EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1355839
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1355839_10-K_2022_0001213900-22-014510.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Company Overview
We are a leading communications software innovator that powers multimedia social applications. Our product portfolio includes Paltalk, Camfrog and Tinychat, which together host one of the world’s largest collections of video-based communities. The Company’s other product is Vumber, which is a telecommunications services provider that enables users to communicate privately by having multiple phone numbers with any area code through which calls can be forwarded to a user’s existing telephone number. We have an over 20-year history of technology innovation and hold 14 patents.
We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 2005. Our principal executive office is located at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza Suite 400E, Jericho, NY 11753.
Our Services and Products
We operate a leading network of consumer applications that we believe create a unique social media enterprise where users can meet, see, chat, broadcast and message in real time in a secure environment with others in our network. Our consumer applications generate revenue principally from subscription fees and advertising arrangements.
We believe that the scale of our user base presents a competitive advantage in the video social networking industry and provides growth opportunities to advance our existing products with up-sell opportunities and build future brands with cross-sell offers. We also believe that our proprietary consumer app technology platform can scalably support large communities of users in activities such as video, voice and text chat, online card and board games and provide robust user monetization tools.
Our continued growth depends on attracting new consumer application users through the introduction of new applications, features and partnerships and further penetration of our existing markets. Our principal growth strategy is to invest in the development of proprietary software, expand our sales and marketing efforts with respect to such software, and increase our consumer application user base through potential platform partnerships and new and existing advertising campaigns that we run through internet and mobile advertising networks, all while balancing the capital needs of the business. Our strategy also includes the acquisition of, or investment in, technologies, solutions or businesses that complement our business.
Our strategy is to approach these opportunities in a measured way, being mindful of our resources and evaluating factors such as potential revenue, time to market and amount of capital needed to invest in the opportunity.
Consumer Applications
We operate a leading network of consumer applications that create a unique social media enterprise where users can meet, see, chat, broadcast, play online card and board games and message in real time in a secure environment with others in our network. The proprietary technology underlying our products allows us to operate thousands of simultaneous streams, including on mobile platforms, which support interactions on a one-on-one, one-to-many and many-to-many basis. Furthermore, our technology is supported by a portfolio of 14 issued patents.
Live Video Chat. We have three existing products in the video chat space: Paltalk, Camfrog and Tinychat. Our major revenue-generating live video chat products are Paltalk and Camfrog. Each product enables individuals to self-organize around topics and users with common affinities. Tinychat enables adaptations of our video technology for use in alternative markets, focused on a younger demographic user base.
Paltalk and Camfrog are both leading providers of live video social networking applications available on Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android and other tablet devices. Together, these products power one of the world’s largest global collections of video-based communities, with proprietary technology to host thousands of simultaneous live group conversations on topics such as politics, financial markets, music and dating. Our proprietary client server technology helps maintain high quality video and audio, even as many users simultaneously watch a particular broadcaster. Paltalk and Camfrog both attract a demographically and geographically diverse user base, with users in over 180 different countries. Paltalk users are approximately one-third domestic and two-thirds international, and Camfrog users have an even larger international presence, with a particular concentration in Southeast Asia.
Telecommunications. We own and operate a small telecommunications services provider called Vumber that enables users to have multiple phone numbers in any area code through which calls can be forwarded to a user’s existing cell phone or land line telephone number. Vumber serves both the retail and small business community. Vumber not only allows individuals to communicate while protecting privacy, but also gives business professionals the ability to add a new business line with any chosen area code to their cell phones. Vumber provides an in-depth data analytics platform that can track, record and analyze calls to gain new insights into one’s business.
Product Payment Options. Our users have a variety of methods by which to purchase product subscriptions across all of our platforms. Users can pay by credit card, PayPal, Western Union, check, local e-wallet providers, or complete an in-app purchase through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for Android users.
Apple retains generally up to 30% of the revenue that is generated from sales on our iPhone applications through in-app purchases in the United States. Google also retains generally up to 30% of the revenue that is generated from sales on Android applications via Google wallet through in-app purchases in the United States.
All of our credit card transactions are processed through various payment providers. Video chat users in certain international territories also have an option to purchase through local resellers. Local resellers prepay in bulk for services and debit the prepaid balance as one-time subscriptions and virtual currency are sold to end users. Regardless of which payment method is utilized, users may access our products through any of the gateways we offer.
Technology Services
Technology service revenue is generated under service and partnership agreements that we negotiate with third parties which includes development, integration, engineering, licensing or other services that we provide.
On May 29, 2020, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement, which was subsequently amended and restated (the “Amended and Restated Agreement”) with SecureCo, LLC (“SecureCo”), pursuant to which we agreed to sell substantially all of the assets related to our secure communications business to SecureCo. The Amended and Restated Agreement also provides for a revenue sharing arrangement, pursuant to which we are entitled to receive quarterly royalty payments ranging from 5% to 10% of certain revenues received by SecureCo, with the aggregate amount of such royalty payments not to exceed $500,000. The royalty payments, if received, will be recorded as technology service revenue. We do not expect to continue to pursue secure communications products or technology implementation services as part of our overall business strategy.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, we also recorded technology service revenue in connection with our agreement to serve as a launch partner with Open Props, Inc. (formerly YouNow, Inc., and referred to herein as “YouNow”) and to integrate YouNow’s props infrastructure (the “Props platform”) into our Camfrog and Paltalk applications (as amended, the “YouNow Agreement”).
Pursuant to the terms of the YouNow Agreement, YouNow agreed to pay us, in exchange for our services, an aggregate of 10.5 million cryptographic props tokens (“Props tokens”) upon the achievement of certain milestones. Once the integration of Props tokens into our Paltalk and Camfrog applications was completed, we began receiving Props tokens for providing a validator service and for allowing users to participate in the loyalty platform. The loyalty platform was intended to drive engagement and incentivize users financially by providing users with the ability to earn Props tokens while using the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. The net revenue earned was recorded under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of operations.
In August 2021, we received notice from YouNow that it was terminating the YouNow Agreement, and that it would no longer support the Props platform past the end of calendar year 2021. In connection with the notice of termination and in accordance with the YouNow Agreement, we received an additional 2.6 million Props tokens. The value of these tokens was recorded as revenue under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of income. Following the termination of the YouNow Agreement, we expect that most of our technology service revenue generated in the future will result from opportunistic partnerships between us and third parties.
Company Business Strategy
User Growth Through Marketing Efforts
Our continued growth depends on attracting new consumer application users through the introduction of new applications, features and partnerships and further penetration of our existing markets. Our principal growth strategy is to invest in the development of proprietary software, expand our sales and marketing efforts with respect to such software, and increase our consumer application user base through potential platform partnerships and new and existing advertising campaigns that we run through internet and mobile advertising networks, all while balancing the capital needs of the business.
Our strategy is to approach these opportunities in a measured way, being mindful of our resources and evaluating factors such as potential revenue, time to market and amount of capital needed to invest in the opportunity.
During the first quarter of 2022, we engaged two marketing agencies to help us drive consumer engagement through the Paltalk and Camfrog applications.
Enhance Existing Live Video Chat Applications
We plan to enhance our existing live video chat applications, which we anticipate will include several initiatives intended to improve usage and revenue potential. We plan to add incentives for loyal or valuable users to enhance retention and overall user activity in the products. We also intend to improve our product and marketing capabilities on mobile, to enhance monetization and our ability to acquire new users on mobile platforms. In addition, we expect to increase the quality and quantity of live streaming entertainment content and broaden the distribution across our user base. Finally, we plan to continue integrating certain technical functions of Paltalk and Camfrog, which will reduce operating costs and speed time-to-market of future enhancements.
In August 2020, we began serving as a launch partner with YouNow to integrate YouNow’s props infrastructure into our Camfrog and Paltalk applications, which allowed users to earn Props tokens while using the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. On October 15, 2021, we launched our new rewards loyalty program, Paltalk Rewards Points, and simultaneously ended the distribution of Props tokens, our prior rewards program. Paltalk and Camfrog users kept their existing rewards earned from the former Props program as Paltalk Rewards Points and now have the opportunity to earn new Paltalk Rewards Points. In connection with the Paltalk Rewards Points, we added 25 new reward tiers such as specialty coins, subscriptions, stickers, flair, and other popular buttons.
In November 2021, we launched a real-time asynchronous message board feature, the “Paltalk Feed”, which grants users the ability to interact with the platform without a live video cam. The Paltalk Feed allows our users to comment, add photos or videos and contribute to conversations around shared interests on a digital message board.
In addition, during the first quarter of 2022, we integrated Hive Automated Content Moderation Solutions (“Hive”) into our Paltalk and Camfrog platforms in an effort to enhance our user experience by reducing spam and objectionable content on our applications.
Private Rooms and Online Games
On January 12, 2021, we launched a private room functionality on our Paltalk platform in beta version. In private rooms, users are able to set up their own unique URL private room that can be used again and again. Users are able to invite up to twelve friends to video chat for unlimited use, unlike other similar offerings which have a 40-minute time out for free users. Private rooms are currently available on our desktop application, Android platforms and the iOS platform. We are optimistic that our users will take advantage of this new feature due to its audio and video fidelity and expect that as the feature gains popularity, these users will utilize other paid services offered by us. Additionally, users can play online card and board games such as poker, blackjack, gin rummy, bridge, and chess on the Paltalk platform.
Defend our Intellectual Property
We have a portfolio of 14 issued patents. We have successfully defended certain of our intellectual property in the past and have generated tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees for the use of our patents. We intend to continue defending our intellectual property rights.
Marketing Strategy
We invest in advertising and marketing primarily for the purpose of acquiring users for our consumer applications. We adapt our marketing expenditures and channels as we gather the data to analyze the success of our campaigns. We primarily advertise through internet and mobile advertising networks and run hundreds of campaigns at any given time, targeting various audiences of users, and focusing on campaigns that we believe will produce a positive return over the lifetime of new users. We also generate new sign-ups organically, as people find our sites and applications through brand recognition and word of mouth, search engines and product review websites.
During the first quarter of 2022, we engaged two marketing agencies to help us drive consumer engagement through the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. We expect that increasing our marketing efforts by partnering with these marketing agencies and increasing our annual marketing spend will provide a meaningful contribution to new users and generate revenue.
Competition and Our Industry
Competition in our industry remains fierce. The market for consumer applications is extremely dynamic and is undergoing constant change. We believe this environment creates significant opportunities for us as well as our direct and indirect competitors. Our principal competitors are BIGO Live, Cisco Webex, Facebook Live, Google Meet, Houseparty, Instagram Live, Live.ly, Live.me, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Twitch, YouTube Live and Zoom.
Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, managerial, technological and other resources than we do. In addition, there are relatively few barriers to entry into the consumer applications industry, and, as a result, any organization that has adequate financial resources and access to technical expertise and skilled personnel may become one of our competitors.
In order to compete effectively, we seek to offer software, services and applications that are differentiated from existing products, superior in quality and more appealing than those of our competitors. We believe that our applications compete favorably against those offered by our competitors due to their ability to scale, their cost-efficiency and their innovative technology. We also believe that we have the tools and expertise to attract new users through Facebook and other sources at a lower cost per subscriber than certain of our traditional competitors.
Although we believe we have the capability to compete effectively in the consumer applications industry, our competitors may offer products, services and applications that we do not provide, and that may have more desirable features or may be offered at lower prices, and they may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their products. In addition, many of our competitors have more extensive customer bases and broader customer relationships than we have, including relationships with our potential customers.
Governmental Regulations
We are subject to a number of U.S. federal and state laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the internet, many of which are still evolving and being litigated in the courts and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. These laws and regulations may involve user privacy, data protection, content, intellectual property, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, taxation and online payment services. In particular, we are subject to federal and state laws regarding privacy and protection of user data, which are constantly evolving and can be subject to significant change. We are also subject to diverse and evolving laws and regulations in other countries in which we operate. The application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly-evolving industry in which we operate. Because our applications are accessible worldwide and used by residents of some foreign countries, foreign jurisdictions may claim that we must comply with foreign laws, even in jurisdictions in which we have no local business entity, employees or infrastructure.
We are also subject to federal laws and regulations regarding online content, user privacy and electronic marketing, including The Communications Decency Act of 1996, as amended (“The Communications Decency Act”), The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, as amended, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing (“CAN-SPAM”) Act of 2003, among others. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act limits our liability as an online service provider for linking to or hosting third-party content that infringes copyrights. The Communications Decency Act provides statutory protections to online service providers like us who distribute third-party content. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act restricts the ability of online service providers to collect personal information from children under 13. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and many states have promulgated laws and regulations regarding email advertising, including the CAN-SPAM Act. Any changes in these laws or judicial interpretations narrowing the protections of these laws may subject us to increased risk, increased costs of compliance, and limits on the operation of certain parts of our business.
Growing public concern about privacy and the use of personal information may subject us to increased regulatory scrutiny. Regulation related to treatment of user data by online services is evolving as federal, state and foreign governments continue to adopt new, or modify existing, laws and regulations addressing data privacy and the collection, processing, storage, transfer and use of data. These state laws include, for example: the California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”), which became effective on January 1, 2020, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which expands upon the CCPA and was passed in the recent California election in November 2020, and the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security (SHIELD) Act. In addition, the FTC regularly investigates and brings enforcement actions against companies that have used personally identifiable information in a deceptive or unfair manner or in violation of a posted privacy policy. On May 25, 2018, the European Union implemented a privacy regulation called the Global Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that imposes additional new regulatory scrutiny on our business in the European Economic Area, with possible financial consequences for noncompliance. If we are accused of violating the terms of our privacy policy, implementing unfair privacy practices or otherwise breaching data privacy laws, we may be forced to expend significant financial and managerial resources to defend against an action by the FTC, European Data Protection Authorities, or other state or federal enforcement agencies. Our user database holds the personal information of our users and subscribers residing in the United States and other countries, and we could be sued by those users if any of the information is misused or misappropriated. Any failure by us to adequately protect our users’ privacy and data could also result in loss of user confidence in our consumer applications and services and ultimately in a loss of active users, which could adversely affect our business.
In addition, virtually every U.S. state has passed laws requiring notification to users when there is a security breach resulting in unauthorized disclosure of certain types of personal information, many of which are modeled on California’s Information Practices Act. There are a number of legislative proposals pending before the U.S. Congress and various state legislative bodies concerning data protection that could, if adopted, have an adverse effect on our business. We are unable to determine if and when such legislation may be adopted. Many jurisdictions, including the European Union, have adopted breach notification and other data protection notification laws designed to inform users of unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information. The introduction of new privacy and data breach laws and the interpretation of existing privacy and data breach laws in the United States, Europe and other foreign jurisdictions is constantly evolving. There is a risk that new laws may be introduced or that existing laws may be applied in a way that would conflict our current data protection practices or prevent the transfer of data between countries in which we operate.
In addition, rising concern about the use of social networking technologies for illegal conduct may in the future produce legislation or other governmental action that could require changes to our applications or restrict or impose additional costs upon the conduct of our business. These regulatory and legislative developments, including excessive taxation, may prevent or significantly limit our ability to expand our business.
We may also become subject to laws or regulations in the future that limit our payment processors’ ability to accept bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment or to otherwise hold bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. As cryptocurrencies have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently to cryptocurrencies, with certain governments deeming cryptocurrency offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges illegal, while others have allowed their use and trade. Governments may in the future curtail or outlaw the acquisition or use of cryptocurrencies or the exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat currencies. Ownership of, holding, trading in or participating in offerings of cryptocurrencies may then be considered illegal and subject to sanction. Governments may also take regulatory action that may increase the cost and/or subject companies that transact in or hold cryptocurrencies to additional regulation.
Some of the video card games that we offer on our Paltalk application are based upon traditional casino games, such as poker and blackjack. We have structured and operate these games and features with gambling laws in mind and believe that these games and features do not constitute gambling. Our games are intended to be for entertainment purposes only and do not offer an opportunity to win earnings outside of the platform.
Employees
As of March 21, 2022, we had 1 part-time employee and 21 full-time employees. We believe that our future success depends, in part, on our continued ability to hire, assimilate and retain qualified personnel. We attract and retain employees by offering training, bonus opportunities, competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package.
Company Internet Site and Availability of SEC Filings
Our corporate website is located at www.paltalk.com. We make available on that site, as soon as reasonably practicable, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, proxy statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K, other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC, as well as any amendments to those filings. Our SEC filings, as well as our Code of Conduct and other corporate governance documents, can be found in the Investor Relations section of our site and are available free of charge. Amendments to our Code of Conduct and any grant of a waiver from a provision of the Code of Conduct requiring disclosure under applicable SEC rules will be disclosed on our website. Information on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, the SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding us and other issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Below is a summary of our risk factors with a more detailed discussion following. The risks below are those that we believe are the material risks that we currently face, but are not the only risks facing us and our business. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
● The success of our consumer applications is principally dependent on our active users and our engagement with our user base.
● We operate in an intensely competitive industry and any failure to attract new users could diminish or suspend our development and possibly cease our operations.
● The online live video industry is characterized by rapid technological change and the development of enhancements and new applications, and if we fail to keep pace with technological developments or launch new applications, our business may be adversely affected.
● We may make or attempt to make acquisitions in the future, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute our stockholders and seriously harm our business.
● The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.
● The COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to an increase in our subscription revenue in certain geographic areas for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. However, we may not be able to sustain our subscription revenue growth rate in such geographic areas or any other areas in the future.
● Our mobile applications are substantially dependent on interaction with mobile platforms and operating systems that we do not control.
● Our business depends on developing, establishing and maintaining strong brands. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brands, we may be unable to expand or retain our active user and paying subscriber bases.
● Our future success is dependent, in part, on the performance and continued service of our executive officers. Without their continued service, we may be forced to interrupt or eventually cease our operations.
● We plan to continue expanding our operations internationally and may be subject to increased business and economic risks that could seriously harm our business.
● Currently, there are a limited number of regulated trading markets for cryptocurrency tokens, and therefore our ability to sell such tokens, if any, may be limited.
● Digital tokens and other cryptocurrencies that we may hold may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.
● Foreign governments restricting access to our applications could materially adversely impact our business.
● If our goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings, which could seriously harm our operating results.
