UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016

For the transition period from __________ to __________

Commission File Number 01‑35525

 

SMITH MICRO SOFTWARE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (949) 362-5800

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Stock, $.001 par value

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    YES  ☐    NO  ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934    YES  ☐    NO  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    YES  ☒    NO  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    YES  ☒    NO  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10‑K  ☐

Indicate by check mark if whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    YES  ☐    NO  ☒

As of June 30, 2016, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates was $23,624,604 based upon the closing sale price of such stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market on that date. For purposes of such calculation, only executive officers, board members, and beneficial owners of more than 10% of the registrant’s outstanding common stock are deemed to be affiliates.

As of March 3, 2017, there were 12,289,174 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

 

 

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SMITH MICRO SOFTWARE, INC.

2016 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

In this document, the terms “Smith Micro,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Smith Micro Software, Inc. and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

This report contains forward-looking statements regarding Smith Micro which include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our ability to remain a going concern, our ability to raise more funds, customer concentration, projected revenues, expenses, gross profit and income, the competitive factors affecting our business, market acceptance of products, the success and timing of new product introductions, and the protection of our intellectual property. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “potential,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “should,” “may,” “will,” and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.  Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

The forward-looking statements contained in this report are made on the basis of the views and assumptions of management regarding future events and business performance as of the date this report is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We do not undertake any obligation to update these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date this report is filed.

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PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS

General

Smith Micro develops software to simplify and enhance the mobile experience, providing solutions to leading wireless service providers, device manufacturers, and enterprise businesses around the world.  From optimizing wireless networks to uncovering customer experience insights, and from streamlining Wi-Fi access to ensuring family safety, our solutions enrich connected lifestyles while creating new opportunities to engage consumers via smartphones. Our portfolio also includes a wide range of products for creating, sharing, and monetizing rich content, such as visual messaging, video streaming, and 2D/3D graphics applications. With this as a focus, it is Smith Micro’s mission to help our customers thrive in a connected world.

Over the past three decades, Smith Micro has developed deep expertise in embedded software for mobile devices, policy-based management platforms, and highly-scalable client and server applications.  Tier 1 mobile network operators, cable providers, OEMs/device manufacturers, and enterprise businesses across a wide range of industries use our software to capitalize on the growth of connected consumers and the Internet of Things (“IoT”).

In general, we help our customers:

We continue to innovate and evolve our business to take advantage of industry trends and opportunities in emerging markets, such as “Big Data” analytics, the explosion of Wi-Fi hotspots, and business-to-consumer (“B2C”) mobile marketing and advertising.  The key to our longevity, however, is not simply technology innovation, but a never-ending focus on customer value.

During fiscal year 2016, we experienced a significant decrease in our revenues primarily due to our largest customer, Sprint, terminating a contract for one of our products.  Even with our two acquisitions and the pipeline of new potential deals, our revenues have been slow to materialize.  As such, we had to implement a significant restructuring plan during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016.  We also impaired one of our acquired intangible assets.

We have continued to restructure during the first fiscal quarter of 2017 in order to align our expenses with our current short-term revenue projections.  Overall, we have reduced our quarterly expenses by approximately $3.5 million.  

The Company was incorporated in California in November 1983, and reincorporated in Delaware in June 1995. Our principal executive offices are located at 51 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, California 92656. Our telephone number is (949) 362-5800. Our website address is www.smithmicro.com. Our NASDAQ symbol is SMSI, and we make our SEC filings available on the Investor Relations page of our website. Information contained on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Business Segments

Our business is focused on two industry segments: Wireless and Graphics. We do not separately allocate operating expenses, nor do we allocate specific assets to these segments. Therefore, segment information reported includes only revenues and cost of revenues. See Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for financial information related to our business segments and geographical information.

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Wireless

The wireless industry continues to undergo rapid change on all fronts, from the ubiquity of Wi-Fi and cellular networks, to the vast array of connected devices, mobile applications, and digital content consumed by users who want information and entertainment anytime, anywhere.  While most of us think about being “connected” in terms of computers, tablets and smartphones, the IoT is creating a world where almost anything can be connected to the wireless internet.  In addition, pervasive connectivity has changed the way business operates on small and grand scales.  For example, Wi-Fi hotspots are being deployed by neighborhood bookstores and coffee houses to keep customers on premise longer, as well as by large sports arenas to deliver real-time video feeds via social networks and online broadcasts.  Retailers are now spending more than 50% of their advertising budgets on mobile media, and targeting for those advertisements is driven by “Big Data” initiatives that collect consumer information from virtually every online or mobile interaction.

Although there are numerous business opportunities associated with pervasive connectivity, there are also many challenges:

To address these challenges, Smith Micro offers multi-platform, modular solutions organized into three product families:

NetWise® – NetWise® is a policy-on-device platform that optimizes wireless Quality of Experience (“QoE”) and enhances mobile customer engagement. Addressing challenges central to today's mobile lifestyle such as connection and network traffic management, context-driven mobile engagement, Wi-Fi discovery, credential provisioning, user authentication and radio management, NetWise is a proven carrier-grade solution for wireless and cable network operators, device manufacturers, OEMs, and enterprises.

CommSuite® – CommSuite Visual Voicemail by Smith Micro Software is voicemail, redefined. Gone are the days where consumers can be bothered to manually listen to voicemail on their smartphones. Today’s mobile users want every service on-demand, including voicemail. CommSuite Visual Voicemail quickly and easily allows users to manage voice messages just like email or SMS – with reply, forwarding and social sharing options. Smith Micro’s services feature multi-language Voice-to-Text transcription messaging, which enables discreet message consumption for users by reading versus listening. For operators, CommSuite Visual Voicemail turns traditional voicemail into a profitable, modern service.

SafePath™ - SafePath Family is a next-generation location tracking and parental controls platform that enables mobile operators to provide comprehensive family safety functionalities to their subscribers as a white-labeled value-added service. The SafePath Family feature set includes real-time location tracking and location-based notifications, geo-fencing, family-wide panic alerts, parental device controls and content blocking, phone security and support for wearable devices. With the SafePath Family solution, mobile operators can boost subscriber loyalty and engagement, while increasing average revenue per user.

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4D App Studio™ - With millions of mobile apps available in the market today, differentiation is an acute challenge. Smith Micro addresses this need with our 4D App Studio, which offers complete mobile app design and development services that accelerate app time-to-market and mobilizes products and services. Smith Micro’s team of experts know first-hand that for a mobile app to be successful in the long term it must align with your business goals, deliver a complete and unique mobile experience, obtain maximum exposure and be ubiquitous across all devices. From initial ideation and business case mapping to long-term app maintenance and support, the 4D App Studio team has launched more than 30 unique mobile experiences for clients around the world across Android, iOS and Windows operating environments.

QuickLink® – Our QuickLink connection managers have shipped on more than 100 million devices worldwide, forming the foundation of our heritage as the leader in mobile connectivity.  Many of the world’s largest mobile network operators, including AT&T, Bell Canada, Orange, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone, have deployed QuickLink as a white-label connection management application to their subscribers. Leading chipset manufacturers and module makers embed QuickLink components to ensure that connectivity is consistent across all device types. In addition, enterprises and public sector organizations with mobile work forces leverage QuickLink to provide enhanced security and configurability over public and private wireless networks.

