ASURE SOFTWARE INC (ASUR) Risk Factors

ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

The following risk factors and other information included throughout this Form 10-K, including those risks identified in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” represent our view of some of the most important risks we face. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significant may also impair our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following risk factors actually occurs, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Refer to the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements at the beginning of Part 1 of this Form 10-K.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

If our security measures, or those of our third-party data center hosting facilities, cloud computing platform providers or third-party service partners are compromised or breached, or if personal information of our clients or their employees is accessed or obtained, our services and HCM solution may be perceived as not being secure, our brand could be damaged, our services may be disrupted, and customers may curtail or stop using our services, all of which could reduce our revenue and earnings, increase our expenses, and expose us to legal claims and regulatory actions.

Our solution involves the collection, storage and transmission of clients’ and their employees’ confidential and proprietary information, including personal identifying information such as social security numbers and data protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) with respect to our consumer health care administration services, as well as financial and payroll data. This type of data is highly sensitive and is regulated by laws in all jurisdictions governing the security and privacy of personal information. HCM software is often targeted in cyber-attacks, including computer viruses, worms, phishing attacks, malicious software programs and other information security breaches due to the sensitive nature of the data, which could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of our clients’ sensitive data or otherwise disrupt our clients’ or other third parties’ business operations. If cybercriminals are able to circumvent our security measures, or if we are unable to detect an intrusion into our systems and contain such intrusion in a reasonable amount of time, our clients’ sensitive data may be compromised, as well as our intellectual property and other confidential business information.

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In addition to malicious acts by third parties, unauthorized access to or breach of our systems could occur through employee error or employee malfeasance. Certain of our employees have access to sensitive information about our clients’ employees. While we conduct background checks of our employees and limit access to systems and data, it is possible that one or more of these individuals may circumvent these controls, resulting in a security breach.

Although we have security measures in place to protect client information and prevent data loss and other security breaches, these measures could be breached as a result of third-party action, employee error, third-party or employee malfeasance or otherwise. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or to sabotage systems change frequently, we may not be able to anticipate these techniques and implement adequate preventative or protective measures. In addition, our customers may not have adequate security measures in place to protect their data that is stored on our services. Because we do not control our customers or third-party technology providers, or the processing of such data by third-party technology providers, we cannot ensure the integrity or security of such transmissions or processing.

While we currently maintain a cyber liability insurance policy, the coverage limits of our cyber liability insurance may be inadequate or coverage under our cyber liability insurance policy may not be available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, our cyber liability insurance policy may not cover all claims made against us, and defending a suit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and divert management’s attention from our business and operations. Moreover, if a high profile security breach occurs with respect to another SaaS provider in our market, our clients and potential clients may lose trust in the security of the SaaS business model generally, which could adversely impact our ability to retain clients or attract new ones. Any actual or perceived breach of our security could damage our reputation, cause existing clients and resellers to terminate our services, prevent future clients from doing business with us and result in regulatory liability and third-party liability, any of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have a history of losses, and we cannot be certain that we will achieve or sustain profitability.

We have historically incurred losses since our inception. We experienced a net loss from continuing operations of $13.1 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. At December 31, 2025, our accumulated deficit was $320.4 million and total stockholders’ equity was $197.8 million. We expect to continue to incur operating losses as a result of expenses associated with the continued development and expansion of our business. Such expenses include among others, transaction costs associated with acquisitions, sales and marketing, research and development, consulting and support services and other costs relating to the development, marketing and sale and service of our products that may not generate revenue until later periods, if at all. Any failure to increase revenue or manage our cost structure as we implement initiatives to grow our business could prevent us from achieving or sustaining profitability. In addition, our ability to achieve profitability is subject to a number of the risks and uncertainties discussed below, many of which are beyond our control, including the impact of the current economic environment. We cannot be certain that we will be able to achieve or sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

We may need additional capital to support business growth or to make scheduled payments on or refinance our existing indebtedness. Such additional capital may have restrictions that could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to respond to changes in our business or may be prevented entirely by our existing restrictive covenants.

We intend to continue to make investments, including the acquisition of complementary businesses, to support our business growth and may need to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new features or enhance our existing products, improve our operating infrastructure or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. However, our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our debt and support our growth strategies. Our future performance is subject to economic, financial, competitive, and other factors beyond our control. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow, we may be required to pursue one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring debt, or obtaining additional equity or debt financing.

If we raise additional funds through issuances of equity securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. If we incur debt to raise additional fund, we may not be able to do so on desirable terms. New indebtedness may adversely affect our financial condition and ability to respond to changes may be impaired by vulnerability to adverse economic conditions, limitations to decision flexibility and cash flow, competitive disadvantage caused by new scheduled payments or covenant restrictions.

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Our Credit, Security, and Guaranty Agreement with MidCap Financial Trust may further restrict our cash flow and business flexibility, as well as potentially restricting other debt financing from occurring at all. Our agreement contains restrictive covenants, including restrictions on our ability to pay dividends to stockholders, as well as requirements to comply with certain leverage ratios and other financial maintenance tests and stringent requirements around regulatory compliance. These restrictive covenants and requirements limit the amount of borrowings that are available to us. The agreement covenants may also affect our ability to obtain future financing and to pursue attractive business opportunities and our flexibility in planning for, and reacting to, changes in business conditions. In addition, if for any reason we are unable to meet our debt service and repayment obligations, we would be in default under the terms of the agreement, which would allow our creditors at that time to declare all outstanding indebtedness to be due and payable. Under these circumstances, our lenders could compel us to apply all of our available cash to repay our indebtedness.

Volatility and weakness in bank and capital markets may adversely affect credit availability and related financing costs for us.

