KOPN 10-K
Kopin Corp (KOPN)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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As
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As of March 11, 2022, shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, were issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
INDEX
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Part I
Forward Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are subject to the safe harbor created by such sections. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “could,” “would,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and variations of such words and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such “forward-looking statements,” which speak only as of the date made, and advise readers that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions by us that are difficult to predict. Various factors, some of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by us or on our behalf, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report, except as may otherwise be required by the federal securities laws.
We have identified the following important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in our forward-looking statements. Such factors may be in addition to the risks described in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors;” Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations;” and other parts of this Form 10-K. These factors include: the extent of the impact of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic on our business and operations, and the economic and societal disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; our belief that the process development efforts on our products used in thermal weapon sight systems is complete and our expectation that we will increase production rates of our products used in thermal weapon sight systems; our ability to prosecute and defend our proprietary technology aggressively or successfully; our ability to retain personnel with experience and expertise relevant to our business; our ability to invest in research and development to achieve profitability even during periods when we are not profitable; any disruptions or delays in our supply chains, particularly with respect to semiconductor components, whether resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or regional or global geopolitical developments or otherwise; our ability to continue to introduce new products in our target markets; our ability to generate revenue growth and positive cash flow, and reach profitability; the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and its effects on the price of our products in foreign markets; the impact of new regulations and customer demands relating to conflict minerals; our ability to obtain a competitive advantage in the wearable technologies market through our extensive portfolio of patents, trade secrets and non-patented know-how; our ability to grow within our targeted markets; the importance of small form factor displays in the development of defense, consumer, and industrial products such as thermal weapon sights, safety equipment, virtual and augmented reality gaming, training and simulation products and metrology tools; the suitability of our properties for our needs for the foreseeable future; our expectation not to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future and to retain earnings for the development of our businesses; our need to achieve and maintain positive cash flow and profitability, and our expectation that if we do not achieve and maintain positive cash flow and profitability our financial condition will ultimately be materially adversely affected.
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| Item 1. | Business |
Overview
We were incorporated in Delaware in 1984 and are a leading developer and provider of high-resolution microdisplays, microdisplay subassemblies and related components for defense, enterprise, industrial, and consumer products. Our products are used for soldier, avionic, armored vehicle and training & simulation defense applications; industrial, public safety and medical headsets; 3D optical inspection systems; and consumer augmented reality (“AR”) and virtual reality (“VR”) wearable headsets systems.
Our primary current sources of product revenues are from the sale of display components and subassemblies for defense and industrial applications and development contracts primarily for U.S. defense programs. We believe we also are well-positioned with our technology and intellectual property, manufacturing capabilities and partnerships and reputation to take advantage of the emerging market for AR and VR applications and products from which microdisplays are the cornerstone technology. At the center of all of our products is a display. We are the only company, to our knowledge, that offers transmissive active-matrix liquid crystal displays (“AMLCDs”), reflective liquid crystal on silicon (“LCOS”) displays and organic light emitting diode (“OLED”) displays, and related optics, which enable us to serve the markets and customers based on their need and the problems they are trying to solve. We believe our display technologies combined with our extensive expertise in optics, system electronics and human factors, is the reason why many customers come to us.
The components we offer for sale consist of our proprietary miniature AMLCD, LCOS displays, OLED displays, application specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”), backlights, and optical lenses. We refer to our AMLCD as “CyberDisplay®,” our LCOS displays/Spatial Light Modulators (“SLMs”) as “Time Domain ImagingTM technology”, and our OLED as “Lightning® displays”. Our transmissive AMLCDs are designed in Westborough, Massachusetts, have initial manufacturing steps performed in Taiwan and then are completed in our facility in Westborough, Massachusetts.
Our AMLCD components are sold separately or in subassemblies. For example, we offer a display as a single product, a display module which includes a display, an optical lens and backlight contained in either plastic or metal housings, a binocular display module which has two displays, lenses and backlights, and a higher-level assembly which has additional components for defense applications. Examples of products manufactured by our customers that include our AMLCD components include:
| ● | Weapon sights and target locators for soldiers to enable faster and more accurate target acquisition; | |
| ● | Fighter pilot helmets that use our display to overlay information (targeting, plane operation, etc.) over the real world scene; | |
| ● | Industrial headsets for applications such as field maintenance/service where a service worker can visually access diagrams and drawings in realtime while keeping both hands free to conduct work or access a remote expert with live video to help solve a problem remotely – thereby increasing productivity and effectiveness; | |
| ● | Public safety devices such as firefighter masks that include our displays so that a firefighter may use the thermal imager to navigate a smoke-filled building; and | |
| ● | AR and VR consumer products for recreational use including rifle sights. |
Our LCOS products are designed and manufactured at our Forth Dimension Display (“FDD”) subsidiary in Dalgety Bay, Scotland. Our LCOS displays are often configured with drive electronics and sold as a package that makes it easier for our customers to design our displays into their end products. A significant portion of the LCOS displays are sold to customers for incorporation into SLMs, which are built into manufacturing equipment that are used for sophisticated 3D optical inspection.
Our OLED displays are designed in our Santa Clara, California facility and manufactured in Asia. Our displays provide either color or monochrome images and are offered in a variety of sizes and resolutions. The AMLCD display driver ASICs we offer are designed in our Santa Clara, California facility and are the electronic interfaces between our displays and the products into which the displays are incorporated. The optical lenses and backlights we offer are based on either our proprietary designs or design’s we license from third parties. The ASICs, optical lenses, and backlights are manufactured by third parties based on our purchase orders.
Our NVIS, Inc. (“NVIS”) subsidiary is a designer and manufacturer of defense and industrial head-mounted and hand-held VR products and training simulation defense equipment and is located in Reston, Virginia. Depending on the size of the order, NVIS’s products are either manufactured in its Reston, Virginia facility or by a contract manufacturer in the U.S.A. NVIS products allow customers to visualize and interact with simulated 3D environments and equipment for training purposes. Our customers develop high-fidelity training and simulation applications that require high-performance visuals, intuitive controls, and unsurpassed customer support. Some of NVIS’s products include our LCOS displays.
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The focus of our internally funded research and development activities is on our OLED display technology. Previously we designed headset systems that were focused on the emerging enterprise and consumer markets for head-worn, hands-free voice and gesture controlled wireless computing and communication devices. However, we continue to license our previously designed systems under agreements that may include a royalty payable to us and a purchase and supply agreement that requires us to supply our customers and our customers to buy our components for integration into their products. The licenses may convey the right of exclusivity for a particular market or geographic area.
In addition to sales of our components and subassemblies, we also derive a significant portion of our revenue from developing custom product solutions for our customers which we refer to as Funded Research and Development. We enter into development agreements with the goal of successfully developing a customer product and then winning the production orders for such products once design is complete and tested. These development programs can take several years. The Funded Research and Development process typically adds to Kopin’s knowledge base and expertise, putting us in a better position for future business. The Funded Research and Development arrangements typically have various milestones we are required to achieve in order to be reimbursed for our efforts. These arrangements are normally fixed price and may be cancelled by the customer on short notice. We also believe that the technologies developed for the U.S. defense industry can eventually be used in commercial and enterprise applications and then in consumer applications.
Sales to significant non-affiliated customers for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, as a percentage of total revenues, was as follows:
| Sales as a Percent of Total Revenue | ||||||||||||
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Customer | ||||||||||||
| Defense Customers in Total | 40 | % | 50 | % | 30 | % | ||||||
| DRS Network & Imaging Systems, LLC | 31 | % | 35 | % | 17 | % | ||||||
| Collins Aerospace | 30 | % | 27 | % | * | |||||||
| RealWear, Inc. | * | * | 20 | % | ||||||||
| Funded Research and Development Contracts | 32 | % | 25 | % | 17 | % | ||||||
Note: The symbol “*” indicates that sales to that customer were less than 10% of the Company’s total revenues. The caption “Defense Customers in Total” excludes funded research and development contracts.
Our fiscal year ends on the last Saturday in December. The fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020, and December 28, 2019 are referred to herein as fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
The introduction and wide acceptance of the smartphone has generated advances in many technologies including smaller and cheaper electronic components, voice search engines and wireless 4G and 5G networks. Smartphone adoption has also been the catalyst for the development of software for a wide-range of applications. Leveraging off of these new technologies and the growth of cloud computing, a new category of emerging AR and VR markets are starting to develop. These AR technologies are being used by the military to provide personnel with enhanced situational awareness by overlaying digital imaging over the real-world scene. These technologies can also be used for hundreds of different applications by enterprise workers, public safety officials and consumers, bringing ever-increasing productivity, fun and convenience.
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We believe that defense, industrial and consumer companies are looking at AR and VR as new applications and computing platforms. In addition, wireless network companies are encouraging the development of more products and applications that utilize their network capacity and other companies are developing products that provide continuous access to digital content. In order for these markets to develop and grow, advances and investment in display technology, optics, application software, and wireless communications systems with greater bandwidth such as 5G networks will be necessary. These advances in display technologies must increase performance but at the same time the cost of displays must decrease.
Our Solution
Kopin Technology
Kopin technology includes the ability to manufacture proprietary small form factor AMLCD, LCOS and OLED displays and optical lenses and the know-how to design and manufacture components and subassemblies based on our display technologies. We also offer proprietary backlights and ASICs that work with our AMLCD displays. Our components are used in our customers’ products, such as headsets for field service personnel, medical professionals or consumer rifle scopes. We also offer backlights and ASICs that work with our AMLCD displays. The subassemblies we offer combine one or two of our displays, backlight, ASIC, complex optics, and other electronics in an assembly that is then included in a larger system, for example a weapon sight or a targeting system in an armored vehicle. These subassemblies must survive the shock and vibration of weapons fire and operate in extreme environmental conditions. There is considerable know-how that goes into the design, materials selection, assembly and test of these subassemblies that is an important part of our technology.
Display Products
Small form factor displays used in near-eye applications are widely used in defense in many applications such as thermal weapon sights, avionic helmets and training and simulation systems. Small form factor near-eye displays currently have more limited use in industrial products such as wearable headsets that allow users to view data, schematics and videos to enable them to perform production or repairs. In addition, we believe small form factor near-eye display are well suited for AR and VR consumer markets and will be a critical component in the development of these markets, which we believe will grow in the coming years. We believe our small form factor displays have certain advantages with respect to small size, resolution, brightness and low power consumption that are advantageous for product design and usage.
There are several micro display technologies commercially available including transmissive, reflective and emissive. Our principal display products are miniature high-density color or monochrome AMLCDs that range from approximately 428 x 240 resolution to 2048 x 2048 resolution and are sold in either a transmissive or reflective format. We are developing emissive OLED displays with a resolution of 1280 x 720 (“720p”), 2048 x 2048 (“2K”), 1280 x 960 (“QVGA”) and 2560 x 2560 (“2.6K”). We sell our displays individually or in combination with our other components assembled in a unit. For example, we offer a display as a product, a module product unit that includes a single display, backlight and optics in a plastic housing, a binocular display module product that includes two displays, backlights and optics in a plastic housing, and a subassembly that we refer to as an HLA (“Higher-Level Assembly”) that contains a display, light emitting diode based illumination, optics, and electronics in a sealed housing, primarily for defense applications.
Our transmissive AMLCD display products, which we refer to as CyberDisplay® products, utilize high quality, single-crystal-on-silicon, which is the same high-quality silicon used in conventional integrated circuits. This single-crystal-silicon is not grown on glass; rather, it is first formed on a silicon wafer and patterned into an integrated circuit (including the active matrix, driver circuitry and other logic circuits) at an integrated circuit foundry. These processes enable the manufacture of miniature active matrix circuits, that are comparable to higher resolution displays relative to passive and other active matrix displays that are fabricated on glass. Our foundry partners fabricate integrated circuits using our proprietary back plane designs for our CyberDisplay displays in their foundries in Taiwan. The fabricated wafers are then returned to our facilities, where we lift the integrated circuits off the silicon wafers and transfer them to glass using our proprietary Wafer Engineering technology. The transferred integrated circuits are then processed, packaged with liquid crystal and assembled into display panels at our Display Manufacturing Center in Westborough, Massachusetts. When combined with the appropriate optic the display provides the user with a high resolution, full screen experience.
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Our proprietary technology enables the production of transparent circuits on a transparent substrate, in contrast to conventional silicon circuits, which are on an opaque substrate. Our CyberDisplay products’ imaging properties are a result of the inclusion of a liquid crystal layer between the active matrix integrated circuit glass and the transparent cover glass. We believe our manufacturing process offers several advantages over conventional active matrix LCD manufacturing approaches, including:
| ● | Greater miniaturization; | |
| ● | Higher pixel density; | |
| ● | Lower power consumption; and | |
| ● | Higher brightness. |
The color CyberDisplay products generate colors by using color filters with a white backlight. Color filter technology is a process in which display pixels are patterned with materials, which selectively absorb or transmit the red, green or blue colors of light.
Our reflective LCOS display products are miniature high density, dual mode color sequential/monochrome reflective microdisplays with resolutions that range from approximately 1280 x 768 pixels (“WXGA”) resolution to 2K x 2K resolution. These displays are manufactured by our FDD subsidiary in Scotland. Our reflective displays are based on a proprietary, high-speed, ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon (“FLCOS”) platform. Our digital software and logic-based drive electronics combined with the very fast switching binary liquid crystal enables our microdisplay to process images purely digitally and create red, green and blue gray scale in the time domain. This architecture has major advantages in visual performance over other liquid crystal, organic light-emitting diode and microelectromechanical systems-based technologies: precisely controlled full color or monochrome gray scale is achieved on a matrix of undivided high fill factor pixels, motion artifacts are reduced to an insignificant level and there are no sub-pixels, no moving mirrors and no analog conversions to detract from the quality of the image.
The FLCOS device is comprised of two substrates. The first is a pixelated silicon-based CMOS substrate which is manufactured by our foundry partner based on our proprietary back plane design using conventional silicon integrated circuit lithography processes. The silicon substrate forms the display’s backplane, serving as both the active matrix to drive individual pixels and as a reflective mirror. The second substrate is a front glass plate. Between the backplane and the front glass substrate is a ferroelectric liquid crystal material which, when switched, enables the incoming illumination to be modulated.
Our OLED technology has the ability to emit light when electrical current flows through its electroluminescent layers as opposed to our AMLCD which requires a separate light source. Our OLED microdisplays have a top-emitting structure built on opaque silicon integrated circuits rather than on glass. An OLED display typically has a wider viewing angle than an AMLCD. Light from an OLED appears fairly evenly distributed in the forward directions and so a slight movement of the eye relative to the display does not perceive the change in the image brightness or color. OLED displays can also have a much higher contrast ratio than AMLCDs, which is desirable for some user applications.
Kopin is aiming at disrupting the OLED microdisplay industry with a new fabless, scalable business model. We believe the partitioning of the OLED manufacturing into multiple parties, each focusing on their core competencies, can make a significant difference in the OLED microdisplay performance and supply chain, while reducing the capital cost and overhead costs of entering this business. Making OLED microdisplays consists of three major steps: designing backplane circuits, processing silicon wafers to generate backplane wafers, and deposition of OLED layers on silicon backplane wafers and packaging the displays. We believe backplane design is the most intellectual property-intensive area. Kopin has more than 20 patents granted or pending on the design of OLED backplanes to get low power consumption, high frame rates and more uniform display images. Kopin has established relationships with multiple silicon foundries to produce the OLED backplane wafers. We believe Kopin’s Lightning® backplane technology and the emergence of high-volume OLED manufacturing facilities can reduce the cost to manufacture OLED displays thereby expanding the applications for OLED microdisplays.
Our proprietary technology in OLED microdisplays lies mainly in the design of the integrated circuits or “back plane” upon which OLED microdisplays are built. The back plane drives the performance of the display.
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Two of the biggest challenges for the OLED microdisplay for AR and VR applications is low brightness and short lifetime. Kopin is working to solve both of these issues with a double OLED stack approach. We believe most OLED microdisplays commercially available in volume to-date have been made with a single-stack OLED structure, namely consisting of a one junction organic diode structure. A duo-stack OLED consists of two OLED structures connected in series so that carriers (electrons-holes) pass through the duo-stack OLED and generate photons twice, instead of once in the case of a single-stack OLED structure. This structure enables higher brightness without a commensurate increase in power and without the longevity (burn-in) issues which have plagued previous high-brightness single-stack OLED displays. In addition, we believe Kopin’s proprietary ColorMax ™ technology provides an accurate and wide color spectrum without the color mixing that has previously prevented duo-stack OLED structures from rendering accurate color. In addition, we have a proprietary embedded anode structure within the back plane design which we believe will make the design integration of our display in a finished product less complicated for product designers. We call this technology Display on a Chip (DoC). We believe our patent-pending backplane technologies can provide superior performance compared to other OLED products in the market in terms of brightness, power consumption, longevity and color accuracy and we believe these features will improve further as our technology matures.
We have engaged foundry services for the fabrication of the Lightning OLED back plane wafers. Our model is to sell these wafers to deposition foundries that deposit the organic material on the backplane and manufacture the displays. The deposition foundries will either sell the displays to their customers or to us for resale to our customers. We believe this outsourcing model allows us to leverage our underlying back plane intellectual property as well as the existing infrastructure to obtain lower cost manufacturing and avail ourselves of manufacturing technology improvements as they occur.
Currently we have two OLED microdisplays on the market: a 2K x 2K display with 2048 x 2048 resolution in a 0.99” diagonal size, which is aimed at VR and Mixed Reality applications; and a 720p display with 1280 x 720 resolution in a 0.49” diagonal size, which is aimed at AR applications. We have also demonstrated a QVGA display with 1280 x 960 resolution in a 0.5” diagonal size, which is aimed at electronic viewfinder and AR applications, and a 2.6K x 2.6K display with 2560 x 2560 resolution in a 1.3” diagonal size. Our OLED microdisplay has a combo C-PHY/D-PHY Mobile Industry Processor Interface and display stream compression to allow 120 Hz operation at the full resolution. This display is designed for high-end VR and content streaming applications.
Kopin is also exploring the development of MicroLED microdisplays which offer the possibility of high brightness, wide viewing angle, excellent contrast and low cost. Kopin is working with other partners to explore the potential benefits and implementation of the technology. If Kopin is successful in developing prototypes, then we expect that high volume manufacturing process development may be required including the development of equipment.
By offering transmissive, reflective and emissive microdisplay technologies today and working with potential customers for MicroLEDs in the future, we believe we can uniquely support whichever technology is best suited for a given application. Transmissive and reflective AMLCDs are typically used in bright light conditions as their brightness can be modulated over a wide range by controlling the backlight operation. OLED displays currently have less brightness range but offer superior contrast and response time characteristics and therefore are better suited in an immersive products environment that blocks out ambient light.
