Earnings Call Transcript - REFR Q3 2024

Operator, Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Research Frontiers Investor Conference Call to discuss the Third Quarter of 2024 Results of Operations and Recent Developments. This conference is being recorded today. A replay of this conference call will be available starting later today in the Investors section of Research Frontiers' website at www.smartglass.com and will be available for replay for the next 90 days. Please note that some of the comments made today may contain forward-looking information. The words expect, anticipate, plans, forecasts and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to applicable safe harbor provisions. These statements reflect the company's current beliefs, and any number of important factors that could cause actual results for future periods to differ materially from those expressed. Significant factors that could cause results to differ from those anticipated are described in our filings with the SEC. Research Frontiers undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or uncertainties. The company will be answering many of the questions that were e-mailed to it prior to this conference call either in the presentation or as part of the Q&A session at the end. In some cases, the company has responded directly to e-mail questions prior to this call or will do so afterwards in order to answer more questions of general interest to shareholders on this call. Also, we ask that you keep your questions brief in the interest of time. I'll now turn the call over to Joe Harary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Research Frontiers. Please go ahead, sir.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Thank you, Erika. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our third quarter of 2024 investor conference call. As we expected, based on the leading indicators we track, we experienced strong momentum this quarter. Compared to Q3 last year, royalty income grew over 115%, driven by triple-digit growth in our two largest markets, automotive and aircraft. For the first nine months of this year, royalty income increased by over 93% compared to the same period last year, fueled by double-digit growth in the aircraft and architectural markets, and triple-digit growth in our largest market, automotive. We are set to nearly double the number of roofs sold to Ferrari and triple the number sold to McLaren compared to last year. This marks our seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth, and we expect to end the year with double-digit revenue growth over last year. As of the end of the third quarter, we have already exceeded last year’s total revenues. Our expenses decreased by $92,000 this quarter and by over $150,000 for the nine months. With rising revenues and falling expenses, our quarterly net loss is one-third of what it was last year, and for the full nine months, it’s about half that figure, translating to approximately breakeven per share for the quarter and $0.02 per share for the nine-month period. Unless driven by strategic needs, we do not foresee requiring additional capital in the near term. We remain debt-free with over $1.65 million in cash and stable working capital sufficient for over five years of operation. Let’s delve deeper into these results by market for a better understanding of our position and expectations. The automotive and aircraft industries continue steadily towards adopting our SPD-SmartGlass technology. We began with Mercedes, followed by McLaren, Ferrari, and now this quarter, Cadillac. In aviation, our key products are SPD-Smart EDW windows for turboprops like the King Air and jets such as the HondaJet, along with larger aircraft from Daher, Dassault, and especially Boeing and Airbus, which have numerous windows per plane. More vehicle introductions utilizing SPD technology are anticipated as soon as next year. Sales for our technology in vehicles at Ferrari and McLaren remain robust, and Cadillac is just beginning its rollout. A high percentage of customers at Ferrari and McLaren are choosing the SPD-SmartGlass roof, and it is standard on the Cadillac CELESTIQ. We are on track to significantly increase roof sales to Ferrari and McLaren. New customers and models are in development as discussions in Asia and Europe have progressed positively, suggesting multiple new car models with SPD Smart Glass by 2025 from manufacturers in these regions. Significantly, production costs for products using our technology have decreased, making it feasible for integration into moderately priced vehicles. This creates opportunities for broader adoption of SPD-SmartGlass technology in mid-market cars globally. Our launch project in Asia remains on schedule. The expansions among new OEMs and across new models reinforce the validation of our SPD-SmartGlass technology’s value in the automotive sector. Following LTI's retrofit product launch at AIA in June, we are seeing heightened interest in SPD projects globally. Although specific details remain confidential, we anticipate further growth as architects embrace SPD for its energy efficiency and glare control properties. I have included responses to several email questions in my presentation today. Now, I will open the floor to additional questions. I'll start by addressing some questions we've received via email, encouraging anyone with inquiries to send them before the call so we can tailor our discussion to benefit all shareholders. The first question concerns the impact of the war in the Middle East on operations. On behalf of Gauzy, we confirm that the war in Israel has not affected operations, as they have implemented redundancies in their Stuttgart facility for both emulsion and film production and have a global footprint across factories in the US, Germany, France, and Israel. Next, regarding competitive technologies, there have been reports of PDLC technology being used in car roofs. We believe the benefits of SPD-SmartGlass are clear, evidenced by the success in thousands of vehicles from major manufacturers. PDLC, while providing privacy, does not effectively manage heat, light, glare, and shade compared to SPD. Car manufacturers are wise to observe consumer feedback and are likely aware that PDLC has significant limitations. We also note that some manufacturers seek to avoid paying royalties on our patents, opting for lower-performing technologies instead. This is analogous to trying to reintroduce outdated technology into today’s cars. Ultimately, cost versus performance is a determining factor for automakers, and we are working diligently to reduce the cost difference between PDLC and SPD. We expect to announce new car models with SPD technology in the near future as we witness an increased demand for our glass. Regarding the Ferrari SPD adoption press release, we do anticipate making formal announcements about the Asian OEM model, but this is contingent on the automakers' conditions regarding public disclosures. The benefits of our technology have been showcased in prior studies, including one from Saudi Arabia, which indicates substantial energy efficiency improvements offered by SPD in various applications. This study complements previous findings, affirming SPD's advantages in managing indoor temperature and reducing energy use. The Saudi study also highlights SPD's adaptability in different architectural elements, reinforcing our commitment to providing effective daylighting solutions. In terms of future applications, we're optimistic about potential SPD use in military aviation and vehicles. Additionally, while products like those in Home Depot utilize less effective PDLC technology, the economics of SPD make it more suitable for premium, custom installations than mass-market, standardized products. Lastly, we are monitoring potential legislative impacts from recent elections and how they may affect the Dynamic Glass Act and our initiatives within energy-efficient technologies. We remain confident in our ability to adapt to changes and continue delivering value through our SPD technology. Now, I will invite the operator to open the lines for questions from participants today that we have yet to address, and I encourage everyone to keep their questions brief to maximize our discussion.