Through our broad software portfolio, Smith Micro offers exceptional expertise in mobile platforms, integration to operator networks, and wireless industry standards.  Our powerful efficient on-device expert system and analytics are the perfect complements to the “Big Data” and mobile marketing initiatives driving most customer acquisition and loyalty programs today.  Further, our ability to customize solutions and accelerate time to market for mobile services, while meeting stringent reliability and security requirements, makes us a leading choice for any company that wants to deliver more with mobile.

Graphics

The Graphics group develops a variety of software, including graphic design and animation, and compression and PC/Mac utilities, for consumers, professional artists, and educators. These products are available through direct sales on Smith Micro websites (smithmicro.com, mysmithmicro.com and contentparadise.com), as well as through affiliate websites, resellers, and retail outlets.

The three main products in this area of Smith Micro’s business include Poser®, Moho™ (formerly Anime Studio®), and Clip Studio Paint ® (formerly Manga Studio®).  These products are aimed at digital artists and designers of all skill levels, helping them to produce professional quality animations, comics, illustrations, and other 2D and 3D designs.  Poser is widely used for 3D human figure design and animation, as well as for creating photorealistic images for a variety of industries.  Moho is used by both hobbyists and professional artists working for high-end animation studios in the motion picture industry, and Clip Studio Paint is the leading software for comic illustration and manga creation, used by famous graphic novelists such as Dave Gibbons, the author of New York Times Bestseller “Watchmen.”

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Products

Our primary products consist of the following:

 

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Marketing and Sales Strategy

Because of our broad product portfolio, deep integration experience, and flexible business models, we can quickly bring to market innovative solutions that support our customers’ needs to create new revenue opportunities and differentiate their products and services among their competitors.

Our marketing and sales strategy is as follows:

Leverage Operator and OEM Relationships. We continue to capitalize on our strong relationships with the world’s leading mobile network operators, multiple service operators, and device manufacturers. These customers serve as our primary distribution channel, providing access to hundreds of millions of end users around the world.

Focus on High-Growth Markets. We continue to focus on mobile marketing, analytics/Big Data, premium messaging services, and wireless connectivity taking advantage of expanding 4G and Wi-Fi networks, as well as the explosive growth of smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices.

Expand our Customer Base. In addition to growing business with current customers, we are increasing penetration of the enterprise market, with particular focus on large B2C companies, such as retail, brands, banking, and hospitality, as well as industrial IoT companies deploying connected devices.

Key Revenue Contributors

Revenues from Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 62.6% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2016. Revenues from FastSpring in the Graphics business segment accounted for 13.5% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2016.  Revenues to Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 65.4% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2015. Revenues to FastSpring in the Graphics business segment accounted for 11.3% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2015.  Revenues to Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 68.0% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2014. Revenues to FastSpring in the Graphics business segment accounted for 11.2% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2014.  Our major customers could reduce their orders of our products in favor of a competitor's product or for any other reason.

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The loss of any of our major customers or decisions by a significant customer to substantially reduce purchases could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Customer Service and Technical Support

We provide technical support and customer service through our online knowledge base, via email, and live chat. OEM customers generally provide their own primary customer support functions and rely on us for support to their own technical support personnel.

Product Development

The software industry, particularly the wireless market, is characterized by rapid and frequent changes in technology and user needs. We work closely with industry groups and customers, both current and potential, to help us anticipate changes in technology and determine future customer needs. Software functionality depends upon the capabilities of the hardware. Accordingly, we maintain engineering relationships with various hardware manufacturers and we develop our software in tandem with their product development. Our engineering relationships with manufacturers, as well as with our major customers, are central to our product development efforts. We remain focused on the development and expansion of our technology, particularly in the wireless space. Research and development expenditures amounted to $15.9 million, $13.9 million, and $14.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is for our Graphics physical products.  Our product development group produces a product master for each product that is then duplicated and packaged into products by the manufacturing organization. All product components are purchased by our personnel in our Aliso Viejo, California facility. Our manufacturing is subcontracted to outside vendors and includes the replication of CD-ROMs and the printing of documentation materials. Assembly of the final package is completed by our Aliso Viejo, California facility.

Competition

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive and subject to rapid changes in technology. These conditions create new opportunities for Smith Micro, as well as for our competitors, and we expect new competitors to enter the market. We will not only compete with other software vendors for new customer contracts, we will also compete to acquire technology and qualified personnel.

We believe that the principal competitive factors affecting the mobile software market include domain expertise, product features, usability, quality, price, customer service, and effective sales and marketing efforts. Although we believe that our products currently compete favorably with respect to these factors, there can be no assurance that we can maintain our competitive position against current and potential competitors. We also believe that the market for our software products has been and will continue to be characterized by significant price competition. A material reduction in the price of our products could negatively affect our profitability.

Many existing and potential customers have the resources to develop products that compete directly with our products. As such, these customers may opt to discontinue the purchase of our products in the future. With this as background, our future performance is substantially dependent upon the extent to which existing customers elect to purchase software from us rather than design and develop their own software.

Proprietary Rights and Licenses

Our success and ability to compete is dependent upon our software code base, our programming methodologies and our other intellectual properties. To protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property, we rely on a combination of trade secrets, nondisclosure agreements, patents, copyright and trademark law that may afford only limited protection. As of December 31, 2016, we owned 93 issued U.S. patents. These patents are intended to

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provide generalized protection of our intellectual property technology base and we will continue to apply for various patents and trademarks in the future as we deem necessary to protect our intellectual property technology base.

We seek to avoid unauthorized use and disclosure of our proprietary intellectual property by requiring employees and consultants with access to our proprietary information to execute confidentiality agreements with us and by restricting access to our source code. The deterrent steps that we have taken to protect our proprietary technology may not be adequate to deter misappropriation of our proprietary information or prevent the successful assertion of any adverse claim against us relating to software or intellectual property utilized by us. In addition, we may not be able to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights or take effective steps to enforce those rights.

In selling our products, we primarily rely on “shrink wrap” licenses that are not signed by licensees and may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States. Accordingly, the means we currently use to protect and enforce all of our proprietary rights and intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop competitive technology similar to ours. We also license technology on a non‑exclusive basis from several companies for inclusion in our products and anticipate that we will continue to do so in the future. If we are unable to continue to license these technologies or to license other necessary technologies for inclusion in our products, or such third party technologies become subject to claims directed to or against the third party technologies used by us, or if we experience substantial increases in royalty payments under these third party licenses, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016, we had a total of 173 employees within the following departments: 109 in engineering, 28 in sales and marketing, 13 in operations and customer support, and 23 in management and administration. We are not subject to any collective bargaining agreement and we believe that our relationships with our employees are good.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our future operating results are highly uncertain. Before deciding to invest in our common stock or to maintain or increase your investment, you should carefully consider the risks described below, in addition to the other information contained in this report and in our other filings with the SEC, including our reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. 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 currently deem immaterial may also affect our business operations. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be seriously harmed. In that event, the market price for our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.

If we are unable to meet our obligations as they become due over the next twelve months, the Company may not be able to continue as a going concern.

We currently believe that we will be able to meet our financial obligations as they become due over the next twelve months from the issuance date, primarily as a result of our current working capital levels, recent restructurings (which reduced our breakeven level of cash revenues to approximately $7.0 million), our current financial projections, and our ability to secure short-term loans when necessary.  

Our ability to continue as a going concern is substantially dependent upon these factors.  If our current financial and cash flow projections become unfavorable compared to our internal plans, we may need to consider additional actions to mitigate conditions or events that would raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, including the following:

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Should our going concern assumption not be appropriate and we are not able to continue in the normal course of operations, adjustments would be required to our consolidated financial statements to the amounts and classifications of assets and liabilities, and these adjustments could be significant. Our consolidated financial statements do not reflect the adjustments or reclassifications of assets and liabilities that would be necessary if we are unable to continue as a going concern.