Optical Lenses and Backlights
We offer a variety of optical lenses some of which we have developed internally and others for which we license the rights to sell. We also offer a variety of backlights, some of which we have developed internally and some of which are “off-the-shelf” components. The lenses come in a variety of sizes with the smallest being our Pupil™, followed by our Pearl™ and Pancake™ lenses. The different sizes of lenses give us and our customers design flexibility when creating headset systems. There is a trade-off between the lens size and the size of the perceived image to the viewer. For example, a Pearl lens will provide the viewer with an image approximately equivalent to what the viewer would see looking directly at a smartphone, whereas a Pancake lens will provide the viewer with an immersive experience. We use third parties to manufacture these lenses.
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Headset Systems
We license an industrial headset reference design, which is a complete head-worn computer that connects to the Internet wirelessly and includes an optical pod with one of our display products, a microprocessor, battery, camera, memory and various commercially available software packages that we license. We also licensed an industrial headset reference design, which is a device that attaches to a pair of safety glasses, includes an optical pod with one of our display products and a camera and is operated primarily through the use of voice. The display module or optical pod allows users to view the information such as maintenance diagrams and instruction sets, Internet data, emails, text messages, maps or other data at a “normal” size because of our specialized optics. Our industrial headsets provide the capability of viewing technical diagrams, by enabling the user to zoom in to see finer details or zoom out to see a larger perspective.
Strategy
Our product strategy is to enter into Funded Research and Development programs with U.S. defense prime contractors to invent, develop, manufacture and sell (or license) leading-edge critical technology and microdisplay components and subassemblies that will be used in rugged environments. We intend to use the know-how gained and technology developed from these defense development programs and products to create products that can be used in industrial, enterprise, medical and ultimately consumer applications. The products we develop typically include a microdisplay, optics, and an ASIC in a sealed housing. The products we make for the defense market must be able to withstand the extreme shock and vibration experienced in weapons fire. Accordingly, our intellectual property includes not just our patented microdisplays and a broad range of optics and but also our know-how to manufacture products that can withstand shock and vibration of weapons fire and extreme environments. The critical elements of our strategy include:
| ● | Broad Portfolio of Intellectual Property. We believe that our extensive portfolio of patents, trade secrets and non-patented know-how provides us with a competitive advantage in our markets and we have been accumulating a significant patent and know-how portfolio either by internal efforts or through acquisition. We own, exclusively license or have the exclusive right to sublicense approximately 200 patents and patent applications issued and/or pending worldwide. An important piece of our strategy is to continue to accumulate valuable patented and non-patented technical know-how relating to our microdisplays, including back plane design, and other critical technologies for advanced wearable systems such as optics and drive electronics. | |
| ● | Maintain Our Technological Leadership in Defense and Industrial Markets. We are a recognized leader in the design, development and manufacture of high resolution microdisplay components and subassemblies for defense and industrial applications. We believe our ability to continue to develop components and subassemblies for defense applications enhances our opportunity to grow within our other non-defense targeted markets such as industrial, medical and eventually AR and VR consumer markets. We perform research and development contracts for U.S. Government agencies and prime contractors of the U.S. government. Under these contracts, the U.S. Government funds all or a portion of our efforts to develop next-generation microdisplay related technologies and products for aviation systems such as pilot helmets, soldier centric systems such as weapon sights, training and simulation systems and defense armored vehicles. This enables us to supplement our internal research and development budget with additional funding and adds to our expertise in technology, products and systems. | |
| ● | Understand Our Customer Needs. We believe our system know-how, be it a defense, industrial or consumer system, is a compelling reason why customers choose Kopin as their supplier. Unlike many of our competitors, we offer a range of display technologies, optics, backlights, and ASICs as either an individual component or in a system. We believe this enables us to provide superior technology solutions for our customers’ needs. Additionally, our human-factors and system understanding enables us to offer our customers valuable engineering services to solve their issues and reduce time to market for their products. |
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| ● | Internally Manufactured Products and Use of Third Party Manufacturing. We design and manufacture our transmissive and reflective display products in facilities that we lease and manage. However, the initial manufacturing steps fabricating the silicon wafers are performed at capital-intensive Taiwan foundries. With OLED displays, which we design, we similarly use silicon wafer foundries to produce our back planes, and we also use OLED deposition foundries to perform the OLED deposition steps for our displays. The use of these third-party foundries reduces our investments in plant and equipment and working capital for new products and enables us to update designs as technology and manufacturing trends change. |
Markets and Customers
Our business model is to primarily generate product revenues by selling display components and subassemblies to customers who offer defense, industrial or consumer products and to a lesser extent license our system designs and know-how. We also enter into development contracts from customers to either design custom products for them or help them integrate our technology into their products (Funded Research and Development).
We currently sell our display products to our customers in various configuration including but not limited to a single display component, a module that includes a display, optic, backlight and focus mechanism and electronics, a binocular display module that includes two displays, lenses, and backlights, and as HLAs for defense customers. A HLA is similar to a module but includes additional components such as an eye cup specific to a defense application.
We have sold our AMLCD products to Collins Aerospace, Elbit, and DRS RSTA Inc. for use in defense applications, to Vuzix, RealWear and Iristik for enterprise wearable products, and to Scott Safety for public safety applications. We have sold our LCOS display products to Saki, Jutze and Mirtec for use in 3D metrology equipment. Our revenues from our OLED displays have primarily been from development contracts with customers that are designing our displays into their products.
In order for our AMLCD display products to function properly in their intended applications, ASICs and backlights are generally required. Several companies have designed ASICs to work with our display products and our customers can procure these chip sets directly from the manufacturer or through us.
For fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, sales to defense customers, excluding research and development contracts, as a percentage of total revenue were 40%, 50% and 30%, respectively. For fiscal year 2021, Collins Aerospace and DRS Network & Imaging Systems LLC accounted for approximately 30% and 31% of our revenues, respectively.
For fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, research and development revenues, primarily from multiple contracts with various prime contractors of U.S. government agencies, accounted for approximately 32%, 25% and 17%, respectively, of our total revenues.
Product Development
We believe that continued introduction of new products in our target markets is essential to our growth. Our industrial and consumer products tend to have one-to three-year life cycles. We have assembled a group of highly skilled engineers who work internally as well as with our customers to continue our product development efforts. Our primary development efforts are focused on AMLCD display subassemblies for defense and industrial applications and OLED display components for defense, industrial and consumer applications. In 2019 we commenced MicroLED display development under a customer funded development program and we are evaluating the commercial viability of MicroLED display products.
Component Products and Subassemblies
The pixel size of our current AMLCD transmissive display products ranges from 6.8 to 15 microns. These pixel sizes are much smaller than a pixel size of approximately 100 microns in a typical laptop computer display. The resolutions of our current commercially available AMLCD display products are 320 x 240, 432 x 240, 640 x 360, 640 x 480, 854 x 480, 800 x 600, 1,280 x 720 and 1,280 x 1,024 pixels. The pixel size of our current reflective display products ranges from 8.2 to 13.6 microns. The resolutions of our current commercially available reflective display products are 1,280 x 768, 1,280 x 1,024, 2,048 x 1,536, 2,048 x 2,048 and 2,560 x 1,440 pixels.
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Our AMLCD display product development efforts are primarily focused on improving performance and reducing the manufacturing costs. We are continually evaluating our display manufacturing process in order to reduce cost. Our defense products include subassemblies and our advanced subassemblies are referred to as HLAs. The HLA may include a display, multiple optical lenses in a hermetically sealed housing. The HLAs are made to very exact tolerances, which require Kopin to manage its supply chain in order to procure raw materials that meet specification while enabling Kopin to achieve high yields.
The pixel size of our current OLED displays range from 7.8 to 9.2 microns with resolutions of 1,280 x 720, 2,048 x 2,048 and 2,560 x 2,560. We have only recently commenced OLED display developments and therefore our OLED products are much less mature than our AMLCD products. Accordingly, our current development efforts include expanding the resolutions offered, increasing the quantity of display active matrix pixel arrays processed on each wafer by further reducing the display size, increasing the light throughput of our pixels, increasing manufacturing yields, and increasing the functionality of our OLED products.
We offer components such as our optical lenses, backlights and ASICs, manufactured to our specifications, which we then buy and resell. The components that are made to order rely on either intellectual property we developed or acquired or that we license from third parties.
Funded Research and Development
We have entered into various development contracts with agencies and prime contractors of the U.S. government and commercial customers. These contracts help support the continued development of our core technologies. We intend to continue to pursue development contracts for applications that relate to our defense and commercial product applications. Our contracts contain certain milestones relating to technology development and may be terminated prior to completion of funding. Our funded development projects often lead to a product or component supply agreement. Our policy is to retain our proprietary rights with respect to the principal commercial applications of our technology, however, we are not always able to retain our proprietary rights. To the extent technology development has been funded by a U.S. federal agency, under applicable U.S. federal laws the federal agency that provided the funding has the right to obtain a non-exclusive, non-transferable, irrevocable, fully paid license to practice or have practiced this technology for governmental use. In addition, we may be required to negotiate intellectual property rights with our defense prime contractors. For our commercial development agreements customers often obtain exclusive rights to a particular display or technology that is developed either permanently or for some period of time. Revenues attributable to research and development contracts for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 totaled $14.7 million, $10.1 million and $5.0 million, respectively.
Competition
The general commercial display market is highly competitive and is currently dominated by large Asian-based electronics companies, including AUO, BOE Technology Group, Himax, LG Display, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Texas Instruments. In additional, several companies focus on OLED microdisplays including eMAGIN, MicroOLED, Olightek, BOE Technology, Seeya, Seiko Epson and Sony. The display market consists of multiple segments, each focusing on different end-user applications applying different technologies. Competition in the display field is based on price and performance characteristics, product quality, size and the ability to deliver products in a timely fashion. The success of our display product offerings will also depend upon the adoption of our display products by consumers as an alternative to other active matrix LCDs or OLEDs and upon our ability to compete against other types of well-established display products and new emerging display products. Particularly significant is a consumer’s willingness to use a near eye display device, as opposed to a direct view display that may be viewed from a distance of several inches to several feet. Assuming a user is willing to use a near eye display device, companies such as Samsung and Oculus are offering near eye virtual reality headset products that use large display panels on glass to provide the image as opposed to using microdisplays. Displays on glass typically have lower resolution than our products but are lower in cost on a per square inch basis. We cannot be certain that we will be able to compete against these companies and technologies, or that consumers will accept the use of such eyewear in general or our customers’ product form-factor specifically.
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There are also a number of AMLCD, LCOS, OLED, MicroLED and alternative display technologies in development and production. There are many large and small companies that manufacture or have in development products based on these technologies. We outsource the manufacturing of our OLED displays to Chinese foundries. We expect these foundries to offer their own products. Our display products will compete with other displays utilizing these and other competing display technologies.
There are many companies whose sole business is the development and manufacture of optical lenses, backlights, and ASICs. These companies may have significantly more intellectual property and experience than we do in the design and development of these components. We do not manufacture optical lenses, backlights, or ASICs but we either have them made to our specifications or buy standard off-the-shelf products.
Patents, Proprietary Rights and Licenses
An important part of our product development strategy is to seek, when appropriate, protection for our products and proprietary technology through the use of various U.S. and foreign patents and contractual arrangements. We intend to prosecute and defend our proprietary technology aggressively. Many of our U.S. patents and applications have counterpart foreign patents, foreign patent applications or international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Human Capital Resources
As of December 25, 2021, our consolidated business employed 181 individuals. Of these employees, 8 hold Ph.D. degrees in Material Science, Electrical Engineering or Physics. Our management and professional employees have significant prior experience in semiconductor materials, device transistor and display processing, optical design, manufacturing and other related technologies. Our employees are located in the U.S., Europe and Asia and the laws regarding employee relationships are different by jurisdiction. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have policies to prevent discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are hired and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or national origin. We also take affirmative action to employ and advance veterans in employment. We consider relations with our employees to be good.
In 2004, we finalized and adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics regarding the standards of conduct of our directors, officers and employees. The code is reviewed and updated periodically by our Board or Directors and is available on our website at www.kopin.com.
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Initiatives
We strive to create and maintain a working environment that fosters honesty and hard work and rewards all of our employees’ hard work. We endeavor to make Kopin Corporation a place people are proud to be associated with. With the growing awareness of environmental and social issues we are in the process of creating a more formalized ESG strategy. Our initial process for the strategy creation includes work by a cross-functional ESG team of leaders representing operations, human resources, supply chain, finance, marketing, and facilities departments. We also utilize third-party facility, environmental and legal consulting services. These third-party consultants are assisting us in creating an ESG materiality assessment from which we can develop a base-line assessment for monitoring our progress.
We provide recurring company-wide communication of our formalized values, a summary of which are:
| Integrity | Team | Customers | ||
| Uphold Ethical Standards in Our Performance | Treat Everyone with Respect | Highest Quality Customer Service Through Collaborative Success | ||
| Keep Our Commitments | Encourage Open Communication | Provide Industry Leading Products | ||
| Protect Our Intellectual Property | Promote Critical Thinking and Innovation | Maintain Confidentiality and Protect Customer Intellectual Property |
We are not a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (“RBA”); however, we have utilized the themes of the RBA Code of Conduct to supplement our Code of Ethics, including the RBA Code’s five critical areas of corporate social responsibility: labor, health and safety, environment, management systems, and ethics. We believe that following the values noted above, we believe we can achieve our business objectives and long-term stockholder value while doing our part in each of these areas. For additional information, see “Human Capital Management” in this Form 10-K below.
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Care for Our People
● We believe in upholding the principles of human rights, worker safety, and observing fair labor practices within our organization.
● We respect different viewpoints and perspectives, and that ultimately individual thoughts create innovation and achieve better results. We continually evaluate how we provide organizational training, formalize company values, and revitalize recruitment strategy.
● We are committed to employee safety. We have installed safety protocols and monitoring systems. We have periodic audits by third parties to test our systems and perform preventive maintenance. Our policies prohibit an employee from being alone in the facility or in unsupervised areas of our facility.
Environmental Responsibility
● We are committed to protecting the natural environment and our community by complying with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. We maintain an environmental management system and a specific framework for implementing relevant sustainable practices.
● We ask our employees to help us accomplish environmental sustainability by looking for opportunities to conserve energy, reduce consumption of natural resources, preserve air and water quality, manage waste properly, and reuse and recycle, and reduce the use of toxic substances in our operations where possible, including, in particular, in our clean room and lab facilities. Our clean room facility emissions are less than permitting and reporting thresholds, and we track emissions monthly to verify compliance with the regulations.
● We look for ways to reduce energy consumption in our facilities around the world, including upgrades and or retrofits to smart HVAC systems. For instance, we have installed variable speed fans, which only turn-on based on various metrics, thereby reducing energy usage.
Ethics & Corporate Responsibility
● We are committed to ensuring ethical organizational governance, embracing diversity and inclusion in the board room and throughout the organization.
● We are committed to observing fair, transparent, and accountable operating practices.
● We seek to create and foster a healthy, balanced, and ethical work environment for everyone in our organization. To this end, we promote an ethical organizational culture and encourage all employees to raise questions or concerns about actual or potential ethical issues and company policies and to offer suggestions about how we can make our organization better. We have a Whistleblower Ethics Hotline that includes global telephone access and online access. We have an independent third party periodically test the Whistleblower Ethics Hotline.
Supply Chain Responsibility
● We intend to request that our suppliers adhere to the RBA Code of Conduct or its equivalent by flowing this requirement through our commercial contracts.
● We also adhere to Rule 13p-1 under the Exchange Act and support efforts to avoid sourcing conflict minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (or DRC) and in adjoining countries. Consistent with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance concerning conflict minerals, we adopted the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative Due Diligence reporting process and seek to obtain conflict minerals content declarations from our suppliers each year, all in an effort to promote supply chain transparency. We do not directly source tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold (collectively referred to as 3TG) from mines, smelters or refiners, and we are in most cases several or more levels removed from these supply chain participants.
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Government Regulations
Our business is subject to extensive regulation in the industries we serve. We deal with numerous U.S. government agencies and entities, including but not limited to branches of the Department of Defense (“DoD”).
U.S. defense contractors are among our largest customers, representing a substantial majority of our total revenues. The U.S. government may terminate a contract with us or our customers either “for convenience” (for instance, due to a change in its perceived needs) or if we default due to our failure or the failure of a general or subcontractor to perform under the contract. If the federal government terminates a contract with one of our customers, our contract with our customers generally would entitle us to recover only our incurred or committed costs, settlement expenses and possibly profit on the work completed prior to termination. However, under certain circumstances, our recovery costs upon termination for convenience of such a contract may be limited. If terminated by the government as a result of our default, we could be liable for payments made to us for undelivered goods or services, additional costs the government incurs in acquiring undelivered goods or services from another source and any other damages it suffers.
In addition, we are subject to a variety of federal, state and local governmental regulations including the use, storage, discharge and disposal of toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals used in our manufacturing process. The failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, suspension of production or cessation of operations. Any failure on our part to control the use of, or adequately restrict the discharge of, hazardous substances, or otherwise comply with environmental regulations, could subject us to significant future liabilities. We also cannot be certain that past use or disposal of environmentally sensitive materials in conformity with then existing environmental laws and regulations will protect us from required remediation or other liabilities under current or future environmental laws or regulations. Certain chemicals we import are subject to regulation by the U.S. government. If we or our suppliers do not comply with applicable laws, we could be subject to adverse government actions and may not be able to import critical supplies.
We are also subject to federal International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) laws which regulate the protection (cybersecurity) and export of technical data and export of products to other nations that may use such data or products for defense purposes. The failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, suspension of production, or a cessation of operations. Any failure on our part to obtain any required licenses for the export of technical data and/or export of our products or to otherwise comply with ITAR, could subject us to significant future liabilities.
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We are also subject to federal importation laws that regulate the importation of raw materials and equipment from other nations that are used in our products. The failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, suspension of production, or a cessation of operations.
Investments in Related Businesses
On September 30, 2019 we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Solos Purchase Agreement”) with Solos Technology Limited (“Solos Technology”), pursuant to which we sold and licensed certain assets of our Solos (“Solos”) product line and Whisper Audio (“Whisper”) technology. As consideration for the transaction, we received 1,172,000 common shares representing a 20.0% equity stake in the Solos Technology’s parent company, Solos Incorporation (“Solos Inc”). Our 20.0% equity stake will be maintained until Solos Inc. has raised a total of $7.5 million in equity financing after which we will need to participate in future equity offerings or our ownership percentage will be diluted.
We acquired an equity interest in Lenovo New Vision in the first quarter of 2018 for $1.0 million and the Company also contributed certain intellectual property. As of December 25, 2021, we own an 11% interest in this investment and the carrying value of our investment is $3.9 million.
We acquired an equity interest in a medical device company in 2021. As of December 25, 2021 the carrying value of this investment is $0.3 million.
We own 100% of the outstanding common stock of NVIS and FDD and 80% of the outstanding common stock of e-MDT America (“eMDT”) and we consolidate each of their financial results within our consolidated financial statements.
We terminated operations of our subsidiary, Kopin Software Ltd., in the third quarter of 2019 and are in the process of liquidating it.