Operator, Operator

Our first question comes from Alan Ginsberg.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

I have two questions, both comments on your prepared remarks. I was curious about the Saudi study, which sounds very positive. Was there a press release on that?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

No, we didn't do a press release on that. It's part of our white papers and it's part of our data that we discussed with architects. What's really good about this also is that for the first time, it's giving some meaningful targets for optimum daylighting and tint levels in which are all different between skylights, atriums, clerestory windows, classrooms and other things. So it really is giving some really practical data. And if you think about the challenges of achieving variable tint, right now, if you didn't have SPD-SmartGlass, you're not getting any change or lighting change with PDLC. So you throw that out and you're going to have a 40-minute or more delay with electrochromics. If you're putting shades or blinds or curtains, they work, they're cumbersome.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

No, I agree and I thought that because it's so compelling that a press release would be a good thing for the shareholders to see. It certainly would for me.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We might do that and it's not a bad idea, and I have to discuss that with Gauzy to see if there are any restrictions placed on the public use of that.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

I have one other question, again, on your prepared remarks, on the intellectual property. Is it possible to give us some updates on the patents, how long they are in effect and if there are any new patents, that type of thing?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We always have new innovations coming online; some are patented, some aren't. I believe our existing patents at least go through 2034 and perhaps beyond, depending on when the ones issue. We have about 250 patents worldwide. So it's quite an extensive patent portfolio. Yes, we have some pretty exciting stuff coming, some of which people would consider the Holy Grail of our industry. But I don't want to promise timing or announce it until it's ready for launch.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

And those types of Holy Grail patents, if they do come about, will they be in your SEC filings, that type of thing?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Yes, we have an obligation to disclose material information. From a marketing perspective, the Holy Grail projects are intended to drive increasing sales, particularly in some of the newer applications we are developing.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Well, I can make my guess with that is, but that's just a guess. So I appreciate all the information.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Michael Kay.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

I have a few kind of lightning-round questions, and they will be very short.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Let me give you the answers. Yes, no, maybe yes. How is that?

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Is Gauzy the only company that's making SPD film and do they plan to have a plant in the United States?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

You can ask the question about their future plans on their conference call next week. However, they are the only company; they bought the Showa Denko business from them. Right now, Gauzy has the supply advantage here. They don't have an exclusive license, but right now they're the only ones, and they're doing a great job. When you see companies like Ferrari tell you that they want to put this in more and more cars and it's such a successful item, it speaks volumes of that. We've been very blessed to have them as partners.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