We may raise additional capital through the issuance of additional equity or convertible debt securities or by borrowing money, in order to meet our capital needs. Additional funds may not be available on terms acceptable to us to allow us to meet our capital needs.

We believe that the cash and cash equivalents and the cash we expect to generate from operations and short-term borrowings will be sufficient to meet our capital needs for at the next twelve months from the issuance date. However, it is possible that we may need or choose to obtain additional financing to fund our activities in the future. We could raise these funds by selling more stock to the public or to selected investors, or by borrowing money. We may not be able to obtain additional funds on favorable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to curtail our operations or other business activities significantly or to obtain funds through arrangements with strategic partners or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain technologies or potential markets.

In February 2017, we filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC to sell from time to time additional shares of our common stock in one or more offerings in amounts, at prices and on the terms that we will determine at the time of offering. If we raise additional funds by issuing additional equity or convertible debt securities (whether in a public offering or private placement), the ownership percentages of existing stockholders would be reduced.  In addition, the equity or debt securities that we issue may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of the holders of our common stock. We currently have no established line of credit or other business borrowing facility in place.

It is possible that our future capital requirements may vary materially from those now planned. The amount of capital that we will need in the future will depend on many factors, including:

In addition, we may raise additional capital to accommodate planned growth, hiring, and infrastructure needs or to consummate acquisitions of other businesses, products or technologies.

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We derive a significant portion of our revenues from sales of a small number of products to Sprint, so our revenues and operating results are highly vulnerable to shifts in demand and may decline.

In our Wireless business segment, we sell primarily to large carriers, cable operators, and original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), so there are a limited number of actual and potential customers for our products, resulting in customer concentration for sales of our products and services.  For the year ended December 31, 2016, sales to Sprint and their affiliates comprised 62.6% of our total revenues.  Sprint has been going through several cost reduction and restructurings over the past several years, the latest being their announcement to reduce expenses by two billion dollars in 2016.  As such, our revenues with Sprint were down 32% in 2016 versus 2015.

Because of our customer concentration, this carrier and other large customers may have significant pricing power over us, and any material decrease in sales to any of them would materially affect our revenues and profitability.  Additionally, carriers, cable operators, and OEMs are not the end users of our products.  If any of their efforts to market products and services incorporating our software are unsuccessful in the marketplace, our revenues and profitability could be adversely affected.

We also derive a significant portion of our revenues from a few vertical markets, such as wireless carriers, cable operators, and handset manufacturers.  In order to sustain and grow our business, we must continue to sell our software products in these vertical markets. Shifts in the dynamics of these vertical markets, such as new product introductions by our competitors, could materially harm our results of operations, financial condition and prospects. To increase our sales outside our core vertical markets, for example to large enterprises, requires us to devote time and resources to hire and train sales employees familiar with those industries. Even if we are successful in hiring and training sales teams, customers in other vertical markets may not need or sufficiently value our current products or new product introductions.

The Company has a history of net losses, may incur substantial net losses in the future, and may not achieve profitability.

We have undertaken recent restructurings to reduce our expenses to be more in line with our current revenues and revenue projections.  However, if our revenues do not increase in the future, we will likely need to undertake further restructurings and operating losses will likely continue, and we may not be able to achieve profitability in the foreseeable future.

If there are delays in the distribution of our products or if customer negotiations for our new products cannot occur on a timely basis, we may not be able to generate revenues sufficient to meet the needs of the business in the foreseeable future or at all.

Our quarterly revenues and operating results are difficult to predict and could fall below analyst or investor expectations, which could cause the price of our common stock to fall.

Our quarterly revenues and operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and may continue to vary from quarter to quarter due to a number of factors, many of which are not within our control. If our operating results do not meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors, our stock price may decline. Fluctuations in our operating results may be due to a number of factors, including the following:

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We have difficulty predicting the volume and timing of orders. In any given quarter, our sales have involved, and we expect will continue to involve, large financial commitments from a relatively small number of customers. As a result, the cancellation or deferral of even a small number of orders would reduce our revenues, which would adversely affect our quarterly financial performance. Also, we have often recorded a large amount of our sales in the last month of the quarter and often in the last week of that month. Accordingly, delays in the closing of sales near the end of a quarter could cause quarterly revenues to fall substantially short of anticipated levels. Significant sales may also occur earlier than expected, which could cause operating results for later quarters to compare unfavorably with operating results from earlier quarters.

Future orders may come from new customers or from existing customers for new products.  The sales cycles may be greater than what we have experienced in the past, increasing the difficulty to predict quarterly revenues.

Because we sell primarily to large carriers, cable/MSOs and OEM customers, we have no direct relationship with most end users of our products.  This indirect relationship delays feedback and blurs signals of change in the quick-to-evolve wireless ecosystem, and is one of the reasons we have difficulty predicting demand.

A large portion of our operating expenses, including rent, depreciation and amortization, is fixed and difficult to reduce or change. Accordingly, if our total revenue does not meet our expectations, we may not be able to adjust our expenses quickly enough to compensate for the shortfall in revenue. In that event, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Due to all of the foregoing factors, and the other risks discussed in this report, you should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results as an indication of future performance.

Technology and customer needs change rapidly in our market, which could render our products obsolete and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends on our ability to anticipate and adapt to changes in technology and industry standards. We will also need to continue to develop and introduce new and enhanced products to meet our target markets’ changing demands, keep up with evolving industry standards, including changes in the Microsoft, Google, and Apple operating systems with which our products are designed to be compatible, and to promote those products successfully. The communications and graphics software markets in which we operate are characterized by rapid technological change, changing customer needs, frequent new product introductions, evolving industry standards, and short product life cycles. In addition, the technology we market, which has been sold as software in the past, can be integrated at the chipset level by the leading mobile chipset manufacturers.  Any of these factors could render our existing products obsolete and unmarketable. In addition, new products and product enhancements can require long development and testing periods as a result of the complexities inherent in today’s computing environments and the performance demanded by customers and called for by evolving wireless networking technologies. If our target markets do not develop as we anticipate, our products do not gain widespread acceptance in these markets, or we are unable to develop new versions of our software products that can operate on future wireless networks and PC and mobile device operating systems and interoperate with other popular applications, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

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Competition within our target markets is intense and includes numerous established competitors and new entrants, which could negatively affect our revenues and results of operations.

We operate in markets that are extremely competitive and subject to rapid changes in technology.  Because there are low barriers to entry into the software markets in which we participate and may participate in the future, we expect significant competition to continue from both established and emerging software companies in the future, both domestic and international.  In fact, our growth opportunities in new product markets could be limited to the extent established and emerging software companies enter or have entered those markets. Furthermore, our existing and potential OEM customers may acquire or develop products that compete directly with our products.

Many of our other current and prospective competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing, service, support, technical and other resources than we do. As a result, they may be able to adapt more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements or to devote greater resources to the promotion and sale of their products. Announcements of competing products by competitors could result in the cancellation of orders by customers in anticipation of the introduction of such new products.  In addition, some of our competitors are currently making complementary products that are sold separately. Such competitors could decide to enhance their competitive position by bundling their products to attract customers seeking integrated, cost-effective software applications. Some competitors have a retail emphasis and offer OEM products with a reduced set of features. The opportunity for retail upgrade sales may induce these and other competitors to make OEM products available at their own cost or even at a loss.  We also expect competition to increase as a result of software industry consolidations, which may lead to the creation of additional large and well-financed competitors.  Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, fewer customer orders, reduced margins, and loss of market share.