We may from time to time make further equity investments in these and other companies engaged in certain aspects of the display, electronics, optical and software industries as part of our business strategy. In addition, the wearable computing product market is relatively new and there may be other technologies we need to invest in to enhance our product offering. These investments may not provide us with any financial return or other benefit and any losses by these companies or associated losses in our investments may negatively impact our operating results.
Sources and Availability of Raw Materials and Components
We rely on third-party independent contractors for certain integrated circuit chip sets, backlights and other critical raw materials such as special glasses, wafers and chemicals. In addition, our CyberDisplay subassemblies, HLAs, binocular display modules, and other modules include lenses, backlights, printed circuit boards and other components that we purchase from third-party suppliers. Some of these third-party contractors and suppliers are small companies with limited financial resources. In addition, our defense customers typically buy a small number of units, which prevents us from qualifying and buying components economically from multiple vendors. As a result, we are highly dependent on a select number of third-party contractors and suppliers.
Availability Information
We make available free of charge through our website, www.kopin.com, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports that we file or furnish with the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed or furnished, as well as certain of our corporate governance policies, including the charters for the Board of Directors’ audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees and our code of ethics, corporate governance guidelines and whistleblower policy. We will also provide to any person without charge, upon request, a copy of any of the foregoing materials. Any such request must be made in writing to us, c/o Investor Relations, Kopin Corporation, 125 North Drive, Westborough, MA, 01581.
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| Item 1A. | Risk Factors |
We operate in a changing global environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and competitive position. Accordingly, our business and financial results are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those set forth below or additional risks and uncertainties that are not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe to be material may also negatively affect our business and financial results. The risk factors set forth below describe what we believe to be the material risks, and uncertainties related to our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and competitive position. We have included the risk factors below without any reflection on the importance of, or likelihood of, any particular risk factor.
We have experienced a history of losses, have a significant accumulated deficit, have had negative cash flow from operating activities in fiscal years 2021, 2020, and 2019, and expect to have negative cash flow from operating activities in fiscal year 2022. Since inception, we have incurred significant net operating losses. As of December 25, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $319.1 million. At December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, we had $29.3 million and $20.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities, respectively. For the years 2021 and 2020, net cash used in operating activities was $10.7 million and $4.4 million, respectively. The increase in our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities is primarily a result of sales of our common stock which partially offset funding our operating losses, of which a significant component is our investments in research and development. We plan to continue to invest in research and development even during periods when we are not profitable, which may result in our incurring losses from operations and negative cash flow. If we do not soon achieve and maintain positive cash flow and profitability, our financial condition will ultimately be materially and adversely affected, and we will be required to raise additional capital. We may not be able to raise any necessary capital on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we fail to achieve or maintain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis within the timeframe expected by investors, the market price of our common stock may decline.
There is a global shortage of critical semiconductor and other raw materials. It is important to understand that the failure to procure one semiconductor component can prevent the entire product from being manufactured and sold. We do not manufacture the integrated circuit chip sets that are used to in our display products and our customers’ products. Instead, we rely on third party independent vendors and subcontractors for these integrated circuit chip sets. We purchase critical raw materials such as special glasses, special silicon on insulator (“SOI”) wafers, light emitting diodes, adhesives, chemicals, lenses, backlights, printed circuit boards and other components from third-party suppliers. We sell a relatively small volume of defense products and therefore our purchase of raw materials for our defense business is also relatively small. Because our purchase of raw materials is relatively small, qualifying and buying components from multiple vendors is not economically possible. In addition, our defense products typically have long life cycles which means many of the raw materials are based on older technology. We periodically receive notices from suppliers of our critical raw materials regarding their plans to stop selling those raw materials. This requires us to identify another raw material and/or raw material supplier to replace the discontinued item/supplier, which would then require us to internally re-qualify the product with the new material as well as possibly re-qualify the product with our customer. The cost to requalify is expensive and time consuming and may result in the suspension of production. If any of these third party contractors or suppliers were unable or unwilling to supply these integrated circuit chip sets or critical raw materials to us, whether for business or regulatory reasons, we would be unable to manufacture and sell our display products until a replacement material could be found. We may not be able to find a replacement material or if we are able to find a replacement material, we may be unable to sell our products until they have been qualified both internally and with the customer. Lower volume purchases may make it uneconomical for some of our suppliers to provide the raw materials we need. We cannot assure that a replacement third-party contractor or supplier could be found on reasonable terms or in a timely manner. Any interruption in our ability to manufacture and distribute our display products could cause our display business to be unsuccessful and the price of our common stock may decline.
Most of our defense sales are on a fixed-price basis, which could subject us to losses if there are cost overruns. Under a fixed-price contract, we receive only the amount indicated in the contract, regardless of the actual cost to produce the goods. While firm fixed-price contracts allow us to benefit from potential cost savings, they also expose us to the risk of cost overruns. If the initial estimates that we use to calculate the sales price and the cost to perform the work prove to be incorrect, we could incur losses. We have had situations where we have underestimated the cost of a program and incurred losses on fulfilling the contract. As discussed above we are seeing a global shortage of semiconductors and other raw materials which is resulting in significant increase in raw material prices. In addition, the U.S. is experiencing inflation levels not seen in many years which is driving higher labor costs. Some of our contracts have specific provisions relating to cost, scheduling, and performance. If we fail to meet the terms specified in those contracts, then our cost to perform the work could increase, which would adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. Some of the contracts we bid on have Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (“IDIQ”) provisions. This means we are bidding a fixed price but are not assured of the quantity the government will buy or when it will buy during the term of the contract. This means we are exposed to the risk of price increases for labor, overhead and raw materials during the term of the contract. We may incur losses on fixed-price and IDIQ contracts that we had expected to be profitable, or such contracts may be less profitable than expected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
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The continued pervasiveness of the COVID19 pandemic, or the widespread outbreak of any other illness or any other communicable disease, or any other public health crisis, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the global and national economy, disrupted global supply chains, and created significant volatility in and disruption of financial markets. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance, including the ability to execute business strategies and initiatives in the expected time frame, will depend on future developments, including the emergence and spread of new variants of the virus and related governmental and societal responses and restrictions on travel and transportation or otherwise, and related governmental and societal responses and restrictions on travel and transportation or otherwise, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. An extended period of global supply chain and economic disruption could materially affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and access to sources of liquidity.
We generally do not have long-term contracts with our customers, which makes forecasting our revenues and operating results difficult. We generally do not enter into long-term agreements with our customers obligating them to purchase our products. Our business is characterized by short-term purchase orders with shipment schedules within one year and we generally permit orders to be canceled or rescheduled before shipment without significant penalty. As a result, our customers may cease purchasing our products at any time, which makes forecasting our revenues difficult. In addition, due to the absence of substantial non-cancelable backlog, we typically plan our production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which are highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially. The uncertainty of product orders makes it difficult for us to forecast our sales and allocate our resources in a manner consistent with our actual sales. Moreover, our expense levels and the amounts we invest in capital equipment and new product development costs are based in part on our expectations of future sales and, if our expectations regarding future sales are inaccurate, we may be unable to reduce costs in a timely manner to adjust for sales shortfalls, and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Fluctuations in operating results make financial forecasting difficult and could adversely affect the price of our common stock. Our quarterly and annual revenues and operating results may fluctuate significantly for numerous reasons, including:
| ● | The timing of the initial selection of our display products as components in our customers’ new products; | |
| ● | Availability of interface electronics for our display products; | |
| ● | Competitive pressures on selling prices of our products; | |
| ● | The timing and cancellation of customer orders; | |
| ● | Our ability to introduce new products and technologies on a timely basis; | |
| ● | Our ability to successfully reduce costs; | |
| ● | The cancellation of U.S. government contracts; and | |
| ● | Our ability to secure agreements from our major customers for the purchase of our products. |
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As a result of these and other factors, investors should not rely on our revenues and our operating results for any one quarter or year as an indication of our future revenues or operating results. If our quarterly revenues or results of operations fall below expectations of investors or public market analysts, the price of our common stock could fall substantially.
Our revenues and cash flows could be negatively affected if sales of our Display products for defense applications significantly decline or the current defense development programs are either cancelled or ultimately do not result in future product sales. The sale of our display products to the military for use in thermal weapon sights and avionic helmets have been a primary source of our defense revenues and cash flows over the last several years. We currently are included in the Family Weapon Sight (“FWS”) Individual program and the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) jet fighter program. We are in development and qualification in additional defense programs related to avionic helmets, armored vehicles and soldier rifle scopes. Our ability to generate revenues and cash flow from sales to the U.S. military depends on our Display products remaining qualified in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, FWS and other U.S. defense programs and on the U.S. government/military funding these programs. Our ability to generate revenues and cash flows also depends on the products we are developing and qualifying for other U.S. military programs being successfully qualified and the U.S. government/military funding these programs. We may not be awarded contracts for the systems we are in qualification for, and for the systems we are qualified for we may only be awarded a portion of the program as the U.S. military looks to have multiple sources when possible. In addition, the government could postpone or cancel these programs. We believe the U.S. Department of Defense is evaluating alternative display technologies for the F-35 Strike Fighter program and other defense programs, and we may need to requalify for any replacement display technologies. Our ability to generate revenues and cash flow from sales to the U.S. military also depends on winning contracts over our competitors. If we are unable to be qualified into new U.S. defense programs, remain qualified in existing programs, or win orders against our competition, or if defense programs are not funded, then our ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability and positive cash flow will be negatively impacted.
Our customers who purchase display products for defense applications typically incorporate our products into their products, which are sold to the U.S. government under contracts. U.S. government contracts generally are not fully funded at inception and may be terminated or modified prior to completion, which could adversely affect our business. Congress funds the vast majority of the federal budget on an annual basis, and Congress often does not provide agencies with all the money requested in their budget. Many of our customers’ contracts cover multiple years and, as such, are not fully funded at contract award. If Congress or a U.S. government agency chooses to spend money on other programs, our customers’ contracts may be terminated for convenience. Federal laws, collectively called the Anti-Deficiency Act, prohibit involving the government in any obligation to pay money before funds have been appropriated for that purpose, unless otherwise allowed by law. Therefore, the Anti-Deficiency Act indirectly regulates how agencies award our contracts and pay our invoices. Federal government contracts generally contain provisions that provide the federal government rights and remedies not typically found in commercial contracts, including provisions permitting the federal government to, among other things: terminate our existing contracts; modify some of the terms and conditions in our existing contracts; subject the award to protest or challenge by competitors; suspend work under existing multiple year contracts and related delivery orders; and claim rights in technologies and systems invented, developed or produced by us.
The federal government may terminate a contract with us or our customers either “for convenience” (for instance, due to a change in its perceived needs) or if we default due to our failure or the failure of a general or subcontractor to perform under the contract. If the federal government terminates a contract with one of our customers, our contract with our customers generally would entitle us to recover only our incurred or committed costs, settlement expenses and possibly retain any profit on the work that was completed prior to termination. However, under certain circumstances, our recovery costs upon termination for convenience of such a contract may be limited. As is common with government contractors, we have experienced occasional performance issues under some of our contracts. We have received Stop Work Orders wherein work is suspended pending a review of the program. We may in the future receive show-cause or cure notices under contracts that, if not addressed to the federal government’s satisfaction, could give the government the right to terminate those contracts for default or to cease procuring our services under those contracts.
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In addition, U.S. government contracts and subcontracts typically involve long purchase and payment cycles, competitive bidding, qualification requirements, delays or changes in funding, extensive specification and performance requirements, price negotiations and milestone requirements. Each U.S. government agency often also maintains its own rules and regulations with which we must comply, and which can vary significantly among agencies.
We recognize revenue for our defense contracts and some commercial contracts based on percentage of completion that requires significant management judgement, and errors in our judgement could result in our revenue being overstated or understated and the profits or loss reported could be subject to adjustment. For certain contracts with the U.S. government, the Company recognizes revenue over time as we perform services or deliver goods. The continuous transfer of control to, or performance of services for, the customer is subject to liability clauses in the contract that allow the U.S. government to unilaterally terminate the contract for convenience, pay us for costs incurred plus a reasonable profit and take control of any work in process. Contracts with commercial customers may have a similar liability clause. In situations where control transfers or services are performed over time, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. We generally use the cost-to-cost approach to measure the extent of progress towards completion of the contractual obligation for our contracts. Under the cost-to-cost measure approach, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. Revenues are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred. Accounting for design, development and production contracts requires judgment relative to assessing risks, estimating contract revenues and costs and making assumptions for schedule and technical issues. Due to the size and nature of the work required to be performed on many of our contracts, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is complicated and subject to many variables. Contract costs include material, labor and subcontracting costs, as well as an allocation of indirect costs. We have to make assumptions regarding the number of labor hours required to complete a task, the complexity of the work to be performed, the availability and cost of materials and performance by our subcontractors. For contract change orders, claims or similar items, we apply judgment in estimating the amounts and assessing the potential for realization. These amounts are only included in contract value when they can be reliably estimated, and realization is considered probable. If our estimate of total contract costs or our determination of whether the customer agrees that a milestone is achieved is incorrect, our revenue could be overstated or understated, and the profits or loss reported could be subject to adjustment. If our revenues and costs require adjustment our stock price could decline.
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A decline in the U.S. government defense budget, changes in spending or budgetary priorities, a prolonged U.S. government shutdown or delays in contract awards may significantly and adversely affect our future revenues, cash flow and financial results. In addition to the Anti-Deficiency Act, in recent years, U.S. government appropriations have been affected by larger U.S. government budgetary issues and related legislation. As a result, DoD funding levels have fluctuated and been difficult to predict. Future spending levels are subject to a wide range of factors, including Congressional action. In addition, in recent years the U.S. government has been unable to complete its budget process before the end of its fiscal year, resulting in both a government shutdown and continuing resolutions to extend sufficient funds only for U.S. government agencies to continue operating. Most recently, the federal government was shut down due to lack of funding for over one month between late 2018 and early 2019. Additionally, the national debt has recently threatened to reach the statutory debt ceiling, and such an event in future years could result in the U.S. government defaulting on its debts.
As a result, defense spending levels are difficult to predict beyond the near-term due to numerous factors, including the external threat environment, future government priorities and the state of government finances. Significant changes in defense spending or changes in U.S. government priorities, policies and requirements could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.
If we fail to comply with complex procurement laws and regulations, we could lose business and be liable for various penalties or sanctions. We must comply with laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration and performance of federal government contracts. These laws and regulations affect how we conduct business with our federal government customers. In complying with these laws and regulations, we may incur additional costs, and non-compliance may result in fines and penalties, including contractual damages. Among the more significant laws and regulations affecting our business are:
| ● | The Federal Acquisition Regulation, which comprehensively regulates the formation, administration and performance of federal government contracts; | |
| ● | The Truth in Negotiations Act, which requires certification and disclosure of all cost and pricing data in connection with contract negotiations; | |
| ● | The Cost Accounting Standards and Cost Principles, which impose accounting requirements that govern our right to reimbursement under certain cost-based federal government contracts; and | |
| ● | Laws, regulations and executive orders restricting the use and dissemination of information classified for national security purposes and the export of certain products, services and technical data. We engage in international work falling under the jurisdiction of U.S. export control laws. Failure to comply with these control regimes can lead to severe penalties, both civil and criminal, and can include debarment from contracting with the U.S. government. |
Our contracting agency customers may review our performance under and compliance with the terms of our federal government contracts. If a government review or investigation uncovers improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties or administrative sanctions, including:
| ● | Termination of contracts; | |
| ● | Forfeiture of profits; | |
| ● | Cost associated with triggering of price reduction clauses; | |
| ● | Suspension of payments; | |
| ● | Fines; and | |
| ● | Suspension or debarment from doing business with federal government agencies. |
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Additionally, the False Claims Act provides for substantial civil penalties where, for example, a contractor presents a false or fraudulent claim to the government for payment or approval. Civil actions under the False Claims Act may be brought by the government or by other persons on behalf of the government (who may then share a portion of any recovery).
If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we may also suffer harm to our reputation, which could impair our ability to win awards of contracts in the future or receive renewals of existing contracts. If we are subject to civil or criminal penalties and administrative sanctions or suffer harm to our reputation, our current business, future prospects, financial condition or operating results could be materially harmed.
The U.S. government may also revise its procurement practices or adopt new contracting rules and regulations, including cost accounting standards, at any time. Any new contracting methods could be costly to satisfy, be administratively difficult for us to implement and could impair our ability to obtain new contracts.
Our ability to manufacture and distribute our Display products would be severely limited if the foundries that we rely on to manufacture integrated circuits for our Display products fail to provide those services. We depend principally on a Taiwanese foundry for the fabrication of integrated circuits for our defense display products. In addition, our strategy is to use Chinese foundries services for OLED deposition and processing of OLED displays. We also use foundries in Korea and France. We have no long-term contracts with the foundries we use and from time to time we have been put on allocation, which means the foundry will limit the number of wafers they will process for us. If foundries were to terminate or amend their arrangement with us or become unable to provide the required capacity, services and or quality on a timely basis, we may not be able to manufacture and ship our Display products or we may be forced to manufacture them in limited quantities until replacement foundry services can be obtained. Furthermore, we cannot assure that we would be able to establish alternative manufacturing and packaging relationships on acceptable terms.
Our reliance on these foundries involves certain risks, including but not limited to:
| ● | Lack of control over production capacity and delivery schedules; | |
| ● | Limited control over quality assurance, manufacturing yields and production costs; | |
| ● | The risks associated with international commerce, including unexpected changes in legal and regulatory requirements, changes in tariffs and trade policies and political and economic instability; and | |
| ● | Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami, mudslides, drought, hurricanes and tornadoes. |
Due to natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons that have occasionally occurred in Asia, many Taiwanese companies, including the Taiwanese foundry we use, have experienced related business interruptions. Our business could suffer significantly if any of the foundries we use have their operations disrupted for an extended period of time due to natural disaster, political unrest or financial instability.
We may be unable to adequately control purchase pricing of certain critical materials, which may materially adversely affect our sales or profitability. We have no long-term pricing contracts on foundry wafers and certain other materials that represent a significant portion of product bill of material costs. We cannot provide assurance against supplier price increases that negatively impact the cost of producing products, which may adversely affect sales or profitability. Finding and/or qualifying a more cost-effective replacement supplier may take significant time.
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Our investments in the development and sale of OLED microdisplays may not be successful which may materially adversely affect our sales, profitability and cash flow. Hstorically, we have sold products that incorporate our proprietary AMLCDs. We believe that for certain applications OLED microdisplays have performance advantages and we believe some customers have switched or will want to switch from AMCLDs to OLED microdisplays in the next two to three years. We are in the process of designing and developing OLED microdisplays. We expect to make significant monetary investments in their development, though our plan is to outsource their production. We have little experience in production outsourcing. If we are unsuccessful in designing and developing OLED microdisplays or if we are unable to find cost-effective third party production partners, our sales and profitability may be negatively affected.