And also, when will the sun visors be available that could be retrofitted to existing automobiles?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We have multiple approaches to getting that into the market. Some are very near term and some are more intermediate and longer term. The intermediate to longer-term ones, and we're not talking about great periods of time, are incorporating it into the shade band of the windshield. If you look on any car, there's something called the AS line. From a regulatory standpoint, you could do anything you want tint-wise on the windshield above the AS line. Sometimes you'll see a blue band across the car; that's usually the shade band and you could do what you want there. Then there's the one where you could either have the full down visor, traditional visor but have the SPD functionality or you can have other iterations where it’s an aftermarket or semi-aftermarket item.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

But was the goal set in terms of when they'd be available to the public?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Goals are always set and expectations are always set within the companies that are producing this. They're not things I could share.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Yes, it's been a long time. Also, is Mercedes still involved in any way with the SPD?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We have an involvement and so does Gauzy with Mercedes. A lot of the things on their wish list are things that we're going to be able to deliver. When they see all of their other premium cars putting SPD on it, it just makes them realize that they had the first chance with the prettiest option and maybe they should keep dancing.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Do you anticipate, even though it's lagging behind that eventually the architectural market will be the largest for SPD even surpassing autos and aircraft?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

I believe that is likely. The main factors contributing to this are the ongoing decrease in film prices, the retrofit application, and its implications. For instance, the Government Services Administration is responsible for purchasing materials for the government. Our licensee that holds the patents for the retrofit application is listed on the GSA schedule of approved vendors. They currently provide various types of advanced glass for the GSA to choose from, similar to a restaurant menu. Customers can order a retrofit window with different types of glass, including SPD. We are significantly established in this market; our presence is strong and robust. The GSA represents the largest customer base globally, and this is a key area where we could see remarkable growth. We are anticipating projections that could be exceptionally beneficial for us and our licensees even in the initial year, which I expect to expand even further. Additionally, there are traditional methods of installing glass and new construction that also play a significant role, especially since nearly 70% of the world's glass is utilized in the architectural market.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

And the final question, even though you once said that the sweet spot in terms of cost and attractiveness to the car manufacturers had been reached, I assume the company is still trying to reduce the cost of SPD so it will even have...

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Yes, all the time. You want to decrease the cost of the materials that are going to the customer and you want to decrease the cost of ownership by constantly making it better, more versatile, more durable, etc. We’re constantly doing that. Just simple basic economies of scale because remember, we're a roll-to-roll web-pressed process of production. We're not a sputter-coated vacuum deposition process that doesn't really have economy of scale as you are painfully aware of. Our yields are high; the efficiencies of production are high. The logistics are great because you could ship film anywhere you want in the world and then have it laminated relatively locally. You don’t have to ship fragile, heavy expensive glass around the world. You can throw a couple of roles of film on a car freight and get it there the next day without any real meaningful shipment costs. So these are the things that really, I think, are the hallmark. And I talked about another one today, which is the reduction in the cost of delivery through things like the retrofit application where you don't have to have scaffolding put up. You don't have to even have maybe electricians come to the site. A lot of benefits there.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Leonard Lietzow.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

I noticed in Gauzy's original S-1 report, they said that they had sold out all of their manufacturing; they had contracts on it all for the year. Apparently, a lot of things got pushed off from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. Is that what happened?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Yes. Most of that that they reported in their most recent revenue guidance was related to their production of the end products for aircraft in their French facility. If you noticed, the lead on that was that they got permission from the union to add a shift. Those kind of things don't really exist in all parts of the world. But in some areas, it's harder to get unions to agree to do things. Happy to say also that the union issue with some architectural applications is nonexistent because of the nature of it.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Those are both positive things?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Very much so. An important thing to keep in mind, Len, is that part of this was because of the war. Sometimes, good decisions come out of bad situations. When they went public, I’m sure they got more than their fair share of questions about what happens if something happens to their Yafo Tel Aviv facility, so they started expanding even before this because their planners emulsion production outside of Israel. When that happened, they stepped up that process. So expanding emulsion and film production capability was something that very much was in the works. In the automotive market, you see these very stellar growth rates that have been consistently high; this year they've been asked to exceed what their requirements were for certain customers and they've done it. They stepped up to the plate and they got it done. Neither them nor us are companies that like to turn down good business.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Which means that the fourth quarter should be pretty exciting?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

I think every quarter going forward is going to be exciting. Let me leave it at that.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from John Nelson.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Joe, I have a couple of questions related to the earlier comments. Regarding the Saudi study, they are building a large new city in the desert. Will this study help to market SPD for potential use there?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

