BSQUARE CORP /WA - Quarter Report: 2021 September (Form 10-Q)

 

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

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FORM 10-Q

 

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

 

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021 

 

OR

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

 

For the transition period from                      to                     

 

Commission File Number: 000-27687

 

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BSQUARE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

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Washington		91-1650880
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
1415 Western Ave, Suite 700, Seattle, WA		98101
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

 

(425) 519-5900

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

 

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, no par value		BSQR		The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) 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 whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒   No  ☐

 

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

 

The number of shares of common stock outstanding as of October 31, 2021: 20,357,099

 

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Table of Contents

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

BSQUARE CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share amounts)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

BSQUARE CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

BSQUARE CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

BSQUARE CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(In thousands, except share amounts)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements

BSQUARE CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1. Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

BSQUARE Corporation (“Bsquare,” “we,” “us” and “our”) builds technology that is powering the next generation of connected devices and intelligent systems. We help companies realize the promise of the Internet of Things ("IoT") through the development of devices and systems that are cloud-enabled, share data seamlessly, facilitate distributed learning and control, and operate securely at scale. We believe that IoT-enabled systems can not only deliver value to our customers but also help people make better use of the resources of our planet. Bsquare's suite of services and software components create new revenue streams and operating models for our customers while providing opportunities for lowering costs and improving operations.

Since our founding in 1994, Bsquare has been at the intersection of hardware and software. Today that intersection is the "edge" where cloud-enabled devices connect to create intelligent systems that share data, facilitate distributed control and machine learning, and operate securely at scale. We believe that our expertise, products, and services are applicable in customer projects and initiatives ranging from device hardware, to the operating system, to IoT software solutions, and cloud services that make intelligent systems possible.

Our business has largely been focused on providing software solutions (including reselling software from Microsoft) and related engineering services to businesses that develop, market and sell dedicated-purpose standalone intelligent systems. Examples of dedicated-purpose standalone intelligent systems include smart, connected computing devices such as point-of-sale terminals, kiosks, tablets and handheld devices, as well as smart vending machines, ATM machines, digital signs, smart phones, set-top boxes and in-vehicle telematics and entertainment devices.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Bsquare have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial reporting and include the accounts of Bsquare and our wholly owned subsidiaries. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the annual consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. In management’s opinion, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all material adjustments, all of which are of a normal and recurring nature, necessary to present fairly our financial position as of September 30, 2021 and our operating results and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020. The accompanying financial information as of December 31, 2020 is derived from our audited financial statements as of that date.

These unaudited condensed financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on March 18, 2021.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Bsquare and our wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Revision of prior period financial statements

In connection with the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements, we identified an immaterial error related to the recognition of certain revenues in our Edge to Cloud segment in the third quarter of 2019 that had a rollforward effect on consolidated equity and deferred revenue in all quarterly and annual periods through the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. In accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin ("SAB") No. 99, “Materiality,” and SAB No. 108, “Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements,” we evaluated the error and determined that the related impact was not material to our financial statements for any prior annual or interim period, but that correcting the cumulative impact of the error would be material to the results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2021. Accordingly, we revised our consolidated balance sheets and statements of shareholder’s equity as of September 31, 2019, December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2020 and condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss and cash flows for the year-ended December 31, 2019 and the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. A summary of revisions to certain previously reported financial information presented herein for comparative purposes is included in Note 12 – Revision of Prior Period Financial Statements.

Use of estimates

Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Examples include provisions for bad debts and income taxes, estimates of progress on professional engineering service arrangements, bonus accruals, useful lives of intangible assets and property and equipment, fair values of stock-based awards, and assumptions used to determine the net present value of operating lease liabilities, among other estimates and assumptions. Actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions.

Income (loss) per share

We compute basic income (loss) per share using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. We consider restricted stock units as outstanding shares of common stock and include them in the computation of basic loss per share only when vested. We compute diluted loss per share using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding and common stock equivalent shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. We exclude common stock equivalent shares from the computation if their effect is anti-dilutive.