The markets in which we operate are highly competitive and rapidly changing and we may be unable to compete successfully. There are a number of companies that develop or may develop products that compete in our targeted markets. The individual components that we offer for sale (displays, optical lenses, backlights and ASICs) are also offered by companies whose sole business focuses on that individual component. For example, there are companies whose sole business is to sell optical lenses. Accordingly, our strategy requires us to develop technologies and to compete in multiple markets. Some of our competitors are much larger than we are and have significantly greater financial, development and marketing resources than we do. The competition in these markets could adversely affect our operating results by reducing the volume of the products we sell or the prices we can charge. These competitors may be able to respond more rapidly than us to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. They may also devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we do.
Our success will depend substantially upon our ability to enhance our products and technologies and to develop and introduce, on a timely and cost-effective basis, new products and features that meet changing customer requirements and incorporate technological enhancements. If we are unable to develop new products and enhance functionalities or technologies to adapt to these changes, our business will suffer.
Disruptions of our production could adversely affect our operating results. If we were to experience any significant disruption in the operation of our facilities, we would be unable to supply our products to our customers. Many of our sales contracts include financial penalties for late delivery. In the past, we have experienced power outages at our facilities, which ranged in duration from one to four days. We have certain critical pieces of equipment necessary to operate our facilities that are no longer offered for sale and we may not have service contracts or spare parts for the equipment. Additionally, as we introduce new equipment into our manufacturing processes, our display products could be subject to especially wide variations in manufacturing yields and efficiency. We may experience manufacturing problems that would result in delays in product introduction and delivery or yield fluctuations.
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A disruption to our information technology systems could significantly impact our operations, revenue and profitability. Our data processing systems and our Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) software are cloud-based and hosted by third parties. We also use software packages that are no longer supported by their developer. We have experienced short-term (i.e., a few days) interruptions in our Internet connectivity. An interruption of the third party systems or the infrastructure that allows us to connect to the third party systems for an extended period may affect our ability to operate our business and process transactions, which could result in a decline in sales and affect our ability to achieve or maintain profitability.
If our information technology security systems were infiltrated and confidential and/or proprietary information were taken, we could be subject to fines, lawsuits and loss of customers. Significantly larger organizations with much greater resources than us have been the victim of cybercrimes. We routinely receive emails probing our Internet security, and our Internet security systems have detected outside organizations attempting to install Trojan virus software packages in our systems. We rely on our electronic information systems to perform the routine transactions to run our business. We transact business over the Internet with customers, vendors and our subsidiaries and have implemented security measures to protect unauthorized access to this information. We have also implemented security policies that limit access via the Internet from the Company to the outside world based on the individual’s position in the Company. We routinely receive security patches from software providers for the software we use. Our primary concerns are inappropriate access to personnel information, information covered under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation, product designs and manufacturing information, financial information and our intellectual property, trade secrets and know-how.
We may not achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of our equity investments. At December 25, 2021 we had equity investments in companies totaling $4.6 million, where we have limited, if any, control over their governance, financial reporting and operations. As a result, we face certain operating, financial and other risks relating to these investments, including risks related to the financial strength of the investments. We are required to periodically review the value of these investments for impairment. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2019, we reviewed the financial condition and other factors of RealWear and as a result, in the fourth quarter of 2019, we recorded an impairment charge of $5.2 million to reduce our investment in RealWear to zero. These investments may not contribute to our earnings or cash flows. In addition, these investments may be required to raise additional capital, which may result in our ownership percentage being decreased.
If we are unable to obtain or maintain existing software license relationships or other relationships relating to the intellectual property we use, our ability to grow revenue and achieve profitability and positive cash flow may be negatively affected. Our headset systems include software that we license from other companies. Should we violate the terms of a license, our license could be canceled. Companies may decide to stop supporting the software we license or new versions of the software may not be compatible with our software, which would require us to rewrite our software, which we may not be able to do. Moreover, the license fees we pay may be increased, which would negatively affect our ability to achieve profitability and positive cash flow.
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We may incur substantial costs in defending our intellectual property and may not be successful in protecting our intellectual property and proprietary rights. Our success depends in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights. We have obtained certain domestic and foreign patents and we intend to continue to seek patents on our inventions when appropriate. We also attempt to protect our proprietary information with contractual arrangements and under trade secret laws. Our employees and consultants generally enter into agreements containing provisions with respect to confidentiality and the assignment of rights to us for inventions made by them while in our employ or consulting for us. These measures may not adequately protect our intellectual property or proprietary rights. Existing trade secret, trademark and copyright laws afford only limited protection and our patents could be invalidated, held to be unenforceable or circumvented. Moreover, the laws of certain foreign countries in which our products are or may be manufactured or sold may not provide full protection of our intellectual property rights. Misappropriation of our technology and the costs of defending our intellectual property rights from misappropriation could substantially impair our business. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property or proprietary rights, our business may not be successful, and the price of our common stock may decline.
The process of seeking patent protection can be time consuming and expensive and we cannot be certain that patents will be issued from currently pending or future patent applications. We cannot be certain that domestic or foreign intellectual property laws will allow protection of our intellectual property rights or that others will not independently develop similar products, duplicate our products or design around any patents issued or licensed to us. We may be subject to or may initiate contested patent or patent application proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, foreign patent offices or the courts, which can demand significant financial and management resources. Patent applications in the U.S. typically are maintained in secrecy until they are published about 18 months after their earliest claim to priority. As publication of discoveries in the scientific and patent literature lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we were the first to conceive of inventions covered by our pending patent applications or the first to file patent applications on such inventions. We also cannot be certain that our pending patent applications or those of our licensors will result in issued patents or that any issued patents will provide adequate protection against a competitor. In addition, we cannot be certain that others will not obtain patents that we would need to license or could force us to retool or cease manufacturing and sales of products covered by these patents, nor can we be sure that licenses, if needed, would be available to us on favorable terms, if at all.
We also attempt to protect our proprietary information with contractual arrangements and under trade secret laws. We believe that our future success will depend primarily upon the technical expertise, creative skills and management abilities of our officers and key employees in addition to patent ownership. Our employees enter into agreements containing provisions with respect to confidentiality and assignment of rights to us for inventions made by them while in our employ. Agreements with consultants generally provide that rights to inventions made by them while consulting for us will be assigned to us unless the assignment of rights is prohibited by the terms of any of their prior agreements. Agreements with employees, consultants and collaborators contain provisions intended to further protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information. To date, we have had no experience in enforcing these agreements. We cannot be certain that these agreements will not be breached or that we would have adequate remedies for any breaches. Our trade secrets may not be secure from discovery or independent development by competitors, in which case we may not be able to rely on these trade secrets to prevent our competitors from using them.
Our products could infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Companies in the display industry steadfastly pursue and protect their intellectual property rights. This has resulted in considerable and costly litigation to determine the validity and enforceability of patents and claims by third parties of infringement of patents or other intellectual property. Our products could be found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Other companies may hold or obtain patents on inventions or other proprietary rights in technology necessary for our business. Periodically, companies inquire about our products and technology in their attempts to assess whether we violate their intellectual property rights. In the event that our products might infringe upon the patent rights of others, we may be notified, from time to time, that we could be or we are infringing certain patents or other intellectual property rights of others. If we are forced to defend against patent infringement claims, we may face costly litigation, diversion of technical and management personnel, and product shipment delays, even if the allegations of infringement are unwarranted. If there are one or more successful claims of infringement against us and we are unable to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, or if we are required to cease the manufacture, use, importation and/or sale of infringing products, expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or obtain licenses to patents of third parties covering the infringing technology or using one or more of our business or product names due to a successful trademark infringement claim against us, our business could be adversely affected. We are currently involved in an intellectual property dispute with Blue Radios, Inc., as described under Item 3. Legal Proceedings. If the outcome of such dispute is adverse to us, our business could be adversely affected. We cannot be certain that licenses will be obtainable on acceptable terms, if at all, or that damages for infringement will not be assessed or that litigation will not occur. The failure to obtain necessary licenses or other rights or litigation arising out of any such claims could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business as we presently conduct it and as we plan to conduct it in the future.
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Our business could suffer if we lose the services of, or fail to attract, key personnel. To continue to provide quality products in our rapidly changing business, we believe it is important to retain personnel with experience and expertise relevant to our business. Our success depends in large part upon a number of key management and technical employees. The loss of the services of one or more key employees, including Dr. John C.C. Fan, our President and Chief Executive Officer, could seriously impede our success. We do not maintain any “key-man” insurance policies on Dr. Fan or any other employees. In addition, due to the level of technical and marketing expertise necessary to support our existing and new customers, our success will depend upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled management, technical, and sales and marketing personnel. Competition for highly skilled personnel is intense and there may be only a limited number of persons with the requisite skills to serve in these positions. Due to the competitive nature of the labor markets in which we operate, we may be unsuccessful in attracting and retaining these personnel. Our inability to attract and retain key personnel could adversely affect our ability to develop and manufacture our products.
If we fail to keep pace with changing technologies, we may lose customers. Rapidly changing customer requirements, evolving technologies and industry standards characterize our industries. To achieve our goals, we need to enhance our existing products and develop and market new products that keep pace with continuing changes in industry standards, requirements and customer preferences. We may be unable to bring to market technologies and products that are attractive to our customers, and as a result our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Customer demands and new regulations related to conflict-free minerals may adversely affect us. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) imposes disclosure requirements regarding the use of “conflict” minerals mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries in products, whether or not these products are manufactured by third parties. These requirements could affect the pricing, sourcing and availability of minerals used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices (including our products). We have incurred additional costs associated with complying with the disclosure requirements, such as costs related to determining the source of any conflict minerals used in our products. Our supply chain is complex and we may be unable to verify the origins for all metals used in our products. We purchase materials from foreign sources that may not cooperate and provide us with the necessary information to allow us to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act. This may require us to find alternative sources, which could delay product shipments. We may also encounter challenges with our customers and stockholders if we are unable to certify that our products are conflict-free.
Changes in tax laws, unfavorable resolution of tax examinations, or exposure to additional tax liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. We are subject to taxes in the U.S., Korea, China and the United Kingdom. Governments in the jurisdictions in which we operate implement changes to tax laws and regulations periodically. Any implementation of tax laws that fundamentally change the taxation of corporations in the U.S. or in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate could materially affect our effective tax rate and could have a significant adverse impact on our financial results.
We may incur significant liabilities if we fail to comply with stringent environmental laws and regulations and the ITAR, or if we did not comply with these regulations in the past. We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local government regulations related to the use, storage, discharge and disposal of toxic or other hazardous chemicals used in our manufacturing process. We are also subject to federal ITAR laws that regulate the export of technical data and export of products to other nations that may use these products for defense purposes. The failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines, suspension of production, or a cessation of operations. Any failure on our part to control the use of, or adequately restrict the discharge of, hazardous substances, or otherwise comply with environmental regulations, could subject us to significant future liabilities. Any failure on our part to obtain any required licenses for the export of technical data and/or export of our products or to otherwise comply with ITAR, could subject us to significant future liabilities. In addition, we cannot be certain that we have not violated applicable laws or regulations in the past, which violations could result in required remediation or other liabilities. We also cannot be certain that past use or disposal of environmentally sensitive materials in conformity with then existing environmental laws and regulations will protect us from required remediation or other liabilities under current or future environmental laws or regulations.
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We may be unable to modify our products to meet regulatory or customer requirements. From time to time our display products are subject to new domestic and international requirements, such as the European Union’s Restriction on Hazardous Substances Directive. Our customers’ terms and conditions require us to be in compliance with “all laws.” If we are unable to comply with these regulations, we may not be permitted to ship our products, which would adversely affect our revenue and ability to maintain profitability. In addition, if we are found to be in violation of laws we may be subject to fines and penalties.
We may be unable to successfully integrate new strategic acquisitions and investments, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In the past we have made, and in the future we may make, acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses, products and technologies that could complement or expand our business. If we identify an acquisition candidate, we may not be able to successfully integrate the acquired businesses, products or technologies into our existing business and products. Future acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, amortization expenses and write-downs of acquired assets. In 2017, 2012 and 2011, we acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of NVIS, 80% of the outstanding shares of eMDT Inc. and 100% of the outstanding shares of FDD, respectively. If we are unable to operate NVIS, eMDT, and FDD profitably, our results of operations will be negatively affected. We perform periodic reviews to determine if these investments are impaired, but such reviews are difficult and rely on significant judgment about the company’s technology, ability to obtain customers, and ability to become cash flow positive and profitable. We may take future impairment charges which will have an adverse impact of on our results of operations.
Additionally, we have several investments where we may have limited, if any, control over their governance, financial reporting and operations. As a result, we face certain operating, financial and other risks relating to these investments, including risks related to the financial strength of the investments. As a result, these investments may not contribute to our earnings or cash flows. In addition, these investments may be required to raise additional capital, which may result in our ownership percentage being decreased.
Changes in China’s laws, legal protections or government policies on foreign investment in China may harm our business. Our business and corporate transactions are subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China as well as laws and regulations applicable to foreign-invested enterprises. These laws and regulations frequently change, and their interpretation and enforcement involve uncertainties that could limit the legal protections available to us. Regulations and rules on foreign investments in China impose restrictions on the means that a foreign investor like us may apply to facilitate corporate transactions we may undertake. In addition, the Chinese legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. If any of our past operations are deemed to be non-compliant with Chinese law, we may be subject to penalties and our business and operations may be adversely affected. For instance, under the catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, some industries are categorized as sectors that are encouraged, restricted or prohibited for foreign investment. As the catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries is updated every few years, there can be no assurance that China’s government will not change its policies in a manner that would render part or all of our business to fall within the restricted or prohibited categories. If we cannot obtain approval from relevant authorities to engage in businesses that has become prohibited or restricted for foreign investors, we may be forced to sell or restructure such business. Furthermore, China’s government has broad discretion in dealing with violations of laws and regulations, including levying fines, revoking business and other licenses and requiring actions necessary for compliance. In particular, licenses and permits issued or granted to us by relevant governmental bodies may be revoked at a later time by higher regulatory bodies. If we are forced to adjust our corporate structure or business as a result of changes in government policy on foreign investment or changes in the interpretation and application of existing or new laws, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be harmed. Moreover, uncertainties in the Chinese legal system may impede our ability to enforce contracts with our business partners, customers and suppliers, or otherwise pursue claims in litigation to recover damages or loss of property, which could adversely affect our business and operations.
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Raising additional funds by issuing securities may cause dilution to our existing stockholders or restrict our operations. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, the share ownership of existing stockholders will be diluted. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. We may sell shares or other securities in other offerings at a price per share that is less than the prices per share paid by other investors, and investors purchasing shares of our common stock or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute all of our stockholders and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our existing stockholders.
We have no present intention to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future and, consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment during that time is if the price of our common stock appreciates. We have no present intention to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Historically, our earnings, if any, have been retained for the development of our businesses. Any recommendation by our Board of Directors to pay dividends will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, and other factors. Accordingly, if the price of our common stock declines in the foreseeable future, you will incur a loss on your investment, without the likelihood that this loss will be offset in part or at all by potential future cash dividends.
Our operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. Credit rating downgrades in certain European countries and/or speculation regarding changes to the composition or viability of the EU create uncertain global economic conditions. The ongoing uncertainty could have a negative economic impact and result in further volatility in the markets for several years. The impact of the Brexit referendum and such ongoing uncertainty may result in various economic and financial consequences for businesses operating in the UK, the EU and beyond. We hold significant assets in the UK and operate a UK subsidiary, and the future impacts of the Brexit and the continued uncertainty surrounding the EU could have a material impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Changes in government trade policies may increase the cost of our products, which may materially adversely affect our sales or profitability. We depend on a Taiwanese foundry for the manufacture of integrated circuits for our AMLCD display products and on Chinese and Korean foundries for our OLED display products. In recent years the U.S. has imposed, among other actions, new or higher tariffs on specified imported products originating from China in response to what it characterizes as unfair trade practices, and China has responded by proposing or implementing new or higher tariffs on specified products imported from the U.S. Tariffs on components that we import from China or other nations that have imposed, or may in the future impose, tariffs have in some case and may in the future cause our expenses to increase, which would adversely affect our profitability unless we were able to exclude our products from the tariffs or we raise prices for our products, which may result in our products becoming less attractive relative to products offered by our competitors. In addition, future actions or escalations by either the U.S. or China that affect trade relations may also affect our business or that of our suppliers or customers, and we cannot provide any assurances as to whether such actions will occur or the form that they may take. Moreover, it is uncertain to what extent, if any, the U.S. tariffs on components that we import from China will affect the Taiwanese foundries on which we depend, in part because many Taiwanese foundries conduct parts of their manufacturing in China.
A protectionist trade environment in either the U.S. or those foreign countries in which we do business, such as a change in the current tariff structures, export compliance or other trade policies, may materially adversely affect our ability to sell our products in foreign markets. To the extent that our sales or profitability are affected negatively by any such tariffs or other trade actions, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
As a publicly traded company, we are subject to a significant body of regulation, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. While we have developed and instituted a corporate compliance program based on what we believe are the current best practices in corporate governance and continue to update this program in response to newly implemented or changing regulatory requirements, we cannot provide assurance that we are or will be in compliance with all potentially applicable corporate regulations. If we fail to comply with any of these regulations, we could be subject to a range of regulatory actions, fines or other sanctions or litigation. If we must disclose any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, our stock price could decline.
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| Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments |
None.
| Item 2. | Properties |
We lease our 74,000 square foot production facility in Westborough, Massachusetts, 10,000 square feet of which is contiguous environmentally controlled production clean rooms operated between Class 10 and Class 1,000 levels. In addition to our Massachusetts facility, we lease a 3,100 square foot facility in Santa Clara, California which houses our OLED design team and ASIC development. We also have a lease in Tokyo, Japan.
NVIS, our subsidiary in Reston, Virginia, leases 6,100 square feet in Reston. FDD, our subsidiary in Scotland, leases 20,000 square feet in Dalgety Bay, 5,000 square feet of which is contiguous environmentally controlled production clean rooms operated between Class 10 and Class 10,000 levels. FDD also leases an office in Berlin, Germany.
At this time, we believe these properties are suitable for our needs for the foreseeable future.
| Item 3. | Legal Proceedings |
The Company may engage in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Claims, suits, investigations and proceedings are inherently uncertain and it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters and our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be affected in any particular period.
BlueRadios, Inc. v. Kopin Corporation, Civil Action No. 16-02052-JLK (D. Col.):
On August 12, 2016, BlueRadios, Inc. (“BlueRadios”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging that the Company breached a contract between it and BlueRadios concerning an alleged joint venture between the Company and BlueRadios to design, develop and commercialize micro-display products with embedded wireless technology referred to as “Golden-i”, breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing associated with that contract, breached its fiduciary duty to BlueRadios, and misappropriated trade secrets owned by BlueRadios in violation of Colorado law (C.R.S. § 7-74-104(4)) and the Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1836(b)(1)). BlueRadios further alleges that the Company was unjustly enriched by its alleged misconduct, BlueRadios is entitled to an accounting to determine the amount of profits obtained by the Company as a result of its alleged misconduct, and the inventorship on at least ten patents or patent applications owned by the Company need to be corrected to list BlueRadios’ employees as inventors and thereby list BlueRadios as co-assignees of the patents. BlueRadios seeks monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief, including for alleged non-payment of engineering retainer fees.
