SOCKET MOBILE, INC. - Quarter Report: 2019 March (Form 10-Q)

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

March 31, 2019

NOTE 1 — Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements of Socket Mobile, Inc. (the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals considered necessary for fair presentation have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full fiscal year or any future period. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

NOTE 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and such differences may be material to the financial statements.

Cash Equivalents and Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with a maturity date of 90 days or less at date of purchase to be cash equivalents. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, all of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents consisted of amounts held in demand deposit accounts in banks. The aggregate cash balance on deposit in these accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000. The Company’s cash balance on deposit in these accounts may, at times, exceed the federally insured limits. The Company has never experienced any losses in such accounts.

The carrying value of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, debt and foreign exchange contracts approximate fair value due to the relatively short period of time to maturity.

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue

On January 1, 2017, the Company adopted ASC 606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” and implemented a new revenue recognition policy. Instead of deferring 100% of revenue and cost of revenue until products are sold by distributors, the new policy recognizes revenue on sales to distributors when shipping of product is completed and title transfers to the distributor, less a reserve for estimated product returns (sales and cost of sales). The reserves are based on estimates of future returns calculated from actual return history, primarily from stock rotations, plus knowledge of pending returns outside of the norm. At March 31, 2019, the deferred revenue and deferred cost on shipments to distributors were $465,246 and $196,165, respectively, compared to $396,974 and $165,024, respectively, at December 31, 2018.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires a lessee to recognize a liability representing future lease payments and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. For operating leases, a lessee is required to recognize at inception a right-of-use asset and a lease liability equal to the net present value of the lease payments, with lease expense recognized over the lease term on a straight-line basis. For leases with a term of twelve months or less, ASU 2016-02 allows a reporting entity to make an accounting policy election to not recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability, and to recognize lease expense on a straight-line basis. ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. Entities are required to use a modified retrospective approach for leases that exist or are entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the financial statements. The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 effective January 1, 2019, which had no impact on the Company’s Statements of Operations. The most significant impact was the recognition of right-of-use assets and liabilities for the operating lease. Adoption of the standard required the Company to restate the reported results in its earliest comparable period, January 1, 2018, including the recognition of additional operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities. As a result, there was an increase in assets and corresponding liabilities of approximately $1.57 million on January 1, 2018. At March 31, 2019, the balances of right-of-use assets and liabilities for the operating lease are approximately $1.19 million and $1.42 million, respectively, compared to approximately $1.27 million and $1.51 million, respectively, at December 31, 2018.

Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (“ASU 2018-15”), which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s financial statements.

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standards setting bodies that are adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, management believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTE 3 — Inventories

Inventories consist principally of raw materials and sub-assemblies, which are stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market. Inventories at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:

NOTE 4 — Bank Financing Arrangements

On January 31, 2018, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Business Financing Agreement (the “Third Financing Agreement”) with Western Alliance Bank (the “Bank), that provides for a $2.5 million revolving line of credit and a $4.0 million term loan that the Company may use to repurchase shares of common stock. Pursuant to the revolving line of credit, the Company is permitted to borrow up to the lesser of $2.5 million or 80% of eligible accounts receivables. Amounts outstanding under the line of credit bear interest at the “U.S. Prime Rate” published by the Wall Street Journal plus 0.75%. Interest is payable monthly on the line of credit, and the principal is due upon the maturity date of January 31, 2020. Amounts outstanding under the term loan bear interest at the “U.S. Prime Rate” published by the Wall Street Journal plus 1.75%. The loans are secured by all of our present and future assets, including intellectual property and general intangibles. The Financing Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict the Company’s ability to, among other things, grant liens, make investments, incur indebtedness, merge or consolidate, dispose of assets, make acquisitions, pay dividends or make distributions, repurchase stock, enter into transactions with affiliates and enter into restrictive agreements, in each case subject to customary exceptions for a credit facility of this size and type.

The Financing Agreement also contains customary events of default including, among others, payment defaults, breaches of covenants, bankruptcy and insolvency events, cross defaults with certain material indebtedness, judgment defaults, and breaches of representations and warranties. Upon an event of default, the Bank may declare all or a portion of the Company’s outstanding obligations payable to be immediately due and payable and exercise other rights and remedies provided for under the Financing Agreement. During the existence of an event of default, interest on the obligations could be increased.

On March 1, 2018, the Company received proceeds of $4.0 million under the provisions of the term loan for a common stock repurchase. On March 9, 2018, the Company completed a tender offer to purchase and retire 1,250,000 shares of common stock from multiple investors at a purchase price of $3.90 per share, for an aggregate cost of approximately $4.9 million, excluding fees and expenses relating to the tender offer.

On April 12, 2018, the Company advised the Bank that its operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 were not expected to be in compliance with two financial covenants, the first a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio and the second a Total Funded Debt to EBITDA ratio. The Company reported the non-compliance in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The Bank verbally agreed to forbear the events of default subject to further modification of the Financing Agreement. The Company subsequently paid down the term loan from $4.0 million at March 31, 2018 to $1.0 million at June 30, 2018. The paydowns were made from its cash and revolving lines of credit.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

March 31, 2019

On June 4, 2018, the Company entered into the Fourth Amended and Restated Business Financing Agreement with the Bank. The Bank recognized the repayment of the outstanding term loan balance to $1.0 million by June 30, 2018. The remaining balance is repayable in 24 equal monthly installments. The Bank permanently waived the defaults resulting from March 31, 2018 results when paydown of the term loan balance to $1.0 million by June 30, 2018 was achieved.

On July 30, 2018, the Company entered into the Fifth Amended and Restated Business Financing Agreement with the Bank. The Company was required to maintain daily cash plus available credit at or above 90% of the outstanding principal balance of the term loan until the Asset Coverage Ratio is at 1.25 to 1.0. The minimum Asset Coverage Ratio increased to 1.25 to 1.0 from December 31, 2018 onwards.