Banking and capital markets have recently and may in the future experience periods of volatility and disruption. If the disruption in these markets is prolonged, our ability to refinance, and the related cost of refinancing, some or all of our debt could be adversely affected. Although we currently can access the bank and capital markets, there is no assurance that such markets will continue to be a reliable source of financing for us. These factors, including the tightening of credit markets, could adversely affect our ability to obtain cost effective financing. Increased volatility and disruptions in the financial markets also could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to refinance outstanding indebtedness and to obtain financing. In addition, the adoption of new statutes and regulations, the implementation of recently enacted laws, or new interpretations or the enforcement of older laws and regulations applicable to the financial markets or the financial services industry could result in a reduction in the amount of available credit or an increase in the cost of credit. Disruptions in the financial markets can also adversely affect our lenders, insurers, customers, and other counterparties. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have acquired and plan to continue to acquire from time to time our Reseller Partners’ businesses that have licensed our proprietary software and other complementary businesses either through stock acquisition or through an asset purchase of their client service agreements and related assets. These acquisitions could prove difficult to integrate, result in unknown or unforeseen liabilities, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and ownership and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, including:

•potential failure to achieve the expected benefits of the combination or acquisition;

•difficulties in, and the cost of, integrating operations, technologies, services, platforms and personnel;

•diversion of financial and managerial resources from existing operations;

•the potential entry into new markets in which we have little or no experience or where competitors may have stronger market positions;

•potential write-offs of acquired assets or investments, and potential financial and credit risks associated with acquired customers;

•potential loss of key employees of the acquired company;

•inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition or investment costs;

•inability to maintain relationships with customers and partners of the acquired business;

•difficulty of transitioning the acquired technology onto our existing platforms and customer acceptance of multiple platforms on a temporary or permanent basis;

•increasing or maintaining the security standards for acquired technology consistent with our other services;

•potential unknown liabilities associated with the acquired businesses including regulatory noncompliance;

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•negative impact to our results of operations because of the depreciation and amortization of amounts related to acquired intangible assets, fixed assets and deferred compensation;

•additional stock based compensation;

•the loss of acquired deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue;

•delays in customer purchases due to uncertainty related to any acquisition;

•ineffective or inadequate controls, procedures and policies at the acquired company;

•potential additional cybersecurity and compliance risks resulting from entry into new markets; and

•the tax effects of any such acquisitions.

Any of these risks could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. To facilitate these acquisitions or investments, we may seek equity or debt financing, which may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all, which may affect our ability to complete acquisitions or investments. If we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible or other debt securities or loans, or issue equity as consideration for an acquisition, our existing stockholders may be diluted, or we could face constraints related to the terms of, and repayment obligations related to, the incurrence of indebtedness.

Privacy concerns and laws and other regulations may limit the effectiveness of our applications and adversely affect our business.

Our products and services are subject to various complex laws and regulations on the federal, state and local levels, including those governing data security, privacy, payroll, benefits administration, insurance brokerage, and other regulated service offerings. As a provider of human capital management solutions and insurance brokerage services, we process sensitive employee and client data, including personal, financial, biometric, and health-related information, which subjects us to an extensive and evolving regulatory landscape that creates significant ongoing compliance obligations.

The regulatory framework for privacy and data security is rapidly evolving and will remain uncertain as more jurisdictions adopt laws and regulations regarding the collection, processing, storage and disposal of personal information. In the United States, these laws include regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission, HIPAA, and state security and privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (the "CCPA"), and the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act ("IBIPA") governing biometric data. Additional states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws in recent years, including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, and Oregon, among others, and further states may adopt similar legislation in the future. These laws frequently track significant portions of existing frameworks but include differences that may increase our compliance burden. Some of these laws, such as the CCPA and IBIPA, also grant consumers private rights of action for data breaches or violations, as applicable.

Beyond privacy, our services are subject to a broad range of additional federal and state laws and regulations, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, COBRA, state wage and hour laws, IRS payroll tax regulations, anti-money laundering regulations, federal and state laws governing prepaid and payroll card products, and state insurance laws and regulations governing our insurance brokerage and third-party administrator ("TPA") activities. We maintain insurance producer licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and TPA licenses in states where such licensure is required, and our ability to operate these lines of business depends on maintaining those licenses in good standing across each applicable jurisdiction. Our insurance brokerage and TPA operations are subject to oversight by state departments of insurance in each jurisdiction in which we operate. Because many of our solutions are designed to help clients manage their own compliance obligations, changes in applicable laws could simultaneously increase our own compliance burden while requiring us to rapidly update the tools and applications we provide to clients. Changes in laws could also impact applications under development, rendering them inapplicable or obsolete mid-development and resulting in wasted time and development costs. Certain of our product offerings are provided in partnership with or through third-party program managers, and any regulatory non-compliance or adverse regulatory action involving those third parties could disrupt our ability to offer such products and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

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Our failure to comply with existing laws and regulations, or to anticipate and respond to regulatory changes in a timely fashion, may result in civil liability from our clients for noncompliance, regulatory fines, loss of reputation, and a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Furthermore, we could fail to renew expiring licenses or have active licenses suspended or revoked for noncompliance with rules or regulations issued by licensing bodies, including state departments of insurance. Any such failure could adversely affect our ability to offer certain services, damage client relationships, and harm our business and results of operations.

The adoption of new or interpretation of existing money service business statutes and money transmitter statutes at the federal and state level could subject us to additional regulation and related expense and necessitate changes to our business model.

As part of our payroll processing services, we impound funds from employer clients and remit payments to employees, taxing authorities, and designated third parties on their behalf. This money movement activity subjects us to federal and state laws and regulations governing money service businesses and money transmitters, the application of which to payroll processors continues to evolve across jurisdictions.

The adoption of new money transmitter or money service business statutes in new jurisdictions, changes in regulators' interpretations of existing statutes, or disagreement by regulators with our interpretation of such statutes or regulations could require additional registrations or licensing, limit certain of our business activities until we are properly licensed, and expose us to financial penalties. These occurrences could also require changes to the manner in which we conduct some aspects of our money movement business or our overall business strategy.