I think it will. If you consider the whole Saudi Arabian market, they built remarkable buildings there. Glass is very good in the desert but it's very bad because it brings in a lot of heat, light, and glare. Being able to control it becomes even more important. If you look at the study, they were talking about schools, but the study really has applicability to any place that glass is used in a building. If you have a choice of several ways of achieving those tint targets, one is the old-fashioned way. If you need 30% tint, you put glass tinted at 30%, and it doesn't switch, which means many times during the day it’s wrong because the sun has moved or you have parts to shade areas like a glass atrium. Imagine trying to put a skylight shade 50 feet in the air; it's hard to do or you could have the glass do it. I think it's going to be easy, not only in Saudi Arabia but pretty much anywhere that people are either building corporate headquarters or museums or very high-profile installations. The city would be great when it happens. I think this is maybe a testament to the importance of the retrofit. I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and an architect friend of mine told me early on when I first started asking him questions about SPD. Now we're talking about the 1990s. He said, 'Joe, we always get the tint wrong when we design a building here in South Florida.' What he meant is that we usually put too heavy a tint on the outside of the building. Because of that, we have to waste energy by putting more interior illumination, more lighting. Before we put in less tint, we spend more money on air conditioning. Sometimes you can do it and sometimes you have to revamp your mechanical rooms to be bigger and have less rentable space. What you're doing can be very, very important. This was even before we were commercial with this; what you're doing can be very important and can really change the dynamics.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Are you taking any additional steps to enhance awareness of the product and its capabilities?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

One thing is being on a plane whenever you can, because this is a very visual technology that if you see it and press the button, you're hooked. Anyone that's had the opportunity to press an SPD-SmartGlass window will always remember that feeling, and it doesn’t wear off for me almost 40 years later. That becomes demonstrable. We're coordinating with these ever-expanding marketing departments and business development partners and our licensees. I'll talk a little bit more about that in my closing remarks. But yes, the marketing is becoming a lot of fun now that we have architectural film and iconic brands that are using this and visibility.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

And on the new models mentioned for 2025 introduction, have they decided yet?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Thank you for picking up on its models, plural, and 2025.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Have they decided yet whether it's going to be an option or standard on certain of those models?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

In some cases, it may be standard. In some cases, it's going to be entirely new uses of SPD, I believe. It’s going to be kind of exciting because it has the ability to really open up new thinking about SPD. It's not just for sunroofs anymore.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

You mentioned LTI and getting specs on several projects. Without disclosing names, can you describe the types of buildings that these projects are involved?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

I'll do my best without compromising the fact that we are competing against some of our competitors in the electrochromic glass. But I think we’re going to do fine because the data is compelling as to why you would do this. They're commercial, not residential, and they are big users of glass. Sophisticated building management systems need sophisticated glass and shading systems, and we check all the boxes. About all I can say right now. Then on the government side, we've identified a number of projects that the government would like to upgrade. That’s good because you have the GSA mandate to make their buildings more energy efficient. This has been around for not just the current administration but the prior administration. You have these mandates to do this because some buildings have just very old monolithic, not even insulated glass unit structures. Upgrading them with the latest and greatest, especially with the retrofit, becomes a no-brainer. You may have a corner of the building that has a particularly bad glare problem. You put it there first, then you expand to other windows on the floor and other floors in the building and other buildings in the area to do this once you've proven it out. It’s a way for the government to get some data on how and why and where to deploy this glass. You could come in over the course of a weekend and do lots of windows. This doesn't take the building out of service or disrupt the flow of the building to upgrade it to smart glass using the retrofit. It’s a compelling area. Our licensee in that area, LTI, is expanding to do that.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Last question. Now that the Boeing strike is settled, is SPD either certified or ordered on any of their models?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Yes. Yesterday at the interview, Eyal Peso said this, so I guess I could say it too. The two airlines have done this.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Art Brady.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

About three weeks ago, Hitachi mentioned that they are expanding into the building of new data centers. I’m wondering if any of this has come across your desk?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Well, you got to look at which division of Hitachi did that. Hitachi is like General Electric. Hitachi Chemical, which was sold to Showa Denko, which has now been named Resonac, is a different division. I’m not really sure these data centers would be ideal for this because they typically don't have windows. I'm not sure why they would put it there. But look, I've been wrong about many things; I could be wrong about that too.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

What they're trying to do is to build these data centers in areas where there are very strong amounts of oil fields, so that they could generate power very readily.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Right. But think about whether the building itself needs SPD if it doesn't have any windows. For the most part, if you're building a data center, you're going to probably want to make it like a bomb shelter, which means no windows, very thick concrete and other things. We’ll see, but I don’t think it’s the low-hanging fruit at least.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Another question I have is about the meetings we used to have. You had a couple of Lincoln cars with SPD. Did anything happen with Lincoln that would allow us to connect with them again?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We keep good contact with the whole Ford organization. I've been there many, many times even since the Lincoln Continental came out in concept with our stuff. You keep in contact with everyone. You work with everyone. You try to understand their needs and then you figure out the best licensees to help them achieve those needs. It’s a pretty simple but straightforward approach to all the automakers.

