,268 

Amortization of stock-based compensation

  563   2,116 

Bad debt expense

  153   398 

Loss (gain) on change in fair value of contingent consideration

  1,419   (1,074)

Deferred income taxes

  44   - 

Gain on change in fair value of warrants

  -   (7,902)

Loss on debt waiver consent

  -   1,212 

Loss on warrant amendment

  -   345 

Loss on settlement of obligations

  -   237 

Changes to operating assets and liabilities:

        

Accounts receivable

  (4,358)  (3,927)

Inventories, net

  (300)  (197)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

  952   480 

Accounts payable

  4,486   914 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

  (47)  1,112 

Deferred revenue

  (91)  (462)

Customer deposits

  755   110 

Other, net

  (136)  (47)

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

  5,167   (708)
         

Investing activities

        

Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired

  -   (17,186)

Purchases of property and equipment

  (306)  (149)

Capitalization of internal and external labor for software development

  (3,721)  (4,140)

Net cash used in investing activities

  (4,027)  (21,475)
         

Financing activities

        

Proceeds from sale of common stock, net of offering expenses

  5,454   - 

Proceeds from Acquisition Term Loan, net of offering expenses

  -   9,868 

Proceeds from sale & exercise of pre-funded warrants in PIPE, net of offering expenses

  -   8,295 

Proceeds from Term Loan (2022)

  -   2,000 

Proceeds from sale of common stock in PIPE, net of offering expenses

  -   1,814 

Repayment of Consolidated Term Loan

  (2,040)   

Repayment of Term Loan (2022)

  (2,000)  - 

Repayment of Secured Promissory Note

  (1,254)  (1,044)

Principal payments on finance leases

  (23)  - 

Net cash provided by financing activities

  137   20,933 

Increase (decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents

  1,277   (1,250)

Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of year

  1,633   2,883 

Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of year

 $2,910  $1,633 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
ASSETS      
CURRENT ASSETS      
Cash and cash equivalents $1,003  $1,352 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $40 and $85, respectively  5,912   3,998 
Unbilled receivables  77   242 
Work-in-process and inventories  851   585 
Prepaids and other current assets  1,030   168 
Total current assets  8,873   6,345 
Property and equipment, net  1,136   912 
Intangibles, net  875   2,035 
Goodwill  14,989   14,989 
Other assets  172   138 
TOTAL ASSETS $26,045  $24,419 
         
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
CURRENT LIABILITIES        
Short-term related party loans payable, net of $0 and $454 discount, respectively $-  $7,627 
Accounts payable  2,017   3,218 
Accrued expenses  2,689   2,277 
Deferred revenues  6,721   753 
Customer deposits  1,247   606 
Total current liabilities  12,674   14,481 
Long-term related party loans payable, net of $1,916 and $0 discount, respectively  5,465   - 
Warrant liability  858   705 
Deferred tax liabilities  549   610 
Other liabilities  220   218 
TOTAL LIABILITIES  19,766   16,014 
         
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES        
Convertible preferred stock, net of discount (liquidation preference of $5,692 and $7,690, respectively)  1,927   3,925 
         
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
Common stock, $.01 per value, 200,000 shares authorized; 82,582 and 66,649 shares issued and outstanding, respectively  826   666 
Additional paid-in capital  29,757   23,095 
Accumulated deficit  (26,231)  (19,281)
Total shareholders’ equity  4,352   4,480 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $26,045  $24,419 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 


CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTSNOTE 1: NATURE OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

  For the Years Ended 
  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Sales      
Hardware $5,412  $3,031 
Services and other  12,286   10,642 
Total sales  17,698   13,673 
         
Cost of sales        
Hardware  4,434   2,544 
Services and other  5,875   4,271 
Total cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below)  10,309   6,815 
Gross profit  7,389   6,858 
         
Operating expenses:        
Sales and marketing expenses  2,078   1,061 
Research and development expenses  991   893 
General and administrative expenses  6,944   6,393 
Depreciation and amortization expense  1,505   2,003 
ConeXus acquistion stock issuance expense  1,971   - 
Impairment loss on intangible assets  -   1,065 
Total operating expenses  13,489   11,415 
Operating loss  (6,100)  (4,557)
         
Other income (expenses):        
Interest expense  (1,610)  (1,636)
Change in fair value of warrant liability  (153)  (42)
Gain on settlement of debt and dissolution of Broadcast  872   1,008 
Other income, net  2   164 
Total other expense  (889)  (506)
Net loss before income taxes  (6,989)  (5,063)
Benefit/(provision) from income taxes  39   365 
Net loss  (6,950)  (4,698)
Dividends on preferred stock  246   463 
Net loss attributable to common shareholders $(7,196) $(5,161)
Net loss per common share - basic and diluted $(0.10) $(0.07)
Net loss attributable to common shareholders $(0.10) $(0.08)
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted  72,788   65,443 

See accompanyingUnless the context otherwise indicates, references in these Notes to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.Statements to

we,


CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

(in thousands, except shares)

        Additional       
  Common Stock  paid in  (Accumulated    
  Shares  Amount  capital  Deficit)  Total 
Balance as of December 31, 2015  64,224,860  $642  $22,528  $(14,582) $8,588 
Shares issued upon conversion of preferred stock  1,205,882   12   295   -   307 
Shares issued for restructured settlement program  1,219,189   12   155   -   167 
Dividends on preferred stock  -   -   (463)  -   (463)
Stock-based compensation  -   -   273   -   273 
Net loss  -   -   -   (5,910)  (5,910)
Adjustment due to adoption of ASU 2017-11  -   -   307   1,211   1,518 
Balance as of December 31, 2016  66,649,931  $666  $23,095  $(19,281) $4,480 
                     
Shares issued upon conversion of preferred stock  8,806,906   88   2,158   -   2,246 
Additional shares issued for ConeXus purchase  5,631,373   56   1,915   -   1,971 
Shares issued for services  1,960,784   20   480   -   500 
Issuance of warrants with promissory notes  -   -   2,216   -   2,216 
Redemption and cancellation of shares under repurchase plan  (1,185,968)  (11)  (138)  -   (149)
Dividends on preferred stock  -   -   (246)  -   (246)
Common stock issued as dividend  718,840   7   (7)  -   - 
Stock-based compensation  -   -   284   -   284 
Net loss  -   -   -   (6,950)  (6,950)
Balance as of December 31, 2017  82,581,866   826   29,757   (26,231)  4,352 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.us,


CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands, except share per share amounts)

  For the Years Ended 
  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Operating Activities:        
Net loss  (6,950)  (4,698)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:        
Depreciation and amortization  1,505   2,003 
Amortization of debt discount  756   852 
Stock-based compensation  284   273 
Change in warrant liability  153   42 
Allowance for doubtful accounts  -   85 
Warrants issued for services  -   36 
ConeXus acquisition stock issuance expense  1,971   - 
Increase in notes due to in-kind interest  86   102 
Deferred tax provision (benefit)  (61)  (365)
Impairment of intangible assets  -   1,065 
Gain on debt settlement  (872)  (1,008)
Changes to operating assets and liabilities:        
Accounts receivable and unbilled revenues  (1,749)  (3,360)
Inventories  (266)  (503)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets  (862)  180 
Other non-current assets  (34)  65 
Accounts payable  (390)  858 
Deferred revenue  5,968   (460)
Accrued expenses  473   17 
Customer deposits  641   606 
Other non-current liabilities  2   104 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  655   (4,106)
Investing activities        
Purchases of property and equipment  (569)  (292)
Net cash used in investing activities  (569)  (292)
Financing activities        
Issuance of common stock  500   167 
Issuance of loans payable and warrants, net of discount  -   4,510 
Share repurchase and cancellation  (149)  - 
Payments on debts  (786)  (288)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities  (435)  4,389 
(Decrease)/increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents  (349)  (9)
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of year  1,352   1,361 
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of year  1,003   1,352 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.


CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(in thousands, except shareour and per share amounts)the Company refer to Creative Realities, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

 

All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands except share and per share amounts

NOTE 1: NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND LIQUIDITY

Nature of the Company’sCompanys Business

 

Creative Realities, Inc. is a Minnesota corporation that provides innovative digital marketing technology and solutions to retail companies, individual retail brands, enterprises and organizations throughout the United States and in certain international markets. We haveThe Company has expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the related media management and distribution software platforms and networks, device management, product management, customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. Our technology and solutions include: digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems, interactive digital shopping assistants, advisors and kiosks, and other interactive marketing technologies such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing and web-based media that enable our customers to transform how they engage with consumers. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the following related aspects of our business: content, network management, and connected device software and firmware platforms; customized software service layers; hardware platforms; digital media workflows; and proprietary processes and automation tools. We believe we are one of the world’s leading interactive marketing technology companies that focuses on the retail shopper experience by helping retailers and brands use the latest technologies to create better shopping experiences.

 

Our main operations are conducted directly through Creative Realities, Inc., and under our wholly owned subsidiaries Allure Global Solutions, Inc., a Georgia corporation, Creative Realities LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada, Inc., a Canadian corporation, and ConeXus World Global, LLC,Reflect Systems, Inc. ("Reflect"), a Kentucky limited liability company.Delaware corporation.

 

LiquidityReverse stock split

 

We have incurred net lossesOn March 23, 2023, the Company filed Articles of Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota to effectuate, effective March 27, 2023, a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of the shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share. All share and negative cash flowsper share information (including share and per share information related to share-based compensation) has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split within this Report.

As a result of the reverse stock split, effective 12:01 am on March 27, 2023, every three shares of common stock then-issued and outstanding automatically combined into one share of common stock, with no change in par value per share. No fractional shares were outstanding following the reverse stock split and any fractional shares resulting from operating activitiesthe reverse split were rounded up to the nearest whole share of common stock. In connection with the reverse stock split, the total number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance was reduced from 200,000,000 shares to 66,666,666 shares in proportion to the reverse stock split.

Effective as of the same time as the reverse stock split, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the Company's equity compensation plans were reduced in proportion to the reverse stock split. The reverse stock split also resulted in reductions in the number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercising or vesting of equity awards in proportion to the reverse stock split and proportionate increases in exercise price or share-based performance criteria, if any, applicable to such awards. Similarly, the number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants were reduced in proportion to the reverse stock split, and the exercise prices of outstanding warrants were proportionately increased.

Public Offering

On August 17, 2023, the Company completed a public offering for the years ended December 31, 2017sale by the Company of an aggregate of 3,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share at a public offering price of $2.00 per share and 2016. Asreceived approximately $5,454 in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting fees of December 31, 2017, we had cash$478 and cash equivalentsoffering costs of $1,003$68.

F- 9

Liquidity and Financial Condition

In accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No.2014-15,Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entitys Ability to Continue as a working capital deficit of $(3,801). On November 13, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, extendedGoing Concern (Subtopic 205-40) (ASU 205-40), the maturity date of our term loanCompany has evaluated whether there are certain conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to August 17, 2019 and extended the maturity date of our promissory notes on a rolling quarter addition basis which is now April 15, 2019. While management believes that due to the extension of our debt maturity date, our current cash balance and our operational forecast for 2018, we can continue as a going concern through at least Marchwithin one year after the date that the Consolidated Financial Statements are issued.

At December 31, 2019, given our net losses and2023, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $53,346, negative working capital deficit, we obtained a continued support letterof $1,587, including current debt obligations of $3,690, and cash of $2,910. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated operating income of $1,346 and generated positive net cash flows from operations of $5,167. Pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement (the "Credit Agreement") between the Company and Slipstream Communications, LLC through March 31, 2019. We can provide no assurance("Slipstream"), the Company is required and began to make monthly repayments of principal on the Consolidation Term Loan on September 1, 2023. The monthly principal payment is approximately $370 and will continue on the first day of each month thereafter until the Maturity Date on February 17, 2025, with total principal repayments of $4,037 during the twelve months subsequent to the reporting date of these Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, the Company is required to repay the principal balance on the Acquisition Term Loan of $10,000 at maturity and resolve the contingent consideration, currently estimated for accounting purposes at $11,208, each of which mature on February 17, 2025. The Company does not have sufficient cash on hand or liquidity to make these principal repayments. The conditions and events raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern under the technical framework within ASU 205-40.

In response to these conditions, the Company plans to evaluate its available options for refinancing, via recapitalization, debt financing or equity financing, its upcoming obligations associated with the Acquisition Term Loan, Consolidation Term Loan, and contingent consideration.  However, these plans have not been finalized, are subject to market conditions, and are not within the Company’s control, and therefore cannot be deemed probable. As a result, the Company has concluded that our ongoing operational efforts will be successful which could havemanagement's plans do not alleviate substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. going concern.

 

The consolidated financial statementsConsolidated Financial Statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classificationsclassification of recorded assetsasset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities as athat might result from the outcome of the abovethis uncertainty.

Major Acquisitions

Acquisition of ConeXus World Global

There were no acquisitions completed during the years-ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. On October 15, 2015, we completed the acquisition of ConeXus World Global, LLC for 2,080,000 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock, and the conversion of $823 of ConeXus World Global debt into (i) 2,639,258 shares of our common stock, and (ii) $150 in principal amount of our convertible debt.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement and plan of merger and reorganization, an additional 416,000 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock and 4,000,000 shares of common stock were to be issued upon the reorganization of the capital structure of a Belgian affiliate of ConeXus (the “Holdback Shares”). Since the passage of the March 31, 2016 date targeted for the completion of the reorganization of the Belgian affiliate, the parties have determined that the value of the Belgian affiliate was de minimis. 


An agreement was reached on September 1, 2017 by Creative Realities, Inc. and the prior shareholders of ConeXus to recognize the value obtained by Creative Realities, Inc. as a result of the merger and to settle the Holdback Shares to the prior shareholders of ConeXus.  Creative Realities, Inc. has waived the contingency relating to the issuance of the Holdback Shares and issued to the shareholders 5,631,373 shares of common stock. 3,198,054 of these shares were issued to Rick Mills, a majority shareholder of ConeXus, a related party, and the CEO of Creative Realities, Inc. Since the measurement period for the business combination has expired, the issuance of the shares is recognized as a charge to operations during the year ended December 31, 2017 of $1.9 million.

NOTE 2: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

A summary of the significant accounting policies consistently applied in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statementsConsolidated Financial Statements follows:

 

1.  Principles Basis of ConsolidationPresentation

 

The consolidatedaccompanying Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-K and Article 8 of Regulation S-X and include all of the information and disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for annual financial statementsreporting.

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Creative Realities, Inc., and our wholly owned subsidiaries ConeXus WorldAllure Global LLC,Solutions, Inc., Creative Realities LLCCanada, Inc., and Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada,Reflect Systems, Inc. All inter-companyintercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation, as applicable.

2.  Foreign Currency Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

 

For In June 2016, the Company’s Canadian operations,Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No.2016-13,Financial InstrumentsCredit Losses, which requires entities to estimate expected lifetime credit losses on financial assets and provide expanded disclosures. This ASU replaced the local currency has been determinedincurred loss methodology with one that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to be the functional currency. inform credit loss estimates. We adopted ASU No.2016-13 on January 1, 2023. The resultsadoption of its non-U.S. dollar based operations are translated to U.S. dollars at the average exchange rates during the period. Assets and liabilities are translated at the rate of exchange prevailingthis guidance did not have a material impact on the balance sheet date.Company's Consolidated Financial Statements, as the Company's primary financial assets are its trade accounts receivable, which are short-term financings under industry standard credit and trade terms.