● Our mobile applications rely on high-bandwidth data capabilities, which are subject to hardware, networks, regulations and standards that we do not control.
● Security breaches, computer viruses and cybersecurity incidents could harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.
● We have faced, and we expect that we will continue to face, chargeback liability when our credit card providers resolve chargebacks in favor of their customers. We cannot accurately anticipate the extent of these liabilities, and if not properly addressed, these liabilities could increase our operating expenses or preclude us from accepting certain credit cards as a method of payment, either of which would materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
● We face certain risks related to the physical and emotional safety of users and third parties.
● Our subscription metrics and other estimates are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics may seriously harm and negatively affect our reputation and our business.
● Because we recognize revenue from subscriptions over the term of the subscription, the full impact of downturns or upturns in subscription sales may not be immediately reflected in our results of operations or financial condition.
● A portion of our revenue is dependent on third-party resellers, the efforts of which we do not control.
● Our business depends in large part upon the availability of cost-effective advertising space through a variety of media and keeping pace with trends in consumer behavior.
● Interruption, maintenance or failure of our programming code, servers or technological infrastructure could hurt our ability to effectively provide our applications, which could damage our reputation and harm our results of operations.
● Because there has been limited precedent set for financial accounting of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, the determination that we have made for how to account for our tokens and any other digital assets we may acquire may be subject to change.
● We may be liable as a result of information retrieved from or transmitted over the internet.
● Changes in laws or regulations, including laws and regulations that impact the use of the internet, such as internet neutrality laws, or laws that relate to content provided over the internet or monitoring such content, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
● If we are subject to intellectual property infringement claims, it could cause us to incur significant expenses, pay substantial damages or royalties and prevent us from offering our applications.
● If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be unable to compete with competitors developing similar technologies.
● If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud and our business may be harmed and our stock price may be adversely impacted.
● Our common stock is historically thinly traded, stockholders may be unable to sell at or near ask prices or at all and the price of our common stock may be volatile.
● The ownership of our common stock is significantly concentrated in a small number of investors, some of whom are affiliated with our Board of Directors and management, which could prevent stockholders from having input on the course of our operations or otherwise lead to actual or potential conflicts of interest.
Risks Related to Our Business
The success of our consumer applications is principally dependent on our active users and our engagement with our user base.
On an annual basis the Company has millions of users, however, compared to the total number of users in any given period, only a small portion of our users are active users or purchasers of virtual currency. We primarily generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions and virtual currency to this small portion of users and secondarily generate revenue through paid advertisements. Accordingly, the success of our consumer applications is substantially dependent on our ability to convert our users into active users and to sell our users virtual currency.
Users discontinue the use of our applications in the ordinary course of business, and to sustain our revenue levels, we must attract, retain and increase the number of users or more effectively monetize our existing users. Falling user retention, growth or engagement could also make our applications less attractive to advertisers, which could harm our business.
There are a number of factors that could negatively impact user retention, growth and engagement, including, among other things:
● users may adopt competing products instead of ours;
● we may fail to introduce new products and services or improve upon our existing applications, or those new products and services or improvements we introduce may be poorly received;
● our products may fail to operate effectively on mobile or other platforms;
● we may be unable to combat spam or other hostile or inappropriate usage on our products or free speech;
● there may be adverse changes in user sentiment about the quality or usefulness of our existing products;
● there may be concerns about the privacy implications, safety or security of our products;
● technical or other problems may frustrate the experience of our users, particularly if those problems prevent us from delivering our products in a fast and reliable manner;
● we may fail to provide adequate service to our users;
● we or other companies in our industry may be the subject of adverse media reports or other negative publicity;
● we may not maintain our brand image or our reputation may be damaged; and
● we may be subject to denial of service or other attacks from hackers that result in service downtime.
To retain existing users, and particularly those users who are paying subscribers, we must devote significant resources so that our applications retain their interest. If we fail to grow or sustain the number of our users, or if the rates at which we attract and retain existing users declines or the rate at which users become paying subscribers declines, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We operate in an intensely competitive industry and any failure to attract new users could diminish or suspend our development and possibly cease our operations.
The industry in which we compete is highly competitive and has few barriers to entry. If we are unable to efficiently and effectively attract new users as a result of intense competition or a saturated market, we may not be able to continue the provision, development and enhancement of our consumer applications or become profitable on a consistent basis in the future.
Important factors affecting our ability to successfully compete include:
● the usefulness, novelty, performance, ease of use, and reliability of our consumer applications compared to our competitors;
● the timing and market acceptance of our consumer applications, including developments and enhancements of our competitors’ consumer applications;
● our ability to effectively monetize our consumer applications and the availability of free or cheaper alternatives from our competitors;
● our ability to hire and retain talented employees, including technical employees, executives, and marketing experts;
● the success of our customer service and support efforts;
● our reputation and brand strength compared to our competitors;
● competition for acquiring users that could result in increased user acquisition costs;
● reliance upon the platforms through which our consumer applications are accessed and the platform owner’s ability to control our activities on such platforms;
● the effectiveness of the marketing and advertisement of our services and consumer applications;
● our ability to maintain advertisers’ interest in advertising through our consumer applications;
● our ability to innovate in the ever-changing consumer applications industry in which we operate;
● changes as a result of new legislation or regulation within the consumer applications industry; and
● acquisitions or consolidations within the consumer applications industry.
Many of our current and potential competitors offer similar services, have longer operating histories, significantly greater capital, financial, technical, marketing and other resources and larger user or subscriber bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to more quickly respond to new or emerging technologies and changes in client or consumer preferences. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far-reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing strategies that may allow them to build larger user bases consisting of greater numbers of clients or paying users. Our competitors may develop applications and software that are equal or superior to our applications and software or that achieve greater market or industry acceptance. It is possible that a new application developed or offered by one of our competitors could gain rapid scale at the expense of existing brands through harnessing a new technology or distribution channel, creating a new approach to servicing clients or connecting people.
Certain entities that we do not directly compete with but that have large or dominant positions in one or more markets could use those positions to gain a competitive advantage against us by integrating competing video chat or social media platforms into products they control, such as search engines, web browsers or mobile device operating systems.
Costs for consumers to switch between products in the video chat industry are generally low, and consumers have a propensity to try new products to connect with new people. As a result, new entrants and business models are likely to continue to emerge in our industry. These activities could attract users and subscribers away from our applications and reduce our market share.
If we are unable to effectively compete, we may fail to obtain new clients for our products or our users may discontinue the use of our products and we may lose active users, either of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The online live video industry is characterized by rapid technological change and the development of enhancements and new applications, and if we fail to keep pace with technological developments or launch new applications, our business may be adversely affected.
The online live video industry is characterized by rapid change, and our future success is dependent upon our ability to adopt and innovate. To attract new users and increase revenues from existing users, we need to enhance, add new features to and improve our existing applications and introduce new applications in the future. The success of any enhancements or new features and applications depends on several factors, including timely completion, introduction and market acceptance. Building a new brand or product is generally an iterative process that occurs over a meaningful period of time and involves considerable resources and expenditures, and we may expend significant time and resources developing and launching an application that may not result in revenues in the anticipated timeframe or at all, or may not result in revenue growth that is sufficient to offset increased expenses. If we are unable to successfully develop enhancements, new features or new applications to meet user trends and preferences, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
In addition, our applications are designed to operate on a variety of network, hardware and software platforms using internet tools and protocols and we need to continuously modify and enhance our applications to keep pace with technological changes. If we are unable to respond in a timely and cost-effective manner, our current and future applications may become less marketable and less competitive or even obsolete.
The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the various attempts to contain it have created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. The various precautionary as well as on going measures taken by many governmental authorities around the world in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 have had, and could continue to have, an adverse effect on the global markets and its economy, including on the availability and pricing of employees and resources, and other aspects of the global economy. Therefore, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could disrupt and cause delays in our software, disrupt the marketplace in which we operate, slow down the overall economy, curtail consumer spending, make it hard to adequately staff our operations or enter into agreements with independent contractors and have a material adverse effect on our operations. In addition, disruptions in the operations of the third parties with whom we do business have caused and could in the future cause such third parties to fail to perform under their respective contracts or commitments with us. For instance, we were party to a sublease agreement with Telecom for office space located at 122 East 42nd Street in New York, NY, pursuant to which Telecom was required to pay us $11,164 per month. Due to the COVID-19, Telecom was unable to make its monthly payments under the sublease agreement, and as a result, on June 18, 2020, we entered into an agreement with Telecom to terminate the sublease agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Telecom vacated the offices on June 30, 2020. In addition, on June 22, 2020, we entered into an agreement to terminate our lease for this office space. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we vacated the offices on June 30, 2020 and agreed to forfeit our security deposit of $133,968.
To the extent that the COVID-19 pandemic and any subsequent outbreaks cause a substantial reduction or change in timing of our cash provided by operating activities, we may be required to seek additional capital through the incurrence of debt or the issuance equity securities. For instance, on April 13, 2020, to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied for a loan under the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), and on May 3, 2020, we entered into a promissory note with an aggregate principal amount of $506,500 (the “Note”) in favor of Citibank, N.A., as lender (the “Lender”). On January 13, 2021, the Note was fully forgiven by the SBA and the Lender in compliance with the provisions of the CARES Act. While we do not currently expect to incur additional indebtedness under the CARES Act, any inability to obtain additional liquidity as and when needed would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and any subsequent outbreaks continue to impact our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Despite recent progress in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, the outbreak of recent variants such as Delta and Omicron, the possible emergence of any new variants, and the related containment and mitigation measures are likely to continue to have a serious adverse impact on the global economy, the severity and duration of which are uncertain.
The COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to an increase in our subscription revenue in certain geographic areas for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. However, we may not be able to sustain our subscription revenue growth rate in such geographic areas or any other areas in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic likely led to an increase in our subscription revenue for the 2021 fiscal year relative to our 2020 subscription revenue in certain geographic areas. You should not rely on the subscription revenue growth of any prior quarterly or annual period as an indication of our future performance. Our subscription revenue may decline in certain geographic areas in future periods if the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic dissipates. These results, as well as other metrics such as total revenues, net income, net cash provided by operating activities and other financial and operating data, may not be indicative of results for future periods.
Our business is subscription based, and users are not obligated to, and may choose not to, renew their subscriptions after their existing subscriptions expire. Renewals of subscriptions to our applications may decline or fluctuate because of several factors, such as dissatisfaction with our products and support, a user no longer having a need for our products, including any new users that have subscribed to our services during the COVID-19 pandemic that may subsequently reduce or discontinue their use after the impact of the pandemic has tapered, or the perception that competitive products provide better, more secure, or less expensive options. If we are not able to continue to expand our user base, our revenue may grow more slowly than expected or decline. Similar to the uncertainty of users renewing their subscriptions, the number of new subscribers may slow or decline once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, particularly as a vaccine becomes widely available, and users return to work or school or are otherwise no longer subject to COVID-related travel restrictions.
Our mobile applications are substantially dependent on interaction with mobile platforms and operating systems that we do not control.
A portion of our revenue, primarily our revenue from mobile platforms, is derived from the Apple iOS platform and the Google Android platform. Although we believe that we have a good relationship with Apple and Google, any deterioration in our relationship with either could materially harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We are subject to each of Apple’s and Google’s standard terms and conditions for application developers, which govern the promotion, distribution and operation of our applications on their respective storefronts. Each of Apple and Google has broad discretion to change its standard terms and conditions. In addition, these standard terms and conditions can be vague and subject to changing interpretations by Apple or Google. In addition, each of Apple and Google has the right to prohibit a developer from distributing applications on the storefront if the developer violates the standard terms and conditions. In the event that either Apple or Google ever determines that we are in violation of its standard terms and conditions and prohibits us from distributing our applications on its storefront, it could materially harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The number of people who access the internet through devices other than personal computers, including smart phones, cell phones and handheld tablets, has increased dramatically in the past several years and is projected to continue to increase. Accordingly, we are substantially dependent on interoperability with popular mobile platforms that we do not control, including the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and a portion of our revenue is derived from these two digital storefronts. There have been occasions in the past when these digital storefronts were unavailable for short periods of time or where there have been issues with the in-App purchasing functionality from the storefront. In the event that either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store is unavailable or if in-App purchasing functionality from the storefront is non-operational for a prolonged period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
In addition, each of the Apple App Store and Google Play Store provides consumers with products that compete with ours. If either of these platforms give preferential treatment to competitive products, it could seriously harm the usage of our products on mobile devices.
Our business depends on developing, establishing and maintaining strong brands. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brands, we may be unable to expand or retain our user and paying subscriber bases.
We believe that developing, establishing and maintaining awareness of our application brands is critical to our efforts to achieve widespread acceptance of our applications and is an important element to expanding our client and subscriber bases. Successful promotion of our application brands will depend largely on the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing efforts and on our ability to provide reliable and useful applications at competitive prices. If clients and users do not perceive our products to be of high quality, or if our products are not favorably received by clients and users, the value of our brands could diminish, thereby decreasing the attractiveness of our software, services and applications to clients and users. In addition, advertising and marketing activities may not yield increased revenue, and even if they do, any increased revenue may not offset the expenses we incurred in building our brands.
If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our application brands, or incur substantial expenses in unsuccessfully attempting to promote and maintain our brands, we may fail to attract enough new clients or subscribers or retain our existing clients and subscribers to the extent necessary to realize a sufficient return on our advertising and marketing activities, and it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
If our goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings, which could seriously harm our operating results.
We are required to test goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently if there are indicators that the carrying amount of the goodwill exceeds its carried value. As of December 31, 2021, we had recorded a total of $6.3 million of goodwill and $0.2 million of other intangible assets. An adverse change in domestic or global market conditions, particularly if such change has the effect of changing one of our critical assumptions or estimates made in connection with the impairment testing of goodwill or intangible assets, could result in a change to the estimation of fair value that could, in turn, result in an impairment charge to our goodwill or other intangible assets. If we divest or discontinue product categories or products that we previously acquired, or if the value of those parts of our business become impaired, we also may need to evaluate the carrying value of our goodwill. Any such material charges may have a negative impact on our operating results.
Our future success is dependent, in part, on the performance and continued service of our executive officers. Without their continued service, we may be forced to interrupt or eventually cease our operations.
We are dependent to a great extent upon the experience, abilities and continued service of Jason Katz, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Kara B. Jenny, our Chief Financial Officer and director. The loss of the services of these individuals would substantially affect our business or operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Our subscription metrics and other estimates are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics may seriously harm and negatively affect our reputation and our business.
We regularly review metrics to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance, and make strategic decisions. These metrics are calculated using internal Company data and have not been validated by an independent third party. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our products are used across large populations globally.
Some of our demographic data may be incomplete or inaccurate. For example, because users self-report their dates of birth, our age-demographic data may differ from our users’ actual ages. If our users provide us with incorrect or incomplete information regarding their age or other attributes, our estimates may prove inaccurate.
In addition, our business strategy is guided by data analytics that we compute internally based on data collection, data processing, cloud-based platforms, statistical projections and forecasting, mobile computing, social media analytics and other applications and technologies. We use these internally derived data analytics to guide decisions concerning the development and modification of features on our applications, monetization strategies for our applications and the development of new applications, among other things.
The inability to accurately derive our metrics or data analytics could result in incorrect business decisions and inefficiencies. For instance, if a significant understatement or overstatement of our active users were to occur, we may expend resources to implement unnecessary business measures or fail to take required actions to attract a sufficient number of subscribers to satisfy our growth strategies. If advertisers or investors do not perceive our subscription, geographic or other demographic metrics to be accurate representations of our user base, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our subscription, geographic or other demographic metrics, our reputation may be seriously harmed. At the same time, advertisers may be less willing to allocate their budgets or resources to our products, which could seriously harm our business, results of operation or financial condition.
Because we recognize revenue from subscriptions over the term of the subscription, the full impact of downturns or upturns in subscription sales may not be immediately reflected in our results of operations or financial condition.
We recognize subscription revenue from customers monthly over the term of the subscription, and subscriptions are generally offered in one-, three-, six-, twelve-, and fifteen-month terms, depending on the particular product. As a result, much of the subscription revenue we report in each period is deferred revenue from subscription agreements entered into during previous periods. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed subscriptions in any one quarter will negatively affect our revenue in future quarters. In addition, we might not be able to immediately adjust our costs and expenses to reflect these reduced revenues. Accordingly, the effect of significant downturns in user acceptance of our applications may not be fully reflected in our results of operations until future periods. Our subscription model also makes it difficult for us to quickly increase our revenue through additional sales in any period, as revenue from new subscribers must be recognized over the term of the subscription. As a result, you should not rely on the amount of subscription revenue generated in prior quarters as an indication of future results.
We plan to continue expanding our operations internationally and may be subject to increased business and economic risks that could seriously harm our business.
Presently, we derive a significant portion of revenue from international territories and we plan to continue expanding our business operations abroad. In addition, we rely on outsourced development services from companies with employees and consultants based in Russia, India and elsewhere. The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia has escalated tensions among the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states, and Russia. The United States, other North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states, as well as non-member states, have announced new sanctions against Russia and certain Russian banks, enterprises and individuals. These and any future additional sanctions and any resulting conflict between Russia, the United States and other countries may, on a short term, disrupt, or in the future could disrupt, the consulting services provided by our third-party developers residing in Russia. This conflict may increase our costs with respect to any current or future planned development services in Russia, or could result in negative publicity.
We may enter new international markets where we have limited or no experience in marketing, selling and deploying our products. If we fail to deploy or manage our operations in international markets successfully, our business may suffer. As our international operations increase our operating results may become more greatly affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates of the currencies in which we do business. In addition, we are subject to a variety of risks inherent in doing business internationally, including:
● political, social, and economic instability;
● risks related to the legal and regulatory environment in foreign jurisdictions, including with respect to privacy, free speech and unexpected changes in laws, regulatory requirements, and enforcement;
● potential damage to our brand and reputation due to compliance with local laws, including potential censorship and requirements to provide user information to local authorities;
● fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
● higher levels of credit risk and payment fraud;
● complying with multiple tax jurisdictions;
● reduced protection for intellectual-property rights in some countries;
● difficulties in staffing and managing global operations and the increased travel, infrastructure and compliance costs associated with multiple international locations;
● regulations that might add difficulties in repatriating cash earned outside the United States and otherwise preventing us from freely moving cash;
● import and export restrictions and changes in trade regulation;
● complying with statutory equity requirements;
● complying with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar laws in other jurisdictions;
● the impact of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union; and
● export controls and economic sanctions administered by the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
If we are unable to expand internationally and manage the complexity of our global operations successfully, our business could be seriously harmed.