Operator, Operator

Next question comes from Michael Foster.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

In light of this, what sounds like a very rosy picture about sales and I’m reminded of what you told us when Gauzy was added as a film supplier, that was a great development because OEMs like to have more than one supplier. What has been done to add SPD film producers beyond Gauzy?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

There's a balance, Michael, between having too many film suppliers and having the ones you have have every incentive to invest in innovation, quality assurance, and everything like that. Otherwise, we become like PDLC, which is a very spotty technology in many areas, not at Gauzy. They do a great PDLC product, which is what we love about them; they have the same commitment to quality we do. It hasn’t been a consideration by any of the carmakers that we’re dealing with. Not one of them has mentioned that as an issue anymore. They're comfortable with the fact that, A, they've done site audits of Gauzy, they know their production facility, they know their capacity. There won't be a capacity constraint if Ford or GM decided to put this in every car. They know they could produce enough film for that, and they also know that if there was, they could always license new companies to do this. That hasn’t been a factor in terms of capacity. I've looked at Gauzy's expansion plans; they could make as much film as we think is going to be needed, and they have every intention of doing that.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Well, I wasn't being critical of Gauzy; they seem to be...

Joe Harary, President and CEO

I don't think you were. I just think it's a good question.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Volume. If we have this great opportunity to sell product, it sounds like we would benefit from having somebody else who's producing film just so that there is an adequate supply. And that's why I'm asking what has been done to add film producers.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Discussions specifically about capacity expansion plans and also the ability to talk to other licensees prospective licensees to make film. I can't say more about it, it's strategic and this is an open call. But it hasn't been a factor in terms of capacity. I've looked at Gauzy’s expansion plans; they could make as much film as we think is going to be needed and they have every intention of doing that.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Chuck Michaels.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Joe, I’ve got a few questions. First one actually isn’t even a question, so I read an article that I was not aware of this previously that flight attendants actually have health issues from the light that comes in for the airplanes on commercial aircraft. I'm thinking that possibly that might be something to check into in terms of marketing SPD. Right. Similar to what we call truckers’ arm. If you look at the left arm of most truckers, they have a higher incidence of skin cancer because their elbows are sitting right next to the glass or out the window. We've blocked so much UV, but there are certainly health benefits there. The other thing that is a little bit crazy is the restrictions that the flight attendant unions placed on their flight attendants that are not necessarily in the flight attendants’ best interest. They can't require them to open and close windows, for example. You may notice sometimes when you land they'll make an announcement, voluntarily, please close your window. We are flying into Miami International. They can't require it, and that would be better for the passengers and for the flight attendants. Yes, the health issues are things that we're aware of. We’ve had discussions about why this would be good for health.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Another thing was I sent a question about it; I don't know if you covered. I got in about 5 minutes late on the conference call. I’m wondering if Gauzy had a press release about this car vision camera system. I was wondering if that used your technology or not.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

It doesn't. The smart light in the safety tech division, which involves cameras on buses and similar applications, is a highly advanced AI-based system, if that’s what you mean. Looking ahead a bit, cars are equipped with numerous sensors, and glare can significantly impair these sensors. I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility that, perhaps not in the first generation of these products but maybe in the second generation, SPD could play a more significant role in protecting or enhancing the functionality of these sensors, and in some cases, safeguarding the sensors from damage.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

One more thing. I was noticing on your financials in your press release that cash and cash equivalents current amount as of the end of September was about double what the decrease in cash and cash equivalents was during last quarter. So are you going to be raising more funds, or how is that going to be dealt with?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

We don't need to. As I think we said in the press release, we don't anticipate raising capital unless there's a strategic reason like Mercedes wants to make an investment in us or something like that for the next five years at least. I think we're going to be fine with our loss going down so dramatically.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from William Burg.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Some time ago, Joe, you stated that investors would be made happy but that happiness was pushed back a little bit. Today, you mentioned 2025. Are you saying that the Asian carmaker is going to be named in 2025 and that they're going to have more than one model, and it won't just be sunroofs but other windows on the vehicle as well?