On October 11, 2016, the Company filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses. The parties completed expert depositions on November 15, 2019. On December 2, 2019, the Company filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment requesting the Court dismiss counts 2-7 in their entirety and counts 1 and 8 in part. BlueRadios also filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment alleging it is the co-owner of U.S. Patent No. 8,909,296. Responses to the Motions for Partial Summary Judgment were filed on January 15, 2020, and replies were filed on February 19, 2020. On September 25, 2020, the Court denied BlueRadios’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. A trial date has not yet been set by the Court. The Company has not concluded a loss from this matter is probable; therefore, we have not recorded an accrual for litigation or claims related to this matter for the period ended December 25, 2021. The Company will continue to evaluate information as it becomes known and will record an estimate for losses at the time or times when it is both probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable.
| Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures |
Not applicable.
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Part II
| Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “KOPN”.
As of March 1, 2021, there were approximately 320 stockholders of record of our common stock, which does not reflect those shares held beneficially or those shares held in “street” name.
We have not paid cash dividends in the past, nor do we expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that earnings, if any, will be retained for the development of our businesses.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table sets forth information as of December 25, 2021 about shares of the Company’s common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights and available for issuance under our existing equity compensation plans.
| Plan Category | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (a) | Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b) | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a) (b) | |||||||||
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 2,077,592 | $ | 2.78 | 1,795,311 | (1) | |||||||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | — | $ | — | — | ||||||||
(1) Amount includes shares available under the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan.
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Company Stock Performance
The following graph shows a five-year comparison of cumulative total shareholder return for the Company, the Nasdaq US Benchmark TR Index and the S&P 500 Information Technology index. The graph assumes $100 was invested in each of the Company’s common stock, the Nasdaq US Benchmark TR Index and the S&P 500 Information Technology index on December 31, 2016. Data points on the graph are annual. Note that historical price performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance.
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| Item 6. | Reserved |
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
Overview
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks discussed in Item 1A “Risk Factors,” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K. Please refer to our cautionary note on Forward-Looking Statements on page 3 of this Form 10-K.
We are a leading developer, manufacturer and seller of miniature displays and optical lenses (our “components”) for sale as individual displays, components, modules or higher-level subassemblies. We also license our intellectual property through technology license agreements. Our component products are used in highly demanding high-resolution portable defense, enterprise and consumer electronic applications, training and simulation equipment and 3D metrology equipment. Our products enable our customers to develop and market an improved generation of products for these target applications.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our audited consolidated financial statements. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition under the cost-to-cost measurement method, bad debts, inventories, warranty reserves, investment valuations, valuation of stock compensation awards, recoverability of deferred tax assets, liabilities for uncertain tax positions and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions.
We believe the following critical accounting policies are most affected by our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:
Revenue Recognition
Substantially all of our product revenues are derived from the sales of microdisplays, which are sold as individual displays, modules that include electronics and optics, or higher-level subassemblies for use in defense, industrial and consumer near-eye applications such as avionic helmets, thermal weapon sights or virtual reality headsets. We also have development contracts for the design, manufacture and modification of products for the U.S. government or a prime contractor for the U.S. government or for a customer that sells into the industrial or consumer markets. The Company’s contracts with the U.S. government are typically subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) and are priced based on estimated or actual costs of producing goods. The FAR provides guidance on the types of costs that are allowable in establishing prices for goods provided under U.S. government contracts. The pricing for non-U.S. government contracts is based on the specific negotiations with each customer.
Our fixed-price contracts with the U.S. government or other customers may result in revenue recognized in excess of amounts currently billed. We disclose the excess of revenues over amounts actually billed as Contract assets and unbilled receivables on the balance sheet. Amounts billed and due from our customers are classified as Accounts receivable on the balance sheets. In some instances, the U.7S. government retains a small portion of the contract price until completion of the contract. The portion of the payments retained until final contract settlement is not considered a significant financing component because the intent is to protect the customer. For contracts with the U.S. government, we typically receive interim payments either as work progresses or by achieving certain milestones or based on a schedule in the contract. We recognize a liability for these advance payments in excess of revenue recognized and present it as Contract liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned on the balance sheets. The advanced payment typically is not considered a significant financing component because it is used to meet working capital demands that can be higher in the early stages of a contract and to protect us from the other party failing to adequately complete some or all of its obligations under the contract. For industrial and consumer purchase orders, we typically receive payments within 30 to 60 days of shipments of the product, although for some purchase orders, we may require an advanced payment prior to shipment of the product.
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To determine the proper revenue recognition method for contracts with the same customer, we evaluate whether two or more contracts should be combined and accounted for as one single contract and whether the combined or single contract should be accounted for as more than one performance obligation. For most of our development contracts and contracts with the U.S. government, the customer contracts with us to provide a significant service of integrating a set of components into a single unit. Hence, the entire contract is accounted for as one performance obligation. Less frequently, however, we may promise to provide distinct goods or services within a contract in which case we separate the contract into more than one performance obligation. If a contract is separated into more than one performance obligation, we allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the estimated relative standalone selling prices of the promised goods or services underlying each performance obligation. In cases where we sell standard products, the observable standalone sales are used to determine the standalone selling price.
The Company recognizes revenue from a contract when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of consideration is probable.
For certain contracts with the U.S. government, the Company recognizes revenue over time as we deliver goods or perform services because of continuous transfer of control to the customer and the lack of an alternative use for the product. The continuous transfer of control to the customer is subject to liability clauses in the contract that allow the U.S. government to unilaterally terminate the contract for convenience, pay us for costs incurred plus a reasonable profit and take control of any work in process. For contracts with commercial customers, while the contract may have a similar liability clause, our products historically have an alternative use and thus, revenue is recognized at a point in time.
In situations where control transfers over time, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. We generally use the cost-to-cost approach to measure the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation for our contracts because we believe it best depicts the transfer of assets to the customer. Under the cost-to-cost measure approach, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. Revenues are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred.
Accounting for design, development and production contracts requires judgment relative to assessing risks, estimating contract revenues and costs and making assumptions for schedule and technical issues. Due to the size and nature of the work required to be performed on many of our contracts, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is complicated and subject to many variables. Contract costs include material, labor and subcontracting costs, as well as an allocation of indirect costs. We have to make assumptions regarding the number of labor hours required to complete a task, the complexity of the work to be performed, the availability and cost of materials and performance by our subcontractors. For contract change orders, claims or similar items, we apply judgment in estimating the amounts and assessing the potential for realization. These amounts are only included in contract value when they can be reliably estimated and realization is considered probable. If our estimate of total contract costs or our determination of whether the customer agrees that a milestone achievement is incorrect, our revenue could be overstated or understated and the profits or loss reported could be subject to adjustment.
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For our commercial customers, the Company’s revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customer are satisfied and the Company transfers control of the products or performs services, which is generally upon delivery of the product to the customer or performance of the services. Revenue is recorded as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. Provisions for product returns and allowances are reductions in the transaction price and are recorded in the same period as the related revenues. We analyze historical returns, current economic trends and changes in customer demand when evaluating the adequacy of sales returns and other allowances. Certain product sales are made to distributors under agreements allowing for a limited right of return on unsold products. Sales to distributors are primarily made for sales to the distributors’ customers and not for stocking of inventory. Sales, value add and other taxes we collect concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue.
The Company also licenses its intellectual property (“IP”) through technology license agreements which provides the customer the right to use our IP as it exists at a point in time. These agreements may include other performance obligations including the sale of product to the customer. The satisfaction of the Company’s performance obligation, and related recognition of revenue, occurs when the IP is delivered to the customer, the license period has begun and there are no additional performance obligations in the agreement. When the license is distinct from other obligations in the agreement, the Company treats the license and other performance obligations as separate performance obligations. Accordingly, the license is recognized at a point in time or over time based on the standalone selling price. Under certain license agreements, we may receive royalties based on the sales of the licensed product. We recognize royalty revenue upon the later of when the related sales occur, or when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). Under our current license agreements for which a royalty exists, we have recorded revenue when the related sales by our customer occurs because the performance obligation related to the delivery of the license to the customer has been satisfied.
Inventory
We provide a reserve for estimated obsolete or unmarketable inventory based on assumptions about future demand and market conditions and our production plans. Inventories that are obsolete or slow moving are generally fully reserved (representing the estimated net realizable value) as such information becomes available. Our display products are manufactured based upon production plans whose critical assumptions include non-binding demand forecasts provided by our customers, lead times for raw materials, lead times for wafer foundries to perform circuit processing and yields. If a customer were to cancel an order or actual demand was lower than forecasted demand, we may not be able to sell the excess display inventory and additional reserves would be required. If we were unable to sell the excess inventory, we would establish reserves to reduce the inventory to its estimated realizable value (generally zero).
Investment Valuation
We periodically make equity investments in private companies, accounted for as an equity investment, whose values are difficult to determine. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities and the related amendments on December 31, 2017. The Company adopted the measurement alternative for equity investments without readily determinable fair values (often referred to as cost method investments) on a prospective basis. When assessing investments in private companies for impairment, we consider such factors as, among others, the share price from the investee’s latest financing round, the performance of the investee in relation to its own operating targets and its business plan, the investee’s revenue and cost trends, the liquidity and cash position, including its cash burn rate and market acceptance of the investee’s products and services. Because these are private companies which we do not control we may not be able to obtain all of the information we would want in order to make a complete assessment of the investment on a timely basis. Accordingly, our estimates may be revised if other information becomes available at a later date.
In addition to the above, we make investments in government and agency-backed securities and corporate debt securities. For all of our investments we provide for an impairment valuation if we believe a decline in the value of an investment is other-than-temporary, which may have an adverse impact on our results of operations. The determination of whether a decline in value is other-than-temporary requires that we estimate the cash flows we expect to receive from the security. We use publicly available information such as credit ratings and financial information of the entity that issued the security in the development of our expectation of the cash flows to be received. Historically, we have periodically recorded other-than-temporary impairment losses, however we have not done so recently.
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Income Taxes
We have historically incurred domestic operating losses from both a financial reporting and tax return standpoint. We establish valuation allowances to the extent it appears more likely than not that our deferred tax assets will not be realized. These judgments are based on our projections of taxable income and the amount and timing of our tax operating loss carryforwards and other deferred tax assets. Given our federal operating tax loss carryforwards, we do not expect to pay domestic federal taxes in the near term. It is possible that we could pay foreign and state income taxes. We are also subject to foreign taxes from our Korean and U.K. subsidiary operations.
Our income tax provision is based on calculations and assumptions that will be subject to examination by tax authorities. Despite our history of operating losses there can be exposures for state taxes or foreign tax that may be due. We regularly assess the potential outcomes of these examinations and any future examinations for the current or prior years in determining the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. Should the actual results differ from our estimates, we would have to adjust the income tax provision in the period in which the facts that give rise to the revision become known. Such adjustment could have a material impact on our results of operations. We have historically established valuation allowances against all of our net deferred tax assets because of our history of generating operating losses and restrictions on the use of certain items. Our evaluation of the recoverability of deferred tax assets has also included analysis of the expiration dates of net operating loss carryforwards. In forming our conclusions as to whether the deferred tax assets are more likely than not to be realized we consider the sources of our income and the projected stability of those sources and product life cycles.
Results of Operations
We have two principal sources of revenues: product revenues and research and development (“R&D”) revenues. R&D revenues consist primarily of development contracts with agencies or prime contractors of the U.S. government and commercial enterprises.
We manufacture transmissive and reflective microdisplays. Our commercial and defense transmissive display production is being performed entirely in our Westborough, Massachusetts facility. FDD, our wholly-owned subsidiary, manufactures our reflective microdisplays in its facility located in Scotland. Our OLED displays are designed by us and manufactured by third parties for us.
We are a display supplier for the U.S. Army’s Family of Weapon Sights Individual and Joint Strike Fighter F-35 programs and are undergoing qualification for the FWS - Crew Served variant. We are also in development for a new series of displays for armored vehicles under the M1A2 program. The FWS, M1A2 and our existing production avionic programs are expected to increase production for the next several years. There are other firms offering products which compete against us in the defense programs and all of the programs we supply product to are subject to the U.S. government defense budget and procurement process. Accordingly, there can be no assurances we will continue to ship under our defense contracts.
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We offer microdisplays and optical lenses for use in consumer, enterprise and public safety products and systems which are targeted at AR and VR markets, among other areas. We refer to the sale of microdisplays and optical lenses as our component sales. We also offer head mounted, voice and gesture controlled, hands-free headset system designs that include our components and software for consumer and enterprise applications.
Predicting our R&D revenue and related trends is challenging because we have limited ability to forecast if we will be awarded additional R&D contracts in the future as such awards depend on the U.S. military budget and priorities. We cannot assure that the R&D contracts will result in workable products or if successful our products developed under these contracts will be procured by our customers. If we do not continue to win R&D contracts or if there is no demand for the products developed under these contracts, our ability to achieve profitability and positive cash flow could be negatively affected because the R&D revenues (or the products derived from the R&D contracts) would not be available to cover the allocated overhead and selling, general and administrative costs which may remain. Some of our contracts are fixed priced and we may incur cost overruns that would result in losses on the contracts. If we incur such losses on our contracts our ability to achieve profitability and positive cash flow could be negatively affected.
Because our fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of December, every seven years we have a fiscal year with 53 weeks. Our fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were each 52 week years.
Revenues. Our revenues by display application, which include product sales and amounts earned from research and development contracts, for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 by category, were as follows:
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Defense | $ | 18,180 | $ | 20,231 | $ | 8,729 | ||||||
| Industrial/Enterprise | 9,710 | 6,882 | 9,717 | |||||||||
| Consumer | 1,871 | 852 | 1,777 | |||||||||
| Research and Development | 14,669 | 10,123 | 4,983 | |||||||||
| Other | 121 | 553 | 61 | |||||||||
| License and royalties | 1,115 | 1,487 | 4,252 | |||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 45,666 | $ | 40,128 | $ | 29,519 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
Sales of our products for Defense applications include systems used by the military both in the field and for training and simulation. Sales of our products for Defense applications may be for a one-time purchase order or for programs that run for several years. Revenues from product sales to defense customers decreased in 2021 compared to 2020, primarily due to a decrease in shipments of our products into the Joint Strike Fighter program and training and simulation programs.
Industrial/Enterprise applications revenues represent customers who purchase our display products for use in headsets used for manufacturing, distribution, public safety, 3D metrology equipment and other industrial applications. Our 3D metrology customers are primarily located in Asia and they sell to Asian contract manufacturers who use the 3D metrology machines for quality control purposes. The increase in Industrial/Enterprise applications revenues in 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily due to an increase in sales to customers who use our display components in 3D metrology equipment and industrial headsets.
Sales of our displays for Consumer applications is primarily for the use in thermal imaging products, recreational rifle and hand-held scopes. The increase in Consumer applications in 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily due to increased demand for our organic light emitting displays (“OLEDS”).
R&D revenues increased in 2021 as compared to 2020 primarily due to additional funding for new display technology development which we believe will be used in U.S. defense programs. These contracts typically reimburse us for direct costs and allocated overhead and selling, general and administrative costs and in some cases profit. In 2021 and 2020 our R&D revenues exceeded funded R&D expenses by approximately $4.7 million and $2.4 million, respectively.
The decrease in license and royalty revenue in 2021 compared to 2020 is due to lower royalties earned under IP license agreements for industrial wearable headsets.
International product sales represented approximately 38% and 20% of product revenues for 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our international sales increased in 2021 as compared to 2020 due to an increase in sales of our products for 3D metrology application by our subsidiary, Forth Dimension Display, located in Scotland. Our international sales are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars. Consequently, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar could increase the price in local currencies of our products in foreign markets and make our products relatively more expensive than competitors’ products that are denominated in local currencies, which could result in a reduction in sales or profitability in those foreign markets. As a result, our financial position and results of operations are subject to exchange rate fluctuation in transactional and functional currency. We have not taken any protective measures against exchange rate fluctuations, such as purchasing hedging instruments with respect to such fluctuations, because of the historically stable exchange rate between the Japanese yen, Great Britain pound and the U.S. dollar. Foreign currency translation impact on our results, if material, is described in further detail under “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” section below.
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Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
Sales of our products for Defense applications include systems used by the military both in the field and for training and simulation. Sales of our products for Defense applications may be for a one-time purchase order or for programs that run for several years. Product sales to defense customers increased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to an increase in shipments of our products into the Family of Weapon Sights Individual (FWS-I) program and the Joint Strike Fighter program. FWS-I and Joint Strike Fighter revenues increased in 2020 over 2019 by 167% and 139%, respectively.
Industrial/Enterprise applications revenues represent customers who purchase our display products for use in headsets used for manufacturing, distribution, public safety, 3D metrology equipment and other industrial applications. Our 3D metrology customers are primarily located in Asia and they sell to Asian contract manufacturers who use the 3D metrology machines for quality control purposes. The decrease in Industrial/Enterprise applications revenues in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to a decrease in sales to customers who use our display components in industrial headsets, 3D metrology and safety applications.
Sales of our displays for Consumer applications are primarily for the use in thermal imaging products, recreational rifle and hand-held scopes and drone racing headsets. The decrease in Consumer applications in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to decreased demand for displays and components used in drone racing headsets.
R&D revenues increased in 2020 as compared to 2019 primarily due to the completion of performance obligations on funded U.S. defense programs partially offset by lower revenues from OLED development contracts. R&D revenues primarily increased in 2020 over 2019 because we were awarded and commenced work on new contracts to develop technologies we believe will be used in U.S. defense programs. These contracts typically reimburse us for direct costs and allocated overhead and selling, general and administrative costs and in some cases profit. In 2020 and 2019 our R&D revenues exceeded funded R&D expenses by approximately $2.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively, and this increase aided our improved operating results in 2020 as compared to 2019.
The decrease in license and royalty revenue in 2020 compared to 2019 is due to the one-time license of IP to RealWear for $3.5 million in 2019 partially offset by royalties earned under IP license agreements.
International sales represented approximately 20% and 44% of product revenues for 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our international sales are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars. Consequently, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar could increase the price in local currencies of our products in foreign markets and make our products relatively more expensive than competitors’ products that are denominated in local currencies, which could result in a reduction in sales or profitability in those foreign markets. As a result, our financial position and results of operations are subject to exchange rate fluctuation in transactional and functional currency. We have not taken any protective measures against exchange rate fluctuations, such as purchasing hedging instruments with respect to such fluctuations, because of the historically stable exchange rate between the Japanese yen, Great Britain pound and the U.S. dollar. Foreign currency translation impact on our results, if material, is described in further detail under “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” section below.