At the federal level, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has not declared payroll processing to constitute money transmission. Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively registered with FinCEN and maintain a comprehensive Anti-Money Laundering ("AML") Policy and compliance program designed to mitigate the risk of our services being utilized for illegal purposes, including money laundering, and to assist in detecting fraud. At the state level, we currently hold money transmission licenses or payroll processor licenses in all jurisdictions in which we believe such licensure is required. Maintaining these licenses entails significant ongoing costs, including surety bond premiums, examination fees, and other compliance expenditures. These costs may increase as regulatory requirements evolve, as bonding authorities reassess our risk profile, or as the volume of funds we process grows. Due to the constantly evolving regulatory landscape, we continuously monitor state legislative developments and shifting regulatory interpretations, proactively seeking licensure in any jurisdiction where new requirements may apply.

Our money transmitter and payroll processor licenses subject us to routine examinations by the regulatory agencies overseeing those licenses. If such examinations reveal violations that cannot be remediated, we may be subject to civil and criminal fines and penalties and could lose our license to provide services in the affected jurisdictions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Further, should states or other jurisdictions where we are not currently licensed determine that we are a money service business or money transmitter, we could be subject to civil and criminal fines and penalties, registration fees, surety bond requirements, reputational damage, and other negative consequences that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our software and solutions may not function adequately, which could damage our reputation and give rise to claims against us, which could harm our business and operating results.

Our software and solutions are complex and operate in an environment of intricate federal, state and local regulations that pertain to human resources, taxes, payroll, benefits and other areas of the Human Capital Management marketplace. To the extent to which our software contains defects or errors our clients might assert claims against us in the future alleging that they suffered damages due to a defect, error or other failure of our software or solutions.

While our agreements with our clients may contain provisions intended to limit our exposure to such claims, they may not be effective in limiting our exposure. A successful claim for product or service liability brought against us could result in substantial cost to us. We maintain insurance to cover such claims, however, it may be inadequate or may not be available in the future on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the cost of defending a suit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and divert management’s attention.

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We depend on data centers and computing infrastructure operated by third parties, and any disruption in these operations or changes of these providers could adversely affect our business.

We rely on hosted infrastructure partners, such as Amazon Web Services and to a lesser extent, data center providers, to provide third-party hosted environments for our applications. While we control and have access to our servers and all the components of the networks that are located in our hosted environments, we do not control the operations of these facilities. The owners of such facilities have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms. If we are not able to renew these contracts on commercially reasonable terms, we may be required to transfer our servers and other infrastructure to new data facilities, and we may incur significant costs and possible service interruption in doing so. We may not have adequately distributed our systems within our hosted infrastructure partner’s environment to prevent in any regional disruption or interference at our hosted infrastructure partners from adversely impacting our operations and our business.

Our SaaS hosting network infrastructure is a critical part of our business operations. Our clients access our HCM software through a standard web browser and depend on us for fast and reliable access to our products. Our software is proprietary, and we rely on third-party data center hosting facilities and the expertise of members of our engineering and software development teams for the continued performance of our software. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, disruptions in our computing and communications infrastructure. Factors that may cause such disruptions include:

•human error;

•security breaches;

•telecommunications outages from third-party providers;

•computer viruses;

•acts of terrorism, war, sabotage or other intentional acts of vandalism, including cyber attacks;

•unforeseen interruption or damages experienced in moving hardware to a new location, including government-imposed travel restrictions;

•fire, earthquake, flood, the spread of major epidemics and other natural disasters; and

•power loss.

Although we generally back up our client databases hourly, and store our data in more than one geographically distinct location at least weekly, we do not currently offer immediate access to disaster recovery locations in the event of a disaster or major outage. Thus, in the event of any of the factors described above, or other failures of our computing infrastructure, clients may not be able to access their data for lengthy periods of time and it is possible that client data from recent transactions may be permanently lost or otherwise compromised. In addition, we may not have adequate insurance coverage to compensate for losses from a major interruption. Moreover, some of our agreements include performance guarantees and service level standards that obligate us to provide credits, refunds or termination rights in the event of a significant disruption in our SaaS hosting network infrastructure or other technical problems that relate to the functionality or design of our software.

We incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives, including incremental requirements as a result in a change of filer status. We may fail to comply with the rules that apply to such public companies, which could result in sanctions or other penalties that would harm our business.

We incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company, including costs resulting from public company reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and regulations regarding corporate governance practices. The listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market require that we satisfy certain corporate governance requirements relating to director independence, distributing annual and interim reports, stockholder meetings, approvals and voting, soliciting proxies, conflicts of interest and a code of conduct. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to ensure that we comply with all of these requirements. Moreover, new reporting requirements, rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time consuming and costly. Any changes we make to comply with these obligations may not be sufficient to allow us to satisfy our obligations as a public company on a timely basis, or at all.

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Some of our key components are procured from a single or limited number of suppliers. Thus, we are at risk of shortages, price increases, tariffs, changes in international trade policies or treaties, delays, or discontinuation of key components, which could disrupt and materially and adversely affect our business.

Some of the key components used to manufacture our Time and Attendance products come from limited or single sources of supply. We do not have contractual commitments or guaranteed supply arrangements with our suppliers. As a result, we are subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of our components or products. Further, recent increase in tariffs and the impositions of new trade restrictions by the United States and other countries have created uncertainty and volatility in global markets, particularly those affecting key manufacturing regions. Other factors which may affect our suppliers’ ability or willingness to supply components to us include internal management or reorganizational issues, such as roll-out of new equipment which may delay or disrupt supply of previously forecasted components, or industry consolidation and divestitures, which may result in changed business and product priorities among certain suppliers. It could be difficult, costly and time-consuming to obtain alternative sources for these components, or to change product designs to make use of alternative components. In addition, difficulties in transitioning from an existing supplier to a new supplier could create delays in component availability that would have a significant impact on our ability to fulfill orders for our products.