The Asset Coverage Ratio was 1.4 to 1.0 on March 31, 2019. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, total repayments of the term loan was $125,000. Total amount borrowed under the domestic and international lines was $4,109,000 and the total repayments was $3,629,494. At March 31, 2019, the total borrowing capacity was approximately $75,000. Amounts outstanding under the term loan and bank credit facilities at March 31, 2019 are as follows:

Interest expense on the term loan for three months ended March 31, 2019 was $15,844. Interest expense on the amounts drawn under the Company’s bank credit lines during the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $12,692. Accrued interest payable related to the amounts outstanding under the term loan and bank credit facilities at March 31, 2019 was $16,035.

NOTE 5 — Segment Information and Concentrations

Segment Information

The Company operates in the mobile barcode scanning and RFID/NFC data capture market. Mobile scanning typically consists of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, with mobile scanning or NFC peripherals for data collection, and third-party vertical applications software. The Company distributes its products in the United States and foreign countries primarily through distributors, resellers, and online. The Company markets its products primarily through application developers whose applications are designed to work with Company’s products.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

March 31, 2019

Revenues for the geographic areas for three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

Export revenues are attributable to countries based on the location of the Company’s customers. The Company does not hold long-lived assets in foreign locations.

Major Customers

Customers who accounted for at least 10% of the Company’s total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk include cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company invests its cash in demand deposit accounts in banks and the Company has not experienced losses on the investments. The Company’s trade accounts receivables are primarily with distributors. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition, but the Company generally requires no collateral. Reserves are maintained for potential credit losses, and such losses have been within management’s expectations. Customers who accounted for at least 10% of the Company’s accounts receivable balances at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:

Concentration of Suppliers

Several of the Company’s component parts are produced by a sole or limited number of suppliers. Shortages could occur in these essential materials due to increased demand, or to an interruption of supply. Suppliers may choose to restrict credit terms or require advance payments causing delays in the procurement of essential materials. If the Company were unable to procure certain of such materials, it could have a material adverse effect upon its results. For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, two suppliers accounted for 45% and 44%, respectively, of the inventory purchases. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, 38% and 35%, respectively, of the Company’s accounts payable balances were concentrated with two suppliers.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTE 6 — Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognizes the compensation cost in the financial statements for all stock-based awards to employees, including grants of stock options and restricted stock units, based on the fair value of the awards as of the date that the awards are issued. Compensation cost for stock-based awards is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

The fair values of stock options are generally determined using a binomial lattice valuation model which incorporates assumptions about expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, and expected life. On February 15, 2019, 165,600 shares were granted to executive officers, selected employees and consultants as stock option refresher grants.

On February 15, 2019, the Company also granted 116,050 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to employees. Each RSU represents the right to receive one share of the Company’s common stock upon vesting. The fair value of these RSUs was calculated based upon the Company’s closing stock price on the date of grant. These RSUs are with service-based vesting provisions and vest over four years: 15% on February 2020, 20% on February 15, 2021, 25% on February 15, 2022, and 40% on February 15, 2023. The shares are issued in the name of each employee but held in an escrow account by the Company’s transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust. As they vest, the shares will be issued to the individual either electronically or as certificates as instructed by the individual.  Each individual has voting rights while shares are unvested.  The share totals are included in primary earnings per share. The expense of these RSUs is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

Total stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, was $121,965 and $112,133, respectively.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

March 31, 2019 

NOTE 7 — Net Income (Loss) Per Share Applicable to Common Stockholders

The following table sets forth the reconciliation of basic shares to diluted shares and the computation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share:

In the three months ended March 31, 2019, 2,265,930 stock options were excluded in the calculation of diluted net income per share because their effect would be anti-dilutive.

NOTE 8 — Taxes

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, effective on January 1, 2018, eliminated alternative minimum taxes and lowered the U.S. federal corporate income tax from 34% to 21%. In the first quarter of 2019, the Company recorded a deferred tax expense of $6,670. In the same quarter a year ago, the Company recorded a deferred tax benefit of approximately $80,000 with the expectation of a return to profitable operating results and full utilization of the Company’s Net Operating Loss carryforwards.

NOTE 9 — Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Lease

The Company leases office space under a non-cancelable operating lease that provides the Company approximately 37,100 square feet in Newark, California. The lease agreement expires on June 30, 2022. Monthly base rent increases four percent per year annually on July 1^st of each year. The Company recognizes operating lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term and the operating lease expense for the first quarter of both 2019 and 2018 was $103,208.

The Company adopted ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) effective January 1, 2019 and restated its reported results in January 2018, including the recognition of additional operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities. On January 1, 2018, the Company recorded operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities in the amount of approximately $1.57 million and $1.85 million, respectively. On March 31, 2019, the balances of right-of-use assets and liabilities for the operating lease are approximately $1.19 million and $1.42 million, respectively, compared to approximately $1.27 million and $1.51 million, respectively, at December 31, 2018.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

March 31, 2019

Cash payments included in the measurement of our operating lease liabilities were $112,758 and $108,421 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. 

Future minimum lease payments under the operating lease at March 31, 2019 are shown below:

Finance Leases

The new standard, ASU 2016-02 classifies lessee leases into two types, operating and finance. The Company leases certain of its equipment under finance leases. The leases are collateralized by the underlying assets. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, equipment with a cost of $100,584 was subject to such financing arrangements. The accumulated depreciation of the assets associated with the finance leases as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, amounted to $80,552 and $76,546 respectively.

Future minimum payments under finance lease and equipment financing arrangements as of March 31, 2019 are as follows:

Purchase Commitments

As of March 31, 2019, the Company has non-cancelable purchase commitments for inventory to be used in the ordinary course of business of approximately $4,834,000.

