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SOLAI Limited (SLAIY) Risk Analysis

Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning. SOLAI Limited disclosed 87 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. SOLAI Limited reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.

Risk Overview Q4, 2023

Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2023, filed May 15, 2024

Risk Distribution
87Risks
Sector Avg.Finance & CorporateTech & InnovationLegal & RegulatoryProductionAbility to SellMacro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy

Risk Change Over Time

SOLAI Limited disclosed risks per quarterNo. of Risks8485868788Q4Q4Showing: Q4, 2023
Risks removedRisks addedRisks changedSOLAI Limited Risk Factors
Risk Changed (1)
  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
    We have fallen below the continued listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, and if we are unable to regain compliance in time, our ADSs may be delisted and the liquidity and the trading price of our ADSs would be materially and adversely affected.

    We received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, in June 2023, notifying our company that we were not in compliance with applicable market capitalization and equity criteria in the NYSE's continued listing standards because our average total market capitalization was less than US$50 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period, and our last reported stockholders' equity as of March 31, 2023 was less than US$50 million. We submitted to the NYSE a business plan in September 2023 as to how we intend to regain compliance with the stockholders' equity criteria within the next 18 months, by December 2024; the NYSE accepted the business plan in October 2023, and we are now subject to quarterly monitoring for compliance with the plan. If the Company is required to pay combined Penalty Amounts of $10 million in aggregate to settle the investigations by the DOJ and the SEC, that will negatively impact our business plan and related initiatives, and may result in our noncompliance with the stockholders' equity criteria continuing through December 2024. If we fail to regain compliance with NYSE's continued listing standards before December 2024, our ADSs will be delisted from the NYSE. There can be no assurance that the NYSE will not commence suspension and delisting procedures for our ADSs earlier and before the expiration of the 18-month cure period. If our ADSs were delisted from the NYSE, the liquidity and the trading price of our ADSs would be materially and adversely affected.

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Risk Highlights Q4, 2023

Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 27 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
87
+2
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 32
Recent Changes
2Risks added
0Risks removed
1Risks changed
Since Dec 2023
Number of Risk Changed
1
-2
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 1

Risk Word Cloud

the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency systems may lead to slow or inadequate responses to crises, which may negatively affect our business.decentralized nature of cryptocurrency systemswe may face risks of internet disruptions, which could have an adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.face risks of internet disruptionsthere are risks related to technological obsolescence, the vulnerability of the global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware disruption, and difficulty in obtaining new hardware which may have a negative effect on our business.risks related to technological obsolescencewe may not adequately respond to price fluctuations and rapidly changing technology, which may negatively affect our business.adequately respond to price fluctuationsthere is a lack of liquid markets, and possible manipulation of blockchain/cryptocurrency-based assets.manipulation of blockchain/cryptocurrency-based asthe prc government has significant and arbitrary influence over companies with operations in china by enforcing existing rules and regulation, adopting new ones, or changing relevant industrial policies in a manner that may materially increase our compliance cost, abruptly change relevant industry landscape, or cause significant changes to, or otherwise intervene or influence, our remaining operations in china at any time, which could result in material and adverse changes in our operations and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless.abruptly change relevant industry landscapeprc regulation of loans to and direct investment in prc entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our prc subsidiaries.governmental control of currency conversionwe incurred, and will continue to incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.continue to incur increased costsif the award of cryptocurrency rewards, for us primarily bitcoin for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease mining operations, which will likely lead to our failure to achieve profitability.adequate incentive to continue miningif regulatory changes or interpretations require the regulation of bitcoins under the securities act and investment company act by the sec, we may be required to register and comply with such regulations. to the extent that we decide to continue operations, the required registrations and regulatory compliance steps may result in extraordinary, non-recurring expenses to us. we may also decide to cease certain operations. any disruption of our operations in response to the changed regulatory circumstances may be at a time that is disadvantageous to investors. this would likely have a material adverse effect on us and investors may lose their investment.non-recurring expenses to us

Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 87

Share Price & Shareholder Rights14 | 16.1%
  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Added
    We have fallen below the continued listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, and if we are unable to regain compliance in time, our ADSs may be delisted and the liquidity and the trading price of our ADSs would be materially and adversely affected.

    We received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, in June 2023, notifying our company that we were not in compliance with applicable market capitalization and equity criteria in the NYSE's continued listing standards because our average total market capitalization was less than US$50 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period, and our last reported stockholders' equity as of March 31, 2023 was less than US$50 million. We submitted to the NYSE a business plan in September 2023 as to how we intend to regain compliance with the stockholders' equity criteria within the next 18 months, by December 2024; the NYSE accepted the business plan in October 2023, and we are now subject to quarterly monitoring for compliance with the plan. If the Company is required to pay combined Penalty Amounts of $10 million in aggregate to settle the investigations by the DOJ and the SEC, that will negatively impact our business plan and related initiatives, and may result in our noncompliance with the stockholders' equity criteria continuing through December 2024. If we fail to regain compliance with NYSE's continued listing standards before December 2024, our ADSs will be delisted from the NYSE. There can be no assurance that the NYSE will not commence suspension and delisting procedures for our ADSs earlier and before the expiration of the 18-month cure period. If our ADSs were delisted from the NYSE, the liquidity and the trading price of our ADSs would be materially and adversely affected.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
    We could still face the risk of delisting and cease of trading of our securities from a stock exchange or an over-the-counter market in the United States under the HFCA Act and the securities regulations promulgated thereunder if the PCAOB determines in the future that it is unable to completely inspect or investigate our auditor which has a presence in China, and it may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