F- 10

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No.2020-06,DebtDebt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and HedgingContracts in Entitys Own Equity is translated at(Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entitys Own Equity(ASU 2020-06), which simplifies the prevailing rateaccounting for convertible instruments by reducing the number of exchange ataccounting models available for convertible debt instruments. This guidance also eliminates the datetreasury stock method to calculate diluted earnings per share for convertible instruments and requires the use of the equity transaction. The effects of converting non-functional currency assets and liabilities into the functional currency are recorded as general and administrative expensesif-converted method. This guidance will be effective for us in the consolidated statementsfirst quarter of operations. Translation adjustments which were considered immaterial2024 on a full or modified retrospective basis. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to date, have been recorded as general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

3. Revenue Recognition

 

We recognize revenue primarily from these sources:

Hardware:

System hardware sales

Services and Other:

Professional and implementation services

Software design and development services
Software and software license sales
Maintenance and support services

We recognize revenue in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”("ASC") 910, Contractors-Construction, ASC 605,606, Revenue Recognitionfrom Contracts with Customers, ASC 605-25, Accounting for Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverablesapplying the five-step model.

If an arrangement involves multiple performance obligations, the obligations are analyzed to determine the separate units of accounting, whether the obligations have value on a standalone basis and ASC subtopic 985-605, Software. Inwhether there is objective and reliable evidence of their standalone selling price. The total contract transaction price is allocated to the event of a multiple-element arrangement, we evaluate each elementidentified performance obligations based upon the relative standalone selling prices of the transactionperformance obligations. The standalone selling price is based on an observable price for services sold to determine if it representsother comparable customers, when available, or an estimated selling price using a separate unit of accounting, taking into account all factors following the guidelines set forth in FASB ASC 985-605-25-5:cost plus margin approach.

 

(v)persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists;
(vi)delivery has occurred, which is when product title transfers to the customer, or services have been rendered;


(vii)customer payments are fixed or determinable and free of contingencies and significant uncertainties; and
(viii)collection is reasonably assured. If it is determined that collection of a fee is not reasonably assured, we defer the revenue and recognize it at the time collection becomes reasonably assured, which is generally upon receipt of cash payment. Revenues are reported on a gross basis.

We enter intoThe Company estimates the amount of total contract consideration it expects to receive for variable arrangements with customers that may include a combination of software products, system hardware, maintenance and support, or installation and training services. We allocateby determining the total arrangement fee among the various elements ofmost likely amount it expects to earn from the arrangement based on the relative fair valueexpected quantities of eachservices it expects to provide and the contractual pricing based on those quantities. The Company only includes some or a portion of variable consideration in the transaction price when it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. The Company considers the sensitivity of the undelivered elements determined by vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE). In software arrangements for which we do not have VSOEestimate, its relationship and experience with the customer and variable services being performed, the range of fair value for all elements,possible revenue is deferred untilamounts and the earliermagnitude of when VSOE is determined for the undelivered elements (residual method) or when all elements for which we do not have VSOE of fair value have been delivered. We have determined VSOE of fair value for each of our products and services.variable consideration to the overall arrangement. The Company receives variable consideration in very few instances.

 

The VSOE for maintenance and support servicesRevenue is based upon the renewal rate for continued service arrangements. The VSOE for installation and training services is established based upon pricing for the services. The VSOE for software and licenses is based on the normal pricing and discounting for the product when sold separately.

Each element of our multiple-element arrangements qualifies for separate accounting. Nevertheless,recognized when a sale includes both software and maintenance, we defer revenuecustomer obtains control of promised goods or services under the residual method of accounting. Under this method, the undelivered maintenance and support fees included in the price of software is amortized ratably over the period the services are provided. We defer maintenance and support fees based upon the customer’s renewal rate for these services.

System hardware sales

Included in “hardware” are system hardware sales whereby revenue is recognized generally upon shipment of the product or customer acceptance depending upon contractual arrangements with the customer. Shipping charges billed to customers are included in sales and the related shipping costs are included in cost of sales. Total hardware sales were $5,400 and $3,031 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Services and Other

Included in “services and other” revenue is professional and implementation services, software design and development services, software and software license sales and maintenance and support services revenue. Total services and other revenue was $12,298 and $10,642 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Professional and implementation services 

Professional services revenue is derived primarily from consulting services related to the design and development of various marketing experiences, and content development and management. The majority of professional services and accompanying agreements qualify for separate accounting.

Implementation services revenue is derived from implementation, maintenance and support contracts, content development, software development and training.

These services are bid either on a fixed-fee basis, time-and-materials basis or both. For time-and-materials contracts, we recognize revenue as services are performed. For fixed-fee contracts, we recognize revenue upon completion of specific contractual milestones, by using the percentage-of-completion method.


Software design and development services

Software design and development services includes revenue from contracts for technology integration consulting services where we design/redesign, build and implement new or enhanced systems applications and related processes for clients recognized on the percentage-of-completion method. The percentage-of-completion accounting involves calculating the percentage of services provided during the reporting period compared to the total estimated services to be provided over the duration of the contract. Estimated revenues from applying the percentage-of-completion method include estimated incentives for which achievement of defined goals is deemed probable. Contract costs include all direct material, labor, subcontractors, certain indirect costs, such as indirect labor, equipment costs, supplies, tools and depreciation costs. Selling, general and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred. This method is followed where reasonably dependable estimates of revenues and costs can be made. We measure progress for completion based on either the hours worked as a percentage of the total number of hours of the project or by delivery and customer acceptance of specific milestones as outlined per the terms of a contract and is measured as the agreementamount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. The Company has very few contracts with material extended payment terms as payment is typically due at or shortly after the customer. Estimates of total contract revenue and costs are continuously monitored during the termtime of the contract,sale, typically ranging between thirty and recordedninety days. In those instances where the Company has material extended payment terms (most commonly in multi-year arrangements where the Company acts as an agent to a transaction on behalf of its customers), the Company evaluates and applies constraints to arrive at the revenue and costs are subject to revision as the contract progresses. Such revisions may result in increases or decreases to revenue and income and are reflected in the financial statements in the periods in which they are first identified. If estimates indicate that a contract loss will occur, a loss provision is recordedrecognized in the period in which a contract is entered. Observable prices are used to determine the loss first becomes probablestandalone selling price of separate performance obligations or a cost plus margin approach when one is not available. Sales, value-added and reasonably estimable. Contract lossesother taxes collected concurrently with revenue producing activities are determinedexcluded from revenue.

The Company recognizes contract assets or unbilled receivables related to be the amount by which the estimated direct and indirect costs of the contract exceed the estimated total revenue that will be generated by the contract and are included in cost of sales and classified in accrued expenses in the balance sheet. Our presentation of revenue recognized on afor services completed but not yet invoiced to the customers. A contract completion basis has been consistently applied for all periods presented.

Software and software license sales

Software and software license sales areliability is recognized as deferred revenue when a fixed fee order has been received and delivery has occurred to the customer. We assess whetherCompany invoices customers in advance of performing the fee is fixed or determinable and free of contingencies based upon signed agreements received fromrelated services under the customer confirming terms of the transaction. Software is delivered to customers electronically or on a CD-ROM, and license files are delivered electronically.

Maintenance and support services

Maintenance and support services revenue consists of software updates and various forms of support services. Software updates provide customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases and patches released during the term of the support period. Support includes access to technical support personnel for software and hardware issues. We also offer a hosting service through our network operations center, or NOC, allowing the ability to monitor and support its customers’ networks 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Thiscontract. Deferred revenue is recognized ratablyas revenue when the Company has satisfied the related performance obligation. 

The Company uses the practical expedient for recording an immediate expense for incremental costs of obtaining contracts, including certain design/engineering services, commissions, incentives and payroll taxes, as these incremental and recoverable costs have terms that do not exceed one year.

4. Allowance for Credit Losses

The allowance for credit losses is the Company's best estimate of the amount of expected lifetime credit losses in the Company's accounts receivable. The Company regularly reviews the adequacy of its allowance for credit losses. The Company estimates losses over the termcontractual life using assumptions to capture the risk of the contract, which is typically one to three years. Maintenance and support is renewable by the customer. Rates for maintenance and support, including subsequent renewal rates, are typically establishedloss, even if remote, based uponprincipally on how long a fee per location, per device, or a specified percentage of net software license fees as set forth in the arrangement. Support agreement fees are based on the level of service provided to its customers, which can range from monitoring the health of a customer’s network to supporting a sophisticated web-portal to managing the end-to-end hardware and software of a digital marketing system.

Costs and estimated earnings recognized in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts are recorded as unbilled services and are included in work-in-process on the balance sheet. Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts are recorded as deferred revenues until revenue recognition criteria are met. Unbilled receivables are a normal part of our business as some receivables are invoiced in the month following shipment or completion of services. Our policy is to present any taxes imposed on revenue-producing transactions on a net basis.

4.  Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents consist of liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had substantially all cash deposited with commercial banks. Thereceivable has been outstanding. Account balances are insured bycharged off against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250. 

5. Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Our unsecured accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms, carried at their face value less an allowance for doubtful accounts. Approximately 51% or $3,017 of our accounts receivable at December 31, 2017 is from a related party (see Note 8). We entered into a factoring arrangement with Allied Affiliated Funding for our accounts receivable with recourse on October 15, 2015 which concluded on August 17, 2016. During that period, the majority of our receivables were factored. We determine our allowance for doubtful accounts based on the evaluation of the aging of our accounts receivable and on a customer-by-customer analysis of our high-risk customers. Our reserves contemplate our historical loss rate on receivables, specific customer situations and the economic environments in which we operate. We determine past-due accounts receivable on a customer-by-customer basis. Accounts receivable are written offcredit losses after all reasonable means of collection efforts have failed. been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Other factors considered include historical write-off experience, current economic conditions, customer credit, and past transaction history with the customer. The allowance for credit losses is included in accounts receivable, net in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 


F- 11

The Company had the following activity for its allowance for credit losses from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2023:

Balance as of December 31, 2021

 $620 

Amounts accrued

  398 

Write-offs charged against the allowance

  (34)

Balance as of December 31, 2022

 $984 

Amounts accrued

  153 

Write-offs charged against the allowance

  (436)

Balance as of December 31, 2023

 $701 

6. Work-In-Process and

5. Inventories

Our work-in-process and inventoriesInventories are recorded usingstated at the lower of cost or market on a first-in, first-outnet realizable value, determined by the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Inventory is netmethod, and consist of an allowancethe following:

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Raw materials

 $2,063  $1,671 

Work-in-process

  504   596 

Total inventories

 $2,567  $2,267 

The reserve for obsolescenceobsolete inventory at December 31,2023 and 2022 was $160 and $1,777, respectively. The Company disposed of $10 and $10 as of $1,707 related to Safe Space Solutions during the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.2023, all of which was fully reserved at December 31, 2022. The Company is no longer actively promoting the sale of our Safe Space Solutions or purchasing inventory to support such solutions.

 

7. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). Inputs are broadly defined as assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

FASB ASC 820-10, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, requires disclosure of the estimated fair value of an entity’s financial instruments. Such disclosures, which pertain to our financial instruments, do not purport to represent our aggregate net fair value. The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments. The fair value of the warrant liabilities is calculated using a Black-Scholes model, which approximates a binomial model due to probability factors used to determine the fair value. The calculation of this liability is based on Level 3 inputs. See Notes 3 and 11 for further discussion on the valuation of warrant liabilities. 

8.6. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

We review the carrying value of all long-lived assets, including property and equipment, for impairment in accordance with FASB ASC 360-10-05-4,360, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. Under FASB ASC 360-10-05-4,360, impairment losses are recorded whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable.

 

If the impairment tests indicate that the carrying value of the asset is greater than the expected undiscounted cash flows to be generated by such asset, an impairment loss would be recognized. The impairment loss is determined byas the amount by which the carrying value of such asset exceeds its fair value. We generally measure fair value by considering sale prices for similar assets or by discounting estimated future cash flows from such assets using an appropriate discount rate. Assets to be disposed of are carried at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less costs to sell. Considerable management judgment is necessary to estimate the fair value of assets, and accordingly, actual results could vary significantly from such estimates. There

7. Basic and Diluted Income/(Loss) per Common Share

Basic and diluted (loss) income per common share for all periods presented is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Basic weighted average shares outstanding includes only outstanding common shares. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding includes outstanding common shares and potential dilutive common shares outstanding in accordance with the treasury stock method. Shares reserved for outstanding stock options, including stock options with performance restricted vesting, and warrants totaling approximately 6,223,134 and 7,360,271 at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively were excluded from the computation of (loss) income per share as the strike price on the options and warrants were higher than the Company's market price and therefore anti-dilutive.

F- 12

8. Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes are recognized in the financial statements for the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates. Temporary differences arise from a number of matters including, but not limited to, net operating losses, differences in basis of intangibles, stock-based compensation, reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable and inventory, differences in depreciation methods, and accrued expenses. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions utilizing an established recognition threshold and measurement attributes for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. We had no uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

9. Goodwill and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets

We follow the provisions of ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. Pursuant to ASC 350, goodwill acquired in a purchase business combination is not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually. The Company uses an annual measurement date of September 30 to assess impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, or as indicators are identified.

Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized straight-line in accordance with their identified useful lives.

10. Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Our significant estimates include: contingent purchase consideration valuation, allowance for credit losses, forvaluation allowances related to deferred taxes, the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities, the fair value of liabilities reliant upon the appraised fair value of the Company, valuation of stock-based compensation awards and other assumptions and estimates used to evaluate the recoverability of long-lived assets, recorded forgoodwill and other intangible assets and the years ended December 31, 2017related amortization methods and 2016.periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

9.

11. Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment are carried at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is provided for in amounts sufficient to relate the cost of depreciable assets to operations over the estimated service lives, principally using straight-line methods. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the life of the improvement or the lease term, using the straight-line method.

 


Property and equipment consistsconsist of the following at December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016:2022:

 

 December 31, 
 2017  2016  

December 31,

 
      

2023

  

2022

 
Equipment $1,700  $1,644  $334  $138 
Leasehold improvements  680   673  298  197 
Purchased and developed software  1,516   1,007 
Furniture and fixtures  439   438  205  199 
Other depreciable assets  27   27   135   124 
Total property and equipment  4,362   3,789  972  658 
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization  (3,226)  (2,877)  (473)  (457)
Net property and equipment $1,136  $912  $499  $201 

 

F- 13

The estimated useful lives used to compute depreciation and amortization are as follows:

 

 Equipment

Asset class

  3 – 5 years

Useful life assigned (in years)

 Furniture and fixtures

Equipment

  3 – 5 years
 Purchased

Furniture and developed softwarefixtures

  3 – 5 years

Leasehold improvements

  

Shorter of 5 years or term of lease

 

Depreciation expense was $345$166 and $272$131 for the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016,2022, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company disposed of certain fully depreciated fixed assets with an acquisition value of $150, no such disposals occurred during the year ended December 31, 2022.

 

10.

12. Research and Development and Software Development Costs

 

Research and development expenses consist primarily of development personnel and non-employee contractor costs related to the development of new products and services, enhancement of existing products and services, quality assurance and testing. Effective April 2015, theThe Company began capitalizingcapitalizes its costs incurred for additional functionality to its internal software. We capitalized approximately $524$3,366 and $270$4,444 for the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016,2022, respectively. These software development costs include both enhancements and upgrades of our client basedcustomer-based systems including functionality of our internal information systems to aid in our productivity, profitability and customer relationship management. We are amortizing these costs over 53 years once the new projects are finishedcompleted and placed in service. These costs are included in property and equipment,other intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets. Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

11. Basic and Diluted Loss per Common Share

Basic and diluted loss per common share for all periods presented is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Basic weighted average shares outstanding include only outstanding common shares. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average common and potential dilutive common shares outstanding computed in accordance with the treasury stock method. Shares reserved for outstanding stock options and warrants totaling approximately 46.7 and 36.0 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, were excluded from the computation of loss per share as well as the potential common shares issuable upon conversion of convertible preferred stock and convertible promissory notes as their effect was antidilutive due to our net loss. Net loss attributable to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 is after dividends on convertible preferred stock of $246 and $463, respectively. 