Legal Matters

The Company is subject to disputes, claims, requests for indemnification and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business. Under the indemnification provisions of the Company’s customer agreements, the Company routinely agrees to indemnify and defend its customers against infringement of any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights arising from customers’ legal use of the Company’s products or services. The exposure to the Company under these indemnification provisions is generally limited to the total amount paid for the indemnified products. However, certain indemnification provisions potentially expose the Company to losses in excess of the aggregate amount received from the customer. To date, there have been no claims against the Company by its customers pertaining to such indemnification provisions, and no amounts have been recorded. The Company is currently not a party to any material legal proceedings.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.

NOTE 10 — Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated events from March 31, 2019 through the date the financial statements were issued. There were no subsequent events that need disclosure.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This Quarterly Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include statements forecasting our future financial condition and results, our future operating activities, market acceptance of our products, expectations for general market growth of mobile computing devices, growth in demand for our data capture products, expansion of the markets that we serve, expansion of the distribution channels for our products, and the timing of the introduction and availability of new products, as well as other forecasts discussed under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Words such as “may,” “will,” “predicts,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about our industry, management’s beliefs, and assumptions made by management. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict; therefore, actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in any such forward looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially include, but are not limited to: volatility in the world economy generally and in the markets we serve in particular; the risk of delays in the availability of our products due to technological, market or financial factors including the availability of product components and necessary working capital; our ability to successfully develop, introduce and market future products; our ability to effectively manage and contain our operating costs; the availability of third-party hardware and software that our products are intended to work with; product delays associated with new model introductions and product changeovers by the makers of products that our products are intended to work with; continued growth in demand for barcode scanners; market acceptance of emerging standards such as RFID/Near Field Communications and of our related data capture products; the ability of our strategic relationships to benefit our business as expected; our ability to enter into additional distribution relationships; or other factors described in this Form 10-Q including “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and recent Form 8-K and Form 10-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update such forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the interim condensed financial statements and notes included elsewhere in this report, the Company’s annual financial statements in form 10-K, and other information contained in other reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company and its products

We are a leading innovator of data capture and delivery solutions for enhanced productivity in workforce mobilization. Our products are incorporated into mobile applications used in point of sale (POS), enterprise mobility (field workers), asset tracking, manufacturing process and quality control, transportation and logistics (goods tracking and movement), event management (ticketing, entry, access control, and identification), medical and education. Our primary products are cordless data capture devices incorporating barcode scanning or RFID/Near Field Communications (NFC) technologies that connect over Bluetooth. All products work with applications running on smartphones, mobile computers and tablets using operating systems from Apple® (iOS), Google (Android™) and Microsoft® (Windows®). Our Capture SDK, an essential part of the products we offer, allows mobile application developers to seamlessly integrate our data capture devices into their workflow, improving end user experiences and productivity. Our products are marketed by the application developers or the resellers of their applications as part of that solution. The number of our registered developers for data capture applications continues to grow.

Durable companion cordless barcode scanners. Our DuraScan® 700 Series Linear Barcode Scanner (D700), Laser Barcode Scanner (D730) and Universal Barcode Scanner (D740, D750, D760, D790), are designed to be durable barcode scanners with IP54-rated outer casing to withstand tougher environments. Universal Barcode Scanners (D740, D750, D760, D790) read all common 1D, stacked, 2D and postal codes. D740 is priced competitively with a 1D barcode scanner, making D740 the affordable 2D option available in the market. D760 includes MRZ (machine readable support zone) support, making it capable of scanning passports, visas, and other travel documents. D790 is designed to read DPM (Direct Part Marking) codes.

Standard companion cordless barcode scanners. In April 2018, we introduced SocketScan® 700 Series barcode scanners to replace the Series 7 scanners which have been discontinued. The SocketScan® 700 Series include 1D linear imaging (S700), 1D laser (S730) and 2D (S740) barcode scanners, available in five vivid colors: blue, green, red, white and yellow. S740 reads all common 1D, stacked, 2D and postal codes.

Attachable cordless barcode scanners. Our SocketScan 800 Series cordless barcode scanners, 1D linear imaging (S800) and 2D (S840, S860) are attachable to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices with an easily detachable clip or DuraCase, creating a one-handed solution. DuraCase sled enables both devices to be used and charged simultaneously and protects from common drops or bumps. DuraCase models support iPhone 6/7/8, iPhone 6/7/8 Plus, iPod touch, Samsung J3/J5 and Samsung S7. New DuraCase models are introduced from time to time as new mobile phones are released. S860 includes MRZ (machine readable support zone) support, making it capable of scanning passports, visas, and other travel documents in addition to barcodes. SocketScan 800 Series scanners may be used stand-alone as well.

Contactless RFID/NFC reader writer. Our contactless product line includes the D600 Contactless Reader/Writer and in final development, the S500 Token Exchange. The D600, an ergonomically handheld model with IP54-rated outer casing, can read and write many different types of electronic SmartTags or transfer data with near field communication. The S500 Token Exchange facilitates tap-and-go NFC user experiences with mobile wallets and consumer engagements, applicable for payment applications, contactless passes, identifications, ticketing and others which leverage the exchange of electronic “tokens”. These tokens can be exchanged via NFC enabled devices. Many smartphones support NFC communications and are expected to enable third party applications to transfer tokens utilizing NFC. The S500 Token Exchange is designed to be stationary on the counter top.

Software Developer Kit (Capture SDK). Our Software Developer Kit (Capture SDK) supports all our data capture devices with a single installation, making it easy for a developer to integrate our data capture capabilities into their application. Installing our data capture software enables their customers to choose any of our products that work best for them. Our Capture SDK enables the developer to modify captured data, control the placement of the barcoded or RFID data in their application, and control the feedback to the user that the transaction and transmission was successfully completed. Our Capture SDK also supports the built-in camera in a customer’s smartphone or tablet to be used for occasional or lower volume data collection requirements. The Capture SDK uses tools integrated with software build environments such as CocoaPods, Maven and NuGet, adds support for high level frameworks such as Xamarin, Cordova and Java, and adds other features to make it easier for developers to integrate our data capture software into their applications.