    The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("HFCA Act") was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCA Act states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the United States. Our financial statements contained in the annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 have been audited by Our U.S.-based auditor, MaloneBailey, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm that is headquartered in the United States with offices in Beijing and Shenzhen. MaloneBailey, LLP is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB's determination on December 16, 2021 of having been unable to inspect or investigate completely. As of the date of this annual report, we have not been identified by the SEC as a commission-identified issuer under the HFCA Act. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCA Act. On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCA Act, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to determine, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize the implementation of disclosure and documentation measures, which require us to identify, in our annual report on Form 20-F, (1) the auditors that provided opinions to the financial statements presented in the annual report, (2) the location where the auditors' report was issued, and (3) the PCAOB ID number of the audit firm or branch that performed the audit work. If the SEC determines that we have three consecutive non-inspection years, the SEC will issue a stop order to prohibit the trading of our ADSs on any U.S. stock exchange or over-the-counter market. On December 29 2022, the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the "AHFCA Act"), was signed into law, which reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the AHFCA Act from three years to two. On August 26 2022, the PCAOB announced that it had signed a Statement of Protocol (the "Protocol") with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China, governing inspections and investigations of audit firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong. Pursuant to the Protocol, the PCAOB conducted inspections on select registered public accounting firms subject to the previous December 16, 2021 determinations in Hong Kong between September and November 2022. On December 15 2022, the PCAOB board announced that it had completed the inspections, determined that it had complete access to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, and voted to vacate the previous December 16, 2021 determinations. Nevertheless, we could still face the risk of delisting and cease of trading of our securities from a stock exchange or an over-the-counter market in the United States under the HFCA Act and the securities regulations promulgated thereunder if the PCAOB determines in the future that it is unable to completely inspect or investigate our auditor which has a presence in China, and it may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
    Our grant of employee share options, restricted shares or other share-based compensation and any future grants could have an adverse effect on our net income.

    U.S. GAAP prescribes how we account for share-based compensation and may have an adverse impact on our results of operations or the price of our ADSs. U.S. GAAP requires us to recognize share-based compensation as compensation expense in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income generally based on the fair value of equity awards on the date of the grant, with compensation expense recognized over the period in which the recipient is required to provide service in exchange for the equity award. The expenses associated with share-based compensation may reduce the attractiveness of issuing share options or restricted shares under our equity incentive plan. However, if we do not grant share options or restricted shares, or reduce the number of share options or restricted shares we grant, we may not be able to attract and retain key personnel. If we grant more share options or restricted shares to attract and retain key personnel, the expenses associated with share-based compensation may adversely affect our net income.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
    If the PCAOB is not able to inspect and investigate completely auditors in China for any reason, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspections again.

    Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in our annual report filed with the SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the U.S. and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the U.S. to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the U.S. and professional standards. According to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law (last amended in March 2020), no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without the consent of the competent PRC securities regulators and relevant authorities, no organization or individual may provide the documents and materials relating to securities business activities to overseas parties. In 2021, the PCAOB made determinations that the positions taken by PRC authorities prevented the PCAOB from inspecting and investigating firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong completely. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong including our auditor. According to its announcement, the PCAOB sent staff to conduct on-site inspections and investigations in Hong Kong from September to November 2022 and conducted inspection field work and investigative testimony in a manner consistent with the PCAOB's methodology and approach to inspections and investigations in the U.S. and globally. The PCAOB inspections have identified numerous deficiencies in the audit firms in China, which are consistent with the types and number of findings the PCAOB has encountered in other first-time inspections around the world. In addition, while the PCAOB announced in December 2022 that it secured complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in China, we cannot assure you that the PCAOB will continue to have such access in the future. If the PCAOB is not able to inspect and investigate completely auditors in China for any reason, such as any change in the position of the governmental authorities in China in the future, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspections again.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
    The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

    The trading price of our ADSs may be volatile and could fluctuate widely in response to factors relating to our business as well as external factors beyond our control. Factors such as variations in our financial results, announcements of new business initiatives by us or by our competitors, recruitment or departure of key personnel, changes in the estimates of our financial results or changes in the recommendations of any securities analysts electing to follow our securities or the securities of our competitors could cause the market price for our ADSs to change substantially. At the same time, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. For example, in late 2008 and early 2009, the securities markets in the United States, China and other jurisdictions experienced the largest decline in share prices since September 2001. These market fluctuations may also have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States may affect the volatility in the price of and trading volumes for our ADSs. In recent years, some of PRC companies having listing their securities on U.S. stock markets have experienced significant volatility, including significant price declines in connection with their initial public offerings. The trading performances of these PRC companies' securities at the time of or after their offerings may affect the overall investor sentiment towards PRC companies listed in the United States and consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs. These broad market and industry factors may significantly affect the market price and volatility of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the trading volume and price for our ADSs. The price at which the ADSs are traded may decline below the offering price, meaning that you may experience a decrease in the value of your ADSs regardless of our operating performance or prospects. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, shareholders have often instituted securities class action litigation against that company. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert the attention of senior management, and, if adversely determined, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
    Future sales or perceived sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares by existing shareholders could cause our ADSs price to decline.