A portion of our revenue is dependent on third-party resellers, the efforts of which we do not control.
We are dependent on the efforts of third parties who resell our subscriptions for a portion of our revenue. In particular, video chat users in certain international territories have an option to purchase subscriptions through local resellers. These local resellers prepay in bulk for services and debit the prepaid balance as one-time subscriptions and virtual currency are sold to end users.
We do not control the efforts of these resellers. If they fail to market or sell our subscriptions successfully, merge or consolidate with other businesses, declare bankruptcy or depart from their respective industries, our business could be harmed. If we are unable to maintain or replace our contractual relationships with resellers, efficiently manage our relationships with them or establish new contractual relationships with other third parties, we may fail to retain subscribers or acquire potential new subscribers and may experience delays and increased costs in adding or replacing subscribers that were lost, any of which could materially affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Foreign governments restricting access to our applications could materially adversely impact our business.
We have continued to focus on increasing the international presence of our applications by expanding the localized and translated versions for additional international countries that are culturally aligned with our products. Foreign data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation, and other laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. Foreign governments may censor our products in their countries, restrict access to our products from their countries entirely, or impose other restrictions that may affect their citizens’ ability to access our products for an extended period of time or even indefinitely. If foreign governments think we are violating their laws, or for other reasons, they may seek to restrict access to our products, which would give our competitors an opportunity to penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access. As a result, our ability to grow our international user base would be impaired, and we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue as anticipated and our business could be seriously harmed.
Our mobile applications rely on high-bandwidth data capabilities, which are subject to hardware, networks, regulations and standards that we do not control.
Our mobile applications require high-bandwidth data capabilities. If the costs of data usage increase or access to cellular networks is limited, our user growth and retention on mobile platforms may be seriously harmed. Additionally, to deliver high-quality video and other content over mobile cellular networks, our products must work well with a range of mobile technologies, systems, networks, regulations and standards that we do not control, and any changes to those mobile technologies, systems, networks, regulations or standards could impact the usability of our mobile applications, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Our business depends in large part upon the availability of cost-effective advertising space through a variety of media and keeping pace with trends in consumer behavior.
We depend upon the availability of advertising space through a variety of media, including third-party applications on platforms such as Facebook, to recruit new users and subscribers, generate activity from existing users and subscribers and direct traffic to our application. Historically, we have had to increase our marketing expenditures in order to attract and retain users and sustain our growth. The availability of advertising space varies, and a shortage of advertising space in any particular media or on any particular platform, or the elimination of a particular medium on which we advertise, could limit our ability to generate new subscribers, generate activity from existing subscribers or direct traffic to our applications, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, evolving consumer behavior can affect the availability of profitable marketing opportunities. For example, as consumers communicate less via email and more via text messaging and other virtual means, the reach of email campaigns designed to attract new and repeat users (and retain current users) for our applications is adversely impacted. To continue to reach potential users and grow our business, we must devote more of our overall marketing expenditures to newer advertising channels, which may be unproven and undeveloped, and we may not be able to continue to manage and fine-tune our marketing efforts in response to these trends. In addition, during the first quarter of 2022, we engaged two marketing agencies to help us drive consumer engagement through the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. However, these marketing efforts may be ineffective or inadequate to attract potential users or retain existing users.
Interruption, maintenance or failure of our programming code, servers or technological infrastructure could hurt our ability to effectively provide our applications, which could damage our reputation and harm our results of operations.
The availability of our applications depends on the continued operation of our programming code, databases, servers and technological infrastructure. Any damage to, or failure of, our systems could result in interruptions in service for our applications, which could damage our brands and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from terrorist attacks, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, computer denial of service attacks or other attempts to harm our systems. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities.
In addition, from time to time we experience limited periods of server downtime due to maintenance or enhancements. If our applications are unavailable during these periods of downtime or if our users are unable to access our applications within a reasonable amount of time, users may not return to our applications in the future, or at all. As our user base and the volume and types of information shared on our applications continues to grow, we will need an increasing amount of technology infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, to continue to satisfy our users’ needs. It is possible that we may fail to effectively scale and grow our technology infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands. Any failure to support and scale our technology infrastructure could adversely impact the reputation of our brands and harm our results of operations.
Security breaches, computer viruses and cybersecurity incidents could harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We receive, process, store and transmit a significant amount of personal user and other confidential information, including credit card information, and enable our users to share their personal information with each other. In some cases, we retain third party vendors to store this information. We continuously develop and maintain systems to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of this information, but cannot guarantee that inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure will not occur or that third parties will not gain unauthorized access to this information despite our efforts. If any such event were to occur, we may not be able to remedy the event, and we may have to expend significant capital and resources to mitigate the impact of such an event, and to develop and implement protections to prevent future events of this nature from occurring.
Security breaches, computer malware and cybersecurity incidents have become more prevalent in our industry and may occur on our systems in the future. Although it is difficult to determine what, if any, harm may directly result from an interruption or attack, any security breach caused by hacking, including efforts to gain unauthorized access to our applications, servers or websites, or to cause intentional malfunctions or loss or corruption of data, software, hardware or other computer equipment, and the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If a breach of our security (or the security of our vendors and partners) occurs, the perception of the effectiveness of our security measures and our reputation may be harmed, we could lose current and potential users and the recognition of our various brands and their competitive positions could be diminished, any or all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Spammers may attempt to use our products to send targeted and untargeted spam messages to users, which may embarrass or annoy users and make our products less user friendly. We cannot be certain that the technologies that we have developed to repel spamming attacks will be able to eliminate all spam messages from our products. Our actions to combat spam may also require diversion of significant time and focus of our engineering team from improving our products. As a result of spamming activities, our users may use our products less or stop using them altogether, and result in continuing operational cost to us.
Similarly, terror and other criminal groups may use our products to promote their goals and encourage users to engage in terror and other illegal activities. We expect that as more people use our products, these groups will increasingly seek to misuse our products. Although we invest resources to combat these activities, including by suspending or terminating accounts we believe are violating our Terms of Service, we expect these groups will continue to seek ways to act inappropriately and illegally on our products. Combating these groups requires our engineering team to divert significant time and focus from improving our products. In addition, we may not be able to control or stop our products from becoming the preferred application of use by these groups, which may become public knowledge and seriously harm our reputation or lead to lawsuits or attention from regulators. If these activities increase, our reputation, user growth and user engagement, and operational cost structure could be seriously harmed. Furthermore, many governments have enacted laws requiring companies to provide notice of data security incidents involving certain types of personal data. Such laws are inconsistent, and compliance in the event of a widespread data breach is costly.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adopted a work-from-home policy in March 2020, and we expect this practice to continue for the foreseeable future. Remote work and remote access increases our vulnerability to cybersecurity attacks. We may see an increase in cyberattack volume, frequency and sophistication driven by the global enablement of remote workforces. We seek to detect and investigate unauthorized attempts and attacks against our network, products and services and to prevent their recurrence where practicable through changes to our internal processes and tools and changes or updates to our products and services; however, we remain potentially vulnerable to additional known or unknown threats. In some instances, we and the users of our applications can be unaware of an incident or its magnitude and effects.
Our existing general liability insurance coverage and the coverage we carry for cyber-related liabilities may not continue to be available on acceptable terms or be available in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims or that the insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that are not covered or exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could harm our business.
We have faced, and we expect that we will continue to face, chargeback liability when our credit card providers resolve chargebacks in favor of their customers. We cannot accurately anticipate the extent of these liabilities, and if not properly addressed, these liabilities could increase our operating expenses or preclude us from accepting certain credit cards as a method of payment, either of which would materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We depend on the ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our subscribers and our ability to maintain the good standing of our merchant account with our credit card providers to process subscription payments. In the event that one of our customers initiates a billing dispute and one of our credit card providers resolves the dispute in the customer’s favor, the transaction is normally charged back to us and the purchase price is credited or otherwise refunded to the customer. In addition, under current credit card practices, a merchant is liable for fraudulent credit card transactions when, as is the case with the transactions we process, that merchant does not obtain a cardholder’s signature.
We have suffered losses and we expect that we will continue to suffer losses as a result of subscriptions placed with fraudulent credit card data, as well as users who chargeback their purchases. Any failure to adequately control fraudulent credit card transactions or keep our chargebacks under an acceptable threshold would result in significantly higher credit card-related costs and, therefore, materially increase our operating expenses.
We face certain risks related to the physical and emotional safety of users and third parties.
We cannot control the actions of our users in their communications or physical actions. There is a possibility that users or third parties could be physically or emotionally harmed following interaction with another user. We warn our users that we do not screen other users and, given our lack of physical presence, we do not take any action to ensure personal safety on a meeting between users or subscribers arranged following contact initiated via our applications or ensure personal safety of our users against self-harming following contact with other users initiated via our applications. If an unfortunate incident of this nature occurred in a meeting of two people following contact initiated on our applications or that of one of our competitors, any resulting negative publicity could materially and adversely affect us or the online video chat industry in general. Any such incident involving our applications could damage our reputation and our brand, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, the affected users or third parties could initiate legal action against us, which could divert management attention from operations, cause us to incur significant expenses, whether we are successful or not, and damage our reputation.
We may need additional capital to execute our business plan. If we do not obtain additional financing, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We might need to raise additional capital or financing through debt or equity offerings to support our expansion, marketing efforts and application development programs in the future. For instance, we might require additional capital or financing to:
● hire and retain talented employees, including technical employees, executives, and marketing experts;
● effectuate our long-term growth strategy and expand our application development programs; and
● market and advertise our applications to attract more paying subscribers.
We may be unable to obtain future capital or financing on favorable terms or at all. If we cannot obtain additional capital or financing, we may need to reduce, defer or cancel application development programs, planned initiatives, marketing or advertising expenses or costs and expenses. The failure to obtain necessary additional capital or financing on favorable terms, if at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
If the distribution of our products through application stores increases, we may incur additional fees from the developers of application stores.
As the user base of our consumer applications continues to shift to mobile solutions, we increasingly rely on the Apple iOS and Google Android platforms to distribute our products. While our products are free to download from these stores, we offer our users the opportunity to purchase paid memberships and certain premium features through our products. We determine the prices at which these memberships and features are sold and, in exchange for facilitating the purchase of these memberships and features through our products to users who download our products from these stores, we pay Apple or Google, as applicable, a share, which is currently up to 30% of the revenue we receive from these transactions. In the future, other distribution platforms that we utilize may charge us fees for the distribution of our applications. If the distribution of our products through application stores increases, the amount of fees that we must pay to the developers of these application stores will also increase. Unless we find a way to offset these fees, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may make or attempt to make acquisitions in the future, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute our stockholders and seriously harm our business.
As part of our business strategy, we have made and intend to make acquisitions to add specialized employees and complementary companies, products and technologies. In the future, we may not be able to find other suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. Our previous and future acquisitions may not achieve our goals, and any future acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by users, advertisers or investors. In addition, if we fail to successfully close transactions or integrate new teams, or integrate the products and technologies associated with these acquisitions into our company, our business could be seriously harmed. Any integration process may require significant time and resources, and we may not be able to manage the process successfully. We may not successfully evaluate or use the acquired products, technology and personnel, or accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges. We may also incur unanticipated liabilities that we assume as a result of acquiring companies. We may have to pay cash, incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for any acquisition, any of which could negatively impact our business and financial condition. Issuing equity to finance any such acquisitions would also dilute our existing stockholders. Incurring debt would increase our fixed obligations and could also include covenants or other restrictions that would impede our ability to manage our operations.
We may conduct a portion of our operations through informal relationships, partnerships, strategic alliances or joint ventures, and our failure to continue such relationships or resolve any material disagreements with these third parties could have a material adverse effect on the success of these operations, our financial condition and our results of operations.
We may conduct a portion of our operations through partnerships, strategic alliances or joint ventures. For instance, at the end of 2019, we launched our consumer application platform strategy, under which we plan to co-brand our video chat applications and promote them in partnership with third-party communities, with the expectation of entering into revenue sharing arrangements with potential partners.
We may depend on third parties for elements of these arrangements that are important to the success of the relationship, such as the development of features or technologies to be incorporated into our applications. The performance of these third-party obligations or the ability of third parties to meet their obligations under these arrangements would be outside of our control. If these third parties do not meet or satisfy their obligations under these arrangements, the performance and success of these arrangements, and their value to us, would be adversely affected. If our current or future partners are unable to meet their obligations, we may be forced to undertake the obligations ourselves and/or incur additional expenses in order to have some other party perform such obligations. In such cases we may also be required to seek legal enforcement of our rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain. If any of these events occur, they may adversely impact us, our financial performance and results of operations, and/or adversely impact our ability to enter into similar relationships in the future.
Strategic arrangements with third parties could involve risks not otherwise present when we directly manage our operations, including, for example:
● third parties may share certain approval rights over major decisions within the scope of the relationship;
● the possibility that these third parties might become insolvent or bankrupt;
● the possibility that we may incur liabilities as a result of an action taken by one of these third parties;
● these third parties may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies or objectives; and
● disputes between us and these third parties may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses, delay or terminate projects and prevent our officers and directors from focusing their time and effort on our business.
Risks Related to Our Ownership of Cryptocurrencies
Because there has been limited precedent set for financial accounting of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, the determination that we have made for how to account for our tokens and any other digital assets we may acquire may be subject to change.
Because there has been limited precedent set for the accounting classification and measurement of cryptocurrency and other digital tokens and related revenue recognition, it is unclear how companies may in the future be required to account for digital asset transactions and assets and related revenue recognition. We are currently accounting for our tokens as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification No. 350: Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are recorded at cost and are not subject to amortization, but shall be tested for impairment annually and more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired. Our management has exercised significant judgment in determining the appropriate accounting treatment, and in the event that authoritative guidance is enacted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, we may be required to change our policies or restate our financial statements, which could have an effect on our consolidated financial position and results from operations. Such a restatement or change in policies could adversely affect the accounting for our tokens or other cryptocurrencies that we may acquire and may more generally negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
We may be liable as a result of information retrieved from or transmitted over the internet.
We may be sued for defamation, civil rights infringement, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, personal injury, product liability or under other legal theories relating to information that is published or made available on our websites or applications. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against online services in the past. We also offer messaging services on our applications and we send emails directly and through third parties to our users, which may subject us to potential risks, such as liabilities or claims resulting from unsolicited email or spamming, lost or misdirected messages, security breaches, illegal or fraudulent use of email or personal information or interruptions or delays in email service. Our insurance does not specifically provide for coverage of these types of claims and, therefore, may be inadequate to protect us against them. In addition, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims, even if we ultimately are not held liable. If any of these events occur, our revenue could be materially adversely affected or we could incur significant additional expense, and the market price of our securities may decline.
Changes in laws or regulations, including laws and regulations that impact the use of the internet, such as internet neutrality laws, or laws that relate to content provided over the internet or monitoring such content, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth or use of the internet, including laws governing internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for our products and increase our cost of doing business. In January 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) released an order that repealed the “open internet rules,” often known as “net neutrality,” which prohibit internet providers in the United States from impeding access to most content, or otherwise unfairly discriminating against content providers like us. These rules also prohibited mobile providers from entering into arrangements with specific content providers for faster or better access over their data networks. The FCC order repealing the open internet rules went into effect in June 2018. In response to this decision, California and a number of states implemented their own net neutrality rules which largely mirrored the repealed federal regulations. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has filed suit to bar implementation of these state laws and their application remains uncertain. For instance, on February 8, 2021, the DOJ voluntarily dismissed its suit against California’s net neutrality bill. We cannot predict the outcome of similar litigation or whether the FCC order or state initiatives regulating providers will be modified, overturned, or vacated by other legal action, federal legislation, or the FCC, or the degree to which this repeal would adversely affect our business, if at all. The European Union similarly requires equal access to internet content. If the FCC, Congress, the European Union or courts modify these open internet rules, mobile providers may be able to limit our users’ ability to access our applications or make our applications a less attractive alternative to our competitors’ applications, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, it is possible that a number of additional laws and regulations may be adopted or construed to apply to us, including gambling laws. Some of the video card games that we offer on our Paltalk application are based upon traditional casino games, such as poker and blackjack. We have structured and operate these games and features with gambling laws in mind and believe that these games and features do not constitute gambling. Our games are offered for entertainment purposes only and do not offer an opportunity to win real money. However, our video card games could in the future become subject to gambling-related laws and regulations and expose us to civil and criminal penalties. If were to become subject to such laws and regulations, we might be required to seek licenses, authorizations or approvals from relevant regulators, the granting of which may be dependent on us meeting certain capital and other requirements, and we may be subject to additional regulation and oversight, such as reporting to regulators, all of which could significantly increase our operating costs. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States, Europe or elsewhere regarding these activities may lessen the growth of video card game services and impair our business.
If there are changes in laws or regulations regarding privacy and the protection of user data, or if we fail to comply with such laws or regulations, we may face claims brought against us by regulators or users that could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
State, federal and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of data that we receive from and about our users. These laws can be particularly restrictive in certain states and in countries outside of the United States. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industries in which we operate.
Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with such laws and regulations, including Federal Trade Commission requirements or industry self-regulatory principles, could result in proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, which could potentially have an adverse effect on our business. As a result of such a failure, or perceived failure, we may be subject to a claim or class-action lawsuit regarding our online services. The successful assertion of a claim against us, or a regulatory action against us, could result in significant monetary damages, diversion of management resources and require us to make significant payments and incur substantial legal expenses. Any claims with respect to violation of privacy or misappropriation of user data brought against us may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Several proposals are pending before federal, state, and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies or have recently been enacted that could significantly affect our business. For example, the California legislature enacted the CCPA, which became effective on January 1, 2020, and the CPRA, which expands upon the CCPA and was passed in the recent California election in November 2020. Likewise, the New York legislature enacted the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security (SHIELD) Act, which went into effect on March 21, 2020. Further, the GDPR, which applies to the European Economic Area and went into effect on May 25, 2018, required us to change our policies and procedures regarding the handling of personal and sensitive data in the European Economic Area. The failure to comply with the GDPR could, in certain instances, result in penalties of up to 4% of our worldwide revenues. Any failure, or perceived failure to comply with the GDPR or other state, federal or international laws could seriously harm our business.