12. Deferred Income Taxes13. Contingent Consideration

The calculation of our income tax provision involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations.  We recognize tax liabilities for uncertain income tax positions based on management’s estimate of whether it is more likely than not that additional taxes will be required.  We had no uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2017 and 2016. Deferred income taxes are recognized in the financial statements for the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates. Temporary differences arise from net operating losses, differences in basis of intangibles (other than goodwill), stock-based compensation, reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable and inventory, differences in depreciation methods, and accrued expenses. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. In the event of any future tax assessments, we have elected to record the income taxes and any related interest and penalties as income tax expense on our statement of operations.


13. Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company accounts for stock-based compensationhas contingent consideration arrangements related to certain acquisitions to potentially pay additional cash amounts in future periods based on the lack of achievement of certain share price performance goals of our common stock. Such contingent consideration arrangements are recorded at fair value and are classified as liabilities on the acquisition date and are remeasured at each reporting period in accordance with ASC 718-10 that requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based payments including warrants, stock options, restricted stock grants and stock bonuses based on estimated fair value. For purposes of determining estimated fair value under FASB ASC 718-10-30, the Company computes the estimated fair values of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Stock-based compensation expense to employees of $284 and $273 was charged to expense during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. 

14. Goodwill and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets

We follow the provisions of FASB ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. Pursuant to FASB ASC 350, goodwill acquired in a purchase business combination is not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually. The Company used a measurement date of September 805-30 (see Note 5). There was no impairment loss recognized during the year ended December 31, 2017. An impairment loss was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2016. 

15. Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Our significant estimates include; the allowance for doubtful accounts, recognition of revenue under fixed price contracts, deferred tax assets, deferred revenue, depreciable lives and methods for property and equipment and definite lived intangible assets, valuation of warrants and other stock-based compensation, as well as valuations and purchase price allocations related to business combinations, expected future cash flows including growth rates, discount rates and terminal values and other assumptions and estimates used to evaluate the recoverability of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets and the related amortization methods and periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

16. Change in authorized shares

On February 11, 2016, the Company filed an S-1 Registration Statement registering 20,268,959 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of its secured notes and upon exercise of the warrants. This S-1 was effective June -35-1 2016.

17. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue From Contracts With Customers (Topic 606), that outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. This ASU is based on the core principle that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU also requires disclosures sufficient to enable users to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers, including qualitative and quantitative disclosures about contracts with customers, significant judgments and changes in judgments, and assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract.


The Company adopted the new revenue guidance effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method of adoption. Based on the Company’s initial assessment any adjustments for transition are not expected to be material. The Company conducted a risk assessment and had developed a transition plan that enabled the Company to meet the implementation requirement. Revenue streams and performance obligations evaluated include those outlined in theRevenue section of Note 1 above. The Company’s contracts rarely include forms of variable consideration. Based on the evaluation of the Company’s current contracts and the related revenue streams and performance obligations, the allocation of revenue between hardware, services and other will have insignificant changes as compared with current GAAP. However, for certain sales transactions, the timing of revenue recognition for hardware and certain services sales may occur earlier, with the remaining service and other sales, occurring later than under current GAAP. The largest impacts as a result of the new standard are the new required qualitative and quantitative disclosures. 

In July 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-11,Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Distinguishing Liabilities From Equity (Topic 480), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) Part I. Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments With Down Round Features, Part II Replacement of the Indefinite Deferral for Mandatorily Redeemable Entities and Certain Mandatorily Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests with a Scope Exception. This update provides guidance that changes the classification analysis of certain equity-linked financial instruments with down-round features. These instruments are no longer accounted for as derivative liabilities at fair value as a result of the existence of a down round feature. The Company early adopted this ASU in 2017 and has applied the guidance in this ASU retrospectively to all prior periods. As a result of adopting this ASU, the Company no longer recognizes a liability related to 16,482,635 warrants, which were only classified as liabilities as a result of having down round features. The debt discount for those warrants has been recalculated to reflect the relative fair value of the warrants and the debt. In addition, the Company determined that the impact to the income/(loss) per share as a result of the down round features was not material. The impact to the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 and the balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 is as follows:

  Year ended 
  December 31, 
  2016 
  As previously reported  As adjusted 
Operating income/(loss)  (4,557)  (4,557)
         
Other income (expenses):        
Interest expense  (1,908)  (1,636)
Change in fair value of warrant liability  (982)  (42)
Gain on settlement of debt  1,008   1,008 
Other income/(expense)  164   164 
Total other income/(expense)  (1,718)  (506)
Income/(loss) before income taxes  (6,275)  (5,063)
Benefit/(provision) from income taxes  365   365 
Net loss  (5,910)  (4,698)
Dividends on preferred stock  463   463 
Net loss attributable to common shareholders  (6,373)  (5,161)
Net loss per common share - basic and diluted  (0.09)  (0.07)
Net loss attributable to common shareholders  (0.10)  (0.08)
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted  65,443   65,443 


  December 31, 2016 
  As previously reported  As adjusted 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
CURRENT LIABILITIES        
Loans payable, net $7,635  $7,627 
Total current liabilities  14,374   14,481 
Warrant liability  3,316   705 
TOTAL LIABILITIES  18,518   16,014 
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
Additional paid-in capital  21,834   23,095 
Accumulated deficit  (20,524)  (19,281)
Total shareholders’ equity  1,976   4,480 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $24,419  $24,419 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04,Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This update eliminates the requirement that an entity perform a two-step test to determine the amount, if any, of goodwill impairment. In Step 1, an entity compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the entity performs Step 2 and compares the implied fair value of goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill for that reporting unit. An impairment charge equal to the amount by which the carrying amount of goodwill for the reporting unit exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill is recorded, limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. To address concerns over the cost and complexity of the two-step goodwill impairment test, the amendments in this ASU remove the second step of the test. An entity will apply a one-step quantitative test and record the amount of goodwill impairment as the excess of a reporting unit’s carrying amount over its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance does not amend the optional qualitative assessment of goodwill impairment. This guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, early adoption is permitted.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15,Statement of Cash Flows: Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which provides guidance on the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows, including those related to debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance, and distributions received from equity method investees. This guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The guidance must be adopted on a retrospective basis and must be applied to all periods presented, but may be applied prospectively if retrospective application would be impracticable. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, including. our consolidated statement of cash flows.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13,Financial Instruments—Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which provides guidance with respect to measuring credit losses on financial instruments, including trade receivables. This guidance eliminates the probable initial recognition threshold that was previously required prior to recognizing a credit loss on financial instruments. The credit loss estimate can now reflect an entity’s current estimate of all future expected credit losses. Under the previous guidance, an entity only considered past events and current conditions. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, that requires lessees to recognize most leases on the balance sheet and provides for expanded disclosures on key information about leasing arrangements. This ASU is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, which means it will become effective for the Company on January 1, 2019 although early adoption is permitted. In transition, the Company is required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating this ASU to determine the impact it will have on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

Monte Carlo simulation model.

18. Reclassification:

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. 


NOTE 3: FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

 

We measure certain financial assets, including cash equivalents, at fair value on a recurring basis. In accordance with FASB ASC 820-10-30,820-10-30, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, FASB ASC 820-10-35820-10-35 establishes a three-levelthree-level hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The three hierarchy levels are defined as follows:

 

Level 1 — Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

 

Level 2 — Valuations based on observable inputs (other than Level 1 prices), such as quoted prices for similar assets at the measurement date; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly.

 

Level 3 — Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and involve management judgment and the reporting entity’s own assumptions about market participants and pricing.

 

The following table presents information about the Company’sCompany previously recorded warrant liabilities that arewere measured at fair value on a recurring basis and indicatesusing a binomial option pricing model.

The calculation of the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company used to determine such fair value. In general, fair values determined by Level 1contingent consideration contains inputs use quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs use data points that are observable such as quoted prices, interest rates and yield curves. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputswhich are unobservable data points forand involve management judgment and are considered Level 3 estimates. Additionally, the asset or liability,separately identifiable intangible assets rely on a discounted cash flow model which utilizes inputs including the calculation of the weighted average cost of capital and includes situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability:

     Quote Prices In Active Markets  Significant Other Observable Inputs  Significant Other Unobservable Inputs 
Description Fair Value  (Level 1)  (Level 2)  (Level 3) 
Warrant liability at December 31, 2016 $3,316   -   -  $3,316 
Reclassification of warrants from liabilities to equity per ASU 2017-11 $(2,611)  -   -  $(2,611)
Revised warrant liability at December 31, 2016 $705   -   -  $705 
Warrant liability at December 31, 2017 $858   -   -  $858 

The change in level management’s forecast of future financial performance which are unobservable and involve management judgment and are considered Level 3 fair value is as follows:      

Warrant liability December 31, 2016 $705 
New warrant liabilities  - 
Increase in fair value of warrant liability  153 
Ending warrant liability as of December 31, 2017 $858 

NOTE 4: OTHER FINANCIAL STATEMENT INFORMATION estimates.

 

The following table provides detailscalculation of selectedthe weighted average cost of capital and management’s forecast of future financial statement items: performance utilized within our discounted cash flow model for the impairment of goodwill contains inputs which are unobservable and involve management judgment and are considered Level 3 estimates.

F- 14

NOTE 4: REVENUE RECOGNITION

 

InventoriesThe Company applies ASC 606 for revenue recognition. The following table disaggregates the Company’s revenue by major source for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

 

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Finished goods $719  $138 
Work-in-process  132   447 
Total inventories $851  $585 
  

Year

  

Year

 
  

Ended

  

Ended

 
  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 

 

 

2023

  

2022

 

Hardware

 $20,303  $19,895 
         

Services:

        

Managed Services

  15,916   14,320 

Installation Services

  4,892   5,693 

Other Services

  4,055   3,442 

Total Services

  24,863   23,455 
         

Total Hardware and Services

 $45,166  $43,350 

 


Supplemental Cash Flow Information: System hardware sales

 

  2017  2016 
Cash paid for interest $640  $363 
Cash paid for taxes $5  $11 
Non-cash Investing and Financing Activities        
Noncash preferred stock dividends $246  $463 
Issuance of notes in exchange for accounts payable $-  $288 
Issuance of stock upon conversion of preferred stock $2,246  $307 
Issuance of warrants with term loan extensions $2,218   361 
Issuance of stock in exchange for accounts payable $-  $86 

NOTE 5: GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETSSystem hardware revenue is recognized generally upon shipment of the product or customer acceptance depending upon contractual arrangements with the customer in instances in which the sale of hardware is the sole performance obligation. Shipping charges billed to customers are included in hardware sales and the related shipping costs are included in hardware cost of sales. The cost of freight and shipping to the customer is recognized in cost of sales at the time of transfer of control to the customer. System hardware revenues are classified as “Hardware” within our disaggregated revenue. 

 

OtherSoftware as a service license sales

Software as a service includes revenue from software licensing and delivery in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted by the Company. These services often include software updates which provide customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases and patches released during the term of the support period. Contracts for these services are generally 12-36 months in length. We account for revenue from these services in accordance with ASC 985-20-15-5 and recognize revenue ratably over the performance period. Software as a service revenue are classified as “Managed Services” within our disaggregated revenue.

Maintenance and support services

The Company sells support services that include access to technical support personnel for software and hardware troubleshooting. The Company offers a hosting service through our network operations center, or NOC, allowing the ability to monitor and support its customers’ networks 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. These contracts are generally 12-36 months in length. Revenue is recognized over the term of the agreement in proportion to the costs incurred in fulfilling performance obligations under the contract. Maintenance and Support revenues are classified as “Managed Services” within our disaggregated revenue.

Maintenance and support fees are based on the level of service provided to end customers, which can range from monitoring the health of a customer’s network to supporting a sophisticated web-portal to managing the end-to-end hardware and software of a digital marketing system. These agreements are renewable by the customer. Rates for maintenance and support, including subsequent renewal rates, are typically established based upon a fee per location, per device, or a specified percentage of net software license fees as set forth in the arrangement. These contracts are generally 12-36 months in length. Revenue is recognized ratably and evenly over the service period.

The Company also performs time and materials-based maintenance and repair work for customers. Revenue is recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation has been fully satisfied.

F- 15

Installation services

The Company performs installation services associated with system hardware sales to customers and recognizes revenue upon completion of the installations. Installation services also include engineering and configuration services required to be performed to design and deploy a digital signage system that subsequently becomes an installation project.

When system hardware sales include installation services to be performed by the Company, the goods and services in the contract are, in certain instances, not distinct as the customer contract contemplates an installed solution, inclusive of system hardware. In those instances, the arrangement is accounted for as a single performance obligation. Our customers may control the work-in-process and can make changes to the design specifications over the contract term. In these circumstances, revenues are recognized over time as the installation services are completed based on the relative portion of labor hours completed as a percentage of the budgeted hours for the installation. Typically, in large scale deployments that include installation services, the contract terms segregate performance obligations related to hardware sales and installation services by providing for different legal transfer of title and risk of loss. In those circumstances, installation services are deemed to be a separate performance obligation. In each instance, installation services are recognized at the time of completion. Installation services revenues are classified as “Installation Services” within our disaggregated revenue.

Software design and development services

Software design and custom development sales represent fixed fee orders for work on a time and materials basis and are recognized as revenue when the application, feature, or custom software code has been received and delivery has occurred to the customer. Revenue is recognized generally upon customer acceptance (point-in-time) of the software product and verification that it meets the required specifications. Software is delivered to customers electronically. Software design and development revenues are classified as “Other Services” within our disaggregated revenue.

Media sales

Media revenues are derived from selling (i) promotion and sponsorship packages to monetize customer infrastructure assets, including mobile takeover or physical presence, or (ii) digital advertising inventory to advertisers on digital displays or other outdoor structures, owned or controlled by our customers, each within physical venues. We generally do not own the physical structures on which digital advertising we sell is displayed but instead sell advertising or sponsorship opportunities on behalf of our media network owners to our brands and advertisers.. The Company has concluded that it acts as an agent and reports media revenues on a net basis, with the Company recording its commission, which typically is between thirty percent (30%) and forty percent (40%) of the total media sales contract, as revenue in the consolidated financial statements.

The media sales contracts we facilitate on behalf of our customers range from a single day to eight years. The Company facilitates billing advertisers on behalf of our customers and does not remit the net cash to our customer until the advertiser has paid the Company the fees owed for such advertising. Media revenue services are recognized when the Company has completed its performance obligations under the contract with our customers, which typically has concluded upon facilitating execution of contracts between our customer and a brand/advertiser. The Company applies time-based constraints in accordance with ASC 606 to evaluate the earned portion of the contract to record at execution. Media revenues are classified as “Other Services” within our disaggregated revenue.

For revenues generated through the use of a subcontracted advertising agency, commissions are calculated based on a stated percentage of gross advertising revenue and reported in the Consolidated Statement of Operations within Sales and Marketing expenses.

Software as a service perpetual license sales

Rarely, the Company sells perpetual licenses to its software products under legacy contractual arrangements (as opposed to subscription licenses). These sales include revenue from the sale of a perpetual license to customers that host their own instances of our software. These services traditionally are accompanied by the sale of maintenance and support services contracts. Perpetual license revenue is classified as "Other Services" within our disaggregated revenue.

F- 16

NOTE 5: BUSINESS COMBINATION

On November 12, 2021, the Company and Reflect, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended on February 8, 2022  and February 11, 2023, the “Merger Agreement") pursuant to which a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Creative Realities, CRI Acquisition Corporation, would merge with and into Reflect, with Reflect surviving the merger and becoming our wholly owned subsidiary, which transaction is referred to herein as the “Merger.” On February 17, 2022, the parties consummated the Merger.