    If our existing shareholders sell, indicate an intention to sell, or are perceived to intend to sell, substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market after the 90-day contractual lock-up period and the lapse of other legal restrictions on resale discussed in this annual report, the trading price of our ADSs could decline. All ADSs sold in our initial public offering are freely tradable, without restriction, in the public market. The representatives of the underwriters may, in their sole discretion, permit any party subject to lock-up agreements to sell shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up agreements. After the lock-up agreements pertaining to our initial public offering expire (90 days or more from the date of this annual report), all of our outstanding shares will be eligible for sale in the public market, but they will be subject to volume limitations and other restrictions under Rule 144 under the Securities Act. In addition, ordinary shares subject to outstanding options under our share incentive plan will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements, the lock-up agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold in the public market, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
    Future issuance of share options or restricted shares may have a diluting effect on existing and future shareholders.

    The grant and exercise of share options or restricted shares to be issued in the future will likely result in a dilution of the value of our ordinary shares for all shareholders. We have established a 2021 Share Incentive Plan under which we are able to issue shares up to 12% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares from time to time. For more details, see "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees-B. Compensation-Share Incentive Plan." We may in the future issue additional share options and other share-based awards under the plan, which may dilute the interest of the existing and future shareholders. Moreover, we may seek authorization to increase the number of shares subject to our 2021 Share Incentive Plan, or sell additional securities and/or rights to purchase such securities at any time in the future. Dilution of the value of the ordinary shares will likely result from such sales, which in turn could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
    You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings in relation to any such offerings.

    We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result. In addition, the depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property and you will not receive such distribution.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
    Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents may discourage a third party from acquiring us, which could limit our shareholders' opportunities to sell their shares at a premium.

    Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association include provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of us, modify our structure or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. For example, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix the powers and rights of these shares, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares. Preferred shares could thus be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control or make removal of management more difficult. In addition, if our board of directors issues preferred shares, the market price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares may be adversely affected. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of us in a tender offer or similar transaction.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
    We are a Cayman Islands company and, because judicial precedent regarding the rights of shareholders is more limited under Cayman Islands law than under U.S. law, you may have less protection of your shareholder rights than you would under U.S. law.

    Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Cayman Islands Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by noncontrolling shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States and provides significantly less protection to investors. In addition, some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although a judgment obtained in the United States will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction; (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given; (c) is final; (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty; and (e) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11
    Your ability to protect your rights as shareholders through the U.S. federal courts may be limited because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

    Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a derivative action in a federal court of the United States. As a result, your ability to protect your interests if you are harmed in a manner that would otherwise enable you to sue in a United States federal court may be limited to direct shareholder lawsuits.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12
    The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited in several significant ways by the terms of the deposit agreement.

    Holders of our ADSs may only exercise their voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Upon receipt of voting instructions from a holder of ADSs in the manner set forth in the deposit agreement, the depositary will endeavor to vote the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and Cayman Islands law, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is five days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders' meeting to permit you to withdraw your ordinary shares to allow you to cast your vote with respect to any specific matter at the meeting. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your shares. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if your ordinary shares are not voted as you requested.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 13
    The depositary of our ADSs, except in limited circumstances, grants to us a discretionary proxy to vote the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs if you do not vote at shareholders' meetings, which could adversely affect your interests and the ability of our shareholders as a group to influence the management of our company.

    Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary gives us a discretionary proxy to vote our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders' meetings if you do not vote, unless: - we have failed to timely provide the depositary with our notice of meeting and related voting materials;- we have instructed the depositary that we do not wish a discretionary proxy to be given;- we have informed the depositary that there is substantial opposition as to a matter to be voted on at the meeting;- a matter to be voted on at the meeting would have a material adverse impact on shareholders; or - voting at the meeting is made on a show of hands. The effect of this discretionary proxy is that you cannot prevent our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, absent the situations described above, and it may make it more difficult for holders of ADSs to influence the management of our company. Holders of our ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

  • Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 14
    You may not receive distributions on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is unlawful or impractical for us to make them available to you.

    The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian for our ADSs receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary is not responsible for making a distribution available to any holders of ADSs if any government approval or registration is required for such distribution. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of our ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of our ADSs. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is unlawful or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.

See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.

FAQ

What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment. They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result. It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process. Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”. Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report. According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing. You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector. Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements. A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below. 1. Financial & Corporate Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results. Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing. Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments. Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances. 2. Legal & Regulatory Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company. Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation. Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy. Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives. 3. Production Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory. Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers. Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls. Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation. 4. Technology & Innovation Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development. Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology. Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks. Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying. 5. Ability to Sell Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers. Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes. Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration. Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation. 6. Macro & Political Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions. Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19. International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company. Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.