We have previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future, fail to remediate the identified material weakness, or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, all of which, if they occur, may result in material misstatements of our financial statements.

In connection with the preparation of our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2024, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. See Item 9A. Controls and Procedures included in Item II of this Annual Report for more information about the identified material weakness and its remediation.

While we have implemented measures and remediated the identified material weakness, we cannot give assurance that these measures will prevent additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting from occurring. If additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting are discovered or occur in the future, we may not detect errors in a timely manner, our financial statements could be misstated, we could face a loss of confidence by stakeholders, or we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, sanctions, or litigation, any of which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, or the market price of our securities.

If we are unable to release timely updates to reflect changes in wage and hour laws, tax, privacy, benefit and other laws and regulations that our products help our clients address, the market acceptance of our products may be adversely affected and our revenues could decline.

Our solutions are affected by changes in wage and hour laws, tax, privacy, benefit and other laws and regulations and generally must be updated regularly to maintain their accuracy, compliance and competitiveness. Although we believe our SaaS platform provides us with flexibility to release updates in response to these changes, we cannot be certain that we will be able to make the necessary changes to our solutions and release updates on a timely basis, or at all. Similarly, any compliance failure in our proprietary software and related internal processes will result in clients utilizing the affected services being out of compliance. Failure to provide a fully compliant SaaS solution could have an adverse effect on the functionality and market acceptance of our solutions and noncompliance could expose us and our clients to potential litigation, fines and penalties. Changes in laws and regulations may require us to make significant investments in modifying and improving our products or delay or cease sales of certain products, which could result in reduced revenues or revenue growth and our incurring substantial expenses and write-offs.

If we are not able to develop enhancements and new features to our products, keep pace with technological developments or respond to future technologies, our business, operating results and financial results will be adversely affected.

Our future success relies on our capacity to attract new clients and increase revenue from existing clients, necessitating the ongoing improvement and innovation of our products. The timely completion, introduction, and market acceptance of enhancements or new features are crucial factors for success. Inability to meet client needs, develop/acquire successful features, or navigate market challenges could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

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Our products, designed to operate across various platforms and utilizing Internet tools and protocols, require continuous modification to align with changes in Internet-related hardware, software, communication, browser, and database technologies. Additionally, the emergence of technologies offering HCM software at lower prices or with increased efficiency poses competition challenges. Failing to respond promptly and cost-effectively to these technological shifts may render our products less marketable or competitive, potentially impacting our business, operating results, and financial condition negatively.

Our business depends substantially on clients renewing their agreements with us, purchasing additional products from us or adding additional users. If our customers do not renew their agreements with us or reduce the services purchased, our revenue will decline and our business, operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected. If we cannot accurately predict subscription renewals or upgrade rates, we may not meet our revenue targets, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In order for us to improve our operating results, it is important that our clients renew their agreements with us when the initial contract term expires and also purchase additional products or add additional users.

Our customers have no obligation to renew their agreements after the expiration of their agreement, and in the normal course of business, some customers have elected not to renew. Even if customers elect to renew, they may renew for fewer subscriptions, renew for shorter contract lengths, or switch to lower cost offerings of our services. Moreover, certain of our clients have the right to cancel their agreements for convenience, subject to certain notice requirements and, in some cases, early termination fees. It is difficult to predict attrition rates given our varied customer base of enterprise, varied sizes of our customers and the number of multi-year subscription contracts. Our client renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products, our pricing, the prices of competing products or services, mergers and acquisitions affecting our client base, reduced hiring by our clients or reductions in our clients’ spending levels.

Our future success also depends in part on our ability to sell additional features and services, more subscriptions or enhanced editions of our services to our current customers. This may also require increasingly sophisticated and costly sales efforts. Similarly, the rate at which our customers purchase new or enhanced services depends on a number of factors, including general economic conditions and that our customers do not react negatively to any price changes related to these additional features and services.

In addition, if we cannot accurately predict subscription renewals or upgrade rates, we may not meet our revenue targets, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Client funds that we hold in trust are subject to market, interest rate, credit and liquidity risk. The loss of these funds could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We invest our funds held for clients in high quality, investment-grade marketable securities, money markets, and other cash equivalents. However, these funds held for clients are subject to general market, interest rate, credit, and liquidity risks. These risks may be exacerbated during periods of unusual financial market volatility. Any loss or inability to access client funds could have an adverse impact on our cash position and could require us to obtain additional sources of liquidity, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The markets in which we participate are highly competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our operating results could be adversely affected.

The market for payroll and HCM solutions is fragmented, highly competitive and rapidly changing. Our competitors vary, and include (i) our main competitors, such as ADP, Paychex, UKG, Paylocity, Paycom, Ceridian, isolved, and Gusto, (ii) competitors to Asure Time & Attendance, such as UKG, Paychex, and ADP and (iii) primary competitors to our tax management solutions, such as Ceridian and ADP.

Several of our competitors are larger, have greater name recognition, longer operating histories, larger marketing budgets and significantly greater resources than we do, and are able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products and services. Some of our competitors could offer HCM solutions bundled as part of a larger product offering. In addition, many of our competitors have established marketing relationships, access to larger customer bases, and major distribution agreements with consultants, system integrators, and resellers.

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Furthermore, our current or potential competitors may be acquired by third parties with greater available resources and the ability to initiate or withstand substantial price competition. As a result, our competitors may be able to develop products and services better received by our markets or may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, regulations or client requirements.