We are entering new, emerging markets in which we have limited experience; if these markets do not develop or we are unable to otherwise succeed in them, our revenues will suffer and the price of our common stock will likely decline.

Our recent and planned product introductions to support new higher speed networking and 4G technologies have allowed us to enter new markets, such as mobile marketing and analytics. A viable market for these products may not develop or be sustainable, and we may face intense competition in these markets.  In addition, our success in these markets depends on our carrier, MSO, and enterprise customers’ ability to successfully introduce new mobile services enabled by our products and our ability to broaden our carrier customer base, which we believe will be difficult and time-consuming.  If the expected benefits from entering new markets do not materialize, our revenues will suffer and the price of our common stock would likely decline.  In addition, to the extent we enter new markets through acquisitions of companies or technologies, our financial condition could be harmed or our stockholders could suffer dilution without a corresponding benefit to our company if we do not realize expected benefits of entering such new markets.

If the adoption of and investments in new technologies and services grows more slowly than anticipated in our product planning and development, our operating results, financial condition, and prospects may be negatively affected.

If the adoption of and investments in new networking and 4G technologies and services does not grow or grows more slowly than anticipated, we will not obtain the anticipated returns from our planning and development investments.  We have introduced new high-speed networking and 4G products, but the pace of the market introduction of such technologies is uncertain.  Future sales and any future profits from these and related products are substantially dependent upon the acceptance and use of these new technologies, and on the continued adoption and use of mobile data services by end users.

Many of our customers and other communications service providers have made and continue to make major investments in next generation networks that are intended to support more complex applications.  If communications service providers delay their deployment of networks or fail to deploy such networks successfully, demand for our products could decline, which would adversely affect our revenues.  Also, to the extent we devote substantial resources and incur significant expenses to enable our products to be interoperable with new networks that have failed or have been delayed or not deployed, our operating results, financial condition, and prospects may be negatively affected.

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If we are unable to retain key personnel, the loss of their services could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our future performance depends in significant part upon the continued service of our senior management and other key technical personnel. We do not have employment agreements with our key employees that govern the length of their service. The loss of the services of our key employees would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our future success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel, particularly highly skilled engineers involved in the ongoing research and development required to develop and enhance our products. Competition for these employees remains high and employee retention is a common problem in our industry. Our inability to attract and retain the highly trained technical personnel that are essential to our product development, marketing, service and support teams may limit the rate at which we can generate revenue, develop new products or product enhancements and generally would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely directly and indirectly on third-party intellectual property and licenses, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Many of the Company’s products and services include third-party intellectual property, which requires licenses from those third parties directly to us or to unrelated companies which provide us with sublicenses and/or execution of services for the operation of our business.  These products and services include our wireless suite of products, as well as our graphics products.  The Company has historically been able to obtain such licenses on reasonable terms.  There is however no assurance that in the future the necessary licenses could be obtained on acceptable terms or at all.  If the Company or our third party service providers are unable to obtain or renew critical licenses on reasonable terms, we may be forced to terminate or curtail our products and services which rely on such intellectual property, and our financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

If we fail to continue to establish and maintain strategic relationships with mobile device manufacturers, wireless carriers, cable MSOs and network infrastructure manufacturers, market acceptance of our products, and our profitability may suffer.

Most of our strategic relationships with mobile device manufacturers are not subject to written contract, but rather are in the form of informal working relationships. We believe these relationships are valuable to our success. In particular, these relationships provide us with insights into product development and emerging technologies, which allows us to keep abreast of, or anticipate, market trends, and helps us serve our current and prospective customers. Because these relationships are not typically governed by written agreements, there is no obligation for many of our partners to continue working with us. If we are unable to maintain our existing strategic relationships with mobile device manufacturers or if we fail to enter into additional strategic relationships or the parties with whom we have strategic relationships favor one of our competitors, our ability to provide products that meet our current and prospective customers’ needs could be compromised and our reputation and future revenue prospects could suffer. For example, if our software does not function well with a popular mobile device because we have not maintained a relationship with its manufacturer, carriers seeking to provide that device to their respective customers could choose a competitor’s software over ours or develop their own. Even if we succeed in establishing these relationships, they may not result in additional customers or revenues.

Our growth depends in part on our customers’ ability and willingness to promote services and attract and retain new customers or achieve other goals outside of our control.

We sell our products for use on handheld devices primarily through our carrier, cable/MSO, and enterprise customers. Losing the support of these customers may limit our ability to compete in existing and potential markets and could negatively affect our revenues. In addition, the success of these customers, and their ability and willingness to market services supported by our products, is critical to our future success. Our ability to generate revenues from sales of our software is also constrained by our carrier customers’ ability to attract and retain customers. We have no input into or influence upon their marketing efforts and sales and customer retention activities. If our large carrier customers fail to maintain or grow demand for their services, revenues or revenue growth from our products designed for use on mobile devices will decline and our results of operations will suffer.

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Acquisitions of companies or technologies may disrupt our business and divert management attention and cause our current operations to suffer.

We have historically made targeted acquisitions of smaller companies with important technology and expect to continue to do so in the future.  As part of any acquisition, we will be required to assimilate the operations, products and personnel of the acquired businesses and train, retain, and motivate key personnel from the acquired businesses. We may not be able to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies if we fail in these efforts. Similarly, acquisitions may cause disruptions in our operations and divert management’s attention from our company’s day-to-day operations, which could impair our relationships with our current employees, customers, and strategic partners. Acquisitions may also subject us to liabilities and risks that are not known or identifiable at the time of the acquisition.

We may also have to incur debt or issue equity securities in order to finance future acquisitions. Our financial condition could be harmed to the extent we incur substantial debt or use significant amounts of our cash resources in acquisitions. The issuance of equity securities for any acquisition could be substantially dilutive to our existing stockholders. In addition, we expect our profitability could be adversely affected because of acquisition-related accounting costs, write offs, amortization expenses, and charges related to acquired intangible assets. In consummating acquisitions, we are also subject to risks of entering geographic and business markets in which we have had limited or no prior experience. If we are unable to fully integrate acquired businesses, products, or technologies within existing operations, we may not receive the intended benefits of acquisitions.

Our operating income or loss may continue to change due to shifts in our sales mix and variability in our operating expenses.

Our operating income or loss can change quarter to quarter and year to year due to a change in our sales mix and the timing of our continued investments in research and development and infrastructure. We continue to invest in research and development, which is the lifeline of our technology portfolio.  The timing of these additional expenses can vary significantly quarter to quarter and even from year to year.

Our products may contain undetected software defects, which could negatively affect our revenues.

Our software products are complex and may contain undetected defects. In the past, we have discovered software defects in certain of our products and have experienced delayed or lost revenues during the period it took to correct these problems.  Although we and our OEM customers test our products, it is possible that errors may be found or occur in our new or existing products after we have commenced commercial shipment of those products.  Defects, whether actual or perceived, could result in adverse publicity, loss of revenues, product returns, a delay in market acceptance of our products, loss of competitive position, or claims against us by customers. Any such problems could be costly to remedy and could cause interruptions, delays, or cessation of our product sales, which could cause us to lose existing or prospective customers and could negatively affect our results of operations. In addition, some of our software contains open source components that are licensed under the GNU General Public License and similar open source licenses. These components may contain undetected defects or incompatibilities, may cause us to lose control over the development of portions of our software code, and may expose us to claims of infringement if these components are, or incorporate, infringing materials, the licenses are not enforceable or are modified to become incompatible with other open source licenses, or exposure to misappropriation claims if these components include unauthorized materials from a third party.