Continued privacy concerns may result in new or amended laws and regulations. Future laws and regulations with respect to the collection, compilation, use and publication of information and consumer privacy could result in limitations on our operations, increased compliance or litigation expense, adverse publicity or loss of revenue, which any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. It is also possible that we could be prohibited from collecting or disseminating certain types of data, which could affect our ability to meet our users’ needs.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be unable to compete with competitors developing similar technologies.
Historically, our defense of our intellectual property rights has been a significant aspect of our business and has meaningfully contributed to our results of operations. Accordingly, our success and ability to compete are often dependent upon the development of intellectual property for our applications.
We aim to protect our confidential proprietary information, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with all our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who access or contribute to our proprietary know-how, information, or technology. We also rely on trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and domain-name-protection laws to protect our proprietary rights. We have filed various applications to protect aspects of our intellectual property, and we currently hold a number of issued patents. In the future we may acquire additional patents or patent portfolios, which could require significant cash expenditures. However, third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe our proprietary rights, third parties may challenge proprietary rights held by us, and pending and future trademark and patent applications may not be approved. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which we operate or intend to operate our business.
In any of these cases, we may be required to expend significant time and expense to prevent infringement or to enforce our rights. Although we have taken measures to protect our proprietary rights, others may offer products or concepts that are substantially similar to ours and compete with our business. If we are unable to protect our proprietary rights or prevent unauthorized use or appropriation by third parties, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our service and methods of operations. Any of these events could seriously harm our business.
If we are subject to intellectual property infringement claims, it could cause us to incur significant expenses, pay substantial damages or royalties and prevent us from offering our applications.
From time to time, third parties may claim that our applications infringe or violate their intellectual property rights. Any claims of infringement could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial damages and prevent us from using licensed technology that may be fundamental to our applications. Even if we were to prevail, any litigation regarding intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. We maintain insurance to protect against intellectual property infringement claims and resulting litigation, but such insurance may not cover or may not be sufficient to cover all potential claims, liability or expenses. We may also be obligated to indemnify our business partners in any such litigation, which could further exhaust our resources. Furthermore, as a result of an intellectual property challenge, we may be prevented from offering our applications unless we enter into royalty, license or other agreements. We may not be able to obtain such agreements at all or on terms acceptable to us, and as a result, we may be precluded from offering our applications and services.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our common stock is historically thinly traded, stockholders may be unable to sell at or near ask prices or at all and the price of our common stock may be volatile.
Historically, shares of our common stock were thinly-traded on the OTCQB and have usually been thinly-traded following our uplist to The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”), meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common stock at or near ask prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company that is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volume. As a consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer that has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without an adverse effect on stock price.
However, during certain periods we have received, and may continue to receive, a high degree of media coverage that is published or otherwise disseminated by third parties, including blogs, articles, message boards and social and other media. This may include coverage that is not attributable to statements made by the Company or our Board of Directors. Information provided by third parties may not be reliable or accurate and could materially impact the trading price of our common stock which could cause stockholders to lose their investments.
The market prices and trading volume of our common stock have recently experienced, and may continue to experience, extreme volatility, which could cause purchasers of our common stock to incur substantial losses. For example, during 2021, the market price of our common stock fluctuated from an intra-day low of $1.48 per share on January 4, 2021 to an intra-day high on Nasdaq of $15.20 on September 29, 2021. The last reported sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq on December 31, 2021 was $2.84 per share. From June 2021 to September 2021, daily trading volume ranged from approximately 100 to 133,244,100 shares. We believe that the recent volatility and our current market prices reflect market and trading dynamics unrelated to our underlying business, or macro or industry fundamentals, and we do not know if these dynamics will continue.
Although our common stock is now listed for trading on Nasdaq, a broader or more active public trading market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained, and the current trading level of our common stock may not be sustained. Due to these conditions, you may be unable to sell your common stock at or near ask prices or at all if you desire to sell shares of common stock.
The stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These broad market fluctuations may also adversely affect the trading price of our common stock, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
Because of the limited trading market for our common stock, and because of the possible price volatility, you may not be able to sell your shares of common stock when you desire to do so. The inability to sell your shares in a rapidly declining market may substantially increase your risk of loss because of such illiquidity and because the price for our common stock may suffer greater declines because of its price volatility
The ownership of our common stock is significantly concentrated in a small number of investors, some of whom are affiliated with our Board of Directors and management, which could prevent stockholders from having input on the course of our operations or otherwise lead to actual or potential conflicts of interest.
As of March 21, 2022, Jason Katz, our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and President, beneficially owned approximately 7.1% of our outstanding common stock, including shares of common stock held directly by Mr. Katz’s spouse, and The J. Crew Delaware Trust A, a trust formed by Mr. Katz for the benefit of certain of his family members, also beneficially owned approximately 24.0% of our outstanding common stock as of March 21, 2022. Mr. Katz is not a beneficiary of the trust and does not hold voting or dispositive power over the shares held by the trust.
Mr. Katz, The J. Crew Delaware Trust A and others that have significant beneficial ownership of our common shares have substantial influence regarding matters submitted for stockholder approval, including proposals regarding:
● any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets;
● the election of members of our Board of Directors; and
● any amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Certificate of Incorporation”).
The current or increased ownership position of any of these stockholders and/or their respective affiliates could delay, deter or prevent a change of control or adversely affect the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common shares. In addition, the interests of these stockholders and/or their respective affiliates may significantly differ from the interests of our other stockholders and they may vote the common shares they beneficially own in ways with which our other stockholders disagree.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud and our business may be harmed and our stock price may be adversely impacted.
Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports or to prevent fraud could harm our business. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) requires management to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In order to continue to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we are required to continuously evaluate and, where appropriate, enhance our policies, procedures and internal controls. We have in the past failed, and may in the future fail, to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls over financial reporting. Such failure could subject us to litigation or regulatory scrutiny and investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports. We cannot provide any assurance that in the future we will be able to fully comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or that management will conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. If we fail to fully comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our business may be harmed and our stock price may decline.
Our results of operations are volatile and difficult to predict, and our stock price may decline if we fail to meet the expectations of stockholders.
Our revenue and results of operations could vary significantly from period-to-period and year-to-year and may fail to match our past performance because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. Any of these events could cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate. Factors that may contribute to the variability of our results of operations include:
● changes in expectations as to our future financial performance;
● announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or capital commitments;
● market acceptance of our new applications and enhancements to our existing applications;
● the amount of advertising and marketing that is available and spent on user acquisition campaigns;
● disruptions in the availability of our applications on third party platforms;
● actual or perceived violations of privacy obligations and compromises of subscriber data;
● the entrance of new competitors in our market whether by established companies or the entrance of new companies;
● additions or departures of key personnel and the cost of attracting and retaining application developers and other software engineers; and
● general market conditions, including market volatility and the impact of inflation.
Given the rapidly evolving industry in which we operate, our historical results of operations may not be useful in predicting our future results of operations. In addition, metrics available from third parties regarding our industry and the performance of our applications may not be indicative of our future financial performance.
The issuance of shares upon the exercise of stock options and unvested shares of restricted common stock may cause immediate and substantial dilution to our existing stockholders.
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 394,075 shares of common stock that were issuable upon the exercise of vested outstanding stock options. The issuance of shares upon the exercise of these options may result in substantial dilution to the equity interest and voting power of holders of our common stock.
In the future, we may also issue additional shares of common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock. Our Certificate of Incorporation currently authorizes us to issue up to 25,000,000 shares of common stock, of which 9,832,157 were outstanding as of December 31, 2021, which includes 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, preferences and rights as determined by our Board of Directors, of which none were outstanding as of December 31, 2021. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock may substantially dilute the ownership interests of our existing stockholders. Furthermore, sales of a substantial amount of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could reduce the market price of our common stock. This could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our securities.
Because we have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, a stockholder might not receive any return on investment unless the stockholder sold its shares of common stock for a price greater than that for which the shares were purchased.
We do not anticipate that we will declare or pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, stockholders will only realize an economic gain on their investment in our common stock if the price appreciates. Stockholders should not purchase our common stock expecting to receive cash dividends. Because we currently do not pay dividends, and there may be limited trading in our common stock, stockholders may not have any manner to liquidate or receive any payment on their common stock. Therefore, our failure to pay dividends may cause stockholders to not see any return on their common stock even if we are successful in our business operations. In addition, because we do not pay dividends we may have trouble raising additional funds which could affect our ability to expand our business operations.
Our Certificate of Incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees, or stockholders.
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that, subject to limited exceptions, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our Company, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee, agent, or stockholder of our Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director, officer, employee, agent, or stockholder of the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our Certificate of Incorporation or our Amended and Restated By-Laws, as amended, or (iv) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director, officer, employee, agent, or stockholder of the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation described above.
This exclusive forum provision applies to state and federal law claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. In addition, this exclusive forum selection provision will not apply to claims under the Exchange Act. Moreover, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce our forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees.
Investor relations activities, nominal “float” and supply and demand factors may affect the price of our common stock.
We have engaged an investor relations firm to create investor awareness for our Company. These campaigns may include non-deal road shows and personal, video and telephone conferences with investors and prospective investors in which our business and business practices are described. We provide compensation to our investor relations firm, and may in the future provide compensation to additional investor relations firms or financial advisory firms, for these services, and pay for newsletters, websites, mailings and email campaigns that are produced by third parties based upon publicly available information concerning us. We do not intend to review or approve of the content of such analyst reports or other writings and communications that are based upon analysts’ own research or methods. Investor relations firms are generally required to disclose when they are compensated for their efforts and the source of such compensation, but whether such disclosure is made or in compliance with applicable laws is not under our control. In addition, our investors may, from time to time, take steps to encourage investor awareness through similar activities that may be undertaken at the expense of such investors. Investor awareness activities may also be suspended or discontinued, which may impact the trading market of our common stock.
The SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority enforce various statutes and regulations intended to prevent manipulative or deceptive devices in connection with the purchase or sale of any security and carefully scrutinize trading patterns and company news and other communications for false or misleading information, particularly in cases where the hallmarks of “pump and dump” activities may exist, such as rapid share price increases or decreases. We and our stockholders may be subjected to enhanced regulatory scrutiny due to the fact that our affiliates hold a majority of our outstanding common stock and we have a limited number of shares of common stock that are publicly available for resale.
The Supreme Court of the United States has stated that manipulative action is a term of art connoting intentional or willful conduct designed to deceive or defraud investors by controlling or artificially affecting the price of securities. Often times, manipulation is associated by regulators with forces that upset the supply and demand factors that would normally determine trading prices. Securities regulators have often cited thinly-traded markets, small numbers of holders and awareness campaigns as components of their claims of price manipulation and other violations of law when combined with manipulative trading, such as wash sales, matched orders or other manipulative trading timed to coincide with false or touting press releases. There can be no assurance that our activities or the activities of third parties, or the small number of potential sellers or small percentage of stock in our public float, or determinations by purchasers or holders as to when or under what circumstances or at what prices they may be willing to buy or sell stock, will not artificially impact (or would be claimed by regulators to have affected) the normal supply and demand factors that determine the price of our common stock.
If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of Nasdaq, Nasdaq could delist our securities.
Our common stock was approved for listing on Nasdaq under the symbol “PALT” and began trading on Nasdaq on August 3, 2021. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. We may not be able to comply with the applicable listing standards and Nasdaq could delist our securities as a result.
We cannot assure you that our common stock, if delisted from Nasdaq, will be listed on another national securities exchange. If our common stock is delisted by Nasdaq, our common stock would likely trade on the OTCQB where an investor may find it more difficult to sell our shares or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our principal executive office is located at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza in Jericho, New York 11753. The lease for the 30 Jericho Executive Plaza office space expires on November 30, 2024. We currently do not own any real property.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
On July 23, 2021, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Paltalk Holdings, Inc., filed a patent infringement lawsuit against WebEx Communications, Inc., Cisco WebEx LLC, and Cisco Systems, Inc. (collectively, “Cisco”), in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The Company alleges that Cisco’s Webex products have infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,683,858, and that the Company is entitled to damages. A Markman hearing took place on February 24, 2022 and a trial is scheduled for early 2023.
To our knowledge, other than as described above, there are no material pending legal proceedings to which we are a party or of which any of our property is the subject.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is quoted on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “PALT.” Our common stock was quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol “PALT” during the 2020 fiscal year, the first two fiscal quarters of 2021 and for a portion of the third quarter of 2021. We completed an uplist to Nasdaq on August 3, 2021.
The following table sets forth the range of the quarterly high and low bid price information for the fiscal quarters indicated below as reported by Nasdaq or the OTCQB, as applicable. Except for trading on Nasdaq, there is no established public trading market for our common stock.
High Bid* Low Bid*
($) ($)
Fourth Quarter $ 13.57 $ 2.82
Third Quarter $ 15.20 $ 2.78
Second Quarter $ 3.63 $ 2.35
First Quarter $ 4.37 $ 1.48
Fourth Quarter $ 1.72 $ 0.67
Third Quarter $ 2.70 $ 0.85
Second Quarter $ 6.00 $ 0.60
First Quarter $ 1.43 $ 0.76
* The over-the-counter market quotations of the bid prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, markdown or commission, and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.
The market price of our common stock is subject to significant fluctuations in response to variations in our quarterly operating results, general trends in the market, and other factors, over many of which we have little or no control. In addition, broad market fluctuations, as well as general economic, business and political conditions, may adversely affect the market for our common stock, regardless of our actual or projected performance.
Holders
As of March 21, 2022, there were approximately 53 holders of record of our common stock. This does not reflect the number of persons or entities who held stock in nominee or street name through various brokerage firms.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There were no sales of unregistered securities during the year ended December 31, 2021 that were not previously reported on a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
We did not repurchase any of our equity securities during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. Reserved

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is intended to provide a reader of our financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of our management on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and certain other factors that may affect our future results. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. See “Forward-Looking Statements.” Our results and the timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a leading communications software innovator that powers multimedia social applications. Our product portfolio includes Paltalk, Camfrog and Tinychat, which together host one of the world’s largest collections of video-based communities. Our other product is Vumber, which is a telecommunications services provider that enables users to communicate privately by having multiple phone numbers with any area code through which calls can be forwarded to a user’s existing telephone number. We have an over 20-year history of technology innovation and hold 14 patents.
We believe that the scale of our user base presents a competitive advantage in the video social networking industry and provides growth opportunities to advance our existing products with up-sell opportunities and build future brands with cross-sell offers. We also believe that our proprietary consumer app technology platform can scalably support large communities of users in activities such as video, voice and text chat, online card and board games and provide robust user monetization tools.
Our continued growth depends on attracting new consumer application users through the introduction of new applications, features and partnerships and further penetration of our existing markets. Our principal growth strategy is to invest in the development of proprietary software, expand our sales and marketing efforts with respect to such software, and increase our consumer application user base through potential platform partnerships and new and existing advertising campaigns that we run through internet and mobile advertising networks, all while balancing the capital needs of the business. Our strategy also includes the acquisition of, or investment in, technologies, solutions or businesses that complement our business.
Our strategy is to approach these opportunities in a measured way, being mindful of our resources and evaluating factors such as potential revenue, time to market and amount of capital needed to invest in the opportunity.
Background of Presentation and Recent Developments
Update on COVID-19
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the various attempts to contain it have created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. COVID-19 continues to have an unpredictable and unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy as federal, state and local governments react to this public health crisis with travel restrictions and potential quarantines. Although our core multimedia social applications have been able to support the increased demand we have experienced, the extent of the future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business is highly uncertain and difficult to predict. Adverse economic and market conditions as a result of COVID-19 could also affect the demand for our applications and the ability of our users to satisfy their obligations to us. If the pandemic continues to cause significant negative impacts to economic conditions, our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity could be materially and adversely impacted.
On April 13, 2020, to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied for a loan under the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), and on May 3, 2020, we entered into a promissory note with an aggregate principal amount of $506,500 (the “Note”) in favor of Citibank, N.A., as lender (the “Lender”). On January 13, 2021, the Note was fully forgiven by the SBA and the Lender in compliance with the provisions of the CARES Act. We do not expect to incur additional indebtedness under the CARES Act.
We continue to serve as a form of safe and entertaining communication during this global pandemic, and in order to help those affected in hardest hit countries, will continue to offer some of its group video conferencing services free of charge to select countries.
August 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On August 5, 2021, we announced the pricing and closing of a firm commitment underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 1,333,310 shares of our common stock (which includes 173,910 shares sold to the underwriter pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $3.00 per share (the “August 2021 Offering”). The August 2021 Offering was made pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-257036), initially filed with the SEC on June 11, 2021, as subsequently amended, and declared effective on August 2, 2021. The August 2021 Offering was made only by means of a prospectus forming a part of the effective registration statement. The net proceeds to us from the August 2021 Offering were approximately $3.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
In connection with the August 2021 Offering, our common stock was approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “PALT” and began trading on Nasdaq on August 3, 2021.
October 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On October 19, 2021, we announced the pricing and closing of an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 1,552,500 shares of our common stock (which includes 202,500 shares sold to the underwriter pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $7.50 per share (the “October 2021 Offering”). The October 2021 Offering was made pursuant to an effective shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-260063), previously filed with the SEC on October 5, 2021 and declared effective on October 14, 2021. The October 2021 Offering was offered by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, forming part of the registration statement. The net proceeds to us from the October 2021 Offering were approximately $10.7 million, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
Launch of Paltalk Rewards Points
As previously disclosed, we served as a launch partner with YouNow to integrate YouNow’s props infrastructure into our Camfrog and Paltalk applications, which allowed users to earn Props tokens while using the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. On October 15, 2021, we launched our new rewards loyalty program, Paltalk Rewards Points, and simultaneously ended the distribution of Props tokens, our prior rewards program. Paltalk and Camfrog users kept their existing rewards earned from the former Props program as Paltalk Rewards Points and now have the opportunity to earn new Paltalk Rewards Points. In connection with the Paltalk Rewards Points, we added 25 new reward tiers such as specialty coins, subscriptions, stickers, flair, and other popular buttons.