The following potentially dilutive weighted shares were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive for the periods presented:

2. Revenue Recognition 

Disaggregation of revenue

The following table provides information about disaggregated revenue by primary geographical area and includes a reconciliation of the disaggregated revenue with reportable segments (in thousands):

Contract balances

We receive payments from customers based upon contractual billing schedules; accounts receivable is recorded when the right to consideration becomes unconditional. Contract assets include amounts related to our contractual right to consideration for completed performance obligations not yet invoiced. Contract liabilities, presented as deferred revenue on our condensed consolidated balance sheets, include payments received in advance of performance under the contract and are realized when the associated revenue is recognized. We had no asset impairment charges related to contract assets for each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020. 

Significant changes in the contract assets and the deferred revenue balances during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 were as follows:

Contract acquisition costs

We capitalize contract acquisition costs for contracts with a life exceeding one year. Amortization of contract acquisition costs was $4,000 and $23,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and was $57,000 and $68,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. There were no asset impairment charges for contract acquisition costs for any of the periods noted above. 

Transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations

The following table includes estimated revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied at the end of the reporting period. The estimated revenue does not include contracts with original durations of one year or less, amounts of variable consideration attributable to royalties, or contract renewals that were unexercised as of September 30, 2021:

Practical expedients and exemptions

We generally expense sales commissions when incurred because the amortization period would have been less than one year. We record these costs within selling, general and administrative expenses.

When applicable and appropriate, the Company utilizes the ‘as-invoiced’ practical expedient which permits revenue recognition upon invoicing.

3. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash consisted of the following (in thousands):

4. Fair Value Measurements

We measure our cash equivalents and restricted cash at fair value. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability. A three-tier fair value hierarchy is established as a basis for considering such assumptions and for inputs used in the valuation methodologies in measuring fair value:

We classify our cash equivalents and restricted cash within Level 1 or Level 2 because our cash equivalents and restricted cash are valued using quoted market prices or alternative pricing sources and models utilizing market observable inputs.

Assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 are summarized below (in thousands):

5. Intangible Assets

Intangible assets related to customer relationships that we acquired from TestQuest, Inc. in November 2008 and from the acquisition of Bsquare EMEA, Ltd. in September 2011 and were as follows (in thousands):

Amortization expense was $22,000 and $25,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of September 30, 2021, the gross carrying amount of the intangible assets has been fully amortized.

6. Leases

We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. On our balance sheet, our office leases are included in right-of-use (“ROU”) lease asset, net and related lease liabilities are included in operating lease and operating lease, long-term. We determined that we do not currently have any leases that we are required to classify as finance leases.

ROU assets represent our right to use the underlying assets for the lease term and operating lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease agreements. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the term of the lease. For leases that do not provide an implicit rate, we use an incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the commencement date to determine the present value of lease payments. We use the implicit rate in the lease when readily determinable. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

In November 2020, we renewed the lease for our office facility in the UK. The term of the lease is 120 months, with rent payments starting on November 30, 2020 and the lease term ending on November 8, 2030. The Company has an opportunity to break the lease at the five-year mark in November 2025. As it is reasonably certain that we will utilize this option, the accounting for this lease utilized November 2025 as the end date. The lease commencement date was November 9, 2020. As a result of entering into this lease agreement, we recorded additional ROU assets and net lease liabilities of $365,559 on our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020. There was no material impact to our statement of operations or statement of cash flows as a result of entering into this lease.

Our leases have remaining terms of five to seven years. The only leases that contain renewal options are for office space leases at our Seattle and Trowbridge locations. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we made the decision not to renew our Bellevue lease, which expired at the end of May 2020, and we made the decision not to renew our Taiwan lease, exiting that facility in February 2020. Because of changes in our business, we are not able to determine with reasonable certainty whether we will renew our Seattle lease. As a result, we have not considered renewal options when recording ROU assets, lease liabilities or lease expense.