Reflect provides digital signage solutions, including software, strategic and media services to a wide range of companies across the retail, financial, hospitality and entertainment, healthcare, and employee communications industries in North America. Reflect offers digital signage platforms, including ReflectView, a platform used by companies to power hundreds of thousands of active digital displays. Through its strategic services, Reflect assists its customers with designing, deploying and optimizing their digital signage networks, and through its media services, Reflect assists customers with monetizing their digital advertising networks.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the Closing, Reflect stockholders as of the effective time of the Merger collectively received from the Company, in the aggregate, the following Merger consideration: (i) $16,166 in cash, (ii) 777,778 shares of common stock of Creative Realities (valued based on an issuance price of $6 per share) (the “CREX Shares”), and (iii) the Secured Promissory Note (as described below). In addition, the Merger Agreement requires the Company to pay to the Reflect stockholders additional contingent supplemental cash payments (the “Guaranteed Consideration”), if any, payable on or after February 17, 2025 (subject to the Extension Option described below, the “Guarantee Date”), in an amount by which the value of the CREX Shares on such anniversary is less than $6.40 per share, or if certain customers of Reflect collectively achieve over 85,000 billable devices online at any time on or before December 31, 2022, is less than $7.20 per share (such applicable amount, the “Guaranteed Price”), multiplied by the amount of CREX Shares held by the Reflect stockholders on the Guarantee Date (subject to the Extension Option described below). The Company has recorded contingent liabilities related to the Guaranteed Consideration to reflect the Company's 1-for-3 reverse stock split that occurred on March 23, 2023.  At or before December 31, 2022, the condition of certain customers of Reflect collectively to achieve over 85,000 billable devices online was not met. Accordingly, the amount of the Company's potential liability related to the contingent consideration was reduced at December 31, 2022 from $21.60 per share to $19.20 per share, a reduction of $2.40 per share.

The Company may exercise an extension option (the “Extension Option”) to extend the Guarantee Date by six (6) months, from February 17, 2025 to August 17, 2025, if (i) the Extension Threshold Price is greater than or equal to 70% of the Guaranteed Price described above, and (ii) the Company provides written notice of its election to exercise the Extension Option no later than February 7, 2025. The “Extension Threshold Price” means the average closing price per share of Creative Realities common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market (or NYSE) in the fifteen (15) consecutive trading day period ending February 2, 2025. The Merger Agreement provides that if the Extension Threshold Price is less than 80% of the Guaranteed Price, then the Guaranteed Price will be increased by $1.00 per share.

F- 17

In connection with the Merger, the Company adopted a Retention Bonus Plan and raised capital to, among other things, pay the cash portion of the Merger consideration. The Retention Bonus Plan is described below.

Retention Bonus Plan

On February 17,2022, in connection with the Closing, the Company adopted a Retention Bonus Plan, pursuant to which the Company is required to pay to key members of Reflect’s management team an aggregate of $1,334 in cash, which was paid 50% at the Closing, and subject to continuous employment with Reflect or Creative Realities, 25% was paid on February 17, 2023 (the one-year anniversary of Closing) and 25% was paid on February 17, 2024 (the two-year anniversary of the Closing). In connection with the closing of the Merger, the future cash payments due on the one-year and two-year anniversaries of the Closing were deposited into an escrow agreement. The Retention Bonus Plan also requires the Company to issue Common Stock having an aggregate value of $667 to the plan participants as follows: 50% of the value of such shares were issued at the Closing, and subject to continuous employment with Reflect or Creative Realities, 25% of the value of such shares was issued on February 17, 2023 (the one-year anniversary of Closing) and the remaining 25% of the value of such shares will be issued on February 17, 2024 (the two-year anniversary of the Closing). The shares issued on the Closing were valued at $6.00 per share. The shares issued on the one-year anniversary were valued at $2.22 based on the value of shares issuable divided by the trailing 10-day volume weighted average price ("VWAP") of the shares as of February 17, 2023 as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company issued 62,475 shares to key members of Reflect's management team pursuant to the Retention Bonus Plan. Certain participants made an election to have stock withheld to cover applicable withholding taxes. In such cases, the Company reduced the stock award issued to the employee and settled the employees tax liability by remitting cash to the applicable taxing authorities. The shares issued on the two-year anniversary were valued at $3.29 based on the value of shares issuable divided by the trailing 10-day volume weighted average price ("VWAP") of the shares as of February 17, 2024 as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company issued 37,632 shares to key members of Reflect's management team pursuant to the Retention Bonus Plan. Certain participants made an election to have stock withheld to cover applicable withholding taxes. In such cases, the Company reduced the stock award issued to the employee and settled the employees tax liability by remitting cash to the applicable taxing authorities.

F- 18

Upon the resignation of a participant’s employment for “good reason,” or termination of the employment of a participant without “cause,” each as defined in the Retention Bonus Plan, the participant will be fully vested and will receive all cash and shares allocated to such participant under the Retention Bonus Plan. Any amounts unpaid by reason of a lapse in continuous employment or otherwise will be reallocated among the remaining Retention Bonus Plan participants.

Purchase price

The preliminary purchase price of Reflect consisted of the following items:

  

Consideration

 

Cash consideration for Reflect stock

 $16,664(1) 

Cash consideration for Retention Bonus Plan

  1,334(2) 

Common stock issued to Reflect shareholders

  4,667(3) 

Common stock issued to Retention Bonus Plan

  333(4) 

Secured Promissory Note

  2,500(5) 

Contingent consideration

  10,862(6) 

Total consideration

  36,360 

Vendor deposit with the Company

  (818)(7) 

Cash acquired

  (812)(8) 

Net consideration transferred

 $34,730 

(1)

Cash consideration for outstanding shares of Reflect capital stock per Merger Agreement.

(2)

Cash consideration utilized to fund the Retention Bonus Plan per Merger Agreement.

(3)

Company common stock issued in exchange for outstanding shares of Reflect capital stock per Merger Agreement.

(4)

Company common stock issued to fund initial issuances under the Retention Bonus Plan per Merger Agreement.

(5)

The Secured Promissory Note accrued interest at 0.59% (the applicable federal rate at the time of issuance of the Secured Promissory Note) and required the Company and Reflect to collectively pay equal monthly principal installments of $104 on the fifteenth (15th) day of each month, commencing on March 15, 2022. On February 11, 2023, the Company and the Stockholders’ Representative executed an amendment (the “Note Amendment”) to the Secured Promissory Note. The Note Amendment eliminated the balloon payment, extending the maturity date for a one-year period, to February 17, 2024. During the extended period, the Company continued to make monthly principal payments of $104, and the annual interest rate on the outstanding principal increased from 0.59% to 4.60%, which will accrue and is payable in full on the new maturity date.

(6)

Represents an estimate of the fair value of the Guaranteed Consideration as of the Merger, which, if any, is payable on or after February 17, 2025 (subject to the Extension Option), in an amount by which the value of the CREX Shares on such anniversary is less than $6.40 per share, multiplied by the amount of CREX Shares held by the Reflect stockholders on the Guarantee Date (subject to the Extension Option), subject to the terms of the Merger Agreement. The Company has recorded contingent liabilities related to the Guaranteed Consideration to reflect the Company's 1-for-3 reverse stock split that occurred on March 23, 2023.

(7)

Prior to the Merger, Reflect had engaged the Company on a project and paid the Company a deposit of $818. These amounts reduced consideration paid by the Company in accordance with ASC 805.

(8)

Represents the Reflect cash balance acquired at Closing.

The Company incurred $444 of direct transaction costs related to the Reflect Merger for the year ended December 31, 2022. These costs are included in deal and transaction expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.

F- 19

The Company accounted for the Merger using the acquisition method of accounting. The final allocation of the purchase price is based on the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of February 17, 2022, which included the following:

  

Total

 

Accounts receivable

 $1,359 

Inventory

  190 

Prepaid expenses & other current assets

  666 

Property and equipment

  96 

Operating right of use assets

  555 

Other assets

  36 

Identified intangible assets:

    

Definite-lived trade names

  960 

Definite-lived developed technology

  5,130 

Definite-lived customer relationships

  11,040 

Definite-lived noncompete agreements

  30 

Goodwill

  18,935 

Accounts payable

  (104)

Accrued expenses

  (483)

Customer deposits

  (1,661)

Deferred revenues

  (1,259)

Current maturities of operating leases

  (277)

Long-term obligations under operating leases

  (278)

Other liabilities

  (205)

Net consideration transferred

 $34,730 

The Company engaged a third-party valuation specialist to assist in the identification and calculation of the fair value of those separately identifiable intangible assets.

The Company completed its valuation procedures by asset utilizing the following approaches:

(1) Customer relationship asset was estimated using the income approach through a discounted cash flow analysis wherein the cash flows will be based on estimates used to price the Merger. Discount rates were benchmarked with reference to the implied rate of return from the Company’s pricing model and the weighted average cost of capital.

(2) Trade name asset represents the “Reflect” brand name as marketed primarily as a full services digital software solution, marketed in numerous verticals with the exception of food service. The Company applied the income approach through an excess earnings analysis to determine the fair value of the trade name asset. The Company applied the income approach through a relief-from-royalty analysis to determine the fair value of this asset.

(3) The developed technology assets are primarily comprised of know-how and functionality embedded in Reflect’s proprietary content management applications, which drive currently marketed products and services. The Company applied the income approach through a relief-from-royalty analysis to determine the preliminary fair value of this asset.

F- 20

The Company is amortizing the identifiable intangible assets on a straight-line basis over the weighted average lives ranging from 2 to 10 years as outlined in the table below. The table below sets forth the valuation and amortization period of identifiable intangible assets:

     

Amortization

  

Valuation

 

Period

Identifiable definite-lived intangible assets:

     

Trade names

 $960 

5 years

Developed technology

  5,130 

10 years

Noncompete

  30 

2 years

Customer relationships

  11,040 

10 years

Total

 $17,160  

The Company estimated the preliminary fair value of the acquired property, plant and equipment using a combination of the cost and market approaches, depending on the component. The preliminary fair value of such property, plant and equipment is $96.

The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the tangible net assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The factors contributing to the recognition of the amount of goodwill are based on several strategic and synergistic benefits that are expected to be realized from the Merger. These benefits include a comprehensive portfolio of iconic customer brands, complementary product offerings, enhanced national footprint, and attractive synergy opportunities and value creation. None of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes.

NOTE 6: SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW STATEMENT INFORMATION

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Supplemental non-cash Investing and Financing activities

        

Capitalized software in accounts payable

 $201  $556 

Property and equipment in accounts payable

 $-  $11 
         

Supplemental disclosure information for cash flow

        

Cash paid during the period for:

        

Interest

 $1,685  $1,350 

Income taxes

 $78  $43 

F- 21

NOTE 7: INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016 (in thousands): 2022:

 

 December 31,  

December 31,

 

December 31,

 
 2017  2016  

2023

  

2022

 
 Gross     Gross     

Gross

    

Gross

   
 Carrying Accumulated Carrying Accumulated  

Carrying

 

Accumulated

 

Carrying

 

Accumulated

 
 Amount  Amortization  Amount  Amortization  

Amount

  

Amortization

  

Amount

  

Amortization

 
Technology platform  2,865   2,568   4,190   2,433  $6,900  2,255  $9,765  4,354 

Purchased and developed software

 5,284  3,405  4,682  3,375 

In-Process internally developed software platform

 6,080  -  4,074  - 
Customer relationships  2,460   2,093   2,460   1,404  13,910  3,054  15,000  2,849 
Trademarks and trade names  680   469   680   393  1,260  660  1,600  808 
  6,005   5,130   7,330   4,230 

Noncompete

  30  28  30  13 

Total amortizable intangible assets

 33,464 9,402 35,151 11,399 
Accumulated amortization  5,130       4,230       9,402      11,399    
Impairment loss on technology platform  -       1,065     
Net book value of amortizable intangible assets  875       2,035      $24,062     $23,752    

 

For the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016,2022, amortization of intangible assets charged to operations was $1,160$3,055 and $1,731,$2,702, respectively. For the yearsyear ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 we2023, the Company wrote-off a $340 fully amortized intangible assetstrade name asset, a $1,090 fully amortized customer list asset, a $2,864 fully amortized technology asset, a $758 fully amortized capitalized software and the related accumulated amortization. There was no impact on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet or Consolidated Statement of $260 and $0, respectively.Operations as a result of these write-offs during the period.

 

Estimated amortization is as follows:

 

Year ending December 31, 2017   
2018 $739 
2019  76 
2020  60 
  

Estimated Future

 

Year ending December 31,

 

Amortization

 

2024

 $3,411 

2025

  3,490 

2026

  2,850 

2027

  2,458 

2028

  2,434 

Thereafter

  9,419 

Total

 $24,062 

 

The Company has made comprehensive upgrades to its technology platform. Due to these upgrades,Intangible assets include the Company evaluated the recoverability of the carrying amount of the original technology platform intangible asset at September 30, 2016. Based upon this evaluation, the Company determined that the technology platform intangible asset was impairedfollowing and are being amortized over their estimated useful lives as its value was not recoverable and exceeded its fair value. The Company recognized an impairment loss of $1,065 in 2016.follows:

 

Amortization

Period:

Acquired Intangible Asset:

(years)

Technology platform and patents

7 - 10

Purchased and developed software

3 - 5

Trade names

3 - 5

Customer relationships

3 - 15

Noncompete

2


F- 22

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill is subject to an impairment review at a reporting unit level, on an annual basis as of the end of at September of30th each fiscal year, or when an event occurs, or circumstances change that would indicate potential impairment. The Company has only one reporting unit, and therefore the entire goodwill is allocated to that reporting unit.

 

The Company has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, the Company determines it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing the two-step impairment test is unnecessary. The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test at September 30, 2017.

Utilizing the two-step impairment test, the Company first assessed the carrying value of goodwill at the reporting unit level based on an estimate of the fair value of the respectiveits reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit was estimated using both (1) a market approach, leveraging recent industry merger and acquisition activity as well as comparable public company information, and (2) a discounted cash flow analyses consisting of various assumptions, including expectations of future cash flows based on projections or forecasts derived from analysis of business prospects and economic or market trends that may occur, specifically,occur. Specifically, the Company gave significant consideration for purchase orders expected to be completedactual historic financial results, including revenue growth rates in the fourth quarter of 2017current and orders already received or actively being negotiated for fiscal 2018. We also used these same expectations in a number of valuation models in addition to discounted cash flows, including, leveraged buy-out, trading compspreceding three years, further informed by known backlog and market capitalization, and ultimately determined an estimated fair value of our reporting unit based on weighted average calculations from these models.customer acquisitions. Based on the Company’s assessment, we determined that the fair value of our reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, and accordingly, the goodwill associated with the reporting unit is not considered to be impaired at September 30, 2017.2023.

While our overall business performance has been consistent with our expectations, both before and after the acquisition of Reflect, we believe a significant portion of the decline in our market price as of our assessment date related primarily to both macroeconomic and recent capital transaction factors including: (1) market wide recessionary fears, (2) a lack of comprehension by the markets of the contingent consideration issued in the Merger with Reflect, and (3) the Company’s recent execution of a public offering of 3,000,000 shares of our common stock at a discount to then-market prices, resulting in significant short-term negative volume and price pressure on our common stock unrelated to the Company fundamentals. We do not believe these factors are consistent with or reflective of the underlying value of the business, and there were no other indicators of potential impairment as of September 30, 2023. Based on the improvement of our share price and market capitalization, along with improving Company fundamentals, we believe our implied fair value continues to exceed our total carrying value as of December 31, 2023.

 

The Company updatedrecognizes that any changes in our projected 2024 results could potentially have a material impact on our assessment of goodwill impairment. The Company will continue to monitor the actual performance of its goodwill analysis asoperations against expectations and assess indicators of December 31, 2017 using our actual fourth quarter 2017 results and updated projected 2018 results noting no impairment exists.possible impairment. The valuation of goodwill and intangible assets is subject to a high degree of judgment, uncertainty and complexity. Should any indicators of impairment occur in subsequent periods, the Company will be required to perform an analysis in order to determine whether goodwill is impaired.