Operational Highlights and Objectives
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we executed key components of our objectives:
● completed an uplist of our shares of common stock to Nasdaq, which began trading on Nasdaq on August 3, 2021, under the Company’s current ticker symbol “PALT”;
● raised gross proceeds of approximately $15.6 million in connection with the August 2021 Offering and October 2021 Offering of an aggregate of 2,885,810 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $3.00 and $7.50 per share, respectively;
● sold approximately 36.9 million Props tokens for proceeds of $0.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2021;
● reported net income of $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 which included a non-cash $0.8 million impairment of digital token assets, compared to net income of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020; and
● achieved positive net cash flow of $16.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an improvement of $13.9 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
For the near term, our business objectives include:
● invest in robust marketing initiatives through marketing agencies in order to drive new user acquisition intended to result in an increase in revenue;
● implementing several enhancements to our live video chat applications as well as the integration of games and other features focused on retention and monetization, which collectively are intended to increase user engagement and revenue opportunities;
● continuing to explore strategic opportunities, including, but not limited to, potential mergers or acquisitions of other entities that are synergistic to our businesses;
● focusing on our core business to continue to leverage efficiencies gained during 2021 and expand our core business in a cost-efficient way;
● continuing to develop our consumer application platform strategy by seeking potential partnerships with large third-party communities to whom we could promote a co-branded version of our video chat products and potentially share in the incremental revenues generated by these partner communities; and
● continuing to defend our intellectual property.
Sources of Revenue
Our main sources of revenue are subscription, advertising and other fees generated from users of our core video chat products. We expect that the majority of our revenue in future periods will continue to be generated from our core video chat products. We also generate technology service revenue under licensing and service agreements that we negotiate with third parties which includes development, integration, engineering, licensing or other services that we provide.
Subscription Revenue
Our video chat platforms generate revenue primarily through subscription fees. Our tiers of subscriptions provide users with unlimited video windows and levels of status within the community. Multiple subscription tiers are offered in different durations depending on the product from one-, six- and twelve-month terms, which continue to vary as we continue to test and optimize length and pricing. Longer-term plans (those with durations longer than one month) are generally available at discounted monthly rates. Levels of membership benefits are offered in tiers, with the least membership benefits in the lowest paid tier and the most membership benefits in the highest paid tier. Our membership tiers are “Plus,” “Extreme,” “VIP” and “Prime” for Paltalk and “Pro,” “Extreme” and “Gold” for Camfrog. We also hold occasional promotions that offer discounted subscriptions and virtual gifts.
We recognize revenue from monthly premium subscription services beginning in the month in which the subscriptions are originated. Revenues from multi-month subscriptions are recognized on a gross and straight-line basis over the length of the subscription period. The unearned portion of subscription revenue is presented as deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
We also offer virtual gifts to our users. Users may purchase credits that can be redeemed for a host of virtual gifts such as a rose, a beer, or a car, among other items. Virtual gift revenue is recognized upon the users’ utilization of the virtual gift and included in subscription revenue. The unearned portion of virtual gifts revenue is presented as deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Advertising Revenue
We generate a portion of our revenue through advertisements on our video platforms. Advertising revenue is dependent upon the volume of advertising impressions viewed by active users as well as the advertising inventory we place on our products. We recognize advertising revenue as earned on a click-through, impression, registration or subscription basis. Measurements of impressions include when a user clicks on an advertisement (CPC basis), views an advertisement impression (CPM basis), or registers for an external website via an advertisement by clicking on or through our application (CPA basis).
Technology Service Revenue
Technology service revenue is generated under service and partnership agreements that we negotiate with third parties, which includes development, integration, engineering, licensing or other services that we provide.
On May 29, 2020, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement, which was subsequently amended and restated (the “Amended and Restated Agreement”) with SecureCo, LLC (“SecureCo”), pursuant to which we agreed to sell substantially all of the assets related to our secure communications business (the “Secured Communications Assets”) to SecureCo. The Amended and Restated Agreement also provides for a revenue sharing arrangement, pursuant to which we are entitled to receive quarterly royalty payments ranging from 5% to 10% of certain revenues received by SecureCo, with the aggregate amount of such royalty payments not to exceed $500,000. The royalty payments, if received, will be recorded as technology service revenue. We do not expect to continue to pursue secure communications products or technology implementation services as part of our overall business strategy.
During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we also recorded technology service revenue in connection with our agreement to serve as a launch partner with Open Props, Inc. (formerly YouNow, Inc., and referred to herein as “YouNow”) and to integrate YouNow’s props infrastructure (the “Props platform”) into our Camfrog and Paltalk applications (as amended, the “YouNow Agreement”).
Pursuant to the terms of the YouNow Agreement, YouNow agreed to pay us, in exchange for our services, an aggregate of 10.5 million cryptographic props tokens (“Props tokens”) upon the achievement of certain milestones. The upfront fee is recognized as revenue under the output method based on the direct measurements of the value of services transferred to date to the customer, relative to the remaining services under the YouNow Agreement. The milestones fees were recognized as revenue on the completion dates of integration services performed during the second and third quarters of 2020. Once the integration of Props tokens into our Paltalk and Camfrog applications was completed, we began receiving Props tokens for providing a validator service and for allowing users to participate in the loyalty platform. The loyalty platform was intended to drive engagement and incentivize users financially by providing users with the ability to earn Props tokens while using the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. The net revenue earned was recorded under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of operations. The total net revenue value is recognized as earned.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, we determined the fair value of the Props tokens by converting them into U.S. dollars using an independent third-party valuation. Digital tokens earned, receivable or payable before September 30, 2020, were recorded based on a $0.02 fair value estimated at the end of the reporting period. Digital tokens earned, receivable or payable from July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 were recorded based on an estimated fair value of $0.039.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we determined the fair value of the Props tokens using observable daily quoted market prices on multiple international exchanges, as recorded on CoinmarketCap.
In August 2021, we received notice from YouNow that it was terminating the YouNow Agreement, and that it would no longer support the Props platform past the end of calendar year 2021. In connection with the notice of termination and in accordance with the YouNow Agreement, we received an additional 2,625,000 Props tokens. The value of these tokens was recorded as revenue under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of income. The YouNow Agreement was terminated effective on November 23, 2021. We now expect that most of our technology service revenue generated in the future will result from opportunistic partnerships between us and third parties.
During year the ended December 31, 2021, we sold approximately 36.9 million Props tokens for total proceeds of $0.9 million.
Costs and Expenses
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel engaged in data center and customer care functions, credit card processing fees, hosting fees, and data center rent and bandwidth costs. Cost of revenue also includes compensation and other employee-related costs for technical personnel, consultants and subcontracting costs relating to technology service revenue.
Sales and marketing expense
Sales and marketing expense consist primarily of advertising expenditures and compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel and consultants engaged in sales and sales support functions. Advertising and promotional spend includes online marketing, including fees paid to search engines, and offline marketing, which primarily consists of partner-related payments to those who direct traffic to our brands.
Product development expense
Product development expense, which relates to the development of technology of our applications, consists primarily of compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related and consultants-related costs that are not capitalized for personnel engaged in the design, testing and enhancement of service offerings as well as amortization of capitalized website development costs.
General and administrative expense
General and administrative expense consists primarily of compensation (including non-cash stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel engaged in executive management, finance, legal, tax and human resources and facilities costs and fees for other professional services and cost of insurance. General and administrative expense also includes depreciation of property and equipment and amortization of intangible assets.
Impairment loss on digital tokens
Impairment loss on digital tokens results from the daily assessment of the Props tokens’ quoted market prices, as reflected on CoinmarketCap, and adjusting the recorded carrying amount to the amount equal to the lowest quoted market price during the period in which the Props tokens are held. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge in the amount of $765,232, which is reported in our accompanying consolidated statements of income as a result of recent decline in the quoted market prices below the market price of their acquisition.
Key Metrics
Our management relies on certain non-GAAP and/or unaudited performance indicators to manage and evaluate our business. The key performance indicators set forth below help us evaluate growth trends, establish budgets, measure the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing efforts and assess operational efficiencies. We also discuss net cash provided by operating activities under the ‟Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” sections below. Subscription bookings and Adjusted EBITDA are discussed below.
Year Ended
December 31,
Subscription bookings
$ 12,224,780
$ 12,195,725
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 1,265,464
$ 1,435,300
Net income
$ 1,324,106
$ 1,371,262
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 1,281,361
$ 1,955,854
Adjusted EBITDA as percentage of total revenue
9.7 %
15.2 %
Subscription Bookings
Subscription bookings is a financial measure representing the aggregate dollar value of subscription fees and virtual gifts purchases received during the period. We calculate subscription bookings as subscription revenue recognized during the period plus the change in deferred subscription revenue recognized during the period. We record subscription revenue from subscription fees as deferred subscription revenue and then recognize that revenue ratably over the length of the subscription term or ratably over usage for virtual gifts. Our management uses subscription bookings internally in analyzing our financial results to assess operational performance and to assess the effectiveness of, and plan future, user acquisition campaigns. We believe that this financial measure is useful in evaluating the performance of our consumer applications because we believe, as compared to subscription revenue, it is a better indicator of the subscription activity in a given period. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to subscription bookings in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.
While the factors that affect subscription bookings and subscription revenue are generally the same, certain factors may affect subscription bookings more or less than such factors affect subscription revenue in any period. While we believe that subscription bookings is useful in evaluating our business, it should be considered as supplemental in nature and it is not meant to be a substitute for subscription revenue recognized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”).
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income adjusted to exclude net loss from interest income, net, provision for income taxes, gain on office lease termination, impairment loss on goodwill, gain from sale of Secured Communication Assets, gain on the extinguishment of term debt, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, loss on disposal of property and equipment, other expense, impairment loss on digital tokens, gain on extinguishment of digital tokens payable, realized loss (gain) from the sale of digital tokens and stock-based compensation expense.
We present Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and Board of Directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends, to develop short- and long-term operational plans and to allocate resources to expand our business. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of the cash operating income generated by our business. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and others to understand and evaluate our operating results, and it allows for a more meaningful comparison between our performance and that of competitors.
Limitations of Adjusted EBITDA
Our use of Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider this performance measure in isolation from or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are that Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect: cash capital expenditures for assets underlying depreciation and amortization expense that may need to be replaced or for new capital expenditures; net loss from discontinued operations; interest income, net; other expense, net; gain on sale of the Dating Services Business; income tax expense from continuing operations; gain on office lease termination; impairment loss on goodwill; gain from sale of Secured Communication Assets; loss on disposal of property and equipment; our working capital requirements; the impairment loss on digital tokens; realized gain (loss) from the sale of digital tokens; the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation; gain on the extinguishment of term debt; gain on extinguishment of digital tokens payable; and the provision for income taxes. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income and our other GAAP results. The following table presents a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:
Year Ended
December 31,
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA:
Net income $ 1,324,106 $ 1,371,262
Stock-based compensation expense (35,653 ) 243,197
Depreciation and amortization expense 370,845 571,725
Gain on office lease termination - (141,001 )
Impairment loss on digital tokens 765,232 -
Interest income, net (133 ) (7,119 )
Gain from sale of Secured Communications Assets - (250,000 )
Loss on disposal of property and equipment - 39,238
Gain on extinguishment of term debt (506,500 ) -
Realized loss (gain) from sale of digital tokens (307,934 ) 72,123
Gain on termination of digital tokens payable (338,553 ) -
Other expense - 56,042
Provision for income taxes 9,951
Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,281,361 $ 1,955,854
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth consolidated statements of income data for each of the periods indicated as a percentage of total revenue:
Years Ended
December 31,
Total revenue 100.0 % 100.0 %
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenue 20.5 % 20.1 %
Sales and marketing expense 8.8 % 6.4 %
Product development expense 40.6 % 39.2 %
General and administrative expense 20.4 % 24.7 %
Impairment loss on digital tokens 5.8 % -%
Total costs and expenses 96.1 % 90.4 %
Income from operations 3.9 % 9.6 %
Interest income, net 0.0 % 0.1 %
Gain from sale of Secured Communications Assets -% 1.9 %
Gain on extinguishment of term debt 3.8 % -%
Realized gain (loss) from sale of digital tokens 2.3 % (0.6 )%
Other expense - % (0.4 )%
Income from operations before provision for income taxes 10.0 % 10.6 %
Provision for income taxes (0.1 )% (0.0 )%
Net income 9.9 % 10.6 %
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
Revenue
Total revenue increased to $13,273,849 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $12,832,672 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in subscription revenue from the Paltalk application, as we experienced a change in the proportion of revenue generated from revenue from subscriptions to revenue from virtual gifts.
The following table sets forth our subscription revenue, advertising revenue, technology service revenue and total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020, the increase or decrease between those periods, the percentage increase or decrease between those periods, and the percentage of total revenue that each represented for those periods:
Years Ended
$
%
% of Revenue Years Ended
December 31,
Increase
Increase
December 31,
(Decrease)
(Decrease)
Subscription revenue
$ 12,368,008
$ 11,966,497
$ 401,511
3.4 %
93.2 %
93.3 %
Advertising revenue
451,337
325,475
125,862
38.7 %
3.4 %
2.5 %
Technology service revenue
454,504
540,700
(86,196 )
(15.9 )%
3.4 %
4.2 %
Total revenues
$ 13,273,849
$ 12,832,672
$ 441,177
3.4 %
100.0 %
100.0 %
Subscription Revenue
Our subscription revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $401,511, or 3.4%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in subscription revenue was primarily driven by increased activity in the Paltalk application from our existing users, as well as a strategic alignment of pricing promotions and a change in the blend of revenue generated from revenue from subscriptions to revenue from virtual gifts. In addition, we had an increase in the Vumber application’s subscription revenue resulting from an increase in the work-from-home trend as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertising Revenue
Our advertising revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $125,862, or 38.7%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in advertising revenue was primarily due to an increase in the volume of advertising impressions related to changes in and the optimization of third-party advertising partners.
Technology Service Revenue
Our technology service revenue decreased by $86,196, or 15.9%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in technology service revenue was driven by the termination of the YouNow Agreement, effective November 23, 2021.
Costs and Expenses
Total costs and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $1,164,382, or 10.0%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The following table presents our costs and expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the increase or decrease between those periods and the percentage increase or decrease between those periods and the percentage of total revenue that each represented for those periods:
Years Ended
December 31,
$
%
% of Revenue Years Ended
December 31,
Increase Increase
(Decrease)
(Decrease)
Cost of revenue
$ 2,720,189
$ 2,573,083
$ 147,106
5.7 %
20.5 %
20.1 %
Sales and marketing expense
1,170,386
825,069
345,317
41.9 %
8.8 %
6.4 %
Product development expense
5,391,819
5,025,482
366,337
7.3 %
40.6 %
39.2 %
General and administrative expense
2,706,733
3,166,343
(459,610 )
(14.5 )%
20.4 %
24.7 %
Impairment loss on digital tokens
765,232
-
765,232
100.0 %
5.8 %
- %
Total costs and expenses
$ 12,754,359
$ 11,589,977
$ 1,164,382
10.0 %
96.1 %
90.4 %
Cost of revenue
Our cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $147,106, or 5.7%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily driven by an increase in non-cash stock compensation expense of $67,000 and an increase of approximately $62,800 in consulting services to support fraud prevention.
Sales and marketing expense
Our sales and marketing expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $345,317, or 41.9%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in sales and marketing expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to an increase of approximately $259,000 in marketing user acquisition expenses and an increase of approximately $87,000 in salary and related expenses driven by an increased headcount as we grow our focus on social media.
Product development expense
Our product development expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $366,337, or 7.3%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase of approximately $382,600 related to consulting services and software expenses in support of enhanced user retention and improved monetization in the Paltalk application. This increase was offset by a decrease of approximately $55,800 in compensation expense as the sale of the secure communications assets resulted in a decrease in headcount.
General and administrative expense
Our general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $459,610, or 14.5%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was mainly due to reduced rent expense of $115,100 resulting from an office lease termination, a decrease in compensation and related expenses of approximately $151,000, a reduction of approximately $336,500 in non-cash stock compensation expense primarily from an unvested executive performance award that was forfeited, and $338,553 non-cash gain on extinguishment of digital tokens payable. These reductions were offset by an increase in professional and legal fees in connection with the uplisting to The Nasdaq Capital Market of approximately $146,000 in August of 2021 and a gain of $141,000 resulting from an office lease termination during the year ended December 31, 2020.
Impairment loss on digital tokens
We recorded a non-cash impairment loss on digital tokens of $765,232 for the year ended December 31, 2021 as a result of recent declines in the quoted market prices of certain digital tokens below the market price of their acquisition.
Non-Operating Income
The following table presents the components of non-operating income for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020, the increase or decrease between those periods and the percentage increase or decrease between those periods and the percentage of total revenue that each represented for those periods:
Years Ended
December 31,
$
Increase
%
Increase
% of Revenue Years Ended
December 31,
(Decrease)
(Decrease)
Interest income, net
$
$ 7,119
$ (6,986 )
(98.1 )%
0.0 %
0.1 %
Gain from the sale of Secured Communications Assets
-
250,000
(250,000 )
(100.0 )%
- %
1.9 %
Gain on extinguishment of term debt
506,500
-
506,500
100.0 %
3.8 %
- %
Realized gain (loss) from sale of digital tokens
307,934
(72,123 )
380,057
527.0 %
2.3 %
(0.6 )%
Other expense
-
(56,042 )
56,042
100.0 %
- %
(0.4 )%
Total non-operating income
$ 814,567
$ 128,954
$ 685,613
531.7 %
6.1 %
1.0 %
Non-operating income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $814,567, an increase of $685,613, or 531.7%, as compared to non-operating income of $128,954 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase resulted from the gain on extinguishment of term debt of the $506,500 of proceeds from the Note received in order to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a gain from sale of digital tokens of $307,934.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Years Ended
December 31,
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data:
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,265,464 $ 1,435,300
Net cash provided by investing activities 858,848 225,406
Net cash provided by financing activities 13,927,128 497,656
Net change in cash and cash equivalents $ 16,051,440 $ 2,158,362
Currently, our primary source of liquidity is cash on hand and cash flows from continuing operations, and we believe that our cash and cash equivalents balance and our expected cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet all of our financial obligations for the twelve months from the date these financial statements are issued. As of December 31, 2021, we had $21,636,860 of cash and cash equivalents.