In addition, current and potential competitors have established, and might in the future establish, partner or form other cooperative relationships with vendors of complementary products, technologies or services to enable them to offer new products and services, to compete more effectively or to increase the availability of their products in the marketplace. New competitors or relationships might emerge that have greater market share, a larger client base, more widely adopted proprietary technologies, greater marketing expertise, greater financial resources, and larger sales forces than we have, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage. In light of these advantages, current or potential clients might accept competitive offerings in lieu of purchasing our offerings. We expect intense competition to continue for these reasons, and such competition could negatively impact our sales, profitability or market share.

Our clients could have insufficient funds to cover payments we have made on their behalf or credit that we have extended to them in connection with the services that we have provided, resulting in financial loss to us.

Our payroll processing service involves moving significant funds from our clients’ account to employees and taxing authorities. We debit our clients’ accounts prior to disbursements; however, due to ACH banking regulations, funds previously credited to our accounts could be reversed after our payment of amounts due to employees and taxing authorities. Therefore, the risk exists that a client’s funds will be insufficient to cover the amount paid on its behalf. Should such clients default on their obligations, we might be required to advance substantial funds to cover such obligations. Additionally, we may be the target of deliberate fraud with fraudsters attempting to exploit the payroll payment process by posing as legitimate businesses and deliberately underfunding their payroll obligations. If required to advance substantial amounts of funds to cover payment obligations of our clients, we may need to seek additional sources of short-term liquidity, which may not be available on reasonable terms, which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We grant credit to customers in the ordinary course of business, exposing us to the credit risk of our customers. In the course of our sales to customers, we may encounter difficulty collecting accounts receivable, which could adversely impact our operating results and financial condition. We maintain reserves for potential credit losses. However, these reserves are based on our judgment and a variety of factors and assumptions.

We perform credit evaluations of our customers’ financial condition and follow the terms of our AML BSA program to verify clients and their beneficial owners. However, our evaluation of the creditworthiness of customers may not be accurate if they do not provide us with timely and accurate financial information or if their situations change after we evaluate their credit. While we attempt to monitor these situations carefully, adjust our allowances for doubtful accounts as appropriate and take measures to collect accounts receivable balances, we have written down accounts receivable and written off doubtful accounts in prior periods and may be unable to avoid additional write-downs or write-offs of doubtful accounts in the future. Such write-downs or write-offs could negatively affect our operating results for the period in which they occur, and could harm our financial condition.

If the banks that currently provide ACH and wire transfers fail to properly transmit ACH, exit the payroll industry, or terminate their relationship with us or limit our ability to process funds or we are not able to increase our ACH capacity with our existing and new banking partners, our ability to process funds on behalf of our clients and our financial results and liquidity could be adversely affected.

We currently have agreements with banks and third party ACH processors to execute ACH and wire transfers to support our client payroll, benefit and tax services. If one or more of the banks fails to process ACH transfers on a timely basis, or at all, then our relationship with our clients could be harmed and we could be subject to claims by a client with respect to the failed transfers. In addition, these banks have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If these banks terminate their relationships with us or restrict the dollar amounts of funds that they will process on behalf of our clients, their doing so may impede our ability to process funds and could have an adverse impact on our financial results and liquidity.

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Our balance sheet includes significant amounts of goodwill and intangible assets. The impairment of a significant portion of these assets would adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

As a result of our acquisitions, a significant portion of our total assets consist of intangible assets, including goodwill. Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets together accounted for approximately 38% of the total assets on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2025. We may not realize the full fair value of our intangible assets and goodwill. We expect to engage in additional acquisitions, which may result in our recognition of additional identifiable intangible assets and goodwill. We evaluate on a regular basis whether all or a portion of our goodwill and identifiable intangible assets may be impaired. Under current accounting rules, any determination that impairment has occurred would require us to write off the impaired portion of goodwill and such intangible assets, resulting in a change to our earnings. Any future impairment of a significant portion of goodwill or intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we fail to adequately protect our proprietary rights, our competitive advantage and brand could be impaired and we may lose valuable assets, generate reduced revenue and incur costly litigation to protect our rights.

Our success is dependent, in part, upon protecting our proprietary technology. We rely on a combination of trademarks, service marks, trade secret laws and contractual restrictions to establish and protect our proprietary rights in our products and services. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate. We will not be able to protect our intellectual property if we are unable to enforce our rights or if we do not detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy our products and use information that we regard as proprietary to create products and services that compete with ours. Some license provisions protecting against unauthorized use, copying, transfer and disclosure of our licensed products may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions and foreign countries. While our general practice is to enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants and confidentiality agreements with the parties with whom we have strategic relationships and business alliances, these agreements may not be effective in controlling access to and distribution of our products and proprietary information. Further, these agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products. Litigation brought to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time consuming and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. If we fail to secure, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, we may lose valuable assets, generate reduced revenue and incur costly litigation to protect our rights, which could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We may be sued by third parties for infringement of their proprietary rights.

There is considerable intellectual property development activity in our industry. Our success depends upon our not infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others. Third parties, including our competitors, may own or claim to own intellectual property relating to our products or services and may claim that we are infringing their intellectual property rights. We may be found to be infringing upon such rights, even if we are unaware of their intellectual property rights. Any claims or litigation could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial damages or ongoing royalty payments, obtain licenses, modify applications, prevent us from offering our services, or require that we comply with other unfavorable terms. We may also be obligated to indemnify our customers, vendors or partners in connection with any such claim or litigation. Even if we were to prevail in such a dispute, any litigation regarding our intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel form our business operations. Any such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Even if demand for HCM products and services increases generally, there is no guarantee that demand for SaaS products generally or our products in particular will increase to a corresponding degree, or at all.

The widespread adoption of our products depends not only on strong demand for HCM products and services generally, but also for products and services delivered via a SaaS business model in particular. A significant number of organizations do not use HCM products, and it is unclear whether such organizations will ever use these products and, if they do, whether they will choose to use a SaaS software service or our HCM products in particular. As a result, we cannot assure you that our SaaS HCM software products will achieve and sustain the high level of market acceptance that is critical for the success of our business.