Service

Our products are warranted for one year and we offer SocketCare extended warranty programs for up to five years including repair or replacement due to accidental breakage. We also repair or replace products that are beyond their warranty period.

We design our own products and are responsible for all associated test equipment. Many of our components are made by third party contract manufacturers. We perform final product assembly, test, packaging and distribute our products worldwide at and from our Newark, California facility. We offer our products through two-tier distribution enabling customers to purchase from large numbers of on-line resellers around the world including application developers who resell their own products along with our data capture products. We believe growth in mobile applications and the mobile workforce are resulting from technical advances in mobile technologies, cost reductions in mobile devices and the growing adoption by businesses of mobile applications for smartphones and tablets, building a growing demand for our products. Our data capture products address the need for speed and accuracy by today’s mobile workers and by the systems supporting those workers, thereby enhancing their productivity and allowing them to exploit time sensitive opportunities and improve customer satisfaction.

Revenues

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was approximately $4.6 million, an increase of 16% compared to the revenue of approximately $4.0 million for the same quarter a year ago. In December 2018, we completed the transition to our new SocketScan products which offer improved performance at similar or lower pricing and are well accepted. Sales growth in Q1 2019 continues to be driven by the deployment of business applications that require barcode scanning. Mobile point of sale (mPOS) remains a large and underserved small business market and is increasingly being addressed by mPOS software applications running on iPad and Android tablets. In Q1 2019, we also experienced growth in mobile applications for commercial services, transportation and health care.

Compared to the same quarter a year ago, Q1 2019 revenue from customers based in the Americas increased by 22%, from Asia Pacific regions increased 38%, and from customers based in Europe decreased by 23%.

Gross Margins

Our gross profit margins for the first quarters of both 2019 and 2018 were 52%.

Research and Development Expense

Research and development expense in the first quarter of 2019 was $894,000, a decrease of 6% compared to expenses of $947,000 in the same quarter a year ago. Decrease in the level of research and development expense was primarily due to lower personnel costs reflecting headcount reductions in February 2018. We expect research and development expense to increase during the balance of 2019 due to headcount additions to facilitate product development and update.

Sales and Marketing Expense

Sales and marketing expense in the first quarter of 2019 was $756,000, an increase of 2% compared to expense of $738,000 in the same quarter a year ago. Sales and marketing expenses are expected to remain flat for the balance of the year.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative expense in the first quarter of 2019 was $703,000, an increase of 6% compared to expense of $665,000 in the first quarter of 2018. General and administrative expense is expected to moderately decline in the second quarter of 2019 from the first quarter levels as the costs of our annual audit are expensed primarily in the first quarter, and to remain flat for the balance of the year.

Interest Expense, Net of Interest Income

Interest expense and other, net of interest income and other, was $29,000 in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $20,000 in the first quarter of 2018. Interest expense in 2019 was primarily related to interest on bank term loan and credit line facilities (see “NOTE 4 — Bank Financing Arrangements” for more information). Average outstanding balance of bank term loan and credit lines during the first three months of 2019 was $1.5 million. Interest expense in Q1 2018 was primarily related to interest on the term loan borrowed for repurchase of our common stock. Additionally, interest expense in each of the comparable first quarters includes interest on equipment lease financing obligations.

Interest income reflects interest earned on cash balances. Interest income was nominal in each of the comparable first quarters, reflecting low average cash balances combined with low average rates of return.

Income Taxes

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, effective on January 1, 2018, eliminates alternative minimum taxes and lowers the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 34% to 21%. California corporate net income tax rate is 6.98% after allowing for federal deductibility. In Q1 2019, our stock-based compensation of $121,965 is the primary permanent difference between financial and tax expense which increased our taxable income. We estimated our federal and state effective tax rate to be 36% in Q1 2019 and recorded a deferred tax expense of $6,670. In the first quarter of 2018, we recorded a deferred tax benefit of $80,000 with the expectation of a return to profitable operating results and full utilization of our net operating loss carryforwards. Our deferred tax asset, primarily representing future income tax savings from the application of net operating loss carry forwards, was valued at $5,774,268 at March 31, 2019.

 We have determined that utilization of existing net operating losses against future taxable income is not limited by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Future ownership changes, however, may limit our ability to fully utilize the existing net operating loss carryforwards against any future taxable income. We will continue to monitor the likelihood to realize the value of deferred tax assets in the future.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As reflected in our Statements of Cash Flows, net cash used in operating activities was $406,000 in the first quarter 2019, compared to net cash used of $389,000 in the comparable period a year ago. We calculate net cash provided by or used in operating activities by increasing our net income ($11,839 in the first quarter of 2019) or decreasing our net loss ($225,029 in the first quarter of 2018) by those expenses that did not require the use of cash. These items consist of stock based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, and deferred tax expenses and benefits. These amounts totaled $229,150 and $123,600 in the first quarters of 2019 and 2018, respectively. In addition, we report increases in assets and reductions in liabilities as uses of cash and decreases in assets and increases in liabilities as sources of cash, together referred to as changes in operating assets and liabilities.

In the first quarter of 2019 changes in operating assets and liabilities resulted in a net use of cash of $647,000 and were primarily from increases in accounts receivable due to higher shipments in the middle of the first quarter and increases in inventory levels. The uses of cash were partially offset by increases in accounts payable, driven primarily by increased inventory purchases. In the first quarter of 2018, changes in operating assets and liabilities resulted in a net use of cash of $287,000 primarily from increases in accounts receivable due to higher shipments in March 2018.