 


F- 23

NOTE 6:8: LOANS PAYABLE

 

At the end of December 2016 and the beginning of January 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, see Note 8: Related Party Transactions, purchased all of our outstanding debt from the original debtholders. The terms of the debt have remained the same. The outstanding debt with detachable warrants, as applicable, are shown in the table below. Further discussion of the notes follows.

 

Issuance Date Original Principal  Additional Principal  Total Principal  Maturity Date Warrants   
8/17/2016  3,000   -   3,000  8/17/2019  17,647,056  8.0% interest
6/29/2016  50   2   52  4/10/2019  89,286  14% interest*
6/13/2016  200   19   219  4/10/2019  357,143  14% interest*
6/13/2016  250   14   264  4/10/2019  446,429  14% interest*
5/3/2016  500   17   517  4/10/2019  892,857  14% interest*
12/28/2015  150   6   156  4/10/2019  267,857  14% interest*
12/28/2015  500   20   520  4/10/2019  892,857  14% interest*
12/28/2015  600   24   624  4/10/2019  1,071,429  14% interest*
10/26/2015  300   13   313  4/10/2019  535,714  14% interest*
10/15/2015  150   7   157  4/10/2019  267,857  14% interest*
10/15/2015  500   23   523  4/10/2019  892,857  14% interest*
6/23/2015  400   21   421  4/10/2019  640,000  14% interest*
6/23/2015  119   31   150  4/10/2019  935,210  Refinanced May 20, 2015 debt, 14% interest *
5/20/2015  465   -   465  4/10/2019  762,295  14% cash interest
  $7,184  $197  $7,381     25,698,847   
Debt discount          (1,916)        
Total debt $7,184      $5,465         

As of December 31, 2023

 

Issuance

    

Maturity

    

Interest Rate

Debt Type

Date

 

Principal

 

Date

 

Warrants

 

Information

A

2/17/2022

 $10,000 

2/15/2025

  833,334 

8.0% interest(1)

B

2/17/2022

  5,147 

2/15/2025

  898,165 

10.0% interest(2)

 

Total debt, gross

 $15,147    1,731,499  
 

Debt discount

  (1,628)      
 

Total debt, net

 $13,519       
 

Less current maturities

  (3,690)      
 

Long term debt

 $9,829       
 

As of December 31, 2022

 

Issuance

    

Maturity

    

Interest Rate

Debt Type

Date

 

Principal

 

Date

 

Warrants

 

Information

A

2/17/2022

 $10,000 

2/15/2025

  833,334 

8.0% interest(1)

B

2/17/2022

  7,185 

2/15/2025

  898,165 

10.0% interest(2)

C

2/17/2022

  1,456 

2/17/2024

  - 

0.59% interest(3)

D

10/31/2022

  2,000 

9/1/2023

  - 

12.5% interest(4)

 

Total debt, gross

 $20,641    1,731,499  
 

Debt discount

  (3,069)     
 

Total debt, gross

 $17,572       
 

Less current maturities

  (4,499)      
 

Total debt, net

 $13,073       

 

A – Acquisition Term Loan with related party

* 12% cash, 2% added toB – Consolidation Term Loan with related party

C – Secured Promissory Note

D – Term Loan (2022) with related party

(1)

8.0% cash interest per annum through maturity at February 15, 2025

(2)

10.0% cash interest per annum through maturity date at February 15, 2025.

(3)

0.59% cash interest per annum (the applicable federal rate) through February 17, 2023. Annual interest rate on the outstanding principal increased from 0.59% to 4.60% per annum through maturity.

(4)

12.5% cash interest per annum through maturity at September 1, 2023.

F- 24

Secured Promissory Note

 

ObligationsOn February 17, 2022, in connection with the Closing, the Company issued to RSI Exit Corporation (“Stockholders’ Representative”), the representative of Reflect stockholders, a $2,500 Note and Security Agreement (the “Secured Promissory Note”).

The Secured Promissory Note accrued interest at 0.59% per annum (the applicable federal rate on the date of issuance of the Secured Promissory Note) and required the Company and Reflect to collectively pay equal monthly principal installments of $104 on the fifteenth (15th) day of each month, commencing on March 15, 2022. Any remaining or unpaid principal was due and payable on February 17, 2023. All payments under the secured convertible promissory notes areSecured Promissory Note were paid to the escrow agent in the Merger Agreement to be placed into the escrow account to secure the Reflect stockholders’ indemnification obligations until released on February 17, 2023 (the one-year anniversary of the closing of the Merger), at which time any remaining proceeds not subject to a pending indemnification claim would be paid to the exchange agent for payment to the Reflect stockholders pursuant to the Merger Agreement. The Secured Promissory Note is secured by a grantfirst-lien security interest in certain contracts of collateral securityReflect, including obligations arising out of those certain contracts. The Company has the right to offset amounts payable under the Secured Promissory Note upon a final, non-appealable decision of a court that entitles the Company or its affiliates to any damages for indemnification under the Merger Agreement, or the Stockholders’ Representative’s agreement in all of the tangible assets of the co-makers pursuantwriting to the terms of an amended and restated security agreement.

Included in accrued expenses is unpaid interest of $295 on outstanding debt.

Term Notes

On December 12, 2016, we entered into a $1.0 million secured revolving promissory note pursuant to the August 17, 2016 Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, addressed below (see Note 8), wherein we borrowed $786 with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on February 1, 2017. In connection with the loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,542,452 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment), all pursuant to a securities purchase agreement. In connection with the secured revolving promissory note, we incurred fees aggregating $37. The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $136. This note was repaid on January 12, 2017.such damages.

 

On August 17, 2016, we entered intoFebruary 11, 2023, the Company, Reflect and the Stockholders’ Representative, executed a Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party (see Note 8), under which we obtained a $3.0 million term loan, with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on August 17, 2017 (with a one-year option for us to extend that maturity, so long as we are not then in default and we deliver additional warrantsSecond Amendment to the lender).Merger Agreement. The term loan containsSecond Amendment to the Merger Agreement provided that, among other things, the cash merger consideration payable in the Merger should be reduced by $242, or the “Claim Amount,” subject to a reduction in the Claim Amount to the extent that Reflect or Creative Realities receive payments of certain customary restrictions including, but not limited to, restrictions on mergers and consolidations with other entities, cancellationaccounts receivable of any debt or incurring new debt (subject to certain exceptions), and other customary restrictions. In connection with this loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchaseReflect, up to 5,882,352 shares$27. An employer retention credit of common stock shares$242 (the “ERC”) based on the operations of Reflect pre-Merger remains outstanding and will be paid to the Stockholders’ Representative for the benefit of former Reflect stockholders upon receipt, subject to the offset rights of Creative Realities’ common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment), all pursuant to a securities purchase agreement. The proceeds fromRealities. In addition, the loan were used to (i) satisfyCompany and the obligations owed to Allied Affiliated Lending, L.P. under the Factoring Agreement, (ii) pay off certain obligations under settlement arrangements in effect as of the date hereof (see Note 8), and (iii) obtain working capital. The Loan and Security Agreement permits the lender to make additional advances of up toStockholders’ Representative executed an additional $1.0 million. In connection with this financing transaction, we terminated the Factoring Agreement with Allied Affiliated Lending. Our principal subsidiaries — Creative Realities, Inc., Creative Realities, LLC, Conexus World Global, LLC, and Broadcast International, Inc. — were also partiesamendment (the “Note Amendment”) to the securities purchase agreement and are co-makers ofSecured Promissory Note on February 11, 2023. The Note Amendment eliminated the secured convertible promissory notes. In connection with the term loan, we incurred fees aggregating $20. The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $361.


On August 10, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLCballoon payment, extended the maturity date for a one-year period, to February 17, 2024. During the extended period, the Company continued to make monthly principal payments of $104, and the 8% senior notesannual interest rate on the outstanding principal increased from 0.59% to August 17, 2018. In exchange for4.60%, which accrued and is payable in full on the extension of thenew maturity date of the 8% senior notes, CRI provided 5,882,352 five-year warrants to purchase Company common shares. The fair value of the warrants was $1,240, which is accounted for as an additional debt discount and amortized over the remaining life of the loan.date. 

 

On November 13, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC extended December 15, 2023, the maturity dates for the term loan to August 17, 2019. In exchange for the extensionCompany paid $110 as final settlement of the maturity dateSecured Promissory Note, including accrued interest through the settlement date.  All rights to payment of the 8% senior notes, CRI provided 5,882,352 five-year warrantsERC were retained by the Reflect stockholders as part of this settlement. 

Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement

On February 17, 2022, the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Borrowers”) refinanced their debt facilities with Slipstream, pursuant to purchase Company common shares.a Second Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). The fair valueBorrowers include Reflect, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of the warrants was $976, which is accounted forCompany as an additional debt discount and amortized over the remaining lifea result of the loan. 

See Note 11 for the Black Scholes inputs usedClosing on February 17, 2022. The debt facilities continue to calculate the fair valuebe fully secured by all assets of the warrants.

Convertible Promissory Notes

In December 2016 and January 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC purchased all of our outstanding convertible promissory notes from the original debtholders. The terms of the notes have remained the same. Further discussion of the notes follows.Borrowers.

 

The convertible promissory notes were issued in a private placement exemptCredit Agreement also provides that the Company’s outstanding loans from registration under the Securities ActSlipstream at December 31, 2021, consisting of 1933. Our principal subsidiaries — Creative Realities, LLC, Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada, Inc.,its pre-existing $4,767 senior secured term loan and Conexus World Global, LLC — were also parties to the Securities Purchase Agreement and are co-makers of the$2,418 secured convertible promissory notes. Obligations under the secured convertible promissory notes are secured by a grantloan, with an aggregate of collateral security$7,185 in all of the personal property of the co-makers pursuant to the terms of a security agreement. The secured convertible promissory notes bear interest at the rate of 14% per annum. Of this amount, 12% per annum is payable monthly in cash, and the remaining 2% per annum is payable in the form an additional principal through increases in the principal amount of the note. Upon the consummation of a change in control transaction of the company or a default, interest on the secured convertible promissory note will increase to the rate of 17% per annum. On August 10, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC extended the maturity date of the convertible notes to October 15, 2018. On November 13, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC elected to extend the maturity date of the convertible promissory notes on a rolling quarter addition basis to January 15, 2019, which is now April 10, 2019.

At any time prior to the maturity date, the holder of a promissory note may convert the outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest under such loans, were consolidated into oura term loan (the “Consolidation Term Loan”). The Consolidation Term Loan has an interest rate of 10.0%, with 75.0% warrant coverage (or 898,165 warrants). On the first day of each month, commencing March 1, 2022 through February 1, 2025, the Borrowers will make interest-only payments on the Consolidation Term Loan. Commencing on September 1, 2023, and on the first day of each month thereafter until the Maturity Date, the Borrowers will make a payment on the Consolidation Term Loan, in an equal monthly installment of principal sufficient to fully amortize the Consolidation Term Loan in eighteen equal installments. The Company assessed the combination of the pre-existing senior secured term loan and secured convertible loan in accordance with ASC 470Debt and determined the transaction should be accounted for as an extinguishment, in part as the Consolidation Term Loan eliminated a substantiveconversion feature. In aggregate the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of $295 during the year ending December 31, 2022, primarily associated with the write-off of pre-existing debt discounts.

In addition to refinancing the existing debt with Slipstream, the Company issued to Slipstream a $10,000, 36-month senior secured term loan (the “Acquisition Term Loan”) resulting in $10,000 in gross proceeds, or $9,950 in net proceeds. The Acquisition Term Loan matures on February 17, 2025 (the “Maturity Date”) and has an interest rate of 8.0%, with 50.0% warrant coverage (or 833,334 warrants). On the first day of each month, commencing March 1, 2022 through February 1, 2025, the Borrowers will make interest-only payments on the Acquisition Term Loan. No principal payments on the Acquisition Term Loan are payable until the Maturity Date.

F- 25

In connection with the Acquisition Term Loan and Consolidation Term Loan warrant coverage, the Company issued to Slipstream a warrant to purchase an aggregate of 1,731,499 shares of Company common stock (the “Lender Warrant”). The Lender Warrant has a five-year term, an initial exercise price of $6.00 per share, subject to adjustments in the Lender Warrant, and was not exercisable until August 17, 2022. The warrants were assessed in accordance with ASC 470 and ASC 815Derivatives and were deemed to represent bifurcated derivative instruments that should be recorded as liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company performed a Black-Scholes valuation of the warrants as of the issuance date, resulting in a fair value of $2.4387 per warrant. In recording the warrant liability, the Company recorded a debt discount associated with each of the Acquisition and Consolidation Term Loans in an amount of $2,032 and $2,190, respectively. These amounts are being amortized straight-line through interest expense over the life of the loans, resulting in incremental interest expense of $1,443 and $1,268 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company has deemed straight-line amortization to be materially consistent with the effective interest method.

In certain circumstances, upon a fundamental transaction of the Company (e.g., a disposal or sale of all or the greater part of the assets or undertaking of the Company, an amalgamation or merger with another company, or implementation of a scheme of arrangement), the holder of the Lender Warrant will have the right to require the Company to repurchase the Lender Warrant at its conversion rate. We fair value using a Black Scholes option pricing formula; provided that such holder may not prepay require the secured convertible promissory note priorCompany or its successor entity to repurchase the maturity date. The secured convertible promissory note contains other customary terms. See Note 11Lender Warrant for the Black Scholes inputs used to calculatevalue in connection with a fundamental transaction that is not approved by the fair valueCompany’s Board of Directors, and therefore not within the Company’s control.

Effective June 30, 2022, the Company amended the terms of the warrants.

On June 29, 2016, we entered intoLender Warrant to remove the holder’s option to exercise such warrant on a secured convertible promissory note incashless basis utilizing the principal amount of $50 and an immediately exercisable five-year warrant to purchase up to 89,286 sharesVWAP of the Company’s common stock aton the trading day immediately preceding the date of a per-share pricenotice of $0.28 (subjectcashless exercise in certain circumstances, and remove the condition to adjustment)exercising such warrant that the Company’s shareholders approve the exercise thereof (which had already been obtained). The fair valueamendments to the Lender Warrant also extend the term of such warrants for an additional one year, such that the Lender Warrant will expire on February 17, 2028. The foregoing amendments to the Lender Warrant caused such warrants onto be accounted for as equity instruments in the issuance date was $6. This note was subsequently purchased by Slipstream Communications, LLC on December 20, 2016.Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

On June 13, 2016, upon receiptOctober 31, 2022, the Borrowers and Slipstream amended the Credit Agreement to provide the Borrowers with a $2,000 term loan ("Term Loan (2022)"), the net proceeds of which were used by the Company to accelerate an additional $300active software development project with potential to expand SaaS revenues associated with an existing customer. The Term Loan (2022) had an annual interest rate of 12.5% and matured on September 1, 2023. Commencing on February 1, 2023, the Company made monthly installment payments of approximately $270 until the maturity date, consisting of principal we exchanged two short term demand notes entered intoand interest sufficient to fully amortize the Term Loan (2022) through the maturity date. As of December 31, 2023, the Term Loan 2022 has been repaid in July 2015 totaling $150 for two secured convertible promissory notes totalingfull to Slipstream.

F- 26

NOTE 9: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

On August 2, 2019, the Company filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court, Kentucky, against a principal amount of $450 and immediately exercisable five-year warrants to purchase up to 803,572 sharessupplier of the Company’s common stock atwholly owned subsidiary, Allure, for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and negligence with respect to equipment installations performed by such supplier for an Allure customer. On October 10, 2019, the Allure customer that is the basis of our claim above sent a per-share pricedemand to the Company for payment of $0.28 (subject$3,200 as settlement for an alleged breach of contract related to adjustment)hardware failures of equipment installations performed by Allure between November 2017 and August 2018. On March 10, 2023, the Company, the supplier and the Allure customer reached a Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims ("Settlement Agreement"). This exchange is accounted for as a modificationPursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Company was obligated to pay $733; however, its insurer agreed to pay $700 of that amount. Thus, the Company paid $33 of the debt. The fair valuesettlement amount in April 2023. 