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We may be subject to claims, lawsuits, governmental investigations and other proceedings that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are sometimes the subject of claims, lawsuits, governmental investigations and other legal and regulatory proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including those involving, among others, breach of contract, tortious conduct and employment law matters. The results of any such claims, lawsuits, or other legal or regulatory proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, be harmful to our reputation, impact licenses that are necessary or required to operate our business, require significant management attention and divert significant resources. It is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in substantial damages, settlement costs, fines and penalties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Advancements and adoption of AI, either in our industry or those of our clients, could reduce demand for our solutions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial results.

Our recurring revenues depend in part on the number of employees our customers manage using our solutions. Many emerging AI and automation technologies have the potential to reduce workforce sizes across a wide range of industries. If our customers reduce headcount as a result of adopting AI-based automation, the volume of employees supported by our solutions may decrease. Such reductions would negatively impact our recurring revenues, particularly for our solutions that are priced based on employee or transaction count, active users, or payroll volume.

In addition, advancements in AI may materially impact the HCM industry and offer an alternative to our solutions. AI-driven tools that are capable of performing or automating core functions of our HCM suite may reduce the need for traditional HCM software solutions such as ours. If customers adopt AI-native platforms or develop their own internal AI capabilities that replicate or replace the functionality of our products, demand for our solutions could decline. If such a decline occurs, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Issues in the use of AI in our HCM products and services may result in reputational harm or liability to us, and our business, operating results, and financial results may be adversely affected.

We are actively integrating AI technologies across our HCM platform and internal operations to enhance automation, analytics, customer experience, and operational efficiency. As we expand the use of AI-enabled capabilities, we are exposed to risks inherent in the development and deployment of emerging technologies.

AI systems may generate inaccurate, biased, incomplete, or unintended outputs due to limitations in algorithms, data quality, model design, or oversight. If AI-enabled features fail to perform as intended or are perceived as unreliable, we could experience reputational harm, customer dissatisfaction, competitive disadvantage, or legal exposure.

Certain AI capabilities rely on third-party service providers, cloud infrastructure, or external models. Disruptions, security incidents, pricing changes, contractual restrictions, or termination of such services could impair the availability or performance of AI-enhanced features and increase our costs.

The regulatory framework governing AI, data privacy, and automated decision-making is evolving in the United States and internationally. New or expanded legal requirements may require product modifications, increased compliance expenditures, or limitations on certain AI-driven functionality.

Our AI-enabled features process sensitive customer and employee data. Any failure to maintain appropriate safeguards, governance controls, or oversight could result in regulatory scrutiny, litigation, or reputational harm.

We have implemented governance frameworks, human oversight, security controls, and monitoring processes designed to manage risks associated with AI-enabled capabilities. However, these measures may not be sufficient to prevent errors, misuse, security incidents, or regulatory non-compliance. If our risk management efforts are ineffective, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

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Changes in financial accounting standards or practices may cause adverse, unexpected financial reporting fluctuations and affect our reported operating results.

A change in accounting standards or practices can have a significant effect on our reported results and may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective. New accounting pronouncements and varying interpretations of accounting pronouncements have occurred and may occur in the future. Changes to existing rules or the questioning of current practices may adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business.

The use of open-source software in our applications may expose us to risks and harm our intellectual property rights.

The use of open-source software in our products may expose us to additional risks and harm our intellectual property rights. There have been claims in the past challenging the ownership of open-source software against companies that incorporate such software into their products or applications. As a result, we could be subject to intellectual property related claims around ownership rights to what we believe to be open-source software. In addition, if we were to combine our applications with open-source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain of the open-source licenses, be required to release the source code of our applications. If we inappropriately use open-source software, we may be required to redesign our applications, discontinue the sale of our applications or take other remedial actions, which could adversely impact our business, operating results or financial condition.

We may be adversely affected by failure of third parties in providing their services.

We rely on multiple third-party service providers to provide services to our clients as part of our service offerings. Service providers include for example our banking and ACH transaction partners, mail services, outsourced consumer health care administration service providers, and Amazon Web Services hosting services. Failure of these providers to deliver their services in a compliant, timely manner could result in material disruption to our business, result in reputational damage, expose us to greater liability from our clients than we can recover from the third parties, any of which may adversely affect our results of operations.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” occurs if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5% shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules apply under state tax laws. In the event that it is determined that we have in the past experienced ownership changes, or if we experience one or more ownership changes as a result of future transactions in our stock, then we may be limited in our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax assets to reduce taxes owed on the net taxable income that we earn. Any such limitations on the ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax assets could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Inability to maintain the third-party licensed software we use in our applications at the current costs could result in increased costs or reduced service levels, which could adversely affect our business.

We use certain third-party software in our applications that we obtain from other companies and will continue to rely on such third party software. If we were required to find alternatives to such software for whatever reason, it may be expensive to replace, and could require significant investment of time and resources to find alternatives and integrate with our software. Additionally, error or issues in that software could adversely affect our own software and errors or defects may not be readily apparent to us, resulting in a failure of our applications.

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Evolving regulation of the Internet, changes in the infrastructure underlying the Internet or interruptions in Internet access may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition by increasing our expenditures and causing client dissatisfaction.