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Cost of Product Revenues. Cost of product revenues, which is comprised of materials, labor and manufacturing overhead related to the production of our products for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Cost of product revenue | $ | 25,052 | $ | 21,398 | $ | 20,902 | ||||||
| Cost of product revenues as a % of net product revenues | 83.8 | % | 75.0 | % | 103.0 | % | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
Cost of product revenues increased as a percentage of revenues in 2021 as compared to 2020 primarily due to lower production volumes in the second and third quarter of fiscal year 2021, which resulted from reduced production of our FWS-I products as we made some process changes in manufacturing the products.
There is currently a global shortage of semiconductor circuit chips and other raw materials. The shortage did not have a material impact on our results of operations for the fiscal year 2021. For fiscal year 2022 we have identified a shortage of several semiconductor components from our normal vendors which are necessary to manufacture our products. We continue to search for and procure all necessary components from our current vendors and new alternative vendors. In certain situations, we are able to obtain the components but had a significantly increased cost. The inability to procure a single component will prevent the completion of our product and the ability to sell the product. Our products go through extensive qualification processes and therefore our customers may not accept a replacement component. We are unable to determine if we will be able to obtain all necessary components for fiscal 2022. If we are unable to obtain all necessary components, we may be required to stop production which would negatively affect our cash flow and results of operations.
Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
Cost of product revenues decreased as a percentage of revenues in 2020 as compared to 2019 primarily due to improved yields from our manufacturing process. Improved yields result in lower material cost per unit because we are scrapping less material to produce a unit. In addition, the labor cost per unit declined as employees are not reworking or performing the same manufacturing process multiple times to create a finished product. Also, fixed overhead costs per unit decline because we are producing more units in the manufacturing facility but the cost to run the manufacturing facility does not significantly increase. We were able to improve yields because we have more experience manufacturing our two primary defense products and we are learning ways to improve our processes. In addition, we are working with our subcontractors to improve the quality and lower the cost of the raw materials we acquire.
Research and Development. R&D expenses are incurred in support of internal display development programs or programs funded by agencies or prime contractors of the U.S. government and commercial partners. R&D costs include staffing, purchases of materials and laboratory supplies, circuit design costs, fabrication and packaging of display products and allocated overhead. In fiscal year 2021, our R&D expenditures were primarily related to our display products and defense systems. R&D expenses for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Funded | $ | 9,976 | $ | 7,746 | $ | 4,216 | ||||||
| Internal | 6,312 | 3,924 | 9,133 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 16,288 | $ | 11,670 | $ | 13,349 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
Funded R&D expense for 2021 increased as compared to 2020 primarily due to an increase in the number of defense related contracts we have been awarded. Internal R&D expense for 2021 increased as compared to the prior year primarily due to increase OLED development.
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Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
Funded R&D expense for 2020 increased as compared to 2019 primarily due to an increase in the number of defense related contracts we have been awarded. Internal R&D expense for 2020 decreased as compared to the prior year primarily due to the licensing of certain products and other development programs being curtailed. We expect to incur significant development costs in fiscal year 2021 to develop OLED display products and defense products.
Selling, General and Administrative. Selling, general and administrative (“S,G&A”) expenses consist of the expenses incurred by our sales and marketing personnel and related expenses, and administrative and general corporate expenses. SG&A expenses for the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expense | $ | 18,101 | $ | 11,823 | $ | 21,316 | ||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expense as a % of total revenue | 39.6 | % | 29.5 | % | 72.2 | % | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
S,G&A for 2021 increased as compared to 2020 primarily due to increases of approximately $3.1 million in non-cash stock-based compensation, $1.4 million in compensation and benefits, $0.3 million in insurance and $0.9 million in bad debt expense, partially offset by $0.6 million of lower professional fees.
Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
S,G&A for 2020 decreased as compared to 2019 primarily due to decreases of approximately $1.2 million in non-cash stock-based compensation, $2.9 million in professional fees, $1.4 million in bad debt expense, $1.5 million in product promotion and marketing expenses, and $0.7 million in travel and related expenses.
Impairment of Goodwill and Intangibles. Goodwill and intangibles are evaluated for impairment annually or more often if indicators of a potential impairment are present. Our annual impairment testing of goodwill is performed separately from our impairment testing of intangibles. The Company performs impairment tests of goodwill at its reporting unit level. The goodwill valuations that are utilized to test these assets for impairment are depending on a number of significant estimates and assumptions, including macroeconomic conditions, overall growth rates, competitive activities, cost containment, Company business plans and the discount rate applied to cash flows. We believe these estimates and assumptions are reasonable and are comparable to those that would be used by other market participants. Impairment of goodwill for the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | $ | –– | $ | –– | $ | 331 | ||||||
During fiscal 2019, we recognized a $0.3 million goodwill impairment charge related to our e-MDT subsidiary. During fiscal 2018, we recognized a $1.4 million goodwill impairment charge related to our NVIS and our Kopin Software Ltd. subsidiaries. See Note 5 of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for more information.
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Total Other Income (Expense), Net. Other income (expense), net, is primarily composed of interest income, foreign currency transaction, remeasurement gains and losses incurred by our UK-based subsidiaries and other non-operating income items. Other income (expense), net, for the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | 436 | $ | 361 | $ | (2,887 | ) | |||||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
In 2021 we recorded $0.1 million of foreign currency gains compared to $0.3 million of foreign currency gains recorded in 2020. In 2021 we recorded a $0.3 million gain on an equity investment.
Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
In 2020 we recorded $0.3 million of foreign currency gains compared to $0.2 million of foreign currency gains recorded in 2019. In 2019, we recorded a non-cash $1.4 million gain on equity investments and an impairment charge of $5.2 million on equity investment.
Tax provision
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Tax provision | $ | (129 | ) | $ | (129 | ) | $ | (108 | ) | |||
Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020
The provision for income taxes for the fiscal years ended 2021 and 2020 of approximately $(0.1) million was due to a change in estimates related to uncertain tax positions and deferred tax liabilities for the Company’s former Korean subsidiary.
Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019
The provision for income taxes for the fiscal years ended 2020 and 2019 of approximately $(0.1) million was due to a change in estimates related to uncertain tax positions and deferred tax liabilities for the Company’s former Korean subsidiary.
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest. As of December 25, 2021, we owned 80% of the equity of eMDT. Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest on our consolidated statement of operations represents the portion of the results of operations of our majority owned subsidiaries which is allocated to the shareholders of the equity interests not owned by us. The change in net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest in 2021 compared to 2020 was $0.1 million and in 2020 compared to 2019 was $0.3 million and was a result of net losses attributable to minority shareholders of eMDT.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
At December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $29.3 million and working capital of $34.7 million compared to $20.7 million and $22.6 million, respectively. The change in cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities was primarily due to cash provided by sales of our common stock of $21.1 million, which was offset by cash used in operating activities of $10.7 million.
In Q1 2021, we sold 2.4 million shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $16 million (average of $6.66 per share), before deducting broker expenses paid by us of $0.5 million pursuant to the Company’s At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement dated as of February 8, 2019 (the “Previous ATM Agreement”) with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, (“Stifel”) as agent. In Q2 2021, we sold 0.1 million shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $0.8 million (average of $6.74 per share), before deducting broker expenses paid by us of $0.1 million under the Previous ATM Agreement. The Previous ATM Agreement has since terminated pursuant to its terms as a result of the sale of all the shares subject to such agreement. On March 5, 2021, the Company entered into a new At-The-Market Offering Sales Agreement (the “Current ATM Agreement”) with Stifel under which we may sell up to $50 million of our common stock. In Q3 2021, we sold 0.6 million shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $4.8 million (average of $8.06 per share), before deducting broker expenses paid by us of $0.1 million under the Current ATM Agreement. The net proceeds from the sale of common shares were used for general corporate purposes, including working capital. We have available $44.3 million for sale of common stock under the Current ATM Agreement.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, we issued 1.9 million shares of our common stock pursuant to our At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement dated as of February 8, 2019 with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, as agent (the “ATM Agreement”) for $4.0 million (average of $2.05 per share) in gross proceeds before deducting broker expenses paid by us of $0.1 million. The net proceeds from the sale of common shares were used for general corporate purposes, including working capital. In Q1 2021, we sold 2.4 million shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $16 million (average of $6.66 per share), before deducting broker expenses paid by us of $0.5 million under the ATM Agreement. The ATM Agreement has since terminated pursuant to its terms as a result of the sale of all the shares subject to such agreement.
During the second quarter of the fiscal year ending December 26, 2020, we received the proceeds from loans in the amount of approximately $2.2 million (the “PPP Loan”) pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). During the second quarter of the fiscal year ending December 26, 2020 we repaid $2.1 million of the loans and we repaid $0.1 million in July 2020. Our decision to terminate the loans was based on additional guidance issued by the Small Business Administration. There were no prepayment penalties in connection with the voluntary repayment.
On March 15, 2019, we sold 7.3 million shares of registered common stock for gross proceeds of $8.0 million ($1.10 per share), before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses paid by us of $0.7 million. This represented approximately 8.9% of Kopin’s total outstanding shares of common stock as of the date of purchase. The net proceeds from the offering were used for general corporate purposes, including working capital. On April 10, 2019, we sold 0.7 million shares of registered common stock for gross proceeds of $0.8 million ($1.10 per share), before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses paid by us of less than $0.1 million, pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option in connection with the March 15, 2019 public offering. This represented approximately 0.8% of Kopin’s total outstanding shares of common stock as of the date of purchase.
The following table presents the components of our cash and cash equivalents and marketable debt securities held in U.S. dollars as of the dates presented:
| December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | |||||||
| Domestic locations | $ | 27,031,695 | $ | 19,724,103 | ||||
| Foreign locations | 865,416 | 340,217 | ||||||
| Subtotal cash and cash equivalents and marketable debt securities held in U.S. dollars | 27,897,111 | 20,064,320 | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents held in other currencies and converted to U.S. dollars | 1,398,355 | 684,230 | ||||||
| Total cash and cash equivalents and marketable debt securities | $ | 29,295,466 | $ | 20,748,550 | ||||
We have no plans to repatriate the cash and cash equivalents held in our foreign subsidiary FDD.
The manufacturing operations at our Korean facility, Kowon, have ceased and Kowon was liquidated at fiscal year ended 2018. The Company has approximately $0.4 million of cash and cash equivalents in Korea at December 25, 2021. The Company has recorded deferred tax liabilities for any additional withholding tax that may be due to the Korean government upon Kowon’s final tax return acceptance.
In March 2017, we purchased 100% of the outstanding stock of NVIS, a producer of virtual reality systems for 3D applications, for $3.7 million. As part of the purchase, we agreed to pay up to an additional $2.0 million if certain future operating performance milestones were met and the selling shareholders remain employed with NVIS through March 2020. We have paid $1.8 million in contingent consideration through December 26, 2020 and there are no remaining contingent payment obligations related to the NVIS purchase as of December 25, 2021. As there was a requirement to remain employed to earn the contingent payments, these contingent payments were treated as compensation expense.
| 40 |
In the second quarter of 2019, we made an additional equity investment in RealWear, Inc. of $2.5 million by participating in an equity raise by RealWear. In the fourth quarter of 2019 Kopin reviewed the financial condition and other factors of RealWear and as a result, in the fourth quarter of 2019, we recorded an impairment charge of $5.2 million to reduce our investment in RealWear to zero as of December 28, 2019.
On September 30, 2019 we entered into the Solos Purchase Agreement with Solos Technology, pursuant to which we sold and licensed certain assets of our Solos product line and Whisper technology. As consideration for the transaction, we received a 20.0% equity stake in Solos Technology’s parent company, Solos Inc. Our 20.0% equity stake will be maintained until Solos Inc. has raised a total of $7.5 million in equity financing. We will also receive a royalty in the single digits on the net sales amount of Solos products for a three-year period, after commencement of commercial production. Based on the price paid for equity by the other 80% owners of Solos Inc., volatility based on a peer group and assumptions about the risk free interest rate, we estimated the fair value of our equity holdings at $0.6 million and recorded $0.6 million gain on investment for this equity transaction as the basis of assets transferred was zero.
We have incurred net losses of $13.4 million, $4.4 million and $29.5 million for the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and net cash outflows from operations of $10.7 million, $4.4 million and $21.0 million for the fiscal years ended 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our net cash outflows from operations was partially a result of funding our ongoing investments in research and development which we believe will continue. We have in the past sold equity securities through an At The Money program and in the traditional fashion of significant equity offerings. We estimate we will have sufficient liquidity to fund operations at least through Q1 2023. Nonetheless, we monitor the capital markets on an ongoing basis and may consider raising capital if favorable market conditions develop. If our actual results are less than projected or we need to raise capital for additional liquidity, we may be required to do additional equity financings, reduce expenses or enter into a strategic transaction. However, we can make no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital, reduce expenses sufficiently, or enter into a strategic transaction on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements.
Seasonality
Our revenues have not followed a seasonal pattern for the past three years and we do not anticipate any seasonal trend to our revenues in 2022.
Contractual Obligations
The following is a summary of our contractual lease payment obligations as of December 25, 2021:
| Payment due by period | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 Years | 4-5 years | More than 5 years | ||||||||||||||||
| Operating Lease Obligations | $ | 4,557,858 | 915,661 | 2,232,864 | 1,409,333 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 41 |
| Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk |
We invest our excess cash in high-quality U.S. government, government-backed (i.e.: Fannie Mae, FDIC guaranteed bonds and certificates of deposit) and corporate debt instruments, which bear lower levels of relative risk. We believe that the effect, if any, of reasonably possible near-term changes in interest rates on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows should not be material to our cash flows or income. It is possible that interest rate movements would increase our unrealized gain or loss on debt securities. We are exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates primarily through our translation of our foreign subsidiaries’ financial position, results of operations, and transaction gains and losses as a result of non U.S. dollar denominated cash flows related to business activities in Asia and Europe, and remeasurement of U.S. dollars to the functional currency of our U.K. subsidiary. We are also exposed to the effects of exchange rates in the purchase of certain raw materials which are in U.S. dollars but the price on future purchases is subject to change based on the relationship of the Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar. We do not currently hedge our foreign currency exchange rate risk. We estimate that any market risk associated with our international operations or investments is unlikely to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation. Our portfolio of marketable debt securities is subject to interest rate risk although our intent is to hold securities until maturity. The credit rating of our investments may be affected by the underlying financial health of the guarantors of our investments. We use silicon wafers in our production processes but do not enter into forward or futures hedging contracts.
| Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
The financial statements required by this Item are included in this Report on pages 44 through 72. Reference is made to Item 15 of this Report.
| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
Not applicable.
| Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
In connection with filing the Form 10-K, management, under the supervision of and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2021. Based upon that evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring that material information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, including ensuring that such material information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the Company’s Board of Directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and include those policies and procedures that:
| ● | Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; | |
| ● | Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and | |
| ● | Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision of and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 25, 2021, based on the framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 framework). Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that, as of December 25, 2021, internal control over financial reporting was effective based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the COSO.
| 42 |
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal year ended December 25, 2021 that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.
| Item 9B. | Other Information |
None.
| Item 9C. | Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspection |
Not applicable.
| Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance |
The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement relating to our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”). We expect to file the Proxy Statement with the SEC in April, 2022 (and, in any event, no later than 120 days after the close of our last fiscal year).
Code of Ethics. We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the Code) that applies to all of our employees (including our CEO and CFO) and directors. The Code is available on our website at www.kopin.com. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement regarding any amendment to or waiver of a provision of the Code applicable to any executive officer or director, by posting such information on our website.
Our corporate governance guidelines, whistleblower policy and the charters of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board of Directors as well as other corporate governance document materials are available on our website at www.kopin.com under the heading “Investors,” then “Corporate Governance” then “Governance Documents.”
| Item 11. | Executive Compensation |
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the Proxy Statement.
| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the Proxy Statement. Refer also to the equity compensation plan information set forth in Part II Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the Proxy Statement.
| Item 14. | Principal Accounting Fees and Services |
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the Proxy Statement.
| 43 |
Part IV
| Item 15. | Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules |
(1) Consolidated Financial Statements:
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
Financial Statement Schedules have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements or notes thereto.
(3) Exhibits:
The exhibits filed as part of this Form 10-K are listed on the exhibit index immediately preceding such exhibits and is incorporated herein by reference.
| 44 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Kopin Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Kopin Corporation and its subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 25, 2021, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively, the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Research and Development Revenues
The Company’s research and development revenues were $14,668,471 for the year ending December 25, 2021 and are described in Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements. The Company recognizes revenue for certain of its research and development contracts over time, generally using the input (cost-to-cost) method. Progress is measured and revenues from research and development contracts are generally recognized on an input method of accounting as costs are incurred. Under the input method, revenue is recognized based on contract costs expended to date relative to total contract costs intended to be expended. Management exercises significant judgment in determining revenue recognition for these customer contracts as the estimate of the total contract costs is critical to the recognition of revenue based under the input method.
We identified the Company’s accounting for revenue recognition of research and development contracts to be a critical audit matter because of the significant assumptions and judgments used by management in determining the estimated costs to be incurred throughout the customer contract. Auditing management’s estimation of cost recognition required significant audit effort and a high degree of auditor judgment and subjectivity to evaluate the audit evidence obtained.