Regulations affecting our customers and us and future regulations, to which they or we may become subject to, may harm our business.

Certain of our customers in the communications industry are subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission, which could have an indirect effect on our business. In addition, the United States telecommunications industry has been subject to continuing deregulation since 1984. We cannot predict when, or upon what terms and conditions, further regulation or deregulation might occur or the effect regulation or deregulation may have on demand for our products from customers in the communications industry. Demand for our products may be indirectly affected by regulations imposed upon potential users of those products, which may increase our costs and expenses.

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We may be unable to adequately protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights, which could negatively impact our revenues.

Our success is dependent upon our software code base, our programming methodologies and other intellectual properties and proprietary rights. In order to protect our proprietary technology, we rely on a combination of trade secrets, nondisclosure agreements, patents, and copyright and trademark law. We currently own U.S. trademark registrations for certain of our trademarks and U.S. patents for certain of our technologies.  However, these measures afford us only limited protection. Furthermore, we rely primarily on “shrink wrap” licenses that are not signed by the end user and, therefore, may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions. Accordingly, it is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain our rights without our authorization. It is also possible that third parties may independently develop technologies similar to ours. It may be difficult for us to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property and proprietary rights.

We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement as the number of trademarks, patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights asserted by companies in our industry grows and the coverage of these patents and other rights and the functionality of software products increasingly overlap. From time to time, we have received communications from third parties asserting that our trade name or features, content, or trademarks of certain of our products infringe upon intellectual property rights held by such third parties. We have also received correspondence from third parties separately asserting that our products may infringe on certain patents held by each of the parties. Although we are not aware that any of our products infringe on the proprietary rights of others, third parties may claim infringement by us with respect to our current or future products. Additionally, our customer agreements require that we indemnify our customers for infringement claims made by third parties involving our intellectual property embedded in their products. Infringement claims, whether with or without merit, could result in time-consuming and costly litigation, divert the attention of our management, cause product shipment delays, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements with third parties. If we are required to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, they may not be on terms that are acceptable to us. Unfavorable royalty or licensing agreements could seriously impair our ability to market our products.

Our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected as a result of legal, business and economic risks specific to international operations.

In recent years, our revenues derived from sales to customers outside the U.S. have not been material. Our revenues derived from such sales can vary from quarter to quarter and from year to year. We also frequently ship products to our domestic customers’ international manufacturing divisions and subcontractors. In the future, we may expand these international business activities. International operations are subject to many inherent risks, including:

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These conditions may increase our cost of doing business. Moreover, as our customers are adversely affected by these conditions, our business with them may be disrupted and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Security and privacy breaches may harm our business.

The uninterrupted operation of our hosted solutions and the confidentiality and security of third-party information is critical to our business. Any failures in our security and privacy measures, such as “hacking” of our systems by outsiders, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. If we are unable to protect, or our customers perceive that we are unable to protect, the security and privacy of our electronic information, our growth could be materially adversely affected. A security or privacy breach may:

While we believe we use proven applications designed for data security and integrity to process electronic transactions, there can be no assurance that our use of these applications will be sufficient to address changing market conditions or the security and privacy concerns of existing and potential customers.  In addition, our customers and end users may use our products and services in a manner which violates security or data privacy laws in one or more jurisdictions.  Any significant or high profile data privacy breaches or violations of data privacy laws, whether directly through our hosted solutions or by third parties using our products and services, could result in the loss of business and reputation, litigation against us and regulatory investigations and penalties that could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Interruptions or delays in service from data center hosting facilities could impair the delivery of our service and harm our business.

We currently serve our customers from data center hosting facilities. Any damage to, or failure of, our systems generally could result in interruptions in our service. Interruptions in our service may reduce our revenue, cause us to issue credits or pay penalties, cause customers to terminate their on-demand services, and adversely affect our renewal rates and our ability to attract new customers.

If we fail to meet the requirements for continued listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market, our common stock would likely be delisted from trading on NASDAQ, which would likely reduce the liquidity of our common stock and could cause our trading price to decline.

Our common stock is currently listed for quotation on the NASDAQ Stock Market. We are required to meet specified financial requirements in order to maintain our listing on NASDAQ. If we fail to satisfy NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, our common stock would likely be delisted from NASDAQ and our common stock may trade on the OTC Market.  Any potential delisting of our common stock from NASDAQ would likely result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility of our common stock, and would likely cause our trading price to decline.

We may have exposure to additional tax liabilities.

As a multinational corporation, we are subject to income taxes as well as sales, use, and other non-income based taxes, in both the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes, sales and use taxes, and other tax liabilities. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings may have a significantly adverse impact on our effective tax rate.

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We are also subject to non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property, and goods and services taxes, in both the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities with respect to these non-income based taxes and may have exposure to additional non-income based tax liabilities. An increasing number of states have considered or have adopted laws that attempt to impose obligations on out-of-state retailers to collect sales and use taxes on their behalf.  A successful assertion by one or more states or foreign countries requiring us to collect sales and use taxes where we do not do so could result in substantial tax liabilities, including for past sales, as well as penalties and interest.

Although we believe that our income and non-income based tax estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that our provisions for taxes are correct, or that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals.  If we are required to pay substantially more taxes in the future or for prior periods, our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

Item 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters, including our principal administrative, sales and marketing, customer support, and research and development facility, is located in Aliso Viejo, California, where we currently lease and occupy approximately 24,688 square feet of space pursuant to lease that expires on May 31, 2019.  We lease approximately 55,600 square feet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under a lease that expires December 31, 2021.  Commencing February 1, 2015, we entered into an agreement to sublease 19,965 square feet of that space through the expiry date.  Internationally, we lease approximately 6,300 square feet in Belgrade, Serbia under a lease that expires December 31, 2021.  We lease approximately 6,900 square feet in Stockholm, Sweden under a lease that expires May 31, 2019.  We lease approximately 3,200 square feet in Braga, Portugal under a lease that expires July 31, 2018.

We lease an additional 19,100 square feet in Aliso Viejo, California under a lease that expires January 31, 2022.  In August 2014, we signed an addendum to sublease all of this space commencing on September 15, 2014 for a three-year period, with two, two-year renewal options.  The remaining lease expense, net of sublease income, has been accrued for in our 2013 restructuring liability account.

We lease approximately 15,300 square feet in Watsonville, California under a lease that expires September 30, 2018.  In March 2014, we signed an addendum to sublease all of this space commencing on May 1, 2014.  We continued to pay our current monthly rent through June 30, 2014.  Beginning on July 1, 2014, we are paying the landlord a minimum amount of rent, with annual escalations, through the end of the lease.  This lease expense has been accrued for in our 2013 restructuring liability account.  We now occupy a very small facility in Santa Cruz, California and are paying month-to-month rent.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company may become involved in various legal proceedings arising from its business activities. While management does not believe the ultimate disposition of these matters will have a material adverse impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, cash flows, or financial position, litigation is inherently unpredictable, and depending on the nature and timing of these proceedings, an unfavorable resolution could materially affect the Company’s future consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial position in a particular period.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “SMSI.” The high and low sale prices for our common stock as reported by NASDAQ are set forth below for the periods indicated.  The prices have been adjusted for our 1:4 reverse stock split on August 17, 2016.