Except as noted above, the Company is not party to any other material legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, and there were no other such proceedings pending during the period covered by this Report.

NOTE 10: INCOME TAXES

Income tax expense consisted of the warrants on the issuance date was $57. On December 20, 2016, $200 of this note was subsequently purchased by Slipstream Communications, LLC, the remaining $250 was already owed to Slipstream Communications, LLC.following:

 

On or about May 3, 2016, we entered into a secured convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $500,000 and an immediately exercisable five-year warrant to purchase up to 892,857 shares of the Company’s common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment). In connection with the secured convertible promissory note, we incurred commissions to a placement agent aggregating $25. The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $89. This note was subsequently purchased by Slipstream Communications, LLC on December 22, 2016.


NOTE 7: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Structured Settlement Program

During March and December 2017, the Company settled and/or wrote off debt of $1,159 for $288 cash payment and recognized a gain of $872. This debt included $693 of payables previously recorded by our dissolved subsidiary Broadcast International, Inc, as we had exhausted all efforts to identify and settle these obligations in the first quarter of 2017.

In August 2016, the Company settled debt of $90 for $35 cash payment, resulting in a gain on debt settlement of $55. In June 2016, the Company settled debt of $614 for $123 cash payment and the issuance of 409,347 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, fair value at conversion date of $85, and recognized a gain on debt restructuring of $406. In conjunction with this debt settlement, an additional 809,842 shares of restricted common stock were issued to investors for cash to facilitate the settlement of a portion of the $614 debt.

In March 2016, the Company issued 8.00% nonconvertible promissory notes in favor of certain general unsecured creditors in the aggregate principal amount of $288 to settle an aggregate amount of $839 of accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities. The aggregate amount of payables, accrued expenses and other liabilities was subsequently revised to $796. In September 2016, the amounts previously settled with nonconvertible promissory notes were paid in cash of $249 resulting in a gain on the debt settlement of $547. No gain was previously recorded.

Litigation

In February 2016, a former vendor alleging our failure to pay outstanding invoices for approximately $335, which is included in accounts payable in the December 31, 2016 accompanying consolidated balance sheet, initiated a breach-of-contract lawsuit against us. Also in February 2016, a former vendor alleging our failure to pay outstanding invoices for approximately $51, which is included in accounts payable in the December 31, 2016 accompanying consolidated balance sheet, filed a motion for summary judgment against us. During 2017, we negotiated settlement with the vendor for $45. 

  

Year ended December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Tax provision summary:

        

State income tax

 $39  $51 

Deferred tax expense - federal

  9   30 

Deferred tax expense (benefit) – state

  35   (2)

Tax expense

 $83  $79 

 

The Company is involved in various legal proceedings incidental to the operations of its business. The Company believes that the outcome of all such other pending legal proceedings in the aggregate will not have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, liquidity, or operating results.

Leases

Future minimum lease payments under leases with initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2017 are as follows: 

Year ending December 31, Lease Obligations 
2018 $587 
2019  499 
2020  398 
2021  61 
Total future minimum obligations $1,545 

Rentincome tax expense totaled $474 and $416 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and is included in General and Administrative expenses.

Our CEO was awarded 4,951,557 performance shares with a grant date to be determined upon certain conditions being satisfied. As December 31, 2017 those conditions had not been met and were deemed not probable to be achieved resulting in no compensation expense being recorded.

Termination benefits

On August 10, 2017, the Company announced that it was closing its New Jersey and Minnesota locations. The Company has accrued one-time termination benefits related to severance to the affected employees of $146 and will recognize the expense over the period the employees are expected to continue service to the Company. 

NOTE 8: RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

As discussed in Note 1, on September 1, 2017, our CEO received 3,198,054 shares of our common stock valued at $1,119, as part of the issuance of the ConeXus Holdback shares. During the year-ended December 31, 2017, 5,422,604 of the 8,806,906 shares of common stock were issued to the CEO upon conversion of preferred stock. 

For the years-ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had sales of $3,390 and $1,344, respectively, with a related party entity that is 22.5% owned by a member of senior management. Accounts receivable due from the related party was $3,017 and $543 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.


On November 13, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party investor, extended the maturity date of the term loan for which we issued to Slipstream Communications a five-year warrant to purchase up to 5,882,352 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment). The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $1.0 million.

On August 10, 2017, Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party investor, extended the maturity date of the term loan for which we issued to Slipstream Communications a five-year warrant to purchase up to 5,882,352 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment). The fair value of the warrants on the issuance date was $1.2 million.

In December 2016 and January 2017, the Company’s majority shareholder and investor, Slipstream Communications LLC acquired all of the Company’s outstanding debt (see Note 6).

On December 12, 2016, we entered into a $1.0 million secured revolving promissory note pursuant to the August 17, 2016 Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party investor, with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on February 1, 2017. In connection with the loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,542,452 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment), all pursuant to a securities purchase agreement. This note was repaid on January 12, 2017.

On August 17, 2016, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party investor, under which we obtained a $3.0 million term loan, with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on August 17, 2018 (see Note 6). In connection with the loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchase up to 5,882,352 shares of Creative Realities’ common stock at a per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment). 

NOTE 9: INCOME TAXES

Our gross deferred tax assets are primarily related to netincludes federal and state operating loss carryforwards (NOLs). We have substantial NOLs that are limited in its usage by IRC Section 382. IRC Section 382 generally imposes an annual limitation onincome taxes currently payable and those deferred or prepaid because of temporary differences between financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities. The Company records income taxes under the amount of NOLs that may be used to offset taxableliability method. Under this method, deferred income when a corporation has undergone significant changes in stock ownership within a statutory testing period. We have performed a preliminary analysis of the annual NOL carryforwards and limitations that are available to be used against taxable income. The estimated federal NOL carryforward after application of the IRC Section 382 limitation is $19.3 million and foreign NOL carryforward is $7.0 million as of December 31, 2017.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act) was enacted on December 22, 2017 and introduces significant changes to the U.S. income tax law.  Effective in 2018, the Tax Act reduces U.S. statutory tax rates from 35% to 21%. Accordingly, we remeasured our deferred taxes as of December 31, 2017 to reflect the reduced rate that will apply in future periods when these deferred taxes are settled or realized, resulting in a one-time $0.2 million net tax benefit in 2017. 

Due torecognized for the timing of the enactment and the complexity involved in applying the provisions of the Tax Act, we have made reasonable estimates of the effects and recorded provisional amounts in our financial statements as of December 31, 2017.  As we collect and prepare necessary data, and interpret the Tax Act and any additional guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service, and other standard-setting bodies, we may make adjustments to the provisional amounts.  Those adjustments may materially impact our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate in the period in which adjustments are made.  The accounting for theestimated future tax effects of differences between the Tax Act will be completed in 2018.


A summarytax bases of the deferred tax assets and liabilities is included below:and their financial reporting amounts based on enacted tax laws.

  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
       
Deferred tax assets (liabilities):      
Reserves $12  $35 
Property and equipment  80   171 
Accrued expenses  619   1,034 
Severance  56   39 
Non-qualified stock options  268   420 
Net foreign carryforwards  1,906   1,844 
Net operating loss and credit carryforwards  6,801   8,054 
Intangibles  605   907 
         
Total deferred tax assets  10,347   12,504 
Valuation allowance  (10,896)  (13,114)
         
Net deferred tax liabilities $(549) $(610)

  Year ended December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Tax provision summary      
State income tax $21  $18 
Deferred tax benefit, release of valuation allowance  -   (635)
Deferred tax benefit - federal  2,382   (1,101)
Deferred tax benefit - state  (149)  (89)
Deferred tax benefit - foreign  (75)  (453)
Change in valuation allowance  (2,218)  1,895 
Tax (benefit)/expense $(39) $(365)

 

A reconciliation of the statutory income tax rate to the effective income tax rates as a percentage of income before income taxes is as follows:

 

 2017 2016  

2023

  

2022

 
Federal statutory rate  -34.00%  -34.00% 21.00% 21.00%
State taxes  -2.44%  -2.75%

State taxes, net of federal benefit

 1.28% (2.02)%
Foreign rate differential  -0.08%  3.11% 1.05% (2.51)%
Other  3.55%  1.68%
Impact of Tax Act  3.10%  0%

Fair value of Warrant Liability/Contingent Consideration

 (6.48)% (79.66)%

Discrete items, Transaction items, and Other

 (2.13)% (2.37)%
Changes in valuation allowance  -37.79%  36.72%  (16.53)%  69.60%
Effective tax rate  -67.66%  4.80%  (1.81)%  4.04%

F- 27

The net deferred tax assets and liabilities recognized in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, determined using the income tax rate applicable to each period, consist of the following:

  

December 31,

 
  

2023

  

2022

 

Deferred tax assets (liabilities):

        

Reserves

 $249  $472 

Property and equipment

  57   165 

Accrued expenses

  514   593 

Right-of-use Asset

  (254)  (253)

Right-of-use Liability

  254   253 

IRC 163(j) Interest Carryforward

  704   18 

Debt issuance costs

  135   286 

Non-qualified stock options

  1,708   1,469 

IRC Section 174

  593   196 

R&D credits

  2,312   2,312 

Net foreign carryforwards

  3,753   3,664 

US net operating loss and contribution carryforwards

  38,010   37,953 

Intangibles

  (3,818)  (3,737)
         

Total deferred tax liabilities, net

  44,217   43,391 

Valuation allowance

  (44,290)  (43,419)

Net deferred tax liabilities

 $(73) $(28)

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no reserves recorded as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits for U.S. federal and state tax jurisdictions. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2023 that, if recognized, would affect the tax rate. It is the Company’s policy to accrue interest and penalties related to liabilities for income tax contingencies in the provision for income taxes. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

Our deferred tax assets are primarily related to net federal and state operating loss carryforwards (NOLs). As of December 31, 2023, the Company has federal and state net operating loss carryforwards expiring between 2024 and 2043, $13,808 of which has an indefinite carryforward period. The federal statute of limitations remains open for tax years 2019 through 2022 and state tax jurisdictions generally have statutes of limitations open for tax years 2019 through 2022.

We have substantial NOLs that are limited in usage by IRC Section 382. IRC Section 382 generally imposes an annual limitation on the amount of NOLs that may be used to offset taxable income when a corporation has undergone significant changes in stock ownership within a statutory testing period.

We have performed a preliminary analysis of the annual NOL carryforwards and limitations that are available to be used against taxable income. Based on the history of losses of the Company, there continues to be a full valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets of the Company.

 


F- 28

NOTE 10: CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK11: WARRANTS

 

The preferred stock entitles its holders to a 6% dividend, payable semi-annually in cash or in kind through the three-year anniversaryA summary of the original issue date, and from and after such three-year anniversary in duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock. The three-year anniversary of the initial investment date occurred during the second half of 2017outstanding warrants for $5.2 million of the $5.5 million originally issued Convertible Preferred Stock and therefore dividends on those investments were paid via issuance of common shares as of the year-end date.

During the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016 respectfully,2022 is included below:

Year Ended December 31, 2023

 
  

Warrants (Equity)

 
          

Weighted

 
      

Weighted

  

Average

 
      

Average Exercise

  

Remaining

 
  

Amount

  

Price

  

Contractual Life

 

Balance January 1, 2023

  5,824,027  $6.56   4.21 

Warrants expired

  (1,237,025)  12.70   - 

Balance December 31, 2023

  4,587,002  $4.90   4.11 

Year Ended December 31, 2022

 
  

Warrants (Equity)

 
          

Weighted

 
      

Weighted

  

Average

 
      

Average Exercise

  

Remaining

 
  

Amount

  

Price

  

Contractual Life

 

Balance January 1, 2022

  1,367,737  $13.44   1.73 

Warrants issued

  1,950,502   4.60   5.00 

Warrants exercised

  (1,950,502)  4.60   4.86 

Warrants expired

  (130,712)  10.44   - 

Warrants reclassified

  4,587,002   4.90   4.73 

Balance December 31, 2022

  5,824,027  $6.56   4.21 

On February 3,2022, the Company issuedentered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with a purchaser (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell to the Purchaser, in a private placement priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules, (i) 438,334 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”) and accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 245,816 and 452,224438,334 shares of preferred stock in satisfaction of its semi-annual dividend obligation. During the years ended December 31, 2017Common Stock, and 2016 respectfully, the Company issued(ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 718,840 and 01,950,502 shares of Common Stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) and accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,950,502 shares of Common Stock. The accompanying warrants to purchase Common Stock are referred to herein collectively as the “Common Stock Warrants.” Under the Securities Purchase Agreement, each Share and accompanying warrants to purchase Common Stock were sold together at a combined price of $4.605, and each Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying warrants to purchase Common Stock were sold together at a combined price of $4.6047, for gross proceeds of approximately $11,000, before deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. In 2022, each of the Pre-Funded Warrants were exercised. The Common Stock Warrants expire five years from the date of issuance. The Company evaluated the Pre-Funded Warrants and concluded that they met the criteria to be classified within stockholders’ equity, with proceeds recorded as common stock and additional paid-in-capital. The Company evaluated the Common Stock Warrants and concluded they do not meet the criteria to be classified within stockholders’ equity. The Common Stock Warrants included provisions which could result in satisfactiona different settlement value for the Common Stock Warrants depending on the registration status of its semi-annual dividend obligation. 

The preferred stock may be convertedthe underlying shares. Because these conditions were not an input into our common stock at the optionpricing of a holderfixed-for-fixed option on the Company’s ordinary shares, the Common Stock Warrants are not considered to be indexed to the Company’s own stock. The Company recorded the Common Stock Warrants as liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at an initial conversion price as adjustedfair value, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in the Consolidated Statements of $0.255 per share. Subject to certain conditions, we may call and redeem the preferred stock after three years. From and after the three-year anniversary ofOperations at each reporting date. At the date of issuance, the Company has the right (but not the obligation), upon at least 30 days prior written notice, to call some or allperformed a Black-Scholes valuation of the Series A PreferredCommon Stock Warrants, resulting in a fair value of $3.2781 per Common Stock Warrant. At June 30,2022, the Company reassessed the fair value of the Common Stock Warrants via Black Scholes valuation methodology and determined that the fair value of the Common Stock Warrants was $1.2057 per Common Stock Warrant, resulting in the Company recording a gain on the fair value of the Common Stock Warrants of $4,950 in the Consolidated Statement of Operations for redemption at any timethe year ended December 31, 2022.

F- 29

On February 17,2022, in connection with the Credit Agreement with Slipstream, the Company issued to Slipstream the Lender Warrants. The Lender Warrants were not exercisable until 180 days after the issuance date. The common stock has had a closing price onshares underlying the relevant trading market,Lender Warrants have not yet been registered for a periodresale under the Securities Act of at least 15 consecutive days, all of1933, which must be afterprovided Slipstream with an option for cashless exercise once the three-year anniversary date of the purchase agreement, equal to at least one and one-half times the initial conversion price. 

DuringLender Warrants became exercisable until such time as such registration occurs. The Lender Warrants expire five years from the date of issuance. The Company evaluated the Lender Warrants and concluded that they do not meet the criteria to be classified within stockholders’ equity. The Lender Warrants include provisions which could result in a majoritydifferent settlement value, for the Lender Warrants depending on the registration status of the preferred stock sold remains outstanding, holders will haveunderlying shares. Because these conditions are not an input into the rightpricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on the Company’s ordinary shares, the Lender Warrants are not considered to elect a member to our Board of Directors. The preferred stock has full-ratchet price protection in the event that we issue common stock below the conversion price, as adjusted, subject to certain customary exceptions. The warrants issued to purchasers of the preferred stock contain weighted-average price protection in the event that we issue common stock below the exercise price, as adjusted, again subject to certain customary exceptions. In the Securities Purchase Agreement, we granted purchasers of the preferred stock certain registration rights pertaining to the common shares they may receive upon conversion of their preferred stock and upon exercise of their warrants.