Our audit procedures related to the Company’s revenue recognition of research and development contracts included the following, among others:
| ● | Evaluated the reasonableness of management estimates of cost recognition for a selection of contracts by comparing costs incurred under the contracts to the costs estimated by management. | |||
| ● | We selected a sample of customer contracts and performed the following procedures: | |||
| ○ | Read the underlying contracts and agreed the Company’s total budgeted costs to approved management budgets. | |||
| ○ | Evaluated management’s ability to achieve the estimates of total profit by performing corroborating inquiries with Company personnel, including project managers, and comparing the estimates to actual subsequent results and documentation such as management’s internal budgets and specified contract terms. | |||
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
March 14, 2022
| 45 |
KOPIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
| December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | ||||||
| Marketable debt securities, at fair value | ||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $ | ||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivables | ||||||||
| Inventory | ||||||||
| Prepaid taxes | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | ||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | ||||||||
| Other assets | ||||||||
| Equity investments | ||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued payroll and expenses | ||||||||
| Accrued warranty | ||||||||
| Contract liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned | ||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | ||||||||
| Other accrued liabilities | ||||||||
| Customer deposits | ||||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Noncurrent contract liabilities and asset retirement obligations | ||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | ||||||||
| Other long-term liabilities, net of current portion | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 13) | ||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | ||||||||
| Preferred stock, par value $ per share: authorized, shares; issued | ||||||||
| Common stock, par value $per share: authorized, shares; issued shares in 2021 and shares in 2020; outstanding , in 2021 and in 2020, respectively | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Treasury stock ( and shares in 2021 and 2020, at cost) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total Kopin Corporation stockholders’ equity | ||||||||
| Noncontrolling interest | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | ||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | $ | ||||||
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
| 46 |
KOPIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| Fiscal year ended | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||
| Net product revenues | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Research and development revenues | ||||||||||||
| License and other revenues | ||||||||||||
| Total revenues | ||||||||||||
| Expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of product revenues | ||||||||||||
| Research and development-funded programs | ||||||||||||
| Research and development-internal | ||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | ||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | ||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Non-operating income (expense), net: | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Foreign currency transaction gains | ||||||||||||
| Loss on investments | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Total non-operating income (expense) | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes and net loss (income) of noncontrolling interest | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Tax provision | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net loss (income) attributable to the noncontrolling interest | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Kopin Corporation | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Net loss per share: | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted | ||||||||||||
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
| 47 |
KOPIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
| Fiscal year ended | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax: | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Unrealized holding (loss) gain on marketable securities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Reclassifications of loss in net loss on marketable securities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Comprehensive loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Comprehensive loss (income) attributable to the noncontrolling interest | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Comprehensive loss attributable to Kopin Corporation | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
| 48 |
KOPIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
| Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Treasury | Accumulated Other Comprehensive | Accumulated | Total Kopin Corporation Stockholders’ | Noncontrolling | Total Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Stock | Income | Deficit | Equity | Interest | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 29, 2018 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vesting of restricted stock | ( | ) | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock for tax withholding obligations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | - | - | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of registered stock, net of costs | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | - | - | - | - | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 28, 2019 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vesting of restricted stock | ( | ) | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | - | - | - | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock for tax withholding obligations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | - | - | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of treasury stock, net of costs | - | - | ( | ) | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | - | - | - | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 26, 2020 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vesting of restricted stock | ( | ) | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | - | - | - | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock for tax withholding obligations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | - | - | ( | ) | - | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of treasury stock, net of costs | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | - | - | - | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 25, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
| 49 |
KOPIN CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| Fiscal year ended | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | ||||||||||||
| Accretion of premium or discount on marketable debt securities | ||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ||||||||||||
| Net (gain) loss on investment transactions | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Income taxes | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency gains | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Loss on sale of property and plant | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | ||||||||||||
| Change in allowance for bad debt | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Write-off of excess inventory | ||||||||||||
| Change in warranty reserves | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Changes in assets and liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivables | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Inventory | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses, other current assets and other assets | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Contract liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned | ||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of marketable debt securities | ||||||||||||
| Equity investments purchase | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Other assets | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Capital expenditures | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | ||||||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Sale of treasury stock, net of costs | ||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock, net of costs | ||||||||||||
| Settlements of restricted stock for tax withholding obligations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | ||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | ||||||||||||
| Construction in progress included in accrued expenses | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
| 50 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. As used in these notes, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “Kopin” and the “Company” mean Kopin Corporation and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates another meaning.
Fiscal Year
The Company’s fiscal year ends on the last Saturday in December. The fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020, and December 28, 2019 includes 52 weeks and are referred to as fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, herein. Because our fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of December every seven years we have a fiscal year with 53 weeks.
Principles of Consolidation
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Kopin Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiaries and a majority owned
Revenue Recognition
The Company accounts for revenue based on ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).
Substantially all of our product revenues are either derived from the sales of components or subassemblies for use in defense applications or industrial headset systems. We also have development contracts for the design, manufacture and or modification of products for the U.S. government or prime contractors for the U.S. government and for customers that expects to sell into the industrial or consumer markets. The Company’s contracts with the U.S. government are typically subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) and are priced based on estimated or actual costs of producing goods. The FAR provides guidance on the types of costs that are allowable in establishing prices for goods provided under U.S. government contracts. The pricing for non-U.S. government contracts is based on the specific negotiations with each customer.
Our fixed-price contracts with the U.S. government or other customers may result in revenue recognized in excess of amounts currently billed. We disclose the excess of revenues over amounts actually billed as Contract assets and unbilled receivables on the consolidated balance sheets. Amounts billed and due from our customers are classified as Accounts receivable on the consolidated balance sheets. In some instances, the U.S. government retains a small portion of the contract price until completion of the contract. The portion of the payments retained until final contract settlement is not considered a significant financing component because the intent is to protect the customer. For contracts with the U.S. government and some commercial customers, we typically receive interim payments either as work progresses or by achieving certain milestones or based on a schedule in the contract. We recognize a liability for these advance payments in excess of revenue recognized and present it as Contract liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned on the consolidated balance sheets. The advanced payment typically is not considered a significant financing component because it is used to meet working capital demands that can be higher in the early stages of a contract and to protect us from the other party failing to adequately complete some or all of its obligations under the contract. For industrial and consumer purchase orders, we typically receive payments within 30 to 60 days of shipments of the product, although for some purchase orders, we may require an advanced payment prior to shipment of the product.
| 51 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
To determine the proper revenue recognition method for contracts with the same customer, we evaluate whether two or more contracts should be combined and accounted for as one single contract and whether the combined or single contract should be accounted for as more than one performance obligation. For most of our development contracts and contracts with the U.S. government, the customer contracts with us to provide a significant service of integrating a set of components into a single unit. Hence, the entire contract is accounted for as one performance obligation. Less frequently, however, we may promise to provide distinct goods or services within a contract in which case we separate the contract into more than one performance obligation. If a contract is separated into more than one performance obligation, we allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the estimated relative standalone selling prices of the promised goods or services underlying each performance obligation. In cases where we sell standard products, the observable standalone sales are used to determine the standalone selling price.
The Company recognizes revenue from a contract when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of consideration is probable.
For certain contracts with the U.S. government, the Company recognizes revenue over time as we perform because of continuous transfer of control to the customer and the lack of an alternative use for the product. The continuous transfer of control to the customer is supported by liability clauses in the contract that allow the U.S. government to unilaterally terminate the contract for convenience, pay us for costs incurred plus a reasonable profit and take control of any work in process. For contracts with commercial customers, while the contract may have a similar liability clause, our products historically have an alternative use and thus, revenue is recognized at a point in time.
In situations where control transfers over time, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. We generally use the cost-to-cost approach to measure the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation for our contracts because we believe it best depicts the transfer of assets to the customer. Under the cost-to-cost measure approach, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. Revenues are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred.
Accounting for design, development and production contracts requires judgment relative to assessing risks, estimating contract revenues and costs, and making assumptions for schedule and technical issues. Due to the size and nature of the work required to be performed on many of our contracts, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is complicated and subject to many variables. Contract costs include material, labor and subcontracting costs, as well as an allocation of indirect costs. We have to make assumptions regarding the number of labor hours required to complete a task, the complexity of the work to be performed, the availability and cost of materials, and performance by our subcontractors. For contract change orders, claims or similar items, we apply judgment in estimating the amounts and assessing the potential for realization. These amounts are only included in contract value when they can be reliably estimated and realization is considered probable. If our estimate of total contract costs or our determination of whether the customer agrees that a milestone is achieved is incorrect, our revenue could be overstated or understated and the profits or loss reported could be subject to adjustment.
For our commercial customers, the Company’s revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customer is satisfied and the Company transfers control of the products or services, which is generally upon delivery to the customer. Revenue is recorded as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. Provisions for product returns and allowances are reductions in the transaction price and are recorded in the same period as the related revenues. We analyze historical returns, current economic trends and changes in customer demand when evaluating the adequacy of sales returns and other allowances. Certain product sales are made to distributors under agreements allowing for a limited right of return on unsold products. Sales to distributors are primarily made for sales to the distributors’ customers and not for stocking of inventory. Sales, value add and other taxes we collect concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue.
| 52 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The rights and benefits to the Company’s intellectual property are conveyed to certain customers through technology license agreements. These agreements may include other performance obligations including the sale of product to the customer. When the license is distinct from other obligations in the agreement, the Company treats the license and other performance obligations as separate performance obligations. Accordingly, the license is recognized at a point in time or over time based on the standalone selling price. The sale of materials is recognized at a point in time, which occurs with the transfer of control of the Company’s products or services. In certain instances, the Company is entitled to sales-based royalties under license agreements. These sales-based royalties are recognized when they are earned. Revenues from sales-based royalties under license agreements are shown under Research and development and other revenues on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Contract Assets
Contract assets include unbilled amounts typically resulting from sales under contracts when the cost-to-cost method of revenue recognition is utilized and revenue recognized from customer arrangements, including licensing, exceeds the amount billed to the customer, and right to payment is not just subject to the passage of time. Amounts may not exceed their net realizable value. Contract assets are generally classified as current. The Company classifies the noncurrent portion of contract assets under other assets in its condensed consolidated balance sheets.
Contract Liabilities
Contract liabilities consist of advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized for the contract.
Performance Obligations
The Company’s revenue recognition related to performance obligations that were satisfied at a point in time and over time were as follows:
| Fiscal year ended | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Point in time | % | % | % | |||||||||
| Over time | % | % | % | |||||||||
The
value of remaining performance obligations represents the transaction price of orders for which work has not been performed and excludes
unexercised contract options and potential orders under ordering-type contracts (e.g., indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (“IDIQ”)).
As of December 25, 2021, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations was $
| 53 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Research and Development Costs
Research and development expenses are incurred in support of internal display product development programs or programs funded by agencies or prime contractors of the U.S. government and commercial partners. Research and development costs include staffing, purchases of materials and laboratory supplies, circuit design costs, fabrication and packaging of experimental display products, and overhead, and are expensed immediately.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid, short-term debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.
Marketable Debt Securities
Marketable debt securities consist primarily of commercial paper, medium-term corporate notes, and U.S. government and agency backed securities. The Company classifies these marketable debt securities as available-for-sale at fair value in “Marketable debt securities, at fair value” in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company records the amortization of premium and accretion of discounts on marketable debt securities in the results of operations.
The Company uses the specific identification method as a basis for determining cost and calculating realized gains and losses with respect to marketable debt securities. The gross gains and losses realized related to sales and maturities of marketable debt securities were not material during the fiscal years ended 2021, 2020 and 2019.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Financial instruments consist of marketable debt securities, accounts receivable and certain current liabilities. These assets (excluding marketable securities which are recorded at fair value) and liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value.
Inventory
Inventories are stated at standard cost adjusted to approximate the lower of cost (first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value. The Company adjusts inventory carrying value for the estimated difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated net realizable value based upon assumptions about future demand and market conditions. The Company fully reserves for inventories and non-cancellable purchase orders for inventory deemed obsolete. The Company performs periodic reviews of inventory items to identify excess inventories on hand by comparing on-hand balances to anticipated usage using recent historical activity as well as anticipated or forecasted demand. If estimates of customer demand diminish further or market conditions become less favorable than those projected by the Company, additional inventory adjustments may be required. Inventory write-downs are inherently difficult to assess and dependent on market conditions. At the point of a loss recognition, a new, lower cost basis for that inventory is established, and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in that newly established basis.
Inventory consists of the following at December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020:
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Raw materials | $ | $ | ||||||
| Work-in-process | ||||||||
| Finished goods | ||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
| 54 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property,
plant and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method over the estimated
useful lives of the assets, generally
Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities
We periodically make equity investments in private companies, accounted for as an equity investment, whose values are difficult to determine. The Company uses the measurement alternative for equity investments without readily determinable fair values which is often referred to as cost method investments. When assessing investments in private companies for impairment, we consider such factors as, among other things, the share price from the investee’s latest financing round, the performance of the investee in relation to its own operating targets and its business plan, the investee’s revenue and cost trends, the liquidity and cash position, including its cash burn rate and market acceptance of the investee’s products and services. Because these are private companies which we do not control, we may not be able to obtain all of the information we would want in order to make a complete assessment of the investment on a timely basis. Accordingly, our estimates may be revised if other information becomes available at a later date.
Product Warranty
The Company generally sells products with a limited warranty of product quality and a limited indemnification of customers against intellectual property infringement claims related to the Company’s products. The Company accrues for known warranty and indemnification issues if a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated and accrues for estimated incurred but unidentified issues based on historical activity. Accrued warranty costs and warranty claims are not material in the periods presented.
Extended Warranties
The
Company recognizes revenue from an extended warranty on the straight-line method over the life of the extended warranty, which is typically
12 to 18 months beyond the standard 12 month warranty. The Company classifies the current portion of extended warranties under contract
liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned and the noncurrent portion of extended warranties under contract liabilities, noncurrent
in its consolidated balance sheets. The Company currently had approximately less than $
Asset Retirement Obligations
The
Company recorded asset retirement obligations (“ARO”) liabilities of $
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | ||||||
| Exchange rate change | ( | ) | ||||||
| Ending balance | $ | $ | ||||||
| 55 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Income Taxes
The consolidated financial statements reflect provisions for federal, state, local and foreign income taxes. The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis, as well as operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The Company measures deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences and carryforwards are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company provides valuation allowances if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The 2017 Act imposes a U.S. tax on global intangible low taxed income (“GILTI”) that is earned by certain foreign affiliates owned by a U.S. shareholder. The Company has made a policy election to treat future taxes related to GILTI as a current period expense in the reporting period in which the tax is incurred.
Foreign Currency
Assets and liabilities of non-U.S. operations where the functional currency is other than the U.S. dollar are translated from the functional currency into U.S. dollars at year end exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated at average rates prevailing during the year. Resulting translation adjustments are accumulated as part of accumulated other comprehensive income. Transaction gains or losses are recognized in income or loss in the period in which they occur.
Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period less any unvested restricted shares. Diluted net loss per share is calculated using weighted-average shares outstanding and contingently issuable shares, less weighted-average shares reacquired during the period. The net outstanding shares are adjusted for the dilutive effect of shares issuable upon the assumed conversion of the Company’s common stock equivalents, which consist of outstanding stock options and unvested restricted stock.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Nonvested restricted common stock | ||||||||||||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk other than marketable securities consist principally of trade accounts receivable. Trade receivables are primarily derived from sales to manufacturers of consumer electronic devices and wireless components or defense applications. The Company sells its products to customers worldwide and generally does not require collateral. The Company maintains a reserve for potential credit losses.
The Company primarily invests its excess cash in government backed and corporate debt securities that management believes to be of high credit worthiness, which bear lower levels of relative credit risk. The Company relies on rating agencies to ascertain the credit worthiness of its marketable securities and, where applicable, guarantees made by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company.
Other-than-Temporary Impairments
The Company conducts a review of its marketable debt securities on a quarterly basis for the presence of other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”). The Company assesses whether OTTI is present when the fair value of a debt security is less than its amortized cost basis at the balance sheet date. Under these circumstances OTTI is considered to have occurred (1) if the Company intends to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis; (2) if it is “more likely than not” the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis; or (3) the present value of expected cash flows is not sufficient to recover the entire amortized cost basis.
| 56 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The
Company further estimates the amount of OTTI resulting from a decline in the creditworthiness of the issuer (credit-related OTTI) and
the amount of non credit-related OTTI. Non credit-related OTTI can be caused by such factors as market illiquidity. Credit-related OTTI
is recognized in earnings while non credit-related OTTI on securities not expected to be sold is recognized in other comprehensive income
(loss). The Company recorded a gain of approximately $
The fair value of nonvested restricted common stock awards is generally the quoted price of the Company’s equity shares on the date of grant. The nonvested restricted common stock awards require the employee to fulfill certain obligations, including remaining employed by and in certain cases also require meeting either performance criteria or market condition. The performance criteria primarily consist of the achievement of established milestones. For nonvested restricted common stock awards which solely require the recipient to remain employed with the Company, the stock compensation expense is amortized over the anticipated service period. For nonvested restricted common stock awards which require the achievement of performance criteria, the Company reviews the probability of achieving the performance goals on a periodic basis. If the Company determines that it is probable that the performance criteria will be achieved, the amount of compensation cost derived for the performance goal is amortized over the service period. If the performance criteria are not met, no compensation cost is recognized, and any previously recognized compensation cost is reversed. The Company recognizes compensation costs on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for time vested awards.
The value of restricted stock grants that vest based on market conditions is computed on the date of grant using the Monte Carlo model. The fair value of stock option awards is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model. There were no stock options granted in fiscal years 2021, 2020 or 2019.
Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss is the total of net (loss) income and all other non-owner changes in equity including such items as unrealized holding (losses) gains on marketable equity and debt securities classified as available-for-sale and foreign currency translation adjustments.
The components of accumulated other comprehensive income are as follows:
| Cumulative Translation Adjustment | Unrealized holding gain (loss) on marketable securities | Reclassifications of loss of marketable securities in net loss | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income | |||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 29, 2018 | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||
| Changes during year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 28, 2019 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Changes during year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Balance as of December 26, 2020 | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||||||
| Changes during year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Balance as of December 25, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||||||||
Goodwill
We account for goodwill in accordance with ASC Topic 350. Under ASC Topic 350, goodwill is considered to have an indefinite life, and is carried at cost. Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to an annual impairment test, as well as between annual tests when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable.
| 57 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The
Company’s policy is to perform impairment tests of goodwill at its reporting unit level when applicable. The goodwill valuations
that are utilized to test these assets for impairment depend on a number of significant estimates and assumptions, including macroeconomic
conditions, overall growth rates, competitive activities, cost containment, Company business plans and the discount rate applied to cash
flows. As of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, the ending balance of goodwill was
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company periodically reviews the carrying value of its long-lived assets to determine if facts and circumstances suggest that they may be impaired or that the amortization or depreciation period may need to be changed. The carrying value of a long-lived asset is considered impaired when the anticipated identifiable undiscounted cash flows from such asset are less than its carrying value. For assets that are to be held and used, impairment is measured based upon the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value.
Leases
The Company accounts for leases under standard Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The Company used the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which, among other things, allows it to carry forward the historical lease classification. The Company did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight in determining the lease term and in assessing impairment of right-of-use assets.
The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease or contains an embedded lease at inception. For lease arrangements with both lease and non-lease components (e.g., common-area maintenance costs), the Company accounts for the non-lease components separately.
All of the Company’s leases are operating leases. Operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of future lease payments over the lease term at the commencement date. The operating lease right-of-use assets also includes any initial direct costs and any lease payments made at or before the commencement date and is reduced for any unrestricted incentives received at or before the commencement date.
For the majority of the Company’s leases, the discount rate used to determine the present value of the lease payments is the Company’s incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date, as the implicit rate is not readily determinable. The discount rate represents a risk-adjusted rate on a secured basis and is the rate at which the Company would borrow funds to satisfy the scheduled lease liability payment streams commensurate with the lease term. For new or renewed leases, the discount rate is determined using available data at lease commencement and based on the lease term including any reasonably certain renewal periods.
Some of the Company’s leases include options to extend or terminate the lease. The Company includes these options in the recognition of the Company’s ROU assets and lease liabilities when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise the option. In most cases, the Company has concluded that renewal and early termination options are not reasonably certain of being exercised by the Company (and thus not included in our ROU asset and lease liability) unless there is an economic, financial or business reason to do so. None of our leases include variable lease-related payments, such as escalation clauses based on the consumer price index (“CPI”) rates or residual guarantees.
| 58 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The amendments in ASU 2016-13 will provide more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within that year. Following the release of ASU 2019-10 in November 2019, the new effective date, as long as the Company remains a smaller reporting company, would be annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, the adoption of ASU 2016-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements.