Our primary use of working capital is related to product development resources and an investment in marketing activities in order to maintain and create new services and features in applications for our clients and users. In particular, a significant portion of our working capital has been allocated to the improvement of our products. In the future, we may also seek to grow our business by expending our capital resources to fund strategic investments and partnership opportunities.
As discussed above, on May 29, 2020, we completed the sale of the Secured Communications Assets for a cash purchase price of $250,000, $150,000 of which was paid at closing and $100,000 of which was paid in four equal installments over the fifteen-month period following the closing. The Amended and Restated Agreement also provides for a revenue sharing arrangement, pursuant to which we are entitled to receive quarterly royalty payments ranging from 5% to 10% of certain revenues received by SecureCo, with the aggregate amount of such royalty payments not to exceed $500,000. The royalty payments, if received, will be recorded as technology service revenue.
On August 5, 2021, we announced the closing of the August 2021 Offering in which we offered and sold 1,159,400 shares of our common stock. We also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 173,910 shares of common stock at the public offering price less discounts and commissions to cover over-allotments, which was exercised in full on August 5, 2021. The net proceeds to us from the August 2021 Offering were approximately $3.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
In addition, on October 19, 2021, we announced the pricing and closing of the October 2021 Offering in which we offered and sold 1,552,500 shares of our common stock. We also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 202,500 shares of common stock at the public offering price less discounts and commissions to cover over-allotments, which was exercised in full on October 14, 2021. The net proceeds to us from the October 2021 Offering were approximately $10.7 million, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,265,464 for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $1,435,300 for the year ended December 31, 2020. Changes in accounts receivable and deferred revenue contributed to a lower cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $134,064 and $372,456, respectively, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in cash flow resulted from a change in third-party advertising partners as well as a change in the proportion of revenue generated between revenue from subscriptions and revenue from virtual gifts due to strategic alignment of the frequency of promotions therefore, accumulating less deferred revenue. These decreases were offset by an increase in accounts payables and accrued expenses of $1,059,132 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly as result of higher provisions of annual performance incentives.
Investing Activities
Net cash provided by investing activities was $858,848 for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to net cash provided by investing activities of $225,406 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in net cash provided by investing activities is due to an increase in proceeds from the sale of digital tokens.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $13,927,128 for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $497,656 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities is a result of the August 2021 and October 2021 Offerings, in which the Company sold an aggregate of 2,885,810 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $3.00 and $7.50 per share, respectively. Net proceeds received by the Company from the August 2021 and October 2021 Offerings were approximately $13.9 million, after underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As discussed above, on May 3, 2020, to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered into the Note in favor of the Lender in the aggregate principal amount of $506,500. The Note had a two-year term and borne interest at a stated rate of 1.0% per annum. We did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the Note, nor did we pay any facility charge to obtain the Note. The Note provided for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment, bankruptcy, breaches of representations and material adverse effects. On January 13, 2021, the Note was fully forgiven by the SBA and the Lender in compliance with the provisions of the CARES Act. We do not expect to incur additional indebtedness under the CARES Act.
On June 7, 2016, we entered into a lease agreement with Jericho Executive Center LLC for office space at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza in Jericho, New York, which commenced on September 1, 2016 and runs through November 30, 2021. Our monthly office rent payments under the lease are currently approximately $7,081 per month. On April 9, 2021, we entered into a lease extension agreement with Jericho Executive Center LLC for the office space at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza in Jericho, New York, which commenced on December 1, 2021 and runs through November 30, 2024.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In doing so, we have to make estimates and assumptions. Our critical accounting estimates are those estimates that involve a significant level of uncertainty at the time the estimate was made, and changes in them have had or are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from our estimates. We base our estimates on past experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, and we evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis. We have reviewed our critical accounting estimates with the audit committee of our Board of Directors.
Critical Accounting Policies
See Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K for a summary of significant accounting policies, which includes our critical accounting policies, and the effect on our financial statements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Page
Number
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB No. 688)
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Paltalk, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Paltalk, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.
Melville, NY
March 23, 2022
PALTALK, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 21,636,860 $ 5,585,420
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $3,648 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively 153,448 71,410
Prepaid expense and other current assets 239,258 236,704
Total current assets 22,029,566 5,893,534
Operating lease right-of-use asset 239,491 68,967
Property and equipment, net 69,599 255,777
Goodwill 6,326,250 6,326,250
Intangible assets, net 196,543 381,210
Digital tokens 7,262 439,145
Digital tokens receivable -
210,000
Other assets 13,937 13,937
Total assets $ 28,882,648 $ 13,588,820
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,332,632 $ 742,141
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 344,441 254,084
Operating lease liabilities, current portion 80,309 68,967
Digital tokens payable -
123,397
Term debt, current portion -
338,792
Deferred subscription revenue 1,915,493 2,058,721
Total current liabilities 3,672,875 3,586,102
Operating lease liabilities, non-current portion 159,182 -
Term debt, non-current portion -
167,708
Total liabilities 3,832,057 3,753,810
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 25,000,000 shares authorized, 9,864,120 and 6,916,404 shares issued and 9,832,157 and 6,906,454 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively 9,864 6,917
Treasury stock, 31,963 and 9,950 shares as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively (194,200 ) (10,859 )
Additional paid-in capital 35,639,910 21,568,041
Accumulated deficit (10,404,983 ) (11,729,089 )
Total stockholders’ equity 25,050,591 9,835,010
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 28,882,648 $ 13,588,820
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
PALTALK, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
Years Ended
December 31,
Revenues
Subscription revenue $ 12,368,008 $ 11,966,497
Advertising revenue 451,337 325,475
Technology service revenue 454,504 540,700
Total revenue 13,273,849 12,832,672
Costs and expenses
Costs of revenue 2,720,189 2,573,083
Sales and marketing expense 1,170,386 825,069
Product development expense 5,391,819 5,025,482
General and administrative expense 2,706,733 3,166,343
Impairment loss on digital tokens 765,232 -
Total costs and expenses 12,754,359 11,589,977
Income from operations 519,490 1,242,695
Interest income, net 7,119
Gain from sale of Secured Communications Assets -
250,000
Gain on extinguishment of term debt 506,500 -
Realized gain (loss) from the sale of digital tokens 307,934 (72,123 )
Other expense -
(56,042 )
Income from operations before provision for income taxes 1,334,057 1,371,649
Income tax expense
(9,951 ) (387 )
Net income $ 1,324,106 1,371,262
Net income per share of common stock:
Basic $ 0.17 $ 0.20
Diluted $ 0.17 $ 0.20
Weighted average number of shares of common stock used in calculating net income per share of common stock:
Basic 7,766,111 6,884,690
Diluted 7,809,132 6,887,808
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
PALTALK, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Retained
Additional
Earnings
Total
Common
Stock
Treasury
Stock
Paid-in
(Accumulated
Stockholders’
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit)
Equity
Balance at December 31, 2019
6,878,904
$ 6,879
(1,900 )
$ (2,015 )
$ 21,281,382
$ (13,100,351 )
$ 8,185,895
Stock-based compensation expense
-
-
-
-
243,197
-
243,197
Issuance of common stock for consulting services
37,500
-
-
43,462
-
43,500
Repurchases of common stock
-
-
(8,050 )
(8,844 )
-
-
(8,844 )
Net income
-
-
-
-
-
1,371,262
1,371,262
Balance at December 31, 2020
6,916,404
$ 6,917
(9,950 )
$ (10,859 )
$ 21,568,041
$ (11,729,089 )
$ 9,835,010
Stock-based compensation expense
-
-
-
-
(35,653 )
-
(35,653 )
Issuance of common stock
2,885,810
2,886
-
-
13,916,240
-
13,919,126
Issuance of common stock pursuant to cashless option exercises
38,464
(38 )
-
-
Treasury stock received from cashless option exercises
22,013
(22,013 )
(183,341 )
183,319
-
-
Issuance of common stock pursuant to option exercise
1,429
-
-
8,001
-
8,002
Net income
-
-
-
-
-
1,324,106
1,324,106
Balance at December 31, 2021
9,864,120
$ 9,864
(31,963 )
$ (194,200 )
$ 35,639,910
$ (10,404,983 )
$ 25,050,591
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
PALTALK, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Years Ended
December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
$ 1,324,106
$ 1,371,262
Adjustments to reconcile net income from operations to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment
186,178
325,044
Amortization of intangible assets
184,667
246,681
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets
74,416
104,083
Gain on cancellation of office lease
-
(141,001 )
Loss on disposal of property and equipment
-
39,238
Gain on extinguishment of digital token liability
(338,553 )
-
Impairment loss on digital tokens
765,232
-
Realized (gain) loss from the sale of digital tokens
(307,934 )
72,823
Write-off of note receivable
-
56,042
Gain on extinguishment of term debt
(506,500 )
-
Stock-based compensation
(35,653 )
243,197
Bad debt expense
(3,235 )
4,015
Common stock issued for consulting services
-
43,500
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Digital tokens
(884,263 )
(439,145 )
Accounts receivable
(78,803 )
55,261
Digital tokens receivable
210,000
(210,000 )
Operating lease liability
(74,416 )
(107,674 )
Digital tokens payable
215,156
123,397
Prepaid expense and other current assets
(2,554 )
(219,263 )
Other assets
-
16,897
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities
680,848
(378,285 )
Deferred subscription revenue
(143,228 )
229,228
Net cash provided by operating activities
1,265,464
1,435,300
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from Secured Communications Assets
-
150,000
Proceeds from the sale of digital tokens
858,848
75,406
Net cash provided by investing activities
858,848
225,406
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings of term debt
-
506,500
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of issuance costs
13,919,126
-
Proceeds from issuance of common stock pursuant to option exercise
8,002
-
Purchase of treasury stock
-
(8,844 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
13,927,128
497,656
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
16,051,440
2,158,362
Balance of cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
5,585,420
3,427,058
Balance of cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$ 21,636,860
$ 5,585,420
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Modification of operating lease right-of-use asset and liability
$ 244,940
$ -
Issuance of common stock pursuant to cashless option exercises
$
$ -
Treasury stock received from cashless option exercises
$ 183,341
$ -
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Organization and Description of Business
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include Paltalk, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, A.V.M. Software, Inc., Paltalk Software Inc., Paltalk Holdings, Inc., Tiny Acquisition Inc., Camshare, Inc., Fire Talk LLC and Vumber LLC (collectively, the “Company”).
The Company’s product portfolio includes Paltalk, Camfrog and Tinychat, which together host one of the world’s largest collections of video-based communities. The Company’s other product is Vumber, which is a telecommunications services provider that enables users to communicate privately by having multiple phone numbers with any area code through which calls can be forwarded to a user’s existing telephone number. The Company has an over 20-year history of technology innovation and hold 14 patents.
Update on COVID-19
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the various attempts to contain it have created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. COVID-19 continues to have an unpredictable and unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy as federal, state and local governments react to this public health crisis with travel restrictions and potential quarantines. Although the Company’s core multimedia social applications have been able to support the increased demand we have experienced, the extent of the future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business is highly uncertain and difficult to predict. Adverse economic and market conditions as a result of COVID-19 could also affect the demand for the Company’s applications and the ability of the Company’s users to satisfy their obligations to the Company. If the pandemic continues to cause significant negative impacts to economic conditions, the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity could be materially and adversely impacted.
On April 13, 2020, to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company applied for a loan under the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), and on May 3, 2020, the Company entered into a promissory note with an aggregate principal amount of $506,500 (the “Note”) in favor of Citibank, N.A., as lender (the “Lender”). On January 13, 2021, the Note was fully forgiven by the SBA and the Lender in compliance with the provisions of the CARES Act. The Company does not expect to incur additional indebtedness under the CARES Act.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and were prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and with the requirements of the Security and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.
Significant Estimates and Assumptions
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
Significant estimates relied upon in preparing these financial statements include the estimates used to determine the fair value of the stock options issued in share-based payment arrangements, subscription revenues net of refunds, credits, and known and estimated credit card chargebacks and the fair value of digital tokens. Management evaluates these estimates on an ongoing basis. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. The Company bases estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from the Company’s estimates.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Fair Value Measurements
The fair value framework under the guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB’”) requires the categorization of assets and liabilities into three levels based upon the assumptions used to measure the assets or liabilities. Level 1 provides the most reliable measure of fair value, whereas Level 3, if applicable, would generally require significant management judgment. The three levels for categorizing assets and liabilities under the fair value measurement requirements are as follows:
● Level 1: Fair value measurement of the asset or liability using observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
● Level 2: Fair value measurement of the asset or liability using inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the applicable asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar (as opposed to identical) assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; and
● Level 3: Fair value measurement of the asset or liability using unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions regarding the applicable asset or liability.
The Company reviews the appropriateness of fair value measurements including validation processes, and the reconciliation of period-over-period fluctuations based on changes in key market inputs. All fair value measurements are subject to the Company’s analysis. Review and approval by management is required as part of the validation process.
The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable, approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.
Revenue Recognition
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, revenue from contracts with customers is recognized when control of the promised services is transferred to the customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services. Sales tax is excluded from reported revenue. The Company has elected the practical expedient allowable by the guidance to not disclose information about remaining performance obligations pertaining to contracts that have an original expected duration of one year or less.
Subscription Revenue
The Company generates subscription revenue primarily from monthly premium subscription services. Subscription revenues are presented net of refunds, credits, and known and estimated credit card chargebacks. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, subscriptions were offered in durations of one-, three-, six- and twelve- month terms. All subscription fees, however, are paid by credit card at the origination of the subscription regardless of the term of the subscription. Revenues from multi-month subscriptions are recognized on a straight-line basis over the period where the service is offered to the customer, indicated by length of the subscription term purchased. The unearned portion of subscription revenue is presented as deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Deferred revenue at December 31, 2020 was $2,058,721, which was subsequently recognized as subscription revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021. The ending balance of deferred revenue at December 31, 2021 was $1,915,493.
In addition, the Company offers virtual gifts to its users. Users may purchase credits in $5, $10 or $20 increments that can be redeemed for a host of virtual gifts such as a rose, a beer or a car, among other items. These gifts are given among users to enhance communication and are typically redeemed within 30 days of purchase. Upon purchase, the virtual gifts are credited to the users’ account and are under the users’ control. Virtual gift revenue is recognized upon the users’ redemption of virtual gifts at the fixed transaction price and included in subscription revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Virtual gift revenue is presented as deferred revenue in the consolidated balance sheets until virtual gifts are redeemed. Virtual gift revenue was $5,586,710 and $5,188,858 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The ending balance of deferred revenue from virtual gifts at December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $293,737 and $348,677, respectively.
Advertising Revenue
The Company generates advertising revenue from the display of advertisements on its products through contractual agreements with third parties that are based on the number of advertising impressions delivered. Measurements of impressions include when a customer clicks an advertisement (CPC basis), views an advertisement impression (CPM basis), or registers for an external website via an advertisement by clicking on or through the application (CPA basis). Advertising revenue is dependent upon traffic as well as the advertising inventory placed on the Company’s products.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Technology Service Revenue
Technology service revenue is generated under service and partnership agreements that the Company negotiates with third parties which includes development, integration, engineering, licensing or other services that the Company provides.
On May 29, 2020, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement, which was subsequently amended and restated (the “Amended and Restated Agreement”), with SecureCo, LLC (“SecureCo”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell substantially all of the assets related to its secure communications business to SecureCo. The Amended and Restated Agreement also provides for a revenue sharing arrangement, pursuant to which the Company is entitled to receive quarterly royalty payments ranging from 5% to 10% of certain revenues received by SecureCo, with the aggregate amount of such royalty payments not to exceed $500,000. The royalty payments, if received, will be recorded as technology service revenue. The Company does not expect to continue to pursue secure communications products or technology implementation services as part of its overall business strategy.
The Company also recorded technology service revenue in connection with its agreement to serve as a launch partner with Open Props, Inc. (formerly YouNow, Inc., and referred to herein as “YouNow”) and to integrate YouNow’s props infrastructure (the “Props platform”) into its Camfrog and Paltalk applications (as amended, the “YouNow Agreement”).
Pursuant to the terms of the YouNow Agreement, YouNow agreed to pay the Company, in exchange for the Company’s services, an aggregate of 10.5 million cryptographic props tokens (“Props tokens”) upon the achievement of certain milestones as follows: (i) 3.0 million Props tokens upon execution of the YouNow Agreement, (ii) 4.0 million Props tokens upon the integration of the Props platform in the Company’s Camfrog application and (iii) 3.5 million Props tokens due upon the integration of the Props platform in the Company’s Paltalk application. In determining the value of the contract, the Company converted the Props tokens into U.S. dollars using an independent third-party valuation. The Props tokens were estimated to have a price equal to $0.02 per token (see Note 7 for additional information on the fair value of the Props tokens) at the contract inception date. The total contract value to be recognized was estimated to be $210,000, which was recognized on the completion dates of the integration services performed during the second and third quarters of 2020.
The upfront fee was recognized as revenue under the output method based on the direct measurements of the value of services transferred to date to the customer, relative to the remaining services under the contract. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized $60,000 of the upfront fee and $150,000 from the completion of the first and second integration milestones under technology service revenue in the consolidated statements of income and digital tokens receivable in the consolidated balance sheets.