Joe Harary, President and CEO

No, I’m not saying that. What I said is that in Asia and in Europe, we expect multiple car models to come out. Those are going to have different applications than what people are traditionally used to. Our expectation is those come out in 2025. I'm not pinning it on which one is going to have the non-sunroof application or whatever, but that’s our expectation.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

I'm not asking for which models will have what. You stated that it will be more than just the sunroof; there will be other windows as well.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

Other uses, yes. That’s what I said. I think it’s exciting because every time something like this happens, and we’ll just take, for example, the augmented reality windshield that Bobcat put in their construction vehicle at CES, it sparks interest. Other companies were at CES that saw that and approached us and said we want this too. Every time there’s a new use for this, it opens up many doors beyond what we have opened now.

Operator, Operator

At this time, we have no further questions.

Joe Harary, President and CEO

In that case, if any of you had questions that we haven't fully answered, if you thought of anything else, just email us, we’d do our best to answer them. I’d like to make some closing remarks. The outlook for the smart glass industry remains extremely promising. I think we proved that every quarter and every day, bolstered by growing revenues in automotive and aircraft, increasing regulatory support and tax incentives, and then new product introductions like the retrofit. Research Frontiers has a solid position and a strong foothold in the smart glass industry. We're well positioned as a recognized leader with an innovative, high-performing and reliable solution. Our recent results underscore that SPD-SmartGlass technology is increasingly viewed as the industry standard, solidifying our leadership even further. With our guidance, our entire industry has been strengthened as well with licensees gaining resources to expand and our technology being adopted across a diverse range of products and industries. In the interview yesterday, Gauzy mentioned that they had 700 employees. When I first met Eyal Peso, they had 50. Demand is rising from highly visible iconic global brands and their customers further validating our technology's transformative power. SPD-SmartGlass technology is enhancing customer experiences across sectors, especially in automotive and aerospace where it sets new standards of comfort, energy efficiency, and performance. In some industries where the customers, such as airlines can finally now choose, they are selecting SPD, as shown by the new Airbus and Boeing programs. This quarter, we continued our track record of growth and progress with Research Frontiers and our licensees building traction and momentum across multiple industries and continued growth in our established markets, as well as opening up new markets and uses for SPD-SmartGlass technology. The third quarter of 2024 marked our seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth compared to the prior year. In some areas, where we are the established leader, we have a strong foothold, such as in automotive and aerospace. In other emerging markets for us such as architectural, infotainment and information display, and consumer electronics, we're just getting started. Because it's virgin territory and because of our track record in the other areas, I think we have the leg up there. We've been in business the longest and have the largest network of world-class companies offering our SPD-SmartGlass technologies. We built upon our base of success and high performance and reliability proven across tens of thousands of cars and aircraft that have been in use for decades. No one else has that longevity or track record. Each partnership, each project, and each installation further validates our leadership and the undeniable value that our SPD-SmartGlass technology brings. Competitors have tried to do what we have succeeded at. Most have failed or are failing. In my opinion, this is because of their flawed business models, high costs, bad logistics, and inability to scale, and the poor performance of their technologies. Just in the second half of this year, we've seen multiple bankruptcies among our competitors. The architectural market, for example, has proven too difficult for others in our industry. Not for us. We see tremendous potential in the retrofit market for buildings, offering opportunities to drive sustainable solutions into existing infrastructures worldwide. No one else can do this. Because we are a film-based light control technology, the logistics for us and our licensees are far better. SPD-Smart light control film can easily be shipped anywhere in the world that's needed. The introduction of SPD into new premium vehicles, as well as current initiatives to tap into the market for more moderately priced vehicles, marks a significant milestone. Broadening our reach and making SPD technology more visible and more accessible to a wider audience. As we look ahead, we can see more clearly what the future holds for our industry, and Research Frontiers is more optimistic than ever. With the support of a strong growing industry network and partners like Gauzy who share our vision for expanding SPD's reach, we are well positioned to capitalize on the promising opportunities that lie before us, such as the several new car models that I mentioned earlier in Europe and in Asia that are expected to be introduced in 2025 using our SPD-SmartGlass technology and in new places and in new ways. Thank you once again for your trust, confidence, and commitment to our journey. We look forward to continuing on this exciting path together, continuing the momentum, and to sharing more achievements with you. We expect, like our shareholders, further growth, visibility, and success. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for attending.