In the first quarters of 2019 and 2018, we invested $100,000 and $164,000, respectively, in manufacturing tooling costs and computer software development costs.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $351,000, compared to net cash used of $752,000 in the comparable period a year ago. Financing activities in 2019 consisted primarily of $480,000 borrowed on our bank lines of credit, partially offset by $125,000 repayment of our term loan. Financing activities in the first quarter of 2018 consisted primarily of $5.0 million use of cash related to repurchase of company stock, $4.0 million proceeds from a drawdown of our term loan and $275,000 proceeds from the exercise of stock options.

Contractual Obligations

Our contractual cash obligations at March 31, 2019 are outlined in the table below:

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of March 31, 2019, we have no off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to our bank term loan and credit line facilities. Amounts outstanding under the term loan bear interest at lender's prime rate (minimum of 4.25%) plus 1.75%. Our bank credit line facilities of up to $2.5 million have variable interest rates based upon the lender's prime rate (minimum of 4.25%) plus 0.75%, for both the domestic line (up to $2.0 million) and the international line (up to $0.5 million). Accordingly, interest rate increases could increase our interest expense on outstanding term loan and credit line balances. Based on a sensitivity analysis during the three months ended March 31, 2019, an increase of 1% in the interest rate would have increased our first quarter borrowing costs by approximately $4,000.

Foreign Currency Risk

A substantial majority of our revenue, expense and purchasing activities are transacted in U.S. dollars. However, we require our European distributors to purchase our products in Euros and we pay the expenses of our European employees in Euros and British pounds. We may enter into selected future purchase commitments with foreign suppliers that may be paid in the local currency of the supplier. We hedge a significant portion of our European receivables balance denominated in Euros to reduce the foreign currency risk associated with these assets, and we have not been subject to significant losses from material foreign currency fluctuations. Based on a sensitivity analysis of our net foreign currency denominated assets at the end of the quarter ended March 31, 2019, an adverse change of 10% in exchange rates would have resulted in a decrease in our net income for the first quarter of 2019 of approximately $33,000 if left unprotected. For the first quarter of 2019, the total net adjustment for the effects of changes in foreign currency on cash balances, collections, payables, and derivatives used to hedge foreign currency risks, was a net loss of $1,200. We will continue to monitor, assess, and mitigate through hedging activities, our risks related to foreign currency fluctuations.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms, and (ii) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the last fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019 and this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The risks described in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are not the only risks facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.

We may not maintain ongoing profitability.

To maintain ongoing profitability, we must accomplish numerous objectives, including continued growth in our business, ongoing support to registered developers whose applications support the use of our data capture products, and the development of successful new products. We cannot foresee with any certainty whether we will be able to achieve these objectives in the future. Accordingly, we may not generate sufficient net revenue or manage our expenses sufficiently to maintain ongoing profitability. If we cannot maintain ongoing profitability, we will not be able to support our operations from positive cash flows, and we would use our existing cash to support operating losses. If we are unable to secure the necessary capital to replace that cash, we may need to suspend some or all of our current operations.

We may require additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or on terms that would not cause substantial dilution to investors’ stock holdings.

We may need to raise capital to fund our growth or operating losses in future periods. Our forecasts are highly dependent on factors beyond our control, including market acceptance of our products and delays in deployments by businesses of applications that use our data capture products. Even if we maintain profitable operating levels, we may need to raise capital to provide sufficient working capital to fund our growth. If capital requirements vary materially from those currently planned, we may require additional capital sooner than expected. There can be no assurance that such capital will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

If application developers are not successful in their efforts to develop, market and sell their applications into which our software and products are incorporated, we may not achieve our sales projections.

We are dependent upon application developers to integrate our scanning and software products into their applications designed for mobile workers using smartphones, tablets and mobile computers, and to successfully market and sell those application products and solutions into the marketplace. We focus on serving the needs of application developers as sales of our data capture products are application driven. However, these developers may take considerable time to complete development of their applications, may experience delays in their development timelines, may develop competing applications, may be unsuccessful in marketing and selling their application products and solutions to customers, or may experience delays in customer deployments and implementations, which would adversely affect our ability to achieve our revenue projections.

Failure to maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and stock price.

We have evaluated and will continue to evaluate our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires an annual management assessment of the design and effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, effective internal controls, particularly those related to revenue recognition, are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to helping prevent financial fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and operating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and the trading price of our stock could drop significantly.

Despite security protections, our business records and information could be hacked by unauthorized personnel

We protect our business records and information from access by unauthorized personnel and are not aware of any instances where such data has been compromised. We maintain adequate segregation of duties in safeguarding our assets and related records and monitor our systems to detect any attempts to bypass our controls and procedures which we evaluate and update from time to time. We are aware that unauthorized efforts to access our business records and information with sophisticated tools could bypass our controls and procedures and we remain alert to that possibility.

Global economic conditions may have a negative impact on our business and financial condition in ways that we currently cannot predict and may further limit our ability to raise additional funds.

Global economic conditions may have an impact on our business and our financial condition. We may face significant challenges if global economic growth slows down and conditions in the financial markets worsen. In particular, should these conditions cause our revenues to be materially less than forecast, we may find it necessary to initiate reductions in our expenses and defer product development program. In addition, our ability to access the capital markets and raise funds required for our operations may be severely restricted at a time when we would like, or need, to do so, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet our current and future funding requirements and on our flexibility to react to changing economic and business conditions.

The decision by British voters to exit the European Union (“Brexit”) may negatively impact our financial results and cause realignment of our European and U.K. distribution channels.

Our products sold in Europe are primarily sold online through third party distributors and resellers operating within the European Common Market, some of whom are based in the U.K. and others whom are based outside of the U.K. All distributors within the European Common Market including the U.K. prior to exit may sell our products anywhere within the common market. Our distributors’ customers may purchase our products from any of these distributors. The outcome of Brexit negotiations remain uncertain, but the UK’s exit will likely change the trading relationship between the U.K. and the European Union which could affect the cost of goods imported into and exported from the U.K., could increase currency volatility that could drive a weaker British pound which could cause prices of our products sold in the U.K. to increase or profit margins to decline, may affect the ability of our distributors operating within the U.K. to sell our products into the European Common Market on competitive terms, and may affect the ability of our distributors operating within the European Common Market but outside of the U.K. to sell our products into the U.K. on competitive terms. With a range of outcomes still possible, the impact from Brexit remains uncertain and will depend, in part, on the final outcome of tariff, trade, regulatory and other negotiations.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate in future periods, which could cause our stock price to decline.