In 2017, 385,200 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 1,860,561 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock were converted into 8,806,906 shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.255 per share.

In 2016, 307,500 shares of Series A Preferred Stock were converted into 1,205,882 shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.255 per share.

  Number of Convertible Preferred Series A  Number of Convertible Preferred Series A-1  Shares of Common Stock Received 
Q4 2017  -   -   - 
Q3 2017  132,200   1,860,561   7,814,749 
Q2 2017  12,750   -   50,000 
Q1 2017  240,250   -   942,157 
             
Q4 2016  132,000   -   517,647 
Q3 2016  75,500   -   296,078 
Q2 2016  -   -   - 
Q1 2016  100,000   -   392,157 

During the quarter-ended September 30, 2017, the four holders of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock (substantially similar in termsbe indexed to the Company’s Convertible Preferred Stock,own stock. The Company recorded the Lender Warrants as liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations at each reporting date. At the date of issuance, the Company performed a Black-Scholes valuation of the Lender Warrants, resulting in a fair value of $2.4387 per Lender Warrant. In recording the Lender Warrants liability, the Company recorded an increase in debt discount in the Consolidated Balance Sheet associated with the issuance of the Lender  Warrants of $4,223, which is being amortized through interest expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations over the life of the Acquisition Term Loan and issued to the shareholders of Conexus World Global LLC) converted all 1,860,561 shares of Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock into 7,296,318 shares of common stock. Additionally, certain accredited investors converted 132,200 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock for 518,431 shares of common stock. During the quarter ended Consolidation Term Loans. At June 30, 2017, accredited investors converted 12,750 shares2022, the Company reassessed the fair value of Convertible Preferred Stockthe Lender Warrants via Black Scholes valuation methodology and determined that the fair value of the Lender Warrants was $1.1097 per Lender Warrant, resulting in the Company recording a gain on the fair value of the Lender Warrants of $2,302 in the Consolidated Statement of Operations for 50,000 shares of common stock. During the quarteryear ended March 31, 2017, accredited investors converted 240,250 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock for 942,157 shares of common stock. During the three months ended December 31, September 30, and March 31, 2016, accredited investors converted 132,000, 75,500, and 100,000 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock for 517,647, 296,078 and 392,157 shares of common stock, respectively.

F-24

NOTE 11: WARRANTS2022.

 

On November 13, 2017, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 5,882,352 shares of common stock at the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) to Slipstream Communications, LLCFebruary 17,2022, in connection with extensionobtaining a waiver of certain restrictions in investment documents between an investor and the Company in order to consummate the financing contemplated by the Credit Agreement, the Company paid consideration to such investor in the form of a warrant (the “Purchaser Warrants”) to purchase 466,667 shares of Company common stock in an at-the-market offering under Nasdaq rules. The number of shares of Company common stock subject to the Purchaser Warrants is equal to the waiver fee ($175) divided by $0.375 per share. The exercise price of the term loan facility.Purchaser Warrants is $4.23 per share, and the Purchaser Warrants were not exercisable until August 17,2022. The Purchaser Warrants expire five years from the date of issuance. The Company evaluated the Purchaser Warrants and concluded that they do not meet the criteria to be classified within stockholders’ equity. The Purchaser Warrants include provisions which could result in a different settlement value, for the Purchaser Warrants depending on the registration status of the underlying shares. Because these conditions were not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on the Company’s ordinary shares, the Purchaser Warrants are not considered to be indexed to the Company’s own stock. The Company recorded the Purchaser Warrants as liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations at each reporting date. At the date of issuance, the Company performed a Black-Scholes valuation of the Purchaser Warrants, resulting in a fair value of $2.5968 per Purchaser Warrant. In recording the Purchaser Warrants liability, the Company recorded an expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations associated with the issuance of the Purchaser Warrants of $1,211. At June 30, 2022, the Company reassessed the fair value of the Purchaser Warrants via Black Scholes valuation methodology and determined that the fair value of the Purchaser Warrants was $1.2051 per Purchaser Warrant, resulting in the Company recording a gain on the fair value of the Purchaser Warrants of $650 in the Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.

 

On August 10, 2017, Effective June 30, 2022, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 5,882,352 shares of common stock atamended the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) to Slipstream Communications, LLC in connection with extensionterms of the term loan facility.

On August 17, 2016,Common Stock Warrants (2,388,836 warrants), Lender Warrants (1,731,499 warrants) and Purchaser Warrants (466,667 warrants). The amendments to such warrants removes the Company issued a warrantholder’s option to purchase 5,882,352 sharesdetermine the value of common stock atsuch warrants utilizing the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) to Slipstream Communications, LLC in connection with extension of the term loan facility.

On June 29, 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 89,286 shares of common stock at the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) pursuant to a securities purchase agreement as more fully described in Note 7, Loans Payable.

On June 13, 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 803,572 shares of common stock at the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) pursuant to a securities purchase agreement as more fully described in Note 7, Loans Payable.

On May 3, 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 892,857 shares common stock at the per share price of $0.28 (subject to adjustment) pursuant to a securities purchase agreement as more fully described in Note 7, Loans Payable.

On January 15, 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 250,000 sharesVWAP of the Company’s common stock aton the per share pricetrading day immediately preceding the date of $0.28 (subjecta notice in a cashless exercise, and removes the condition to adjustment)exercising such warrants that the Company’s shareholders approve the exercise thereof (which had already been obtained). The amendments to the warrants also extended the term of such warrants for an additional one year, such that the Common Stock Warrants will expire on February 3, 2028, and the Lender Warrants and Purchaser Warrants will expire on February 17, 2028.

As a result of the extension in term provided in exchange for services rendered related to the issuance of debt on December 28, 2015. Theamendment, the Company reassessed the fair value of each of the Common Stock, Lender and Purchaser Warrants, resulting in the Company recording a loss on the fair value of these warrants of $345 in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2022. The foregoing amendments to the warrants onresulted in such warrants to be accounted for as equity instruments in the issuance date was $20. The warrants were initially recordedCompany’s Consolidated Financial Statements. As such, following recording the gains and losses with respect to these warrant amendments, the Company reclassified the warrant liability of $5,709 from noncurrent liabilities to additional paid-in-capital. These amounts are reflected as a liability with a discount toadditional paid-in-capital in the debt issued to amortized over the lifeConsolidated Balance Sheet as of the debt but were reclassified to equity as a result of retrospective application of the adoption of ASU 2017-11.

 Listed below are the range of inputs used for the probability weighted Black Scholes option pricing model valuations when the warrants were issued and at December 31, 2017.

Issuance Date Expected Term at Issuance Date Risk Free Interest Rate at Date of Issuance Volatility at Date of Issuance Stock Price at Date of Issuance
8/20/2014 5.00 1.50% 96.00% $0.63
2/13/2015 5.00 1.28% 100.00% $0.34
5/22/2015 5.00 1.28% 107.58% $0.29
10/15/2015 5.00 1.71% 58.48% $0.22
10/26/2015 5.00 1.71% 60.47% $0.21
12/21/2015 5.00 1.75% 58.48% $0.21
12/28/2015 5.00 1.75% 58.48% $0.16
1/15/2016 5.00 1.76% 58.48% $0.17
5/3/2016 5.00 1.25% 51.15% $0.21
6/13/2016 5.00 1.14% 51.12% $0.17
6/29/2016 5.00 1.01% 48.84% $0.17
8/17/2016 5.00 1.15% 51.55% $0.15
11/4/2016 5.00 1.66% 47.48% $0.16
12/12/2016 5.00 1.90% 48.54% $0.19
8/19/2017 5.00 1.81% 64.71% $0.35
11/13/2017 5.00 2.08% 66.24% $0.29

Remaining Expected Term at
December 31,
2017
 Risk Free Interest Rate at
December 31,
2017
 Volatility at
December 31,
2017
 Stock Price at
December 31,
2017
1.64 - 4.87 1.83% 72.34% $0.32


A summary of outstanding debt and equity warrants is included below:

  Warrants (Equity)     Warrants (Liability)    
  Amount  Weighted Average Exercise Price  Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life  Amount  Weighted Average Exercise Price  Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life 
Balance, January 1, 2016  12,937,902   1.88   3.90   6,487,500   0.35   3.64 
Warrants issued to financial advisors  500,000   0.28   4.46   -   -   - 
Warrants issued with promissory notes  1,785,715   0.28   4.37   -   -   - 
Warrants issued with term loan  7,424,804   0.28   4.70   -   -   - 
Warrants expired  (1,116,359  11.52   -   -   -   - 
Balance, December 31, 2016  21,532,062   0.65   3.79   6,487,500   0.35   2.64 
Warrants issued with term loan  11,764,704   0.28   4.75   -   -   - 
Warrants expired  (292,755)  46.68   -   -   -   - 
Balance December 31, 2017  33,004,011   0.47   3.55   6,487,500   0.35   1.64 

NOTE 12: STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY2022.

 

On August 9, 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a programThe foregoing amendments to repurchase up to 5 million shares of our outstanding common stock through August 9, 2019. The authorization allows for the repurchaseswarrants resulted in such warrants to be conducted through open market or privately negotiated transactions. Shares acquired underaccounted for as equity instruments on the stock repurchase programCompany’s Consolidated Financial Statements as of June 30, 2022. As such, the Company reclassified the warrant liability from noncurrent liabilities to additional paid-in-capital as of June 30, 2022. These amounts are expected to be retired and returned toreflected as additional paid-in-capital in the statusConsolidated Balance Sheet as of authorized but unissued shares of common stock. The stock repurchase program can be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time at our discretion.  During the fourth quarter of 2017, 1,185,968 shares of common stock were repurchased at an aggregate price of $149 and were immediately cancelled.December 31, 2022.

 

On September 1, 2017, the Company issued to the prior shareholders

F- 30

In May 2017, the Company paid a vendor for services at a value of $500 with the issuance of 1,960,784 shares of common stock.

During 2017, accredited investors converted 2,245,511 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock in exchange for 8,806,906 shares of common stock. During 2016, accredited investors converted 307,500 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock in exchange for 1,205,882 shares of common stock. In conjunction with the structured settlement program, the Company issued 409,347 shares of its restricted common stock to creditors and 809,842 shares of stock were issued to investors (see Note 8). NOTE 12: STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

A summary of outstanding options as of December 31, 2023is included below:

 

     Weighted          
     Average  Weighted     Weighted 
     Remaining  Average     Average 
Range of Exercise Number  Contractual  Exercise  Options  Exercise 
Prices between Outstanding  Life  Price  Exercisable  Price 
$0.18 - $0.65  7,145,000   7.51  $0.28   3,833,956  $0.31 
$0.66 - $0.79  30,000   6.04   0.79   30,000  $0.79 
$0.80 - $12.25  15,500   4.59   3.73   15,500  $3.73 
   7,190,500   7.50  $0.29         

Time Vesting Options

      

Weighted

             
      

Average

  

Weighted

      

Weighted

 
      

Remaining

  

Average

      

Average

 

Range of Exercise

 

Number

  

Contractual

  

Exercise

  

Options

  

Exercise

 

Prices between

 

Outstanding

  

Life

  

Price

  

Exercisable

  

Price

 

$4.01 - $8.00

  566,673   6.63  $7.42   566,673  $7.42 

8.01+

  96,125   2.03   25.22   96,125   25.22 
   662,798   5.96  $10.00   662,798  $10.00 

 


  Options  Weighted Average 
  Outstanding  Exercise Price 
Balance, December 31, 2016  7,490,499  $0.29 
Granted  -   - 
Exercised  -   - 
Forfeited or expired  299,999   0.18 
Balance, December 31, 2017  7,190,500  $0.29 

Performance Vesting Options

      

Weighted

             
      

Average

  

Weighted

      

Weighted

 
      

Remaining

  

Average

      

Average

 

Range of Exercise

 

Number

  

Contractual

  

Exercise

  

Options

  

Exercise

 

Prices between

 

Outstanding

  

Life

  

Price

  

Exercisable

  

Price

 

$4.01 - $8.00

  240,000   6.42  $7.59   240,000  $7.59 

Market Vesting Options

      

Weighted

             
      

Average

  

Weighted

      

Weighted

 
      

Remaining

  

Average

      

Average

 

Range of Exercise

 

Number

  

Contractual

  

Exercise

  

Options

  

Exercise

 

Prices between

 

Outstanding

  

Life

  

Price

  

Exercisable

  

Price

 

$0.01 - $4.00

  733,334   1.13  $3.00   -  $- 

  

Market Vesting Options

  

Time Vesting Options

  

Performance Vesting Options

 
      

Weighted

      

Weighted

      

Weighted

 
      

Average

      

Average

      

Average

 
  

Options

  

Exercise

  

Options

  

Exercise

  

Options

  

Exercise

 

Date/Activity

 

Outstanding

  

Price

  

Outstanding

  

Price

  

Outstanding

  

Price

 

Balance, December 31, 2022

  633,334   3.00   662,910   10.02   240,000  $7.59 

Granted

  100,000   3.00   -   -   -   - 

Forfeited or expired

  -   -   (112)  162.00   -   - 

Balance, December 31, 2023

  733,334   3.00   662,798   10.00   240,000  $7.59 

 

The weighted average remaining contractual life for options exercisable is 7.506.1 years as of December 31, 2017.2023.

F- 31

Valuation Information for Stock-Based Compensation

 

NOTE 13: STOCK-BASED COMPENSATIONFor purposes of determining estimated fair value under FASB ASC 718-10,Stock Compensation, the Company computed the estimated fair values of stock options using the Black-Scholes model.

 

Amendment to Performance Options

On June 1, 2020, Rick Mills, CEO, and Will Logan, CFO, were issued ten-year options to purchase 160,000 and 80,000 shares of common stock (the “Performance Options”), respectively, which vest in equal installments over a three-year period (2020-2022), subject to satisfying the Company revenue targets and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) targets for the applicable year. In each of calendar years 2020,2021 and 2022,one-third of the total shares may vest (if the revenue and EBITDA targets are met), and the shares that are subject to vesting each year are allocated equally to each of the revenue and EBITDA targets for such year. The Performance Options include a catch-up provision, where any options that did not vest during a prior year due to the Company’s failure to meet a prior revenue or EBITDA target may vest in a subsequent vesting year if the revenue or EBITDA target, as applicable, is met in the future year.

On June 15, 2022, the Board approved of an amendment to the Performance Options to provide that the revenue target for the calendar year 2022 set forth therein ($38,000) was eliminated, and the remaining shares that are available for vesting under the Performance Options (106,667 unvested shares for Mr. Mills and 53,334 for Mr. Logan) (including the unvested portions of shares based on the satisfaction of the revenue targets for 2020 and 2021 by virtue of the catch-up provisions in the Performance Options) will fully vest upon the achievement of an updated EBITDA target for calendar year 2022 of $3,600.

The Performance Options state that the calculation of EBITDA set forth in the Performance Options shall be calculated in a form consistent with the Company’s 2022 approved budget, which

(i) excluded any impact on EBITDA of:

(a) the accounting treatment (including any "mark-to-market accounting") of the Company's warrants or the "Guaranteed Consideration" (as defined in the Merger Agreement),

(b) non-recurring transaction expenses associated with the Merger and the capital raising financing activities of the Company to effectuate the Merger, and

(c) any write-down or write-off of any Company inventory of Safe Space Solutions products.

(ii) included deductions related to any cash or stock bonuses paid or payable to any employees of the Company for services provided in calendar year 2022 (even if such bonuses are actually paid after calendar year 2022), including bonuses paid pursuant to the terms of the 2022 Cash Bonus Plan (as described below).