The following tables present the components of our lease expense and supplemental cash flow information related to our leases for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 (in thousands):

The following table presents supplemental balance sheet information related to our operating leases as of September 30, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

The following table presents the amounts we are obligated to pay, by maturity, under our operating leases liabilities as of September 30, 2021 (in thousands):

7. Shareholders’ Equity

Equity Compensation Plans

We have a stock plan (the “Stock Plan”) and an inducement stock plan for newly hired employees (together with the Stock Plan, the “Plans”). Under the Plans, stock options to purchase shares of our common stock may be granted with a fixed exercise price that is equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. These options have a term of up to 10 years and vest over a predetermined period, generally four years. Incentive stock options granted under the Stock Plan may only be granted to our employees. The Plans also allow for awards of non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted and unrestricted stock awards, and restricted stock units (“RSUs”).

Stock-Based Compensation

The estimated fair value of stock-based awards is recognized as compensation expense over the vesting period of the award, net of estimated forfeitures. We estimate forfeitures based on historical experience and expected future activities. The fair value of RSUs is determined based on the number of shares granted and the quoted price of our common stock on the date of grant. The fair value of stock option awards is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of each vesting tranche as calculated by the Black-Scholes-Merton (“BSM”) option-pricing model. The BSM model requires various highly judgmental assumptions including expected volatility and option life. If any of the assumptions used in the BSM model change significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period. The fair values of our stock option grants and RSUs were estimated with the following weighted average assumptions:

The impact on our results of operations from stock-based compensation expense was as follows (in thousands):

Stock Option Activity

The following table summarizes stock option activity under the Plans:

At September 30, 2021, total compensation cost related to stock options granted but not yet recognized, net of estimated forfeitures, was $393,969. This cost will be amortized on the straight-line method over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.2 years. The following table summarizes certain information about stock options:

The aggregate intrinsic value represents the difference between the exercise price of the underlying options and the quoted price of our common stock for the number of options exercised during the periods indicated. We issue new shares of common stock upon exercise of stock options.

Restricted Stock Unit Activity

The following table summarizes RSU activity under the Plans:

At September 30, 2021, total compensation cost not yet recognized related to granted RSUs was approximately $78,656, net of estimated forfeitures. This cost will be amortized on the straight-line method over a weighted-average period of approximately 0.4 years.

Performance Stock Units

Award Modifications 

In June 2021, the outstanding RSU and non-qualified stock option awards of two Board members were modified. In accordance with ASC 718, we recorded incremental expense of $41,000 during the period related to the revaluation of these modified awards.

Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance

The following table summarizes our shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the Plans as of September 30, 2021:

Common Stock Sales 

In the second and third quarters of 2021, we sold 108,879 and 6,793,798 shares of our common stock, respectively, pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") filed in March 2021. We received proceeds of approximately $31,936,000, net of issuance costs of $1,157,000. The issued shares and total paid-in capital are reflected in the consolidated statement of shareholder’s equity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

8. Commitments and Contingencies

Lease and rent obligations

Our commitments include obligations outstanding under operating leases, which expire through 2027. We have lease commitments for office space in Seattle, Washington and Trowbridge, UK. See Note 6 - Leases.

Loss Contingencies

From time to time, we are subject to legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, including tax assessments. We defend ourselves vigorously against any such claims. When (i) it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred and (ii) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, we record the estimated loss. We provide disclosure in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for loss contingencies that do not meet both conditions if there is a reasonable possibility that a loss may have been incurred that would be material to the financial statements. Significant judgment is required to determine the probability that a liability has been incurred and whether such liability is reasonably estimable. We base accruals made on the best information available at the time, which can be highly subjective. As of September 30, 2021, we have not recorded any loss contingency accruals. 

9. Information about Geographic Areas and Operating Segments

Our chief operating decision-makers (i.e. our Chief Executive Officer and certain direct reports) review financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated information for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance. There are no segment managers who are held accountable by our chief operating decision-makers, or anyone else, for operations, operating results, or planning for levels or components below the consolidated unit level. We operate within a single industry segment of computer software and services.

We have two major product lines, Partner Solutions and Edge to Cloud, each of which we consider to be operating and reportable segments. We do not allocate costs other than direct cost of goods sold to the segments or produce segment income statements, and we do not produce asset information by reportable segment. The following table sets forth profit and loss information about our segments (in thousands):

Revenue by geographic area is based on the sales region of the customer. The following tables set forth total revenue and long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands):

Long-lived assets increased due to additions of internally developed software throughout the year in North America.