We expect to experience quarterly fluctuations in operating results in the future. We generally ship orders as received, and as a result we may have little backlog. Quarterly revenues and operating results therefore depend on the volume and timing of orders received during the quarter, which are difficult to forecast. Historically, we have often recognized a substantial portion of our revenue in the last month of the quarter. This subjects us to the risk that even modest delays in orders or in the manufacture of products relating to orders received, may adversely affect our quarterly operating results. Our operating results may also fluctuate due to factors such as:

Because we base our staffing and other operating expenses on anticipated revenues, unanticipated declines or delays in the receipt of orders can cause significant variations in operating results from quarter to quarter. As a result of any of the foregoing factors, or a combination, our results of operations in any given quarter may be below the expectations of public market analysts or investors, in which case the market price of our common stock would be adversely affected.

In order to maintain the availability of our bank lines of credit we must remain in compliance with the covenants as specified under the terms of the credit agreements and the bank may exercise discretion in making advances to us.

Our credit agreements with our bank requires us to maintain compliance with an asset coverage ratio measured monthly, which requirements increase during the term of the financing agreement, a fixed charge coverage ratio of no less than 1.75 to 1.0, measured quarterly, and a total funded debt to trailing twelve months EBITDA multiple of not more than 1.75 to 1.0, measured monthly. The agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict our ability to, among other things, grant liens, make investments, incur indebtedness, merge or consolidate, dispose of assets, make acquisitions, pay dividends or make distributions, repurchase stock, enter into transactions with affiliates and enter into restrictive agreements, in each case subject to customary exceptions for a credit facility of this size and type. The agreement also contains customary events of default including, among others, payment defaults, breaches of covenants, bankruptcy and insolvency events, cross defaults with certain material indebtedness, judgment defaults, and breaches of representations and warranties. Upon an event of default, our bank may declare all or a portion of our outstanding obligations payable to be immediately due and payable and exercise other rights and remedies provided for under the agreement. During the existence of an event of default, interest on the obligations could be increased. The agreement may be terminated by us or by our bank at any time. Upon such termination, our bank would no longer make advances under the credit agreement and outstanding advances would be repaid as receivables are collected. All advances are at our bank’s discretion and our bank is not obligated to make advances.

Deferred tax assets comprise a significant portion of our assets and are dependent upon future tax profitability to realize the benefits.

We have recorded deferred tax assets on our balance sheet because we believe that it is more likely than not that we will generate sufficient tax profitability in the future to realize the tax savings our deferred tax assets represent. If we do not achieve and maintain sufficient profitability, the tax savings represented by our deferred tax assets may never be realized and we would need to recognize a loss for those deferred tax assets.

Goodwill comprises a significant portion of our assets and may be subject to impairment write-downs in future periods which would substantially increase our losses, make it more difficult to achieve profitability, and could cause our stock price to decline.

We review our goodwill for impairment at least annually as of September 30th, and more often if factors suggest potential impairment. Many factors are considered in evaluating goodwill including our market capitalization, comparable companies within our industry, our estimates of our future performance, and discounted cash flow analysis. Many of these factors are highly subjective and may be negatively impacted by our financial results and market conditions in the future. We may incur goodwill impairment charges in the future and any future write-downs of our goodwill would adversely affect our operating results, make it more difficult to maintain profitability, and as a result the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected.

We may be unable to manufacture our products because we are dependent on a limited number of qualified suppliers for our components.

Several of our component parts are produced by one or a limited number of suppliers. Shortages or delays could occur in these essential components due to an interruption of supply or increased demand in the industry. Suppliers may choose to restrict credit terms or require advance payment causing delays in the procurement of essential materials. If we are unable to procure certain component parts, we could be required to reduce our operations while we seek alternative sources for these components, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. To the extent that we acquire extra inventory stocks to protect against possible shortages, we would be exposed to additional risks associated with holding inventory, such as obsolescence, excess quantities, or loss.

If we fail to develop and introduce new products rapidly and successfully, we will not be able to compete effectively, and our ability to generate sufficient revenues will be negatively affected.

The market for our products is prone to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and short product life cycles. If we are unsuccessful at developing and introducing new products and services on a timely basis that include the latest technologies conform to the newest standards and that are appealing to end users, we will not be able to compete effectively, and our ability to generate significant revenues will be seriously harmed.

The development of new products and services can be very difficult and requires high levels of innovation. The development process is also lengthy and costly. Short product life cycles for smartphones and tablets expose our products to the risk of obsolescence and require frequent new product upgrades and introductions. We will be unable to introduce new products and services into the market on a timely basis and compete successfully, if we fail to:

We cannot be sure that we will have sufficient resources to make adequate investments in research and development or that we will be able to identify trends or make the technological advances necessary to be competitive.

A significant portion of our revenue currently comes from a limited number of distributors, and any decrease in revenue from these distributors could harm our business.

A significant portion of our revenue comes from a limited number of distributors. In the first quarters of 2019 and 2018, Ingram Micro® and BlueStar together represented approximately 63% and 55%, respectively, of our worldwide revenues. We expect that a significant portion of our revenue will continue to depend on sales to a limited number of distributors. We do not have long-term commitments from our distributors to carry our products, and any of our distributors may from quarter to quarter comprise a significant concentration of our revenues. Any could choose to stop selling some or all of our products at any time, and each of these companies also carries our competitors’ products. If we lose our relationship with any of our significant distributors, we would experience disruption and delays in marketing our products.