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The amendments in ASU 2019-12 provide for simplified accounting to several income tax situations and removal of certain accounting exceptions. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those periods. Their was no material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements as a result of the adoption of ASU 2019-12.
2. Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment consisted of the following at December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020:
| Useful Life | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| Equipment | $ | $ | ||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | ||||||||||
| Furniture and fixtures | ||||||||||
| Equipment under construction | ||||||||||
| Accumulated depreciation and amortization | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | $ | $ | ||||||||
Depreciation
expense for the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019 was approximately $
3. Leases
The Company enters into operating leases primarily for manufacturing, engineering, research, administration and sales facilities, and information technology (“IT”) equipment. At December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, the Company did not have any finance leases. Almost all of our future lease commitments, and related lease liability, relate to the Company’s facility leases. Some of the Company’s leases include options to extend or terminate the lease.
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Operating lease cost | $ | |||||||
| 59 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
At December 25, 2021, the Company’s future lease payments under non-cancellable leases were as follows:
| 2022 | ||||
| 2023 | ||||
| 2024 | ||||
| 2025 | ||||
| 2026 | ||||
| Thereafter | ||||
| Total future lease payments | ||||
| Less imputed interest | ( | ) | ||
| Total | $ |
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities | $ | |||||||
Other information related to leases was as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Weighted Average Discount Rate—Operating Leases | % | % | ||||||
| Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term—Operating Leases (in years) | ||||||||
4. Contract Assets and Liabilities
Net contract assets (liabilities) consisted of the following:
| December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | $ Change | % Change | |||||||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivables | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | ( | )% | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities and billings in excess of revenue earned | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | % | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, noncurrent | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | % | |||||||||
| Net contract assets | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ( | )% | |||||||
The
$
The
Company recognized revenue of approximately $
The Company did not recognize impairment losses on our contract assets during the years ended December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020.
5. Business Combinations
In
March 2017, we purchased
| 60 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
6. Goodwill and Intangibles
In
2019, the Company performed a qualitative impairment analysis of goodwill for its e-MDT operating unit and determined that the discounted
cash flows were not in excess of the carrying value. As a result of the analysis, the Company recorded impairment of goodwill of $
7. Financial Instruments
Fair Value Measurements
Financial instruments are categorized as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 based upon the method by which their fair value is computed. An investment is categorized as Level 1 when its fair value is based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. An investment is categorized as Level 2 if its fair market value is based on quoted market prices for similar assets in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets in markets that are not active, based on observable inputs such as interest rates, yield curves, or derived from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means. An investment is categorized as Level 3 if its fair value is based on assumptions developed by the Company about what a market participant would use in pricing the assets.
The following table details the fair value measurements of the Company’s financial assets:
| Fair Value Measurement at December 25, 2021 Using: | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| U.S. government and agency backed securities | ||||||||||||||||
| Corporate debt | ||||||||||||||||
| Equity Investments | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
| 61 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
| Fair Value Measurement at December 26, 2020 Using: | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| U.S. government and agency backed securities | ||||||||||||||||
| Corporate debt | ||||||||||||||||
| Equity Investments | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because of their short-term nature. If accrued liabilities were carried at fair value, these would be classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.
Changes in Level 3 investments are as follows:
| December 26, 2020 | Net unrealized gains | Impairment Charge | Transfers in and or out of Level 3 | December 25, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Equity Investments | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
Equity Investments
Equity investments rarely traded or not quoted will generally have less (or no) pricing observability and a higher degree of judgment utilized in measuring fair value. Initial measurement of equity investments occurs when an observable price for the equity investment is available. The Company adopted the measurement alternative for equity investments without readily determinable fair values (often referred to as cost method investments) on a prospective basis. As a result, these investments will be revalued upon occurrence of an observable price change for similar investments and for impairments. The Company has limited, if any, control over their governance, financial reporting and operations. The Company relies on the financial reporting provided by these investments in order to evaluate them for possible impairment. As a result, we face certain operating, financial and other risks relating to these investments, including risks related to the financial strength of the investments.
The
Company acquired an equity interest in a company in the first quarter of 2018. The Company made $
In
2017 the Company had a warrant to acquire up to
| 62 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
On
September 30, 2019 the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Solos Purchase Agreement”) pursuant to which
the Company sold and licensed certain assets of our SolosTM (“Solos”) product line and WhisperTM Audio
(“Whisper”) technology. As consideration for the transaction the Company received a
Marketable Debt Securities
The corporate debt consists of floating rate notes with a maturity that is over multiple years but has interest rates that are reset every three months based on the then-current three-month London Interbank Offering Rate (“three-month Libor”). The Company validates the fair market values of the financial instruments above by using discounted cash flow models, obtaining independent pricing of the securities or through the use of a model that incorporates the three-month Libor, the credit default swap rate of the issuer and the bid and ask price spread of the same or similar investments which are traded on several markets. Investments in available-for-sale marketable debt securities are as follows at December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020:
| Amortized Cost | Unrealized Gains/(Losses) | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. government and agency backed securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Corporate debt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
The contractual maturity of the Company’s marketable debt securities is as follows at December 25, 2021:
| Less than One year | One to Five years | Total | ||||||||||
| U.S. government and agency backed securities | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Corporate debt | ||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Sale of Treasury Stock:
During
the year ended December 25, 2021, the Company sold shares of its common stock for approximately $
Registered Sale of Equity Securities
In
the first fiscal quarter of 2021, we sold shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $
On
March 15, 2019, the Company sold million shares of registered common stock for gross proceeds of $
| 63 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Restricted Stock Awards
In 2020, the Company adopted a 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (“2020 Equity Plan”) which authorized the issuance of shares of common stock to employees, non-employees, and the Board. The 2020 Equity Plan was a successor to the Company’s 2010 Equity Incentive Plan (“2010 Equity Plan”). The number of shares authorized under the 2020 Equity Plan was shares of Company Stock. In addition, shares of the Company Stock underlying any outstanding award granted under the 2010 Equity Plan that expires, or is terminated, surrendered or forfeited for any reason without issuance of such shares shall be available for the award of new Grants under this Plan. As of December 25, 2021, the Company has approximately million shares of common stock authorized and available for issuance under the Company’s 2020 Equity Plan.
The fair value of non-vested restricted common stock awards is generally the market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The non-vested restricted common stock awards require the employee to fulfill certain obligations, including remaining employed by and in certain cases also require meeting either performance criteria or the Company’s stock achieving a certain price. For non-vested restricted common stock awards that solely require the recipient to remain employed with the Company, the stock compensation expense is amortized over the anticipated service period. For non-vested restricted common stock awards that require the achievement of performance criteria, the Company reviews the probability of achieving the performance goals on a periodic basis. If the Company determines that it is probable that the performance criteria will be achieved, the amount of compensation cost derived for the performance goal is amortized over the anticipated service period. If the performance criteria are not met, no compensation cost is recognized and any previously recognized compensation cost is reversed.
| Shares | Weighted Average Grant Fair Value | |||||||
| Balance at December 28, 2019 | $ | |||||||
| Granted | ||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ) | ||||||
| Vested | ( | ) | ||||||
| Balance at December 26, 2020 | ||||||||
| Granted | ||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ) | ||||||
| Vested | ( | ) | ||||||
| Balance at December 25, 2021 | $ | |||||||
On December 31, 2020 (fiscal year 2021), the Company amended the employment agreement with our CEO Dr. John Fan to expire on December 24, 2022 and as part of the amendment issued five tranches of shares of restricted stock grants. The grants would vest upon the achievement of the Company’s stock price reaching certain levels for consecutive trading day period following the grant date. The Company used a Monte Carlo model to determine the estimated fair value of the awards. Total compensation expense resulting from the awards is approximately $million. The Company’s stock price met the required levels in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 and the total stock compensation expense was recognized in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. All of the grants are subject to certain acceleration events and terminate on December 24, 2022. The following table describes inputs used to calculate fair value of the restricted stock grants:
| Expected volatility | % | |||
| Interest rate | % | |||
| Expected life (years) | ||||
| Dividend yield | % |
| 64 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
Stock-Based Compensation
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Cost of product revenues | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Research and development | ||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | ||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Unrecognized compensation expense for non-vested restricted common stock as of December 25, 2021 totaled $ million and is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately four years.
9. Concentrations of Risk
Ongoing credit evaluations of customers’ financial condition are performed and collateral, such as letters of credit, are generally not required. Customer’s accounts receivable balance as a percentage of total accounts receivable was as follows:
| Percent of Gross Accounts Receivable | ||||||||
| Customer | December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | ||||||
| Collins Aerospace | % | % | ||||||
| DRS Network & Imaging Systems, LLC | % | % | ||||||
Sales to significant non-affiliated customers for fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, as a percentage of total revenues, is as follows:
| Sales as a Percent of Total Revenue | ||||||||||||
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||
| Customer | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Defense Customers in Total | % | % | % | |||||||||
| DRS Network & Imaging Systems, LLC | % | % | % | |||||||||
| Collins Aerospace | % | % | * | |||||||||
| Realwear, Inc. | * | * | % | |||||||||
| Funded Research and Development Contracts | % | % | % | |||||||||
Note: The symbol “*” indicates that sales to that customer were less than 10% of the Company’s total revenues. The caption “Defense Customers in Total” excludes research and development contracts.
| 65 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
10. Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes from continuing operations consists of the following for the fiscal years indicated:
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Current | ||||||||||||
| State | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Foreign | ||||||||||||
| Total current provision | ||||||||||||
| Deferred | ||||||||||||
| Federal | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| State | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Foreign | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ||||||||||||
| Total deferred provision | ||||||||||||
| Total provision for income taxes | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
The following table sets forth the changes in the Company’s balance of unrecognized tax benefits for the year ended:
| Total | ||||
| Unrecognized tax benefits at December 28, 2019 | $ | |||
| Gross increases—prior year tax positions | ||||
| Unrecognized tax benefits at December 26, 2020 | ||||
| Gross increases—current year tax positions | ||||
| Unrecognized tax benefits at December 25, 2021 | $ | |||
U.S.
GAAP requires applying a ‘more likely than not’ threshold to the recognition and derecognition of uncertain tax positions
either taken or expected to be taken by the Company’s income tax returns. The total amount of our gross tax liability for tax positions
that may not be sustained under a ‘more likely than not’ threshold amounts to $
Net operating losses were not utilized in 2021, 2020 and 2019 to offset federal and state taxes.
| 66 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The actual income tax provision reported from operations are different than those which would have been computed by applying the federal statutory tax rate to loss before income tax provision. A reconciliation of income tax provision from continuing operations as computed at the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate to the provision for income tax benefit is as follows:
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Tax provision at federal statutory rates | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| State tax liability | ||||||||||||
| Foreign deferred tax rate differential | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Permanent items | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Increase in net state operating loss carryforwards | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Utilization of net operating losses for U.K. research and development refund | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Provision to tax return adjustments and tax rate change | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Tax credits | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Equity compensation | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Uncertain tax position for transfer pricing | ||||||||||||
| Other, net | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ||||||||||||
| Total provision | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Pretax
foreign income from continuing operations was approximately $
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Deferred tax liability: | ||||||||
| Foreign withholding liability | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Deferred tax assets: | ||||||||
| Federal net operating loss carryforwards | ||||||||
| State net operating loss carryforwards | ||||||||
| Foreign net operating loss carryforwards | ||||||||
| Equity awards | ||||||||
| Tax credits | ||||||||
| Property, plant and equipment | ||||||||
| Unrealized losses on investments | ||||||||
| Other | ||||||||
| Net deferred tax assets | ||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| 67 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The
valuation allowance was approximately $
As
of December 25, 2021, the Company has available for tax purposes NOLs of $
The 2017 Tax Act imposes a mandatory transition tax on accumulated foreign earnings and eliminates U.S. taxes on foreign subsidiary distribution. As a result, earnings in foreign jurisdictions are available for distribution to the U.S. without incremental U.S. income taxes.
Under the provisions of Section 382, certain substantial changes in Kopin’s ownership may limit in the future the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that could be used annually to offset future taxable income and income tax liability.
The Company’s income tax returns have not been examined by the Internal Revenue Service and are subject to examination for all years since 2001. State income tax returns are generally subject to examination for a period of three to five years after filing of the respective return. The state impact of any federal changes remains subject to examination by various states for a period of up to one year after formal notification to the states.
International jurisdictions have statutes of limitations generally ranging from three to twenty years after filing of the respective return. Years still open to examination by tax authorities in major jurisdictions include Korea (2010 onward), Japan (2010 onward), Hong Kong (2012 onward) and United Kingdom (2015 onward). The Company is not currently under examination in these jurisdictions.
11. Accrued Warranty
| Fiscal Year Ended | ||||||||||||
| December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | December 28, 2019 | ||||||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Additions | ||||||||||||
| Claim and reversals | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Ending Balance | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
12. Employee Benefit Plan
The
Company has an employee benefit plan pursuant to Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. In 2021 the plan allowed
employees to defer an amount of their annual compensation up to a current maximum of $
| 68 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
13. Commitments
As of December 25, 2021, the Company has no material additional commitments beyond those described in this Form 10-K.
14. Litigation
The Company may engage in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Claims, suits, investigations and proceedings are inherently uncertain and it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters and our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be affected in any particular period.
BlueRadios, Inc. v. Kopin Corporation, Civil Action No. 16-02052-JLK (D. Col.):
On August 12, 2016, BlueRadios, Inc. (“BlueRadios”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging that the Company breached a contract between it and BlueRadios concerning an alleged joint venture between the Company and BlueRadios to design, develop and commercialize micro-display products with embedded wireless technology referred to as “Golden-i”, breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing associated with that contract, breached its fiduciary duty to BlueRadios, and misappropriated trade secrets owned by BlueRadios in violation of Colorado law (C.R.S. § 7-74-104(4)) and the Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1836(b)(1)). BlueRadios further alleges that the Company was unjustly enriched by its alleged misconduct, BlueRadios is entitled to an accounting to determine the amount of profits obtained by the Company as a result of its alleged misconduct, and the inventorship on at least ten patents or patent applications owned by the Company need to be corrected to list BlueRadios’ employees as inventors and thereby list BlueRadios as co-assignees of the patents. BlueRadios seeks monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief, including for alleged non-payment of engineering retainer fees.
On October 11, 2016, the Company filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses. The parties completed expert depositions on November 15, 2019. On December 2, 2019, the Company filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment requesting the Court dismiss counts 2-7 in their entirety and counts 1 and 8 in part. BlueRadios also filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment alleging it is the co-owner of U.S. Patent No. 8,909,296. Responses to the Motions for Partial Summary Judgment were filed on January 15, 2020, and replies were filed on February 19, 2020. On September 25, 2020, the Court denied BlueRadios’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. A trial date has not yet been set by the Court. The Company has not concluded a loss from this matter is probable; therefore, we have not recorded an accrual for litigation or claims related to this matter for the period ended December 25, 2021. The Company will continue to evaluate information as it becomes known and will record an estimate for losses at the time or times when it is both probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable.
| 69 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
15. Segments and Disaggregation of Revenue
Total long-lived assets by country at December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020 were:
| Total Long-lived Assets (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| U.S. | $ | $ | ||||||
| United Kingdom | ||||||||
| China | ||||||||
| Japan | ||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | ||||||
We disaggregate our revenue from contracts with customers by geographic location and by display application, as we believe it best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of our revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.
Total revenue by geographical area for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | Revenue | % of Total | Revenue | % of Total | Revenue | % of Total | ||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other Americas | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Americas | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia-Pacific | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Total revenue by display application for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019 was as follows:
| (In thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Defense | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Industrial | ||||||||||||
| Consumer | ||||||||||||
| R&D | ||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||
| License and royalties | ||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| 70 |
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
16. Related Party Transactions
The Company may from time to time enter into agreements with shareholders, affiliates and other companies engaged in certain aspects of the display, electronics, optical and software industries as part of our business strategy. In addition, the wearable computing product market is relatively new and there may be other technologies the Company needs to purchase from affiliates in order to enhance its product offering.
The Company and Goertek have entered into agreements to jointly develop and commercialize a range of technologies and wearable products. These include: a mutually exclusive supply and manufacturing arrangement for a certain display product for twenty four months after mass production begins; an agreement that provides the Company with the right of first refusal to invest in certain manufacturing capacity for certain products with Goertek; an agreement whereby Goertek will provide system level original equipment manufacturing services for the Company’s wearable products; an arrangement whereby the Company will supply display modules for Goertek’s virtual reality and augmented reality products; and other agreements related to promotion around certain products as well as providing designs relating to head mounted displays.
The
Company and RealWear, Inc. (“RealWear”) have entered into agreements where the Company has agreed to supply display modules
to RealWear, and license certain intellectual property to RealWear. In conjunction with these agreements the Company received an equity
interest in RealWear, one-time $
On
September 30, 2019, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Solos Purchase Agreement”) with Solos Technology
Limited (“Solos Technology”). Pursuant to the Solos Purchase Agreement, the Company sold and licensed to Solos Technology
certain assets of our SolosTM (“Solos”) product line and WhisperTM Audio (“Whisper”) technology.
As consideration for the transaction the Company received common shares representing a
The Company has warrants
to purchase shares of Preferred Stock of HMDmd. The fair value of the investment was determined to be $
As
of December 25, 2021, the Company’s CEO and Chairman, Dr. John C.C. Fan, has an individual ownership interest of
During fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, the Company had the following transactions with related parties:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | Purchases | Revenue | Purchases | Revenue | Purchases | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goertek | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| RealWear, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HMDmd, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
At December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, the Company had the following receivables and payables with related parties:
| December 25, 2021 | December 26, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Receivables | Payables | Receivables | Payables | |||||||||||||
| RealWear, Inc. | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Solos Technology | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
17. Subsequent Events
The Company conducted an evaluation and no subsequent events were identified.
18. Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
The following table sets forth activity in Kopin’s allowance for doubtful accounts:
| Fiscal year ended: | Balance at Beginning of Year | Additions Charged to Income | Deductions from Reserve | Balance at End of Year | ||||||||||||
| December 28 2019 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||
| December 26, 2020 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||
| December 25, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||||||||
| 71 |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
| 72 |
| Item 16. | Form 10-K Summary |
Not applicable.
| 73 |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March 14, 2022
| KOPIN CORPORATION | ||
| By: | /s/ JOHN C.C. FAN | |
John C.C. Fan Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ JOHN C.C. FAN | Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President | |||
| John C.C. Fan | and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | March 14, 2022 | ||
| /s/ JAMES BREWINGTON | Director | |||
| James Brewington | March 14, 2022 | |||
| Director | ||||
| David E. Brook | March 14, 2022 | |||
| /s/ Jill Avery | Director | |||
| Jill Avery | March 14 2022 | |||
| /s/ CHI CHIA HSIEH | Director | |||
| Chi Chia Hsieh | March 14, 2022 | |||
| /s/ SCOTT L. ANCHIN | Director | |||
| Scott L. Anchin | March 14, 2022 | |||
| /s/ RICHARD A. SNEIDER | Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Richard A. Sneider | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | March 14, 2022 |
| 74 |