Our services depend on the ability of our registered users to access the Internet. Currently, this access is provided by companies that have significant market power in the broadband and Internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies and government-owned service providers. Laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the Internet, including changes to laws or regulations impacting Internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for our products, increase our operating costs, require us to alter the manner in which we conduct our business and/or otherwise adversely affect our business. For example, in 2017 the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) adopted an order repealing rules that prohibit Internet service providers (“ISPs”) from blocking or throttling Internet traffic, and from engaging in practices that prioritize particular Internet content in exchange for payment (also known as “paid prioritization”). In October 2023, the FCC proposed to reclassify ISPs as a Title II telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act and reinstate net neutrality obligations on ISPs. The impact of these rules, if adopted, remains uncertain and further judicial review is likely. A number of states, including California, have also taken executive action or passed legislation seeking to reestablish net neutrality, and there are efforts within Congress to pass federal legislation to codify uniform net neutrality requirements. Changes in regulatory requirements or uncertainty associated with the regulatory environment could delay or cause us to experience discriminatory or anti-competitive behavior, which could adversely affect the sale of our products and services.

In addition, the rapid and continual growth of traffic on the Internet has resulted at times in slow connection and download speeds of Internet users. Our business may be harmed if the Internet infrastructure cannot handle our clients’ demands or if hosting capacity becomes insufficient. If our clients become frustrated with the speed at which they can utilize our products over the Internet, our clients may discontinue the use of our software and choose not to renew their contracts with us. Further, the performance of the Internet has also been adversely affected by viruses, worms, hacking, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks and other similar malicious programs, as well as other forms of damage to portions of its infrastructure, which have resulted in a variety of Internet outages, interruptions and other delays. These service interruptions could diminish the overall attractiveness of our products to existing and potential users and could cause demand for our products to suffer.

A portion of our accounts receivable is related to tax processing services that enabled businesses to file for Employee Retention Tax Credits under the CARES Act.

Since the introduction of and subsequent expiration of the Employee Retention Tax Credits, we have a significant amount of accounts receivable from prior processing revenues for the support we provided our customers as a tax processor in filing for Employee Retention Tax Credits. We entered into deferred payment arrangements with some customers and referral partners whereby collections from the customer are expected to be received upon the customer’s future receipt of their tax credit. Given the deferred nature of these receipts, there is risk pertaining to our ability to collect these amounts in the future. In certain situations, the IRS could have the ability to challenge the validity of a business’ filing or could challenge our calculations or find other deficiencies in our filings that could expose us to uncertain penalties or damages.

If we lose key personnel, including key management personnel, or are unable to attract and retain additional personnel as needed in the future, it could disrupt the operation of our business, delay our product development, harm our growth efforts and have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our future performance depends largely on our ability to continually and effectively attract, train, retain, motivate and manage highly qualified and experienced technical, sales, marketing, finance, managerial and executive personnel. Our future development and growth depend on the efforts of key management personnel and technical employees. We cannot guarantee that we will continue to attract and retain personnel with the requisite capabilities and experience. The loss of one or more of our key management or technical personnel could have a material and adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Adverse tax laws or regulations could be enacted, or existing laws could be applied to us or our clients, which could increase the costs of our services and adversely impact our business.

The application of federal, state, and local tax laws to services provided electronically often involve complex issues and significant judgment. New laws or changes to existing income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, possibly with retroactive effect, and could be applied solely or disproportionately to services provided over the Internet. These enactments could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition due to the inherent cost increase. Moreover, each state has different rules and regulations governing sales and use taxes, and these rules and regulations are subject to varying interpretations that change over time. We review these rules and regulations periodically and, when we believe we are subject to sales and use taxes in a particular state, we may voluntarily engage state tax authorities to determine how to comply with that state’s rules and regulations. We cannot, however, assure you that we will not be subject to sales and use taxes or related penalties for past sales in states where we currently believe no such taxes are required. If one or more taxing authorities determines that taxes should have, but have not, been paid with respect to our services, we might be liable for past taxes and the associated interest and penalty charges, in addition to taxes going forward, which may adversely affect our business, sales activity, results of operations and financial condition.

Political, economic and social factors may materially adversely affect our business and financial results.

Trade, monetary and fiscal policies, and political and economic conditions may substantially change, and credit markets may experience periods of constriction and volatility. A slowdown in the economy or other negative changes, including in employment levels, the level of interest rates or the level of inflation, may have a negative impact on our businesses. In addition, as our operating costs increase due to inflationary pressure or otherwise, we may not be able to offset these increases by corresponding price increases for our products and solutions. Clients may react to worsening conditions by reducing their spending on HCM services or renegotiating their contracts with us, which may adversely affect our business and financial results.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES

Sales, or the potential for sales, of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, including sales done by us in connection with financing activities or by our existing stockholders, could cause our stock price to fall.

The sale of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to raise capital through the sale of equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

Our common stock has traded in low volumes. We cannot predict whether an active trading market for our common stock will ever develop.

Historically, our common stock has experienced a lack of trading liquidity. In the absence of an active trading market:

•an investor may have difficulty buying and selling our common stock at all or at the price one considers reasonable; and

•market visibility for shares of our common stock may be limited, which may have a depressive effect on the market price for shares of our common stock and on our ability to raise capital or make acquisitions by issuing our common stock.

Our stock price has been, and likely will continue to be, volatile.

The market price of our common stock has in the past been and is likely to continue in the future to be, volatile. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, the Nasdaq closing price of one share of our common stock fluctuated from a low of $7.69 to a high of $12.62. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, the Nasdaq closing price of one share of our common stock fluctuated from a low of $6.92 to a high of $10.41. The market price of our common stock may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

•announcements regarding the results of expansion or development efforts by us or our competitors;

•announcements regarding the acquisition of businesses or companies by us or our competitors;

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•technological innovations or new products and services developed by us or our competitors;

•advancements and market perception of AI and its capabilities within our and other industries;

•changes in domestic or foreign laws and regulations affecting our industry;

•issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports and/or recommendations applicable to us or our competitors;

•changes in financial or operational estimates or projections;

•additions or departure of our key personnel;

•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results and degree of trading liquidity in our common stock; and

•political or economic uncertainties, including rising interest rates or inflation, ongoing international conflicts and other developments that affect the equity trading markets.