We may not be able to collect receivables from customers who experience financial difficulties.

Our accounts receivables are derived primarily from distributors. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers’ financial conditions but generally require no collateral from our customers. Reserves are maintained for potential credit losses, and such losses have historically been within such reserves. However, many of our customers may be thinly capitalized and may be prone to failure in adverse market conditions. Although our collection history has been good, from time to time a customer may not pay us because of financial difficulty, bankruptcy or liquidation. If global financial conditions have an impact on our customers’ ability to pay us in a timely manner, and consequently, we may experience increased difficulty in collecting our accounts receivable, and we may have to increase our reserves in anticipation of increased uncollectible accounts.

We could face increased competition in the future, which would adversely affect our financial performance.

The market in which we operate is very competitive. Our future financial performance is contingent on a number of unpredictable factors, including that:

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 harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we do not correctly anticipate demand for our products, our operating results will suffer.

The demand for our products depends on many factors and is difficult to forecast as we introduce and support more products, and as competition in the markets for our products intensifies. If demand is lower than forecasted levels, we could have excess production resulting in higher inventories of finished products and components, which could lead to write-downs or write-offs of some or all of the excess inventories, and reductions in our cash balances. Lower than forecasted demand could also result in excess manufacturing capacity at our third-party manufacturers and in our failure to meet minimum purchase commitments, each of which may lower our operating results.

If demand increases beyond forecasted levels, we would have to rapidly increase production at our third-party manufacturers. We depend on suppliers to provide additional volumes of components, and suppliers might not be able to increase production rapidly enough to meet unexpected demand. Even if we were able to procure enough components, our third-party manufacturers might not be able to produce enough of our devices to meet our customer demand. In addition, rapid increases in production levels to meet unanticipated demand could result in higher costs for manufacturing and supply of components and other expenses. These higher costs could lower our profit margins. Further, if production is increased rapidly, manufacturing yields could decline, which may also lower operating results.

We rely primarily on distributors to sell our products, and our sales would suffer if any of these distributors stops selling our products effectively.

Because we sell our products primarily through distributors, we are subject to risks associated with channel distribution, such as risks related to their inventory levels and support for our products. Our distribution channels may build up inventories in anticipation of growth in their sales. If such growth in their sales does not occur as anticipated, the inventory build-up could contribute to higher levels of product returns. The lack of sales by any one significant participant in our distribution channels could result in excess inventories and adversely affect our operating results and working capital liquidity.

Our agreements with distributors are generally nonexclusive and may be terminated on short notice by them without cause. Our distributors are not within our control, are not obligated to purchase products from us, and may offer competitive lines of products simultaneously. Sales growth is contingent in part on our ability to enter into additional distribution relationships and expand our sales channels. We cannot predict whether we will be successful in establishing new distribution relationships, expanding our sales channels or maintaining our existing relationships. A failure to enter into new distribution relationships or to expand our sales channels could adversely impact our ability to grow our sales.

We allow our distribution channels to return a portion of their inventory to us for full credit against other purchases. In addition, in the event we reduce our prices, we credit our distributors for the difference between the purchase price of products remaining in their inventory and our reduced price for such products. Actual returns and price protection may adversely affect future operating results and working capital liquidity by reducing our accounts receivable and increasing our inventory balances, particularly since we seek to continually introduce new and enhanced products and are likely to face increasing price competition.

We depend on alliances and other business relationships with third parties, and a disruption in these relationships would hinder our ability to develop and sell our products.

We depend on strategic alliances and business relationships with leading participants in various segments of the mobile applications market to help us develop and market our products. Our strategic partners may revoke their commitment to our products or services at any time in the future or may develop their own competitive products or services. Accordingly, our strategic relationships may not result in sustained business alliances, successful product or service offerings, or the generation of significant revenues. Failure of one or more of such alliances could result in delay or termination of product development projects, failure to win new customers, or loss of confidence by current or potential customers.

We have devoted significant research and development resources to design products to work with a number of operating systems used in mobile devices including Apple® (iOS), Google™ (Android™) and Microsoft® (Windows®). Such design activities have diverted financial and personnel resources from other development projects. These design activities are not undertaken pursuant to any agreement under which Apple, Google or Microsoft is obligated to collaborate or to support the products produced from such collaboration. Consequently, these organizations may terminate their collaborations with us for a variety of reasons, including our failure to meet agreed-upon standards or for reasons beyond our control, such as changing market conditions, increased competition, discontinued product lines, and product obsolescence.

Our intellectual property and proprietary rights may be insufficient to protect our competitive position.

Our business depends on our ability to protect our intellectual property. We rely primarily on patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret laws, and other restrictions on disclosure to protect our proprietary technologies. We cannot be sure that these measures will provide meaningful protection for our proprietary technologies and processes. We cannot be sure that any patent issued to us will be sufficient to protect our technology. The failure of any patents to provide protection to our technology would make it easier for our competitors to offer similar products. In connection with our participation in the development of various industry standards, we may be required to license certain of our patents to other parties, including our competitors that develop products based upon the adopted standards.

We also generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, distributors, and strategic partners, and generally control access to our documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third-party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our products, services, or technology without authorization, develop similar technology independently, or design around our patents.

Effective copyright, trademark, and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in certain foreign countries.

We may become subject to claims of intellectual property rights infringement, which could result in substantial liability.

In the course of operating our business, we may receive claims of intellectual property infringement or otherwise become aware of potentially relevant patents or other intellectual property rights held by other parties. Many of our competitors have large intellectual property portfolios, including patents that may cover technologies that are relevant to our business. In addition, many smaller companies, universities, and individuals have obtained or applied for patents in areas of technology that may relate to our business. The industry is moving towards aggressive assertion, licensing, and litigation of patents and other intellectual property rights.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain licenses on favorable terms for intellectual property rights required for the manufacture, sale, and use of our products, particularly those products which must comply with industry standard protocols and specifications to be commercially viable, our results of operations or financial condition could be adversely impacted.