Once the integration of Props tokens into the Company’s Paltalk and Camfrog applications was completed, the Company began receiving Props tokens for providing a validator service and for allowing users to participate in the loyalty platform. The loyalty platform is intended to drive engagement and incentivize users financially by providing users with the ability to earn Props tokens while using the Paltalk and Camfrog applications. During the third and fourth quarters of 2020, the Company received an aggregate of 1.1 million Props tokens for the validator service and 13.5 million Props tokens under the loyalty platform. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company received 1.5 million Props tokens for the validator service and 24.3 million Props tokens under the loyalty platform. The net revenue earned was recorded under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of income.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company retained an independent third-party to estimate the dollar value of the revenue for the validator service and digital tokens earned through the loyalty platform. Given the recent trading availability of Props tokens in various active markets, during the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company calculated the fair value of digital tokens based on the observable daily quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs) on multiple international exchanges, as recorded on CoinmarketCap (see Note 7 for additional information on the fair value of the Props tokens). The total net revenue value recognized as earned was estimated to be $454,504 and $525,748 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
In August 2021, the Company received notice from YouNow that it was terminating the YouNow Agreement, and that it would no longer support the Props platform past the end of calendar year 2021. In connection with the notice of termination and in accordance with the YouNow Agreement, the Company received an additional 2,625,000 Props tokens. The value of these tokens was recorded as revenue under “technology service revenue” in the consolidated statements of income. As a result of the termination of the YouNow Agreement, the Company notified its users that it would no longer be issuing Props starting October 15, 2021 and would be replacing any user’s outstanding Props with a new internal rewards program. The new rewards loyalty program for Paltalk and Camfrog, allowed users to keep their existing rewards earned from the former Props program as internal rewards and also have the opportunity to earn new internal rewards points. In connection with the internal rewards points, the Company added 25 new reward tiers such as specialty coins, subscriptions, stickers, flair, and other popular buttons.
As of the termination of the YouNow Agreement, the Company held 8,575,638 Props, or $338,553, under “digital tokens payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. In accordance with ASC 405-20-40, the Company recorded a $338,553 gain on extinguishment of digital tokens payable under the Company’s operation expenses in the statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2021.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Revisions to the Company’s estimates may result in increases or decreases to revenues and income and are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the periods in which they are first identified. If the Company’s estimates indicate that a contract loss will be incurred, a loss provision is recorded in the period in which the loss first becomes probable and can be reasonably estimated. Contract losses are the amount by which the estimated costs of the contract exceed the estimated total revenue that will be generated by the contract and are included in cost of revenues in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. There were no contract losses for the periods presented.
Digital Tokens
At December 31, 2020, digital tokens and digital tokens receivable consist of Props tokens received in connection with the YouNow Agreement. Given that there is limited precedent regarding the classification and measurement of cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens under current GAAP, management has exercised significant judgment in determining the appropriate accounting treatment and in the event that authoritative guidance is enacted by the FASB, the Company may be required to change its policies, which could have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position and results from operations.
The Company determined to account for digital tokens as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but assessed for impairment annually, or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances occur indicating that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired. Impairment exists when the carrying amount exceeds its fair value, which is measured using the quoted price of the digital token at the time its fair value is being measured. In testing for impairment, the Company has the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an impairment exists. If it is determined that it is not more likely than not that an impairment exists, a quantitative impairment test is not necessary. Otherwise, it is required to perform a quantitative impairment test. If, at the time of an impairment test, the carrying amount of an intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss in an amount equal to the excess is recognized. Subsequent reversal of impairment losses is not permitted.
Gains (if any) are not recorded until realized upon sale, at which point they would be presented net of any impairment losses in the Company’s consolidated statements of income. In determining the gain to be recognized upon sale, the Company calculates the difference between the sales price and carrying value of the specific digital token sold immediately prior to sale.
During year the ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold approximately 36.9 million Props tokens for total proceeds of $0.9 million. The realized gain of the sale of digital tokens was approximately $307,934 for the year ended December 31, 2021 and is included in the consolidated statements of income.
The Company determines the fair value of its digital tokens on a nonrecurring basis in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement. See Note 7, Digital Tokens, to the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the Company’s digital tokens.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel engaged in data center and customer care functions, credit card processing fees, hosting fees, and data center rent and bandwidth costs. Cost of revenue also includes compensation and other employee-related costs for technical personnel and subcontracting costs relating to technology service revenue.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expense consists primarily of advertising expenditures and compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel engaged in sales and sales support functions. Advertising and promotional spend includes online marketing, including fees paid to search engines, and offline marketing, which primarily consists of partner-related payments to those who direct traffic to the Company’s brands. Total advertising expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was approximately $1.2 million and $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Product Development
Product development expense, which relates to the development of technology of the Company’s applications, consists primarily of compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs that are not capitalized for personnel engaged in the design, testing and enhancement of service offerings as well as amortization of capitalized website development costs.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expense consists primarily of compensation (including stock-based compensation) and other employee-related costs for personnel engaged in executive management, finance, legal, tax, human resources and facilities costs and fees for other professional services. General and administrative expense also includes depreciation of property and equipment and amortization of intangible assets.
Reportable Segment
The Company operates in one reportable segment, and management assesses the Company’s financial performance and makes operating decisions based on a single operating segment.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, the Company determines deferred tax assets and liabilities on the basis of the differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities by using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If the Company determines that it would be able to realize deferred taxes in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, the Company would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes.
The Company records uncertain tax positions in accordance with ASC No. 740, Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASC 740”) on the basis of a two-step process in which (1) the Company determines whether it is more likely than not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position and (2) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the Company recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority.
The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits on the income tax expense line in the accompanying consolidated statement of income. Accrued interest and penalties would be included on the related tax liability line in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Stock-Based Compensation
In accordance with ASC No. 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, the Company measures the compensation costs of stock-based compensation arrangements based on the grant date fair value of granted instruments and recognizes the costs in the financial statements over the period during which employees are required to provide services. Stock-based compensation arrangements include stock options and restricted stock awards.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Equity instruments issued to non-employees are recorded on the basis of the fair value of the instruments, as required by Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) (“ASU 2018-07”). ASU 2018-07 expands the scope of Topic 718, which currently only includes share-based payments to employees, to include share-based payments to non-employees for goods or services. Consequently, the accounting for share-based payments to non-employees and employees will be substantially aligned.
The fair value of each option granted under the Company’s Amended and Restated 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”) and 2016 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”) was estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model (see Note 10 for further details). Using this model, fair value is calculated based on assumptions with respect to the (i) expected volatility of the Company’s common stock price, (ii) expected life of the award, which for options is the period of time over which employees and non- employees are expected to hold their options prior to exercise, (iii) expected dividend yield on the Company’s common stock, and (iv) a risk-free interest rate, which is based on quoted U.S. Treasury rates for securities with maturities approximating the expected term. Expected volatility is estimated based on the Company’s historical volatilities. The expected life of options has been determined using the “simplified” method, which uses the midpoint between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term. The expected dividend yield is zero as the Company has never paid dividends and does not currently anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.
Net Income Per Share
Basic earnings and net income per share are computed by dividing the net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period as defined by ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options (using the treasury stock method). To the extent stock options are antidilutive, they are excluded from the calculation of diluted income per share.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on deposit with banks and money market funds. The Company maintains cash in bank accounts which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. As part of its cash management process, the Company periodically reviews the relative credit standing of these banks. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and periodically evaluates the credit worthiness of the financial institutions and has determined the credit exposure to be negligible.
Receivables
Accounts receivable are composed of amounts due from our advertising partners and from credit card processing companies following the initiation of subscription arrangements originated by the Company’s subscribers, which pay by credit card. These receivables are unsecured and are typically settled by the payment processing company within several days of transaction processing accordingly, an allowance for doubtful accounts is considered. Accounts receivable from advertising partners and payment processing companies amounted to $153,448 and $71,410 on December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.
As of December 31, 2021, three advertising partners accounted for 48% of accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2021, the three advertising partners made up 22%, 15%, and 11% of accounts receivable, respectively.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of those assets, as follows:
Computers and equipment 5 years
Website development 3 years
Furniture and fixtures 7 years
Leasehold improvements Shorter of estimated useful life or remaining lease term
Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred
Property and equipment is evaluated for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets might not be recoverable. In evaluating an asset for recoverability, the Company estimates the future cash flow expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. If the expected future undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss, equal to the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the asset, is recognized. No impairment losses were recorded on property and equipment for the periods presented in these consolidated financial statements.
Website Development Costs
In accordance with ASC 350-50, Website Development Costs, the Company accounts for website development costs by capitalizing qualifying costs which are incurred during the development and infrastructure stage. Expenses incurred in the planning stage are expensed as incurred. Capitalized website development cost is included in property and equipment and are amortized straight-line over the expected period of benefit, which is three years, when the software is ready for its intended use. Amortization expense related to capitalize website development costs is included in product development expense.
Goodwill
Goodwill is recorded when the purchase price paid for an acquisition exceeds the estimated fair value of the net identified tangible and intangible assets acquired. The Company evaluates its goodwill for impairment in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (as amended by ASU 2017-04), by assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. The Company performs the quantitative goodwill impairment test, if, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances such as those described in paragraph ASC 350-20-35-3C(a) through (g), the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, limited to the total amount of goodwill related to the reporting unit.
The Company tests the recorded amount of goodwill for impairment on an annual basis on December 31 of each fiscal year or more frequently if there are indicators that the carrying amount of the goodwill exceeds its carried value. The Company has one reporting unit. The Company performed a qualitative assessment and concluded that no impairment existed as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Intangible Assets
The Company’s intangible assets represent definite lived intangible assets, which are being amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives as follows:
Patents 20 years
Trade names, trademarks, product names, URLs 5-10 years
Internally developed software 5-6 years
Non-compete agreements 3 years
Subscriber/customer relationships 3-12 years
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company reviews intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. Factors that the Company considers in deciding when to perform an impairment review include significant underperformance of the business in relation to expectations, significant negative industry or economic trends, and significant changes or planned changes in the use of the assets. If an impairment review is performed to evaluate a long-lived asset for recoverability, the Company compares forecasts of undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the long-lived asset to its carrying value. An impairment loss would be recognized when estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of an asset are less than its carrying amount. The impairment loss would be based on the excess of the carrying value of the impaired asset over its fair value, determined based on discounted cash flows. No impairments were recorded on intangible assets as no impairment indicators were noted for the periods presented in these consolidated financial statements.
Leases
The Company accounts for its leases under ASC 842, Leases (“ASC 842”). Under this guidance, arrangements meeting the definition of a lease are classified as operating or financing leases and are recorded on the consolidated balance sheets as both a right of use asset and lease liability, calculated by discounting fixed lease payments over the lease term at the rate implicit in the lease or the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. Lease liabilities are increased by interest and reduced by payments each period, and the right of use asset is amortized over the lease term. For operating leases, interest on the lease liability and the amortization of the right of use asset result in straight-line rent expense over the lease term.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. ASU 2019-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. On December 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2019-12 and its adoption did not have any significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Reclassifications
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes to conform to the current presentation. These reclassifications have no impact on the previously reported net income.
4. Property and Equipment, Net
Property and equipment, net consisted of the following for the periods presented:
December 31,
Computer equipment
$ 866,459
$ 866,459
Website development
3,076,323
3,076,323
Furniture and fixtures
47,463
47,463
Total property and equipment
3,990,245
3,990,245
Less: Accumulated depreciation
(3,920,646 )
(3,734,468 )
Total property and equipment, net
$ 69,599
$ 255,777
Depreciation expense, which includes amortization of website development costs, for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $186,178 and $325,044, respectively.
Loss on disposal of property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $0 and $39,238, respectively, as a result from the termination of one of our office leases.
5. Goodwill
The Company tests goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually and whenever events or circumstances arise that indicate an impairment may exist. The Company determined there were no indicators that would lead to a test for impairment during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Goodwill was $6,326,250 as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
6. Intangible Assets, Net
Intangible assets, net consisted of the following for the periods presented:
December 31,
Gross
Carrying
Amount
Accumulated
Amortization
Net
Carrying
Amount
Gross
Carrying
Amount
Accumulated
Amortization
Net
Carrying
Amount
Patents
$ 50,000
$ (31,251 )
$ 18,749
$ 50,000
$ (28,750 )
$ 21,250
Trade names, trademarks, product names, URLs
555,000
(509,148 )
45,852
555,000
(493,648 )
61,352
Internally developed software
1,990,000
(1,990,000 )
-
1,990,000
(1,990,000 )
-
Subscriber/customer relationships
2,279,000
(2,147,058 )
131,942
2,279,000
(1,980,392 )
298,608
Total intangible assets
$ 4,874,000
$ (4,677,457 )
$ 196,543
$ 4,874,000
$ (4,492,790 )
$ 381,210
Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $184,667 and $246,681, respectively. The aggregate amortization expense for each of the next three years and thereafter is estimated to be $149,944 in 2022, $18,000 in 2023, $17,349 in 2024 and $11,250 thereafter.
7. Digital Tokens
Digital tokens, digital tokens receivable and digital tokens payable for the periods presented consist of Props tokens received in connection with the YouNow Agreement. Given that there is limited precedent regarding the classification and measurement of cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens under current GAAP, the Company has determined to account for these tokens as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other until further guidance is issued by the FASB.
The Props tokens received, receivable and payable from YouNow are intangible assets that are accounted for at cost, less impairment charges. According to the FASB guidance noted above, a holder of utility tokens cannot only compare the carrying value to fair value at the reporting period, but instead must assess impairment daily. As a result, the Company uses the amount equal to the lowest price during the period in which the Props tokens are held as the carrying amount for purposes of testing for impairment.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, to calculate the fair value of the Props tokens received, receivable and payable pursuant to the YouNow Agreement, the Company, through a third-party valuation, used the Backsolve method, which utilizes the option pricing method to calculate the implied value of the Props tokens based on the most recent transaction price publicly available (Level 3 inputs). For purposes of the Backsolve method, the Company used a precedent transaction in which Props tokens were purchased at a price of $0.07 per Props token. The precedent transaction also included the issuance of warrants to purchase additional Props tokens at a strike price of $0.07 per Props token. Using the Backsolve method, the Company took into account the strike price of the warrants issued in the precedent transaction and then determined the allocated value of the Props tokens as though it were a basket purchase.
The implied fair value of the Props tokens represents a marketable basis of value. As the Props tokens do not currently have access to a liquid marketplace, a discount for lack of marketability was applied to the implied fair value using a protective put calculation. A summary of the key inputs used in the Backsolve model at December 31, 2020 are summarized as follows:
Maturity (time until an exit or liquidity) 1 year
Volatility 197.0 %
Risk free rate of return 0.16 %
The basic logic of the protective put approach is supported by the notion that the holder of a non-marketable security can effectively purchase liquidity by purchasing a put option on the security. Therefore, the non-marketable value of a security is its value on a marketable basis, less the value of the hypothetical put option. The put option calculation relies on the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which utilizes volatility from comparable utility tokens, an estimated time to maturity (or liquidity), and the risk-free rate commensurate with that maturity.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Digital tokens earned, receivable or payable before June 30, 2020, were recorded based on an estimated fair value of $0.02. Digital tokens earned, receivable or payable from July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 were recorded based on an estimated fair value of $0.039. At December 31, 2020, the Company recorded $439,145 under digital tokens, $123,397 under digital tokens payable and $210,000 under digital tokens receivable.
Given the recent trading availability of Props tokens in various active markets, during the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company calculated the fair value of digital tokens based on the observable daily quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs) on multiple international exchanges, as recorded on CoinmarketCap. At December 31, 2021, the Company recorded $7,262 under digital tokens.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge in the amount of $765,232, which is reported in the accompanying consolidated statements of income as a result of recent declines in the quoted market prices of certain digital tokens below the market price of their acquisition.
In August 2021, the Company received notice from YouNow that it was terminating the YouNow Agreement, and that it would not support the Props platform past the end of calendar year 2021. In connection with the notice of termination and in accordance with the YouNow Agreement, the Company received an additional 2,625,000 Props tokens. As a result of the termination of the YouNow Agreement, the Company notified its users that it would no longer be issuing Props starting October 15, 2021 and would be replacing any user’s outstanding Props with a new internal rewards program.
During year the ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold approximately 36.9 million Props tokens for proceeds $0.9 million. The realized gain of the sale of digital tokens was approximately $307,934 for the year ended December 31, 2021 and is included in the consolidated statements of income.
8. Income Taxes
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was enacted in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period which the new legislation is enacted. The CARES Act made various tax law changes including among other things (i) increased the limitation under IRC Section 163(j) for 2019 and 2020 to permit additional expensing of interest (ii) enacted a technical correction so that qualified improvement property can be immediately expensed under IRC Section 168(k), (iii) made modifications to the federal net operating loss rules including permitting federal net operating losses incurred in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be carried back to the five preceding taxable years in order to generate a refund of previously paid income taxes and (iv) enhanced recoverability of AMT tax credits. Given the Company’s full valuation allowance position, the CARES Act did not have a material impact on the financial statements.
The Company’s provision for income taxes is comprised of the following:
December 31,
Current
Federal $ -
$ -
State and local 9,951
Total Current 9,951
Deferred
Federal -
-
State and local -
-
Change in Valuation Allowance -
-
Total Deferred -
-
Total Provision (Benefit) $ 9,951 $ 387
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
December 31,
Deferred Tax Assets:
Net operating losses $ 3,907,758 $ 4,098,329
Share-based compensation 767,318 859,100
Amortization of Intangible Assets 716,598 769,742
Rent 56,251 15,272
Tax Credits 62,969 62,969
Other 266,986 160,762
Subtotal 5,777,880 5,966,174
Less Valuation Allowance: (5,713,490 ) (5,903,825 )
Total Deferred Tax Assets 64,390 62,349
Deferred Tax Liabilities:
Property and equipment (64,390 ) (62,349 )
Total Deferred Tax Liabilities (64,390 ) (62,349 )
Net Deferred Tax Assets $ -
$ -
In assessing the Company’s ability to recover its deferred tax assets, the Company evaluated whether it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire deferred tax asset will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income in those periods in which temporary differences become deductible and/or net operating losses can be utilized. The Company considered all positive and negative evidence when determining the amount of the net deferred tax assets that are more likely than not to be realized. This evidence includes, but is not limited to, historical earnings, scheduled reversal of taxable temporary differences, tax planning strategies and projected future taxable income. Based on these factors including cumulative losses in recent years, the Company determined that its deferred tax assets are not realizable on a more-likely-than-not basis and has recorded a valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets. The Company’s valuation allowance decreased by $190,335 during 2021. The Company will continue to evaluate its deferred tax assets to determine whether any changes in circumstances could affect the realization of their future benefit. If it is determined in future periods that portions of the Company’s deferred income tax assets satisfy the realization standards, the valuation allowance will be reduced accordingly.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $17.4 million, of which $13.1 million may be subject to an annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Of the $17.4 million, approximately, $16.2 million are available to offset 100% of future taxable income but expire in varying amounts between 2030 to 2037, if not utilized. The remaining $1.2 million is available to offset 80% of future taxable income but may be carried forward indefinitely.