 

 

On March 3, 2017, the closing sale price for our common stock as reported by NASDAQ was $1.25.

For information regarding Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans, please refer to Item 12.

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Stock Performance Graph

The following graph and information compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock against the cumulative total return of the S&P Midcap 400 Index and the S&P Midcap Applications Software Index (Peer Group) for the same period.

The graph covers the period from December 31, 2011 through December 31, 2016. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock on December 31, 2011, and in each index, and that all dividends were reinvested. No cash dividends have been declared on our common stock. Stockholder returns over the indicated period should not be considered indicative of future stockholder returns.

 

 

 

The stock price performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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Holders

As of March 3, 2017, there were approximately 173 holders of record of our common stock based on information provided by our transfer agent.

Dividends

We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and we have no current plans to do so.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

On September 2, 2016, the Company entered into a Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement with Unterberg Koller Capital Fund L.P. and William W. and Dieva L. Smith (collectively, the “Investors”), pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Investors in a private placement senior subordinated promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of $4,000,000 (the “Notes”) and five-year warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase an aggregate of 1,700,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Warrant Shares”) at an exercise price of $2.74 per share.  The Notes bear interest at the rate of 10% of the outstanding principal balance of the Notes, payable quarterly in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price equal to the five-day volume weighted average closing price of the common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market, measured on the third trading day prior to the date that interest is due, or $2.3825 in the case of Mr. Smith.  The Notes and Warrants were issued to “accredited investors” in transactions exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and similar exemptions under applicable state securities laws. The sale of the Notes and Warrants did not involve a public offering and was made without general solicitation or general advertising. The Investors have represented that they are accredited investors, as that term is defined in Regulation D, and that they have acquired the securities for investment purposes only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof.

On July 19, 2016, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of iMobileMagic – Mobile Experiences, LDA, a Portuguese limited liability company. The acquisition was consummated concurrently with the execution of the Purchase Agreement.  Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company paid an aggregate purchase price consisting of cash plus €500,000 in value of the Company’s common stock, totaling 814,339 shares of common stock and €1,000,000 in value of the Company’s common stock, totaling 1,628,676 shares, to be held in escrow pursuant to an Escrow Agreement.  The shares were issued pursuant to exemptions from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) and/or the private offering safe harbor provisions of Regulation D of the Securities Act, and Regulation S of the Securities Act, based on the following factors: (i) the number of offerees or purchasers, as applicable, (ii) the absence of general solicitation, (iii) investment representations obtained from the sellers, including with respect to their status as an accredited investor, (iv) the provision of appropriate disclosure, (v) the status of the sellers as non-U.S. persons, and (vi) the placement of restrictive legends on the certificates or book-entry notations reflecting the securities.

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Purchases of Equity Securities by the Company

The table set forth below shows all purchases of securities by us during the fiscal year 2016:

 

 

The above table includes:

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Item 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following selected consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss data for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, and the consolidated balance sheet data at December 31, 2016 and 2015, have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss data presented below for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the consolidated balance sheet data at December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 are derived from audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Annual Report.

 

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us which attempt to advise interested parties of the factors which affect our business, including without limitation the disclosures made in Item 1A of Part I of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our ability to remain a going concern; our ability to raise more funds to meet our capital needs; our dependence upon the large carrier customers for a significant portion of our revenues; deriving revenues from a small number of customers and products; changes in demand for our products; our failure to successfully compete; changes in technology; our entry into new markets; failure of our customers to adopt new technologies; loss of key personnel; the availability of third party intellectual property and licenses; failure to maintain strategic relationships with our customers; potential fluctuations in quarterly results; our failure to protect intellectual property; exposure to intellectual property claims; undetected software defects; security and privacy breaches in our systems or interruptions or delays in the services we provide which could damage client relations; doing business internationally; and being delisted from the NASDAQ.

Introduction and Overview

Smith Micro provides software solutions to simplify and enhance the mobile experience. As a leader in wireless connectivity, our applications ensure the best Quality of Experience for mobile users while optimizing networks for wireless service providers and enterprises.  Using our intelligent policy-on-device platform, along with premium voice, video and content monetization services, we create new opportunities to engage consumers and capitalize on the growth of connected devices.  In addition to wireless and mobility software, Smith Micro develops and distributes personal, professional, and educational productivity and graphics products and tools for consumers, artists, animators and designers worldwide.

Over the past three decades, the Company has developed deep expertise in embedded software for networked devices, policy-based management platforms, and highly-scalable mobile applications and hosted services.  For organizations struggling to reduce costs and complexity in the fragmented, rapidly evolving mobile market, Smith Micro offers proven solutions that increase reliability and efficiency while accelerating delivery and value of mobile services to consumers.

During fiscal year 2016, we experienced a significant decrease in our revenues primarily due to our largest customer, Sprint, terminating a contract for one of our products.  Even with our two acquisitions and the pipeline of new potential deals, our revenues have been slow to materialize.  As such, we had to implement a significant restructuring plan during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016.  We also impaired one of our acquired intangible assets.

We have continued to restructure during the first fiscal quarter of 2017 in order to align our expenses with our current short-term revenue projections.  Overall, we have reduced our quarterly expenses by approximately $3.5 million.  We believe that these actions, along with closing some significant new deals, will soon return us to profitability.

Results of Operations

Revenues to Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 62.6% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2016. Revenues to FastSpring in the Graphics business segment accounted for 13.5% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2016.  Revenues to Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 65.4% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2015. Revenues to FastSpring in the Graphics business segment accounted for 11.3% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2015.  Revenues to Sprint and their respective affiliates in the Wireless business segment accounted for 68.0% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2014. Revenues to FastSpring in

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the Graphics business segment accounted for 11.2% of the Company’s total revenues for the fiscal year 2014.  These two customers accounted for 80%, 83%, and 87% of accounts receivable for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.

The following table sets forth certain consolidated statement of comprehensive loss data as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated:

 

 

Revenues and Expense Components

The following is a description of the primary components of our revenues and expenses:

Revenues. Revenues are net of sales returns and allowances. Our operations are organized into two business segments:

The following table shows the revenues generated by each business segment (in thousands):

 

 

Cost of revenues. Cost of revenues consists of direct product and assembly, maintenance, data center, royalties, and technical support expenses.

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Selling and marketing. Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs, advertising costs, sales commissions, trade show expenses, and the amortization of certain intangible assets.  These expenses vary significantly from quarter to quarter based on the timing of trade shows and product introductions.

Research and development. Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel and equipment costs required to conduct our software development efforts.  It also includes the amortization of certain intangible assets.

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs, professional services and fees paid for external service providers, space and occupancy costs, and legal and other public company costs.

Change in fair value of warrant liability. The change in the fair value of our warrant liability.

Change in carrying value of contingent liability. The change in the carrying value of the Pennsylvania grant liability.

Interest income (expense), net. Interest expense is primarily related to interest on our debt, and the credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate used to measure our operating lease termination liabilities in restructuring.

Other income (expense), net. Other income (expense) is primarily related to fixed assets disposals.