The unvested portion of the Performance Options as of December 31, 2022 vested in full effective March 30, 2023 upon confirmation by the Board of Directors of achievement of the performance metrics for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The exercise price of the foregoing options is $7.59 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of issuance (as adjusted by the Company's 1-for-3 reverse stock split in March 2023). The options were issued from the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan.

F- 32

Issuance of Options

On June 15, 2022, Messrs. Mills and Logan received ten-year options to purchase 333,334 and 200,000 shares of common stock, respectively (the “New Options”). The New Options are eligible to vest at any time on or prior to February 17, 2025 if the trailing 10-trading day VWAP of the Company’s common stock, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market, exceeds the share price targets below, subject to such executive serving the Company as a director, officer, employee or consultant at such time:

  

Share Price Targets

     
                      

Guaranteed

  

Total

 

Executive

 $6.00  $9.00  $12.00  $15.00  $18.00  

Price

  

Shares

 

Mills Shares Vested

  16,667   33,334   50,000   66,667   83,334   83,334   333,334 

Logan Shares Vested

  10,000   20,000   30,000   40,000   50,000   50,000   200,000 
                             

Percentage of Shares Vested

  5%  10%  15%  20%  25%  25%    

The “Guaranteed Price” has the meaning ascribed to such term in the Merger Agreement.

The exercise price of the New Options is $3.00 per share, which exceeded the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of issuance (as adjusted by the Company's 1-for-3 reverse stock split in March 2023). The New Options were issued from the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended. An additional 100,000 options with identical market vesting restrictions were issued to non-executives.

The fair value of the options on the grant date varied between $0.63 and $1.11 per award as determined using the Monte Carlo model. These values were calculated using the following weighted average assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate

3.30%

Expected term (in years)

2.68

Expected price volatility

123.53%

Dividend yield

0%

At the grant date, the Company evaluated the probability of achieving the share price targets in each tranche based, in part, on work performed by the Company’s third party valuation specialist in conjunction with evaluating the contingent consideration. As a result of that evaluation of probability, during the year-ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded $13 of compensation expense. These awards have not yet vested and are subject to actual share price performance through February 2025.

On November 17, 2021, Creative Realities’ Board of Directors updated its director compensation plan to compensate non-officer directors resulting in the Company granting 10-year options to purchase an aggregate of 85,000 shares of its common stock to non-employee directors of the Company under the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). One-third of the options vested immediately, with half of the remaining options vesting at each of the first and second anniversaries of the grant date. The options have an exercise price of $6.63, the market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. The fair value of the options on the grant date was $5.23 and was determined using the Black-Scholes model. These values were calculated using the following weighted average assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate

1.60%

Expected term (in years)

6.25

Expected price volatility

97.78%

Dividend yield

0%

F- 33

On June 1, 2020 the Board of Directors of the Company granted 10-year options to purchase an aggregate of 526,667 shares of its common stock to employees of the Company subject to shareholder approval of an increase in the reserve of shares authorized for issuance under the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). On July 10, 2020, the Company held a special meeting of the Company’s shareholders at which the shareholders approved the amendment to the Plan, which increased the reserve of shares authorized for issuance thereunder to 2,000,000 shares.

The options awarded vest over 3 years and have an exercise price of $7.59, the market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. The fair value of the options on the grant date was $5.61 and was determined using the Black-Scholes model. These values were calculated using the following weighted average assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate

0.66%

Expected term (in years)

6.25

Expected price volatility

89.18%

Dividend yield

0%

Stock Compensation Expense Information

 

FASB ASC 718-10718-10,Stock Compensation, requires measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based payments including warrants, stock options, restricted stock grants and stock bonuses based on estimated fair values. Under the Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, the Company reserved 1,720,000573,334 shares for purchase by the Company’s employees and under the Amended and Restated 2006 Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan the Company reserved 700,000233,334 shares for purchase by the Company’s employees. There are 365,5003,890 options outstanding under the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

In October 2014, the Company’s shareholders approved the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan, under which 7,390,355 shares were reserved for purchase by the Company’s employees. In August 2018, a special meeting of shareholders was held in which the shareholders voted to amend the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan to increase the reserve of shares authorized for issuance thereunder, from 7,390,355 shares to 18,000,000 shares. Following a 1-for-30 reverse stock split, the shares authorized for issuance under the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan was reduced to 600,000. On July 10, 2020, the Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s 2014 Stock Incentive Plan to increase the reserve of authorized for issuance thereunder to 6,000,000.  Following a 1-for-3 reverse stock split, the shares authorized for issuance under the Company's 2014 Stock Incentive Plan was reduced to 2,000,000. There are 6,825,0001,632,242 options outstanding under the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan.

Employee Awards

 

Compensation expense recognized for the issuance of stock options to employees for the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 20162022 of $383 and $1,689, respectively, was as follows:included in general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Stock-based compensation costs included in:        
Costs of sales $6  $1 
Sales and marketing expense  76   74 
General and administrative expense  202   198 
Total stock-based compensation expense $284  $273 

 

At December 31, 2017,2023, there was approximately $554$0 and $100 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested share-based awards. Generally, this expenseawards with time vesting and performance vesting criteria for employees, respectively. Expense related to performance vesting options will be recognized over the next 1.6 years14 months and will be adjusted for any future changes in estimated forfeitures. forfeitures as they occur.

 

Valuation Information for Stock-Based CompensationNon-Employee Awards

 

For purposes of determining estimated fair value under FASB ASC 718-10,Compensation expense recognized for the Company computed the estimated fair valuesissuance of stock options, usingincluding those options awarded to our Board of Directors, for the Black-Scholes model.years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 of $150 and $198, respectively, was included in general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Financial Statements. At December 31, 2023, unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested share-based awards with time vesting criteria for non-employee directors was $0.

 

ThereThe Company engages certain consultants to perform services in exchange for Company common stock. Shares issued for services were no options grantedcalculated based on the ten (10) day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) for the last ten (10) days during the month of service provided.

During the year ended December 31, 2017.2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company issued shares issuable in exchange for services in the amount of $55 and $100, respectively.

 


F- 34

On November 11, 2016, the Company granted 10-year options to purchase 425,000 shares of its common stock to an employee. The options vest over 4 years and have an exercise price of $0.18. The fair value of the options on the grant date was $0.09 and was determined using the Black-Sholes model. The values set forth above were calculated using the following weighted average assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate1.14%
Expected term6.25 years
Expected price volatility47.89%
Dividend yield0%

 The Company does not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment behavior, so we estimate the expected term of awards granted by taking the average of the vesting term and the contractual term of the awards, referred to as the simplified method. The risk-free interest rate assumption is based on observed interest rates appropriate for the term of the Company’s stock options. The Company used historical closing stock price volatility for a period of 2 years. Although the Company has historical pricing for a period equal to the expected life of the respective awards, the Company used a shorter period of time as the Company went through reorganization and was fundamentally a different company. The dividend yield assumption is based on the Company’s history and expectation of no future dividend payouts.

Our stock-based compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest and is reduced for estimated forfeitures as permitted by FASB ASU 2016-09,Stock Compensation,wherein a Company can make an entity-wide accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures when they occur. The Company applied a pre-vesting forfeiture rate of 10%.

NOTE 14: PROFIT-SHARING PLAN

We have a defined contribution 401(k) retirement plans for eligible associates. Associates may contribute up to 15% of their pretax compensation to the plan subject to IRS limitations. There are currently plans to implement an employer contribution match of 50% of employee wages up to 6%, for an effective match of 3% on April 1, 2018.

NOTE 15:13: SEGMENT INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT CUSTOMERSCUSTOMERS/VENDORS

 

Segment Information

 

We currently operate in one reportable segment, marketing technology solutions. Substantially all property and equipment is located at our offices in the United States, and a data center located in the United States. All material sales for the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016,2022 were in the United States and Canada.

 

MajorSignificant Customers

 

We had three and two customers thatNo customer accounted for 63% and 71%more than 10% of accounts receivable as of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. 2023. We do not believe the loss of this customer will have a material adverse effect on our business. The Company had three customers that accounted for 56% and 56%44% of revenue for the years ended December 31, 20172022.

We had two and 2016,three customers that in the aggregate accounted for 50% and 49% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

 

ForSignificant Vendors

We had one vendor that accounted for 38% and 30% of outstanding accounts payable at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

NOTE 14: LEASES

The Company's lease portfolio is primarily comprised of operating leases for office space and finance leases for computer equipment. At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether the arrangement is or contains a lease based on whether the contract conveys the right to control the use of identified property or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration.  Leases are classified as operating or finance leases at the commencement date of the lease. Leases may include one or more options to renew. We do not assume renewals in our determination of the lease term unless the renewals are deemed to be reasonably assured at lease commencement. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. 

The following table summarizes the classification of operating and finance lease assets and obligations in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

   

Year Ended

   

December 31,

   

2023

  

2022

Assets

        

Operating lease assets

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 $1,041  $1,584

Finance lease assets

Property and equipment, net

  146   -

Total leased assets

 $1,187  $1,584
         

Liabilities

        

Short-term:

        

Operating lease obligation

Current maturities of operating leases

 $505  $711

Finance lease obligation

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

  42   -

Long-term

        

Operating lease obligation

Long-term obligations under operating leases

  536   873

Finance lease obligation

Other non-current liabilities

  104   -

Total lease obligations

 $1,187  $1,584

F- 35

The following table summarizes the classification of lease expense in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2017 2023 and 2016, the Company had sales2022:

  

Year Ended

  

December 31,

  

2023

  

2022

        

Operating lease expense:

       

Operating lease expense

 $753  $579

Finance lease expense:

       

Amortization of right-of-use assets

  23   -

Interest on lease obligations

  5   -

Total lease expense

 $781  $579

The following table provides lease term and discount rate information related to operating leases as of $3,390 and $1,344, respectively, with a related party entity that is 22.5% owned by a member of senior management. Accounts receivable due from the related party was $3,017 and $543 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

NOTE 16: SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On January 16, 2018, we entered into the Third Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC which extended the period through which the Company could draw on the Revolver established by the Loan and Security Agreement. In conjunction with this Amendment, we entered into a $1.0 million secured revolving promissory note pursuant to the August 17, 2016 Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, a related party, addressed below (see Note 10), wherein we borrowed $1.0 million with interest thereon at 8% per annum, maturing on January 16, 2019. In connection with the loan, we issued the lender a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,851,851 shares of common stock at a per-share price of $0.27 (subject to adjustment), all pursuant to a securities purchase agreement. In connection with the secured revolving promissory note, we did not incur any fees. 

On August 10, 2017, we announced the planned closure of our office facilities located at 22 Audrey Place, Fairfield, New Jersey 07004 which housed our previous operations center and ceased use of the facilities in February 2018. In ceasing use of these facilities, we will incur a one-time non-cash charge of $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2018 to accrue for the remaining rent under the lease term, net of anticipated subtenant rental income.


EXHIBIT INDEX2023:

 

Exhibit No. Description

Year Ended

December 31,

2023

Weighted average remaining lease term (years)

Operating leases

2.6

Finance leases

3.4
   
2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated as of August 11, 2015, by and among the registrant, CXW Acquisition, Inc. and ConeXus World Global, LLC (incorporated by reference to the registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2015)

Weighted average discount rate

   
2.2

Operating leases

Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated as of October 15, 2015, by and among the registrant, CXW Acquisition, Inc. and ConeXus World Global, LLC (incorporated by reference to the registrants Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 21, 2015)
  10.0%
2.3

Finance leases

Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization and Waiver dated as of September 1, 2017 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2017)
  5.7%
3.1

Articles of Incorporation, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 17, 2014)

3.2Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 2, 2011)
4.1Series A Convertible Preferred Stock Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations filed August 19, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 22, 2014)
4.2Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations filed October 30, 3015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.1Securities Purchase Agreement dated February 18, 2015 by and between Creative Realities, Inc. and Mill City Ventures II, Ltd. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2015)
10.2Secured Convertible Promissory Note dated February 18, 2015, issued in favor of Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2015)
10.3Warrant dated February 18, 2015, issued in favor of Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2015)
10.4Security Agreement dated February 18, 2015, by and among Creative Realities, Inc. and Broadcast International, Inc., Creative Realities, LLC, and Wireless Ronin Technologies Canada, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2015)
10.5Subordinated Secured Promissory Note issued on May 20, 2015 to Slipstream Communications, LLC, in the original principal amount of $465,000 (incorporated by reference to the registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2015)
10.6Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC  (incorporated by reference to the registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2015)
10.7Form of Secured Convertible Promissory Note (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated June 23, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on July 9, 2015)
10.8Form of Warrant (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated June 23, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on July 9, 2015)
10.9Form of Security Agreement (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated June 23, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on July 9, 2015)

Exhibit No.Description
10.10Warrant dated August 10, 2017, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2017)
10.11Warrant dated November 13, 2017, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC
10.12Warrant dated January 16, 2018, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC
10.13Warrant dated December 22, 2015, issued in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 4, 2016)
10.14Form of Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.15Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.16Form of Secured Convertible Promissory Note (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.17Form of Warrant (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.18Form of Amended and Restated Security Agreement (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.19Form of Registration Rights Agreement (for use in connection with Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 28, 2015) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
10.20Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream Communications, LLC, dated as of August 17, 2016 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 21, 2016)
10.21First Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated as of August 10, 2017 among Slipstream Communications, LLC, registrant and registrant’s subsidiaries.
10.22Second Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 13, 2017 among Slipstream Communications, LLC, registrant and registrant’s subsidiaries.
10.23

Third Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated as of January 16, 2018 among Slipstream Communications, LLC, registrant and registrant’s subsidiaries.

10.24Secured Term Promissory Note in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC (entered into in connection with Loan and Security Agreement dated August 17, 2016) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 21, 2016)


Exhibit No.Description
10.25Secured Revolving Promissory Note in favor of Slipstream Communications, LLC(entered into in connection with Third Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated January 16, 2018)
10.26Employment Agreement with John Walpuck (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 28, 2017)
10.27Employment Agreement with Richard Mills (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 28, 2017)
10.28Warrant to Purchase Common Stock (entered into in connection with Loan and Security Agreement dated August 17, 2016) (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 21, 2016)
10.29Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated June 23, 2015 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on July 9, 2015)
21.1List of Subsidiaries (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016)
23.1Consent of EisnerAmper LLP
31.1Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).
31.2Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).
32.1Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
32.2Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
101.INSXBRL Instance Document
101.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
101.DEFXBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
101.PREXBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

 

The following table sets forth the scheduled maturities of lease obligations as of December 31, 2023:

E-3

  

Operating

  

Finance

  

Total

 
  Leases  Leases  Leases 

2024

 $536  $49  $585 

2025

  451   48   499 

2026

  111   44   155 

2027

  105   19   124 

Total undiscounted cash flows

 $1,203  $160  $1,363 

Less imputed interest

  (162)  (14)  (176)

Present value of lease liabilities

 $1,041  $146  $1,187 

The following table provides supplemental information related to the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

  

Year Ended

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 

 

 

2023

  

2022

 

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:

        

Operating cash flows paid for operating leases

 $753  $597 

Operating cash flows paid for finance leases

 $5  $- 

Financing cash flows paid for finance leases

 $23  $- 
         

Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new finance lease liabilities

 $169  $- 

F- 36

NOTE 15: PROFIT-SHARING PLAN

We have a defined contribution 401(k) retirement plans for eligible associates in the United States. Associates may contribute up to 15% of their pretax compensation to the plan subject to IRS limitations. The Company contributes an employer contribution match of 50% of employee wages up to 6%, for an effective match of 3%. 

We have a Registered Retirement Savings Plan for eligible associates in Canada. Associates may contribute up to 18% of earned income reported on their tax return in the previous year, subject to legal contribution limits. The Company contributes an employer contribution match of 50% of employee wages up to 6%, for an effective match of 3%.

The Company contributed $253 and $142 to employee retirement plans for the year-ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

F-37