The Company’s effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% for 2021 and 2020 as follows:
Income tax (expense) benefit at federal statutory rate 21.0 % 21.0 %
Permanent Differences 0.2 % 0.2 %
State and local taxes (4.5 )% 1.9 %
Valuation allowance (14.3 )% (37.0 )%
Deferred tax adjustment 2.6 % 0.0 %
Share based compensation 3.9 % 14.6 %
PPP Loan Forgiveness (8.0 )% -
Other (0.2 )% (0.6 )%
Effective tax rate 0.7 % 0.1 %
The Company applies the applicable authoritative guidance which prescribes a comprehensive model for the manner in which a company should recognize, measure, present and disclose in its financial statements all material uncertain tax positions that the Company has taken or expects to take on a tax return. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has no uncertain tax positions. As such, there are no uncertain tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease within twelve months from December 31, 2021.
The Company files a federal income tax return and income tax returns in various state tax jurisdictions. The open tax years for the federal income tax return are 2018 through 2021. The state income tax returns have varying statutes of limitations. The open tax years relating to any of the Company’s federal and state net operating losses begin in 2011.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
9. Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following for the periods presented:
December 31,
Compensation, benefits and payroll taxes
$ 318,150
$ 226,500
Other accrued expenses
26,291
27,584
Total accrued expenses and other current liabilities
$ 344,441
$ 254,084
10. Stockholders’ Equity
The Paltalk, Inc. Amended and Restated 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”) was terminated as to future awards on May 16, 2016. A total of 121,930 shares of the Company’s common stock may be issued pursuant to outstanding options awarded under the 2011 Plan; however, no additional awards may be granted under such plan. The Paltalk, Inc. 2016 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“the 2016 Plan”) was adopted by the Company’s stockholders on May 16, 2016 and permits the Company to award stock options (both incentive stock options and non-qualified stock options), stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance awards, dividend equivalent rights, and other stock-based awards and cash-based incentive awards to its employees (including an employee who is also a director or officer under certain circumstances), non-employee directors and consultants. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued pursuant to awards under the 2016 Plan is 1,300,000 shares, 100% of which may be issued pursuant to incentive stock options. In addition, the maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2016 Plan may be increased by an indeterminate number of shares of common stock underlying outstanding awards issued under the 2011 Plan that are forfeited, expired, cancelled or settled in cash. As of December 31, 2021, there were 978,359 shares available for future issuance under the 2016 Plan.
August 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On August 5, 2021, the Company announced the pricing and closing of an underwritten public offering (the “August 2021 Offering”), in which the Company sold an aggregate of 1,333,310 shares of the Company’s common stock (which includes 173,910 shares sold to the underwriter pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $3.00 per share. The August 2021 Offering was made pursuant to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-257036), initially filed with the SEC on June 11, 2021, and was subsequently amended and declared effective on August 2, 2021.
Gross proceeds received by the Company from the August 2021 Offering were approximately $4.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses of approximately $769,200. These costs were recorded in stockholders’ equity as a reduction of additional paid-in capital in connection with Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A.
In connection with the August 2021 Offering, the Company’s common stock was approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PALT” and began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on August 3, 2021.
October 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On October 19, 2021, we announced the pricing and closing of an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 1,552,500 shares of our common stock (which includes 202,500 shares sold to the underwriter pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $7.50 per share (the “October 2021 Offering”). The October 2021 Offering was made pursuant to an effective shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-260063), previously filed with the SEC on October 5, 2021 and declared effective on October 14, 2021. The October 2021 Offering was offered by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, forming part of the registration statement.
Gross proceeds received by the Company from the October 2021 Offering were approximately $11.6 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses of approximately $955,400. These costs were recorded in stockholders’ equity as a reduction of additional paid-in capital in connection with Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A.
Stock Options
The following table summarizes the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes pricing model to estimate the fair value of the options granted during the years ended:
December 31,
Expected volatility
178.0 - 197.0 %
188.0 %
Expected life of option
5.0 - 5.5
5.3
Risk free interest rate
0.81 - 0.88 %
0.6 %
Expected dividend yield
0.0 %
0.0 %
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The expected life of the options is the period of time over which employees and non-employees are expected to hold their options prior to exercise. The expected life of options has been determined using the “simplified” method as prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin 110, which uses the midpoint between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term. The volatility of the Company’s common stock is calculated using the Company’s historical volatilities beginning at the grant date and going back for a period of time equal to the expected life of the award. The Company estimates potential forfeitures of stock awards and adjusts recorded stock-based compensation expense accordingly. The Company estimates pre-vesting forfeitures primarily based on the Company’s historical experience and is adjusted to reflect actual forfeitures as the stock-based awards vest.
The following tables summarize stock option activity during the year ended December 31, 2021:
Weighted
Average
Number of Exercise
Options Price
Outstanding at January 1, 2021 622,036 $ 5.53
Granted 37,932 3.77
Exercised during period (61,906 ) 3.09
Forfeited or canceled, during the period (128,569 ) 4.06
Expired, during the period (33,723 ) 16.50
Outstanding at December 31, 2021 435,770 $ 5.31
Exercisable at December 31, 2021 394,075 $ 5.65
At December 31, 2021, there was $71,222 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.96 years.
On December 31, 2021, the aggregate intrinsic value of stock options that were outstanding and exercisable was $149,394 and $109,644, respectively. On December 31, 2020, the aggregate intrinsic value of stock options that were outstanding and exercisable was $15,840 and $15,840, respectively. The intrinsic value for stock options is calculated based on the exercise price of the underlying awards and the fair value of such awards as of the period-end date.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company granted stock options to members of the Board of Directors to purchase an aggregate of 24,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.20 per share. The stock options vest in four equal quarterly installments on the last day of each calendar quarter in 2021 and have a term of ten years. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company also granted options to employees to purchase an aggregate of 13,932 shares of common stock. These options have a vesting date ranging between the grant date and up to four years, have a term of ten years and have an exercise price of $3.20 to $4.90.
The aggregate fair value for the options granted during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $145,522 and $18,664, respectively.
Stock-based compensation expense for the Company’s stock options included in the consolidated statements of income was as follows:
Years Ended
December 31,
Cost of revenue
$ 67,182
$ 1,527
Sales and marketing expense
Product development expense
11,302
19,491
General and administrative expense
(114,431 )
222,089
Total stock-based compensation expense
$ (35,653 )
$ 243,197
Treasury Shares
On April 29, 2019, the Company implemented a stock repurchase plan to repurchase up to $500,000 of its common stock for cash. The repurchase plan expired on April 29, 2020. The Company had purchased 9,950 shares of its common stock under the repurchase plan as of April 29, 2020 and has classified them as treasury shares on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the Company retained 22,013 in treasury shares as part of a net share exercise of stock options by former employees. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had 31,963 shares of its common stock classified as treasury shares on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
11. Net Income Per Share
Basic earnings and net income per share are computed by dividing the net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period as defined by ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options (using the treasury stock method). To the extent stock options are antidilutive, they are excluded from the calculation of diluted income per share. For the year ended December 31, 2021, 392,749 of shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options were not included in the computation of diluted net income per share from operations because their inclusion would be antidilutive. For the year ended December 31, 2021, 43,021 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options were included in the computation of diluted net income per share from operations because their inclusion would be dilutive. For the year ended December 31, 2020, 618,918 of shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options were not included in the computation of diluted net income per share for operations because their inclusion would be antidilutive. For the year ended December 31, 2020, 3,118 of shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options were included in the computation of diluted net income per share for operations because their inclusion would be dilutive.
The following table summarizes the net income per share calculation for the periods presented:
Years Ended
December 31,
Net income from operations - basic and diluted $ 1,324,106 $ 1,371,262
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic 7,766,111 6,884,690
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 7,809,132 6,887,808
Per share data:
Basic from operations $ 0. 17
$ 0. 20
Diluted from operations $ 0. 17
$ 0. 20
12. Leases
Operating Leases
On June 7, 2016, the Company entered into a lease agreement with Jericho Executive Center LLC for office space at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza in Jericho, New York, which commenced on September 1, 2016 and runs through November 30, 2021. The Company’s monthly office rent payments under the lease are currently approximately $7,081 per month. On April 9, 2021, the Company entered into a lease extension agreement with Jericho Executive Center LLC for the office space at 30 Jericho Executive Plaza in Jericho, New York, which commenced on December 1, 2021 and runs through November 30, 2024. The modification resulted in an increase its ROU assets and lease liabilities of $0.2 million, using a discount rate of 2.30%.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had no long-term leases that were classified as financing leases. As of December 31, 2021, the Company did not have additional operating and financing leases that had not yet commenced.
At December 31, 2021, the Company had operating lease liabilities of approximately $239,000 and right-of-use assets of approximately $239,000, which are included in the consolidated balance sheets.
Total rent expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $84,525, of which $4,500 was sublease income. Total rent expense for year ended December 31, 2020 was $206,347, of which $36,095 was sublease income. Rent expense is recorded under general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of income.
PALTALK, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The following table summarizes the Company’s operating leases for the periods presented:
Years Ended
December 31,
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities: $ 74,416 $ 107,674
Weighted average assumptions:
Remaining lease term 2.9 0.9
Discount rate 2.3 % 3.5 %
As of December 31, 2021, future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases were as follows:
For the years ending December 31,
Amount
$ 84,975
84,975
77,894
Total
$ 247,844
Less: present value adjustment
(8,353 )
Present value of minimum lease payments
$ 239,491
13. Term Debt
On April 13, 2020, to help ensure adequate liquidity in light of the uncertainties posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Company applied for a loan under the SBA PPP under the CARES Act. On May 3, 2020, the Company entered into the Note in favor of the Lender.
The Note had an aggregate principal amount of $506,500, a two-year term, a maturity date of May 3, 2022 and borne interest at a stated rate of 1.0% per annum. The Company did not provide any collateral or guarantees for the Note, nor did the Company pay any facility charge to obtain the Note. The Note provided for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment, bankruptcy, breaches of representations and material adverse effects.
On January 13, 2021, the Note was fully forgiven by the SBA and the Lender in compliance with the provisions of the CARES Act.
14. Commitments and Contingencies
Patent Litigations
On July 23, 2021, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Paltalk Holdings, Inc., filed a patent infringement lawsuit against WebEx Communications, Inc., Cisco WebEx LLC, and Cisco Systems, Inc. (collectively, “Cisco”), in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The Company alleges that Cisco’s Webex products have infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,683,858, and that the Company is entitled to damages. A Markman hearing took place on February 24, 2022 and a trial is scheduled for early 2023.
Legal Proceedings
The Company may be included in legal proceedings, claims and assessments arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company evaluates the need for a reserve for specific legal matters based on the probability of an unfavorable outcome and the reasonability of an estimable loss. No reserve was deemed necessary as of December 31, 2021.
16. Subsequent Events
On January 28, 2022, the Board of Directors approved the issuance of 145,000 stock options to employees of the Company.
Management has evaluated subsequent events or transactions occurring through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued and determined that no other events or transactions are required to be disclosed herein.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Annual Report on Form 10-K, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Internal controls are procedures which are designed with the objective of providing reasonable assurance that (1) our transactions are properly authorized, recorded and reported; and (2) our assets are safeguarded against unauthorized or improper use, to permit the preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP.
Our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
Based on the evaluation as of December 31, 2021, for the reasons set forth below, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our internal control system was designed to, in general, provide reasonable assurance to our management and the Board of Directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements, but because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Our chief executive officer and chief financial officer evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, and based on that evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective. Therefore, our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
The framework used by management in making that assessment was the criteria set forth in the document entitled “Internal Control - Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in 2013.
Remediation of Previously Disclosed Material Weakness
As previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting determined that a material weakness in our internal controls existed as of December 31, 2020, due to the lack of controls related to change management within the technology that supported the Company’s financial reporting function. Measures were taken to remediate the material weakness, and we made significant improvements to our key process related to change management around technology support. We concluded this reported material weakness was remediated as of December 31, 2021.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have implemented changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the year ended December 31, 2021, related to general information technology controls in the area of change management in order to remediate the material weakness identified in the year ended December 31, 2020.
There were no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Officer Employment Agreements
On March 23, 2022, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Jason Katz, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (the “Katz Employment Agreement”), which amends and restates Mr. Katz’s existing employment agreement with the Company dated as of October 7, 2016. In addition, on March 23, 2022, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Kara Jenny, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (the “Jenny Employment Agreement”), which amends and restates Ms. Jenny’s existing employment with the Company dated as of December 9, 2019. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the prior employment agreements between the Company and each of Ms. Jenny and Mr. Katz will remain in full force and effect.
Pursuant to the Katz Employment Agreement, and as previously disclosed in the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 9, 2021, effective February 1, 2021, Mr. Katz shall receive an annualized base salary of two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000). The foregoing description of the Katz Employment Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Katz Employment Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.15 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated by reference herein.
Pursuant to the Jenny Employment Agreement, for fiscal year 2022, Ms. Jenny is entitled to receive an annualized base salary of two hundred sixty-five thousand dollars ($265,000), effective retroactively as of January 28, 2022. For fiscal year 2023, provided that Ms. Jenny is still employed and in good standing with the Company, she will be entitled to receive an annualized base salary of two hundred eighty-five thousand dollars ($285,000).
In addition, the Jenny Employment Agreement provides that in the event of a Change in Control, if Ms. Jenny is terminated by the Company other than for Cause, or if Ms. Jenny terminates her employment with the Company for Good Reason, then the Company shall pay Ms. Jenny severance equal to twelve (12) months of Ms. Jenny’s then-current annualized base salary (each such capitalized term as defined in the Jenny Employment Agreement). The foregoing description of the Jenny Employment Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Jenny Employment Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.21 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated by reference herein.
Stock Repurchase Plan
On March 21, 2022, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a stock repurchase plan for up to $1,750,000 of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “Stock Repurchase Plan”). The Stock Repurchase Plan is effective as of March 29, 2022 and expires on the one-year anniversary of such date. Shares may be repurchased from time-to-time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws, including Rule 10b5-1 programs, and the Stock Repurchase Plan may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased will be determined by a committee of the Board of Directors at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including the market price of the Company’s common stock, general market and economic conditions, alternative investment opportunities and other corporate considerations.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The information required in response to this Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The information required in response to this Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The information required in response to this Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
The information required in response to this Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The information required in response to this Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
The following are filed as part of this Annual Report:
1. Financial Statements
The financial statements filed as part of this Annual Report are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
2. Financial Statement Schedules
All schedules have been omitted since the required information is not present, or not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or the Notes thereto.
3. Exhibits
The following exhibits are required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K.
(a) Documents filed as part of this Annual Report.
1. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
2. Financial Statement Schedules
3. Exhibits required to be filed by Item 601 of Regulation S-K
The following exhibits are included herein or incorporated herein by reference:
2.1#
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 13, 2016, by and among Paltalk, Inc., SAVM Acquisition Corporation, A.V.M. Software, Inc. and Jason Katz (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on September 14, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
2.2#
Asset Purchase Agreement, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and The Dating Company, LLC, dated as of January 31, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on February 4, 2018 by the Company with the SEC).
2.3#
Amended and Restated Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 29, 2020, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and SecureCo, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed on August 6, 2020 by the Company with the SEC).
3.1
Certificate of Incorporation of Paltalk, Inc. (as amended through May 15, 2020) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed November 9, 2021 by the Company with the SEC).
3.2
Amended and Restated By-Laws of Paltalk, Inc. (as amended through May 15, 2020) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed November 9, 2021 by the Company with the SEC).
4.1*
Specimen Stock Certificate of Paltalk, Inc.
4.2*
Description of Securities.
10.1
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Facebook Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 000-52176) filed March 31, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.2
Registered Apple Developer Agreement, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Apple Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 000-52176) filed March 31, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.3
iOS Developer Program License Agreement, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Apple Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 000-52176) filed March 31, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.4†
Amended and Restated Paltalk, Inc. 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-52176) of the Company filed on November 14, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.5†
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-174456) of the Company filed on May 24, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.6†
Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-174456) of the Company filed on May 24, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.7†
Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.4 to the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-174456) of the Company filed on May 24, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.8†
Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-52176) of the Company filed on November 14, 2011 by the Company with the SEC).
10.9†
Paltalk, Inc. 2016 Long-Term Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on May 16, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
10.10†
First Amendment to Paltalk, Inc. 2016 Long Term Incentive Plan, dated as of April 10, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on May 30, 2017 by the Company with the SEC).
10.11†
Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed on August 11, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
10.12†
Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed on August 11, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
10.13†*
Form of Director and Officer Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement.
10.14†
Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company filed on August 11, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
10.15†*
Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement, dated March 23, 2022, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Jason Katz.
10.16
Registration Rights Agreement, dated October 7, 2016, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Clifford Lerner (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on October 11, 2016 by the Company with the SEC).
10.17†
Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on February 15, 2017 by the Company with the SEC).
10.18
First Amendment to Registration Rights Agreement, dated June 15, 2018, by and between the Company and Clifford Lerner (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed on June 19, 2018 by the Company with the SEC).
10.19†*
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated March 23, 2022, by and between Paltalk, Inc. and Kara Jenny.
21.1*
Subsidiaries of the Company.
23.1*
Consent of Marcum LLP.
31.1*
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2*
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1**
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
# Schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. Paltalk, Inc. hereby undertakes to furnish supplementally copies of any of the omitted schedules and exhibits upon request by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
† Management contract or compensatory plan arrangement.
* Filed herewith.
** The certification attached as Exhibit 32.1 is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Paltalk, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.