Provision for income tax expense (benefit). The Company accounts for income taxes as required by Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic No. 740, Income Taxes.  This statement requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns.  Measurement of the deferred items is based on enacted tax laws.  In the event the future consequences of differences between financial reporting bases and tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities result in a deferred tax asset, we are required to evaluate the probability of being able to realize the future benefits indicated by such asset.  The deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if, based upon all available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Establishing, reducing or increasing a valuation allowance in an accounting period generally results in an increase or decrease in tax expense in the statement of operations. We must make significant judgments to determine the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, unrecognized tax benefits, and any valuation allowance to be recorded against deferred tax assets.  Because of our loss position, the current provision for income tax expense consists of state income tax minimums, foreign tax withholdings, and foreign income taxes. After consideration of the Company’s continuing cumulative loss position as of December 31, 2016, the Company retained a valuation allowance related to its U.S.-based deferred tax assets of $76.3 million at December 31, 2016.  During fiscal year 2016, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets increased by $1.4 million, decreased by $0.8 million in fiscal year 2015, and increased by $3.2 million during fiscal year 2014.

Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2015

Revenues. Revenues of $28.2 million for fiscal year 2016 decreased $11.3 million, or 28.5%, from $39.5 million for fiscal year 2015. Wireless revenues of $23.1 million decreased $10.5 million, or 31.2%.  The decrease was primarily due to Sprint which decreased $8.2 million due to the termination of the NetWise and connection manager business, the Cable/MSO business which decreased $1.1 million due to slower customer rollouts, and the continued decline of our legacy connection manager business which decreased $1.2 million.  We continue to pursue some large opportunities, and we expect to start seeing revenues from our acquisitions made in fiscal year 2016.  But since these are new customers, markets, and products, the rate of adoption and deployment is unknown at this time, causing material uncertainty regarding the timing of our future wireless revenues. Graphics sales decreased $0.8 million, or 13.5%, primarily due to lower customer demand for most of our products except Moho, which increased 12% year-over-year.  

Cost of revenues. Cost of revenues of $7.5 million for fiscal year 2016 decreased $0.6 million, or 7.2%, from $8.1 million for fiscal year 2015.  This decrease was primarily due to the lower revenues, lower maintenance costs, and lower spending.

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Gross profit. Gross profit of $20.7 million or 73.2% of revenues for fiscal year 2016 decreased $10.7 million, or 34.1%, from $31.4 million, or 79.4% of revenues for fiscal year 2015. The 6.2 percentage point decrease was primarily due to the decreased revenues.

Selling and marketing. Selling and marketing expenses of $9.6 million for fiscal year 2016 increased $0.7 million, or 8.0%, from $8.9 million for fiscal year 2015. This increase was primarily due to the Birdstep acquisition of $0.5 million and increased advertising of $0.1 million.  The amortization of intangible assets resulting from the Birdstep and iMobileMagic acquisitions was $0.2 million.  Stock-based compensation of $0.3 million in 2016 decreased by $0.1 million from 2015.  

Research and development. Research and development expenses of $15.9 million for fiscal year 2016 increased $2.0 million, or 14.7%, from $13.9 million for fiscal year 2015. This increase was primarily due to the Birdstep and iMobileMagic acquisitions of $1.2 million and other headcount additions during the year of $1.2 million.  They were partially offset by reduced spending in other areas of $0.2 million.  Stock-based compensation was $0.5 million in fiscal year 2016, a decrease of $0.2 million from fiscal year 2015.

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses of $10.3 million for fiscal year 2016 decreased $0.8 million, or 6.9%, from $11.1 million for fiscal year 2015. This decrease was primarily due to lower depreciation of $0.7 million and cost reductions of $0.2 million, partially offset by increased travel of $0.3 million, acquisition costs of $0.2 million, and legal fees of $0.1 million.  Stock-based compensation expense decreased from $1.2 million to $0.7 million, or $0.5 million.  

Restructuring expenses.  Restructuring expense was $0.3 million for fiscal year 2016 due to one-time employee terminations of $0.2 million and other expenses of $0.1 million.  There were no restructuring expenses in 2015.  

Long-lived asset impairment.  An intangible asset was impaired that resulted in a charge to the statement of operations of $0.4 million in fiscal year 2016.  There were no impairment charges in 2015.

Change in fair value of warrant liability.  The change in the fair value of the warrant liability was income of $0.9 million for fiscal year 2016.

Change in carrying value of contingent liability.  The change in the carrying value of the Pennsylvania grant liability was income of $0.7 million for fiscal year 2016.

Interest income (expense), net.  Interest expense was $0.4 million for fiscal year 2016 due to the issuance of notes payable on September 6, 2016 and the credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate used to measure our operating lease termination liabilities in restructuring.

Provision for income tax expense. The Company accounts for income taxes as required by Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic No. 740, Income Taxes.  This statement requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns.  Measurement of the deferred items is based on enacted tax laws.  In the event the future consequences of differences between financial reporting bases and tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities result in a deferred tax asset, we are required to evaluate the probability of being able to realize the future benefits indicated by such asset.  The deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if, based upon all available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Establishing, reducing or increasing a valuation allowance in an accounting period generally results in an increase or decrease in tax expense in the statement of operations. We must make significant judgments to determine the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, unrecognized tax benefits, and any valuation allowance to be recorded against deferred tax assets.  Because of our loss position, the current provision for income tax expense consists of state income tax minimums, foreign tax withholdings, and foreign income taxes. After consideration of the Company’s continuing cumulative loss position as of December 31, 2016, the Company retained a valuation allowance related to its U.S.-based deferred tax assets of $76.4 million at December 31, 2016.  During fiscal year 2016, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets increased by $1.5 million and decreased by $0.8 million during fiscal year 2015.

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Year Ended December 31, 2015 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2014

Revenues. Revenues of $39.5 million for fiscal year 2015 increased $2.5 million, or 6.8%, from $37.0 million for fiscal year 2014. Wireless revenues of $33.6 million increased $2.3 million, or 7.3%, primarily due to higher sales of NetWise of $3.9 million due to our new business at Comcast and higher revenue from Sprint.  CommSuite revenues increased $0.7 million primarily due to Sprint.  These increases were partially offset by decreases in our legacy connection manager business of $2.0 million.  Graphics sales increased $0.2 million, or 4.4%, primarily due to high customer demand for our Manga and Clip Studio products.   

Cost of revenues. Cost of revenues of $8.1 million for fiscal year 2015 decreased $1.2 million, or 12.5%, from $9.3 million for fiscal year 2014.  This decrease was primarily due to cost reduction savings as a result of our 2014 restructuring and lower spending.

Gross profit. Gross profit of $31.4 million or 79.4% of revenues for fiscal year 2015 increased $3.7 million, or 13.4%, from $27.7 million, or 74.8% of revenues for fiscal year 2014. The 4.6 percentage point increase was primarily due to the increased revenues and cost reduction savings.

Selling and marketing. Selling and marketing expenses of $8.9 million for fiscal year 2015 decreased $0.7 million, or 6.9%, from $9.6 million for fiscal year 2014. This decrease was primarily due to headcount reductions of $0.6 million and other cost reductions of $0.1 million.  Stock-based compensation remained flat at $0.3 million for both 2015 and 2014.

Research and development. Research and development expenses of $13.9 million for fiscal year 2015 decreased $0.3 million, or 2.3%, from $14.2 million for fiscal year 2014. This decrease was primarily due to headcount reductions of $0.6 million partially offset by patent-related legal expenses.  Stock-based compensation remained flat at $0.7 million for both 2015 and 2014.