10. Significant Risk Concentrations

Significant Customers

GES Manufacturing Services (M) Sdn. Bhd. accounted for $1.1 million or approximately 11% of our total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2021. No other customers accounted for 10% or more of total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2020 or the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020. 

GES Manufacturing Services (M) Sdn. Bhd. had accounts receivable balances of $958,000 or approximately 16% of our total accounts receivable at September 30, 2021. Honeywell International, Inc. and affiliated entities ("Honeywell") had accounts receivable balances of $680,000 or approximately 12% of our total accounts receivable at December 31, 2020. Kodak Alaris had accounts receivable balances of $866,000 or approximately 15% of our total accounts receivable at December 31, 2020.

Significant Supplier

We are authorized to sell Windows IoT operating systems in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Columbia, and several Caribbean countries. Our distribution agreement for sales of Windows IoT operating systems in the European Union (“E.U.”), the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and Africa, expired on June 30, 2019 and was not renewed thereafter. 

We have also entered into Original Equipment Manufacturer Distribution Agreements ("ODAs") with Microsoft pursuant to which we are licensed to sell Microsoft Windows Mobile operating systems to customers in North America, South America, Central America (excluding Cuba), Japan, Taiwan, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The ODAs to sell Windows Mobile operating systems are effective through April 30, 2022.

There is no automatic renewal provision in any of these agreements, and these agreements can be terminated unilaterally by Microsoft at any time.

The majority of our revenue continues to be derived from reselling Microsoft Windows Embedded and IoT operating system software to device makers. The sale of Microsoft operating systems has historically accounted for substantially all of our Partner Solutions revenue.

Microsoft currently offers a distributor incentives program through which we earn rebates pursuant to predefined objectives related to sales of Microsoft Windows IoT operating systems. In accordance with program rules, we allocate a portion of the incentive earnings to reduce cost of revenue with the remaining portion utilized to offset qualified marketing expenses in the period the expenditures are claimed and approved. During the second quarter of 2020 the program allocation was changed by Microsoft to a 50/50 split between the two components.

Under this rebate program, we recorded rebate credits as follows (in thousands):

11. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan

We obtained a $1.6 million loan (the "PPP Loan") from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Lender”) under the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") on April 7, 2020 (the “Note”). The Note had a two-year term, bore interest at the rate of 0.98% per annum, and could be prepaid at any time without payment of any premium or penalty. The principal and accrued interest under the Note was forgivable after an eight- or 24-week period if we used the PPP Loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll, benefits, rent and utilities, and otherwise comply with PPP requirements. In April 2021, we applied for forgiveness of this loan in accordance with the program, and in June 2021, we received confirmation that the loan principal (and related accrued interest) was forgiven in its entirety. The gain on loan forgiveness is included in other income (loss), net on the statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, and as a gain on extinguishment of debt in the statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

At September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the PPP Loan balance was as follows (in thousands):

12. Revision of Prior Period Financial Statements

We revised certain prior period financial statements due to a $77,000 error related to the recognition of certain revenues in our Edge to Cloud segment. The error occurred in the third quarter of 2019 and had a rollforward effect on consolidated equity and deferred revenue in all quarterly and annual periods through the first quarter of 2021. See Note 1 - Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies. A summary of the revisions to our previously reported financial statements is presented below (in thousands).

Revised Consolidated Balance Sheets

Revised Consolidated Statement of Shareholders’ Equity

Revised Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

Revised Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

We revised our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the nine months ended  September 31, 2019 for this correction, which had no impact to net cash used by operating activities in each such period.