In addition to disputes relating to the validity or alleged infringement of other parties’ rights, we may become involved in disputes relating to our assertion of our own intellectual property rights. Whether we are defending the assertion of intellectual property rights against us or asserting our intellectual property rights against others, intellectual property litigation can be complex, costly, protracted, and highly disruptive to business operations by diverting the attention and energies of management and key technical personnel. Plaintiffs in intellectual property cases often seek injunctive relief, and the measures of damages in intellectual property litigation are complex and often subjective or uncertain. Thus, any adverse determinations in this type of litigation could subject us to significant liabilities and costs.

New industry standards may require us to redesign our products, which could substantially increase our operating expenses.

Standards for the form and functionality of our products are established by standards committees. These independent committees establish standards, which evolve and change over time, for different categories of our products. We must continue to identify and ensure compliance with evolving industry standards so that our products are interoperable and we remain competitive. Unanticipated changes in industry standards could render our products incompatible with products developed by major hardware manufacturers and software developers. Should any major changes, even if anticipated, occur, we would be required to invest significant time and resources to redesign our products to ensure compliance with relevant standards. If our products are not in compliance with prevailing industry standards for a significant period of time, we would miss opportunities to sell our products for use with new hardware components from mobile computer manufacturers and OEMs, thus affecting our business.

Undetected flaws and defects in our products may disrupt product sales and result in expensive and time-consuming remedial action.

Our hardware and software products may contain undetected flaws, which may not be discovered until customers have used the products. From time to time, we may temporarily suspend or delay shipments or divert development resources from other projects to correct a particular product deficiency. Efforts to identify and correct errors and make design changes may be expensive and time consuming. Failure to discover product deficiencies in the future could delay product introductions or shipments, require us to recall previously shipped products to make design modifications, or cause unfavorable publicity, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

The loss of one or more of our senior personnel could harm our existing business.

A number of our officers and senior managers have been employed for more than twenty years by us, including our President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Engineering/Chief Technical Officer. Our future success will depend upon the continued service of key officers and senior managers. Competition for officers and senior managers is intense, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our existing senior personnel. The loss of one or more of our officers or key senior managers could adversely affect our ability to compete.

The expensing of options will continue to reduce our operating results such that we may find it necessary to change our business practices to attract and retain employees.

Historically, we have used stock options as a key component of our employee compensation packages. We believe that stock options provide an incentive to our employees to maximize long-term stockholder value and, through the use of vesting, encourage valued employees to remain with us. The expensing of employee stock options adversely affects our net income and earnings per share, will continue to adversely affect future quarters, and will make profitability harder to achieve. In addition, we may decide in response to the effects of expensing stock options on our operating results to reduce the number of stock options granted to employees or to grant options to fewer employees. This could adversely affect our ability to retain existing employees and attract qualified candidates, and also could increase the cash compensation we would have to pay to them.

If we are unable to attract and retain highly skilled sales and marketing and product development personnel, our ability to develop and market new products and product enhancements will be adversely affected.

We believe our ability to achieve increased revenues and to develop successful new products and product enhancements will depend in part upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled sales and marketing and product development personnel. Our products involve a number of new and evolving technologies, and we frequently need to apply these technologies to the unique requirements of mobile products. Our personnel must be familiar with both the technologies we support and the unique requirements of the products to which our products connect. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain such key personnel. In addition, our ability to hire and retain such key personnel will depend upon our ability to raise capital or achieve increased revenue levels to fund the costs associated with such key personnel. Failure to attract and retain such key personnel will adversely affect our ability to develop and market new products and product enhancements.

Our operating results could be harmed by economic, political, regulatory and other risks associated with export sales.

Our operating results are subject to the risks inherent in export sales, including:

Our export sales are primarily denominated in Euros for our sales to European distributors. Accordingly, an increase in the value of the United States dollar relative to Euros could make our products more expensive and therefore potentially less competitive in European market. Declines in the value of the Euro relative to the United States dollar may result in foreign currency losses relating to collection of Euro denominated receivables if left unhedged.

Our operations are vulnerable to interruption by fire, earthquake, power loss, telecommunications failure, and other events beyond our control.

Our corporate headquarters is located near an earthquake fault. The potential impact of a major earthquake on our facilities, infrastructure, and overall business is unknown. Additionally, we may experience electrical power blackouts or natural disasters that could interrupt our business. Should a disaster be widespread, such as a major earthquake, or result in the loss of key personnel, we may not be able to implement our disaster recovery plan in a timely manner. Any losses or damages incurred by us as a result of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could adversely affect the market price for our common stock. The market price of our common stock could also decline if one or more of our significant stockholders decided for any reason to sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market.

As of May 3, 2019, we had 5,999,159 shares of common stock outstanding. Substantially all of these shares are freely tradable in the public market, either without restriction or subject, in some cases, only to S-3 prospectus delivery requirements and, in other cases, only to manner of sale, volume, and notice requirements of Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

As of May 3, 2019, we had 2,457,134 shares of common stock subject to outstanding options under our stock option plans, and 155,592 shares of common stock were available for future issuance under the plans. We have registered the shares of common stock subject to outstanding options and reserved for issuance under our stock option plans. Accordingly, the shares of common stock underlying vested options will be eligible for resale in the public market as soon as the options are exercised.

Volatility in the trading price of our Common Stock could negatively impact the price of our Common Stock.

During the period from January 1, 2018 through May 3, 2019, our common stock price fluctuated between a high of $4.16 and a low of $1.35. We have experienced low trading volumes in our stock, and thus relatively small purchases and sales can have a significant effect on our stock price. The trading price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and the outlook of securities analysts and investors on our industry. In addition, the stock markets in general, and the markets for high technology stocks in particular, have experienced high volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Item 6. Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements 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.

SOCKET MOBILE, INC.
Registrant

Index to Exhibits