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses of $11.1 million for fiscal year 2015 decreased $2.1 million, or 15.8%, from $13.2 million for fiscal year 2014. This decrease was primarily due to lower depreciation of $0.6 million, lower space and occupancy costs of $0.5 million, headcount reductions of $0.5 million, and lower legal fees of $0.2 million.  Stock-based compensation expense decreased from $1.5 million to $1.2 million, or $0.3 million.

Restructuring expenses.  No restructuring expenses were recorded in 2015.  Restructuring expense was $2.4 million for fiscal year 2014 due to one-time employee terminations of $1.3 million of non-cash stock-based compensation and $0.4 million of severance costs, $0.6 million for lease terminations, and $0.1 million of other related expenses.

Provision for income tax expense.  We recorded income tax expense of $68,000 and $49,000 for fiscal years 2015 and 2014, respectively, primarily related to foreign income taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Going Concern Evaluation

In connection with preparing consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016, management evaluated whether there were conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date that the financial statements are issued.

The Company considered the following:

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Ordinarily, conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern relate to the entity’s ability to meet its obligations as they become due.

The Company evaluated its ability to meet its obligations as they become due within one year from the date that the financial statements are issued by considering the following:

Management believes that the Company will generate enough cash from operations to satisfy its obligations for the next twelve months from the issuance date.  

The Company will take the following actions if it starts to trend unfavorable to its internal profitability and cash flow projections, in order to mitigate conditions or events that would raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern:

At December 31, 2016, we had $2.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and $2.4 million of working capital.

Operating Activities

In 2016, net cash used in operating activities was $11.5 million primarily due to our net loss adjusted for non-cash items of $12.6 million, decreases of accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $2.0 million and a decrease of deferred revenue of $0.8 million.  This usage was partially offset by a decrease of accounts receivable of $3.4 million, prepaid assets of $0.3 million, and a decrease of other assets of $0.2 million.

In 2015, net cash used in operating activities was $0.1 million primarily due to decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $1.4 million and decreases in deferred revenue of $1.0 million. This usage was partially offset by our net loss adjusted for depreciation, amortization, non-cash stock-based compensation, inventory and accounts receivable reserves of $1.5 million, income tax refunds of $0.7 million, and decreases in other prepaid assets of $0.1 million.

In 2014, net cash used in operations was $6.8 million primarily due to our net loss adjusted for depreciation, amortization, non-cash stock-based compensation, inventory, and accounts receivable reserves of $4.7 million, decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $2.2 million, and an increase in accounts receivable of $1.0 million.  This usage was partially offset by an increase in deferred revenue of $1.0 million and a decrease in prepaid expenses of $0.1 million.

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Investing Activities

In 2016, cash provided by investing activities was $1.1 million due to the proceeds from the sale of short-term investments of $4.1 million, partially offset by the acquisition of Birdstep of $1.9 million, the acquisition of iMobileMagic of $0.6 million, and capital expenditures of $0.5 million.

In 2015, cash used by investing activities were for the purchase of short-term investments of $1.2 million and capital expenditures of $0.1 million.

In 2014, cash used by investing activities was de minimis as the sale of short-term investments of $0.2 million was offset by capital expenditures of $0.2 million.

Financing Activities

In 2016, cash provided by financing activities was $3.8 million due to the net proceeds from the issuance of debt instruments.

In 2015, cash provided by financing activities was de minimis as a result of cash received from the sale of stock for our employee stock purchase plan and the exercise of stock options.

In 2014, cash provided by financing activities was $5.3 million.  We received $5.2 million from the sale of our common stock in a private placement.  We also received $21,000 from the stock sale for the employee stock purchase plan and $6,000 from the exercise of stock options.

Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2016 (in thousands):

 

 

During our normal course of business, we have made certain indemnities, commitments, and guarantees under which we may be required to make payments in relation to certain transactions. These include: intellectual property indemnities to our customers and licensees in connection with the use, sale and/or license of our products; indemnities to various lessors in connection with facility leases for certain claims arising from such facility or lease; indemnities to vendors and service providers pertaining to claims based on the negligence or willful misconduct; indemnities involving the accuracy of representations and warranties in certain contracts; and indemnities to directors and officers of the Company to the maximum extent permitted under the laws of the State of Delaware. We may also issue a guarantee in the form of a standby letter of credit as security for contingent liabilities under certain customer contracts. The duration of these indemnities, commitments and guarantees varies, and in certain cases, may be indefinite. The majority of these indemnities, commitments and guarantees may not provide for any limitation of the maximum potential for future payments we could be obligated to make. We have not recorded any liability for these indemnities, commitments and guarantees in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Real Property Leases

Our corporate headquarters, including our principal administrative, sales and marketing, customer support, and research and development facility, is located in Aliso Viejo, California, where we currently lease and occupy approximately 24,688 square feet of space pursuant to lease that expires on May 31, 2019.  We lease approximately 55,600 square feet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under a lease that expires December 31, 2021.  Commencing

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February 1, 2015, we entered into an agreement to sublease 19,965 square feet of that space through the expiry date.  Internationally, we lease approximately 6,300 square feet in Belgrade, Serbia under a lease that expires December 31, 2021.  We lease approximately 6,900 square feet in Stockholm, Sweden under a lease that expires May 31, 2019.  We lease approximately 3,200 square feet in Braga, Portugal under a lease that expires July 31, 2018.

We lease an additional 19,100 square feet in Aliso Viejo, California under a lease that expires January 31, 2022.  In August 2014, we signed an addendum to sublease all of this space commencing on September 15, 2014 for a three-year period, with two, two-year renewal options.  The remaining lease expense, net of sublease income, has been accrued for in our 2013 restructuring liability account.

We lease approximately 15,300 square feet in Watsonville, California under a lease that expires September 30, 2018.  In March 2014, we signed an addendum to sublease all of this space commencing on May 1, 2014.  We continued to pay our current monthly rent through June 30, 2014.  Beginning on July 1, 2014, we are paying the landlord a minimum amount of rent, with annual escalations, through the end of the lease.  This lease expense has been accrued for in our 2013 restructuring liability account.  We now occupy a very small facility in Santa Cruz, California and are paying month-to-month rent.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2016, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may materially differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. On an on-going basis, we review our estimates to ensure that they appropriately reflect changes in our business or new information as it becomes available.

We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:

Revenue Recognition

We currently report our net revenues under two operating groups: Wireless and Graphics. Within each of these groups software revenue is recognized based on the customer and contract type. We recognize revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collectability is probable as required by FASB ASC Topic No. 605-985, Revenue Recognition-Software.  We recognize revenues from sales of our software to our customers or end users as completed products are shipped and title passes; or from royalties generated as authorized customers duplicate our software, if the other requirements are met. If the requirements are not met at the date of shipment, revenue is not recognized until these elements are known or resolved. For Wireless sales, returns from customers are limited to defective goods or goods shipped in error. Historically, customer returns have not exceeded the very nominal estimates and reserves. We also provide some technical support to our customers. Such costs have historically been insignificant.

We have a few multiple element agreements for which we have contracted to provide a perpetual license for use of proprietary software, to provide non-recurring engineering, and in some cases, to provide software maintenance (post contract support). For these software and software-related multiple element arrangements, we must: (1) determine whether and when each element has been delivered; (2) determine whether undelivered products or services are essential to the functionality of the delivered products and services; (3) determine the fair value of each undelivered element using vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”), and (4) allocate the total price among the

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various elements. VSOE of fair