In addition, stock markets generally have experienced significant price and volume volatility. This volatility has had a substantial effect on the market prices of securities of many public companies for reasons frequently unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the specific companies.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, and you must rely on increases in the market price of our common stock for returns on equity investment.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board deems relevant.

Our stockholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” includes terms and conditions which could discourage a takeover or other transaction that stockholders may consider favorable.

On October 28, 2009, stockholders of record at the close of business on that date received a dividend of one right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of common stock. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of Series A junior participating preferred stock of the Company (the “Preferred Stock”), at a price of $11.63 per one thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock, subject to adjustment (the “Exercise Price”). The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date referred to below. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the Fourth Amended and Restated Rights Agreement between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company LLC, dated as of October 28, 2025, which extended the expiration date of the Rights to October 28, 2028.

The Fourth Amended and Restated Rights Agreement imposes a significant penalty upon any person or group that acquires 4.9% or more (but less than 50%) of our then-outstanding common stock without the prior approval of the board of directors. Stockholders who own 4.9% or more of our then-outstanding common stock as of the close of business on the Record Date will not trigger the Fourth Amended and Restated Rights Agreement so long as they do not increase their ownership of the common stock after the Record Date by more than one-half of 1% of the then-outstanding common stock. A person or group that acquires shares of our common stock in excess of the above-mentioned applicable threshold, subject to certain limited exceptions, is called an “Acquiring Person.” Any rights held by an Acquiring Person are void and may not be exercised. The Rights will not be exercisable until 10 days after a public announcement by us that a person or group has become an Acquiring Person. On the date (if any) that the Rights become exercisable (the “Distribution Date”), each Right would allow its holder to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock for a purchase price of $11.63. In addition, if a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person after the Distribution Date or already is an Acquiring Person and acquires more shares after the Distribution Date, all holders of Rights, except the Acquiring Person, may exercise their rights to purchase a number of shares of the common stock (in lieu of Preferred Stock) with a market value of twice the Exercise Price, upon payment of the purchase price.

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The Rights will expire on the earliest of (a) October 28, 2028, (b) the exchange or redemption of the Rights, (c) consummation of a merger or consolidation or sale of assets resulting in expiration of the Rights, (d) the consummation of a reorganization transaction entered that the board of directors determines will help prevent an “Ownership Change,” as defined in Section 382 of the Code and protect our net operating losses, (e) the repeal of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code or any successor statute, or any other change, if the board of directors determines the Fourth Amended and Restated Rights Agreement is no longer necessary for the preservation of tax benefits, or (f) the beginning of a taxable year to which the board of directors determines that no tax benefits may be carried forward.

We may, at our option and with the approval of the board of directors, at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the tenth day following the first date of public announcement by us or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such or such later date as may be determined by action of a majority of the members of the board of directors then in office and publicly announced by us or (ii) October 28, 2028, redeem all but not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.067 per Right (such redemption price being herein referred to as the “Redemption Price”). We may, at our option, pay the Redemption Price either in common stock (based on the current per share market price thereof) or cash; provided, that if the board of directors authorizes redemption of the Rights on or after the time a person becomes an Acquiring Person, then such authorization shall require the concurrence of a majority of the members of the board of directors then in office. In addition, after a person becomes an Acquiring Person the board of directors may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by the Acquiring Person or its affiliates), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one common share per Right (subject to adjustment).

The Rights have certain anti-takeover effects, including potentially discouraging a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable. The Rights will cause substantial dilution to a person or group that attempts to acquire us on terms not approved by the board of directors. On the other hand, the Rights should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the board of directors since the Rights may be redeemed by us at the Redemption Price prior to the date ten days after the public announcement that a person or group has become the beneficial owner of 4.9% or more of the common stock, and any securities which a person or any of such person’s affiliates may be deemed to have the right to acquire pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement between us and such person may be excluded from the calculation of their beneficial ownership if such agreement has been approved by the board of directors prior to them becoming an Acquiring Person.

Provisions in our charter documents, our stockholder rights plan, and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable and may lead to entrenchment of our management and board of directors.

Our restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, and third amended and restated bylaws, as amended, contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management or our board of directors. These provisions include::

•no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;

•in addition to our current stockholder rights plan, the ability of our board of directors to further issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;

•the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the Chairman of the board of directors, the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary at the request of the board of directors or upon the written request, stating the purpose of the meeting, of stockholders who together own of record 10% of the outstanding shares of each class of stock entitled to vote at such meeting, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors; and

•advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.

We are also subject to certain anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law. Under Delaware law, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction. We have not opted out of this provision of Delaware law.

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Our business could be negatively affected as a result of actions of activist stockholders, and such activism could impact the trading value of our securities.

Stockholders may, from time to time, engage in proxy solicitations or advance stockholder proposals, or otherwise attempt to effect changes and assert influence on our board of directors and management. Activist campaigns that contest or conflict with our strategic direction or seek changes in the composition of our board of directors could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. A proxy contest would require us to incur significant legal and advisory fees, proxy solicitation expenses and administrative and associated costs and require significant time and attention by our board of directors and management, diverting their attention from the pursuit of our business strategy. Any perceived uncertainties as to our future direction and control, our ability to execute on our strategy, or changes to the composition of our board of directors or senior management team arising from a proxy contest could lead to the perception of a change in the direction of our business or instability which may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, make it more difficult to pursue our strategic initiatives, or limit our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. If individuals are ultimately elected to our board of directors with a specific agenda, it may adversely affect our ability to effectively implement our business strategy and create additional value for our stockholders. We may choose to initiate, or may become subject to, litigation as a result of the proxy contest or matters arising from the proxy contest, which would serve as a further distraction to our board of directors and management and would require us to incur significant additional costs. In addition, actions such as those described above could cause significant fluctuations in our stock price based upon temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.