Revised Segment Information

Edge to Cloud revenue and gross profit were impacted for each of the applicable prior periods by the same amount as consolidated revenue and gross profit for the respective periods.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes. Some statements and information contained in this discussion are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In some cases, readers can identify forward- looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, which when used are meant to signify the statement as forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and situations that are difficult to predict and that may cause our own, or our industry’s actual results, to be materially different from the future results that are expressed or implied by these statements. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated or expressed in such statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as well as similar discussions contained in our periodic reports, and other documents or filings and documents that we may from time to time file or furnish with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview

Bsquare is a software and services company that designs, configures, and deploys technologies that solve difficult problems for manufacturers and operators of connected devices. Our customers choose Bsquare to help realize the promise of the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform their businesses. Our products include software that connects devices to create intelligent systems that are cloud-enabled, contribute critical data, and facilitate distributed control and decision making. Our services include 24/7 IoT operations that allow our customers to focus on their businesses while we take care of security, monitoring, and general technology updates. The opportunity to help companies explore and capture the value of IoT is attractive and growing. In the last two years alone, we helped hundreds of companies deploy and manage over two million devices. We operate large IoT systems for our customers with device fleets that range in size and complexity. We believe we offer a unique combination of expertise in device-level solutions, embedded operating systems, and IoT services and software that is valued by a global customer base, from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, across a diverse set of industries.

During 2021, we have continued our ongoing initiatives to strategically build our business at the intersection of our two business segments. In the Partner Solutions segment, customers who have been purchasing Operating System (OS) software from us are recognizing that their products, essentially interconnected devices and associated software, cannot be sold, installed, and then forgotten. For these customers, we offer software-based solutions that address the operational headaches caused by this relatively new and increasingly complex business requirement.  In the Edge to Cloud segment, customers are relying on Bsquare for a complete solution, ranging from OS configuration to 24/7 support, dev/ops, and cloud management – the services that are critical when a customer puts an IoT solution into production. Experience with those customers has shown that Bsquare’s role can last well beyond the development phase and continue into their on-going operations. Our software and edge expertise combined with our position as a supply chain partner makes us uniquely suited to address these complex requirements, in both business segments.

Revenue

The COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the microchip supply chain, continues to affect our Partner Solutions customer ordering patterns and has caused ongoing disruptions and revenue variability in the Partner Solutions segment. Second quarter 2021 revenue was the highest since the onset of the COVID pandemic and third quarter 2021, while a decrease from second quarter, was the second highest. Nevertheless, revenue in 2021 lags pre-COVID-19 results and the moderate recovery experienced in 2021 has been inconsistent. We believe our Partner Solutions revenue is also affected by other Microsoft distributors offering deep discounts on Windows IoT OS software as part of hardware / software bundles. We expect this market trend may continue in future quarters. We are working to retain and attract customers with superior service and technical support, pricing that rewards loyalty, and a path to IoT operations.

In our Edge to Cloud segment, investments made to ensure we were meeting our operating commitments, while re-tooling and addressing issues with software previously delivered to some of our larger IoT customers, started to generate revenue for us in 2021. In the first quarter of 2021, we worked closely with Itron, Inc. to help them build their intelligent utility grid. Beyond gaining credibility as a reliable technology partner, we believe the experience we have gained serving Itron and our other large IoT customers positions us to improve our IoT software and services in 2021 and beyond.

Expenses

Our work in 2019 and 2020 to reduce our operating expense structure has provided a foundation from which we are strategically building our business. Our selling, general and administrative expenses in the first nine months of 2021 were nearly $740,000 less than similar expenses in the first nine months of 2020.

We have strategically invested in the development of new product offerings for our customers. Year-to-date 2021, that investment has totaled over $1.0 million. We are in the process of taking these products to market and are looking to reap a financial return on our R&D investment in 2022 and beyond.

Cash and Liquidity

Our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash increased by $28.4 million in the first nine months of 2021. This increase in cash was driven by the receipt of net proceeds of $31.9 million from the sale of our common stock. This increase was partially offset by the use of cash stemming from R&D investments, operational results (primarily soft Partner Solutions revenue) and variations in working capital items.

Cash will be invested strategically to grow our business and enhance our value proposition to customers.

Critical Accounting Judgments

Our condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, sales, cost of sales and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates on an on-going basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable in the circumstances, which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. There have been no significant changes to our critical accounting judgments, policies and estimates as described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Results of Operations

The following table presents our summarized results of operations for the periods indicated. Our historical operating results are not necessarily indicative of the results for any future period.