Risk Factors Dashboard
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OmniMetrix®, OmniView®, ScopeViewTM, SmartServiceTM, TrueGuardTM and TrueShieldTM are trademarks of OmniMetrix, LLC.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
Acorn Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries, OMX Holdings, Inc. and OmniMetrix, LLC (collectively, “Acorn” or “the Company”) is a Delaware corporation which is a holding company focused on technology-driven solutions for energy infrastructure asset management. We provide the following products and Internet of Things (“IoT”) applications and services through our OmniMetrix, LLC (“OmniMetrix”) subsidiary:
During 2024, each of our PG and CP activities represented a reportable segment.
We continually evaluate opportunities related to our activities, and our goal is to maximize shareholder value and position our holdings for a strategic event, which may include co-investment by one or more third parties and/or a synergistic acquisition of another company.
FINANCIAL RESULTS BY COMPANY
The following tables show, for the periods indicated, the financial results (dollar amounts in thousands) attributable to each of our consolidated companies.
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OMNIMETRIX – POWER GENERATION MONITORING AND CONTROL AND CATHODIC PROTECTION MONITORING AND CONTROL
OmniMetrix is a Georgia limited liability company based in Buford, Georgia that develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems and services for critical assets (including stand-by power generators, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, compressors, fire pumps and other industrial equipment) and multiple markets in the IoT ecosystem, as well as cathodic protection solutions for the pipeline industry (gas utilities and pipeline companies). Acorn owns 99% of OmniMetrix, with the remaining 1% owned by OmniMetrix’s former CEO.
Following the emergence of IoT applications whereby companies aggregate multiple sensors and monitors into a simplified dashboard for customers, OmniMetrix believes it plays a key role in this economic ecosystem within the sectors in which it operates. OmniMetrix continues to see a rapidly growing need for backup power infrastructure to secure critical military, government, and private sector assets against emergency events including terrorist attacks, natural disasters, other impacts of climate change, demand response and cybersecurity threats. In addition, OmniMetrix continues to see a rapidly growing need for backup power infrastructure to secure critical military, government, and private sector assets against emergency events including terrorist attacks, natural disasters, demand response and cybersecurity threats. Residential and industrial standby generators, turbines, compressors, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers and other industrial equipment are part of the critical infrastructure increasingly being monitored in IoT applications. OmniMetrix solutions monitor critical equipment used by cell towers, manufacturing plants, medical facilities, data centers, retail stores, public transportation systems, energy distribution and federal, state and municipal government facilities, in addition to residential back-up generators. Given that OmniMetrix monitors all major brands of critical equipment and continues to invest in research and development in response to customer and potential customer feedback, OmniMetrix is well-positioned to grow its customer base and expand its product offerings in this market.
Products & Services
In the PG segment, OmniMetrix sells a line of devices and services built on our baseline TrueGuard wireless remote monitor. These devices are broadly applicable across all brands and models of emergency power generators and industrial engine applications. The TrueGuard product family connects directly to the engine’s control panel and captures all data flowing through the control panel. As a result, the product provides the ability to identify whether an emergency generator is capable of operating as expected. OmniMetrix also sells our AIRGuard product which remotely monitors and controls industrial air compressors and our Smart Annunciator product which is typically sold to commercial customers that require a visual representation of the generator’s status and has a large touch-screen display.
In the CP segment, OmniMetrix offers three primary product lines: the Hero 2 Rectifier Monitor, the Patriot Plus Test Station Monitor, and the RADTM (Remote AC Mitigation Disconnect). All of these products are used to monitor cathodic protection systems, a process which reduces rust and corrosion on pipelines used to transport natural gas. As the name suggests, the Hero 2 Rectifier product monitors and controls the operation of the rectifiers, which are a critical component in the effort to prevent corrosion and are also the most common point of failure in the pipeline system. As the name suggests, the Hero 2 Rectifier Monitor product monitors and controls the operation of the rectifiers, which are a critical component in the effort to prevent corrosion and are also the most common point of failure in the pipeline system. The Patriot Plus Test Station Monitor is also used to provide data points along the pipeline segment powered by the rectifier including AC current density. Additionally, the industry’s first and patented RAD mounts onto existing Solid-state Decouplers in the field and can remotely disconnect/connect these AC mitigation tools which drastically reduces company expense while increasing employee safety. The industry’s first and patented RAD mounts onto existing Solid-state Decouplers in the field and can remotely disconnect/connect these AC mitigation tools which drastically reduces company expense while increasing employee safety.
Customers and Markets
At its core, the OmniMetrix family of PG monitors (TrueGuard PRO and TrueGuard 2) can remotely monitor and control a variety of industrial engine applications, including engines, standby generators, air and gas compressors, fire pumps, batteries, turbines, pumps and other equipment. Early in the company’s history, a strategic decision was made to focus primarily on the standby power generation market. In the past several years, the company has expanded its focus to add several additional applications where it sees demand. Standby generator monitoring is part of the IoT ecosystem, whereby multiple sensing and monitoring devices are aggregated into one simple dashboard for customers.
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As OmniMetrix can monitor and control all major brands of standby generators and continues to innovate, it is well-positioned to compete in this market.
In the early stages of OmniMetrix’s PG product and market development, relatively unsophisticated generator controls and early generation cellular and satellite communication processes limited the applications to alarm delivery. Customers were notified that some event had taken place after the fact. There was no diagnostic data opportunity, but service organizations could practice a reactive service approach. There was no diagnostic data opportunity, but service organizations could, at best, practice a reactive service approach.
With the advent of second-generation cellular systems and newer, computerized engine controls, OmniMetrix migrated to a design point of collecting large amounts of performance data from remote machinery, which allows service organizations to perform diagnostics on equipment before dispatching service. These enhanced control panels allowed the service organization to put the right person in the right truck with appropriate parts to affect a one-trip or even a zero-trip solution. These enhanced control panels allowed the service organization to put the right person in the right truck with the right parts to effect a one-trip or a zero-trip solution. At this phase, service organizations could be efficient, proactive, and provide a higher level of customer satisfaction. They could also manage more customers by using remote monitoring. Service providers have provided OmniMetrix feedback regarding how customer service teams are able to work “smarter” and more efficiently by going directly to problem sites with the appropriate people, parts and solutions, thus increasing the value of their businesses.
OmniMetrix is now focused on expanding its product offerings while also executing the development and launch of new advanced versions of its existing power generation monitoring products. This includes maturing the high-performance data collection design point into the first provider offering of automated prognostic solutions. For example, as most generator failures are the result of consumables, and as those consumables can be monitored, the consumption trends can be extrapolated into predictions of the most common failure modes.
OmniMetrix’s PG monitors have been installed on commercial, industrial and residential generators from original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) such as Caterpillar, Kohler, Generac, Cummins, Briggs & Stratton, MTU Solutions and other generator manufacturers. OmniMetrix provides dual value propositions to the generator dealer service organizations as well as to the machine owner. OmniMetrix provides dual value propositions to the generator service organizations as well as to the machine owner. The dealers benefit from the receipt of performance data and status conditions from the generators they service for their customers, which allows the dealer service organization to be proactive in their delivery of service to their customers, as well as in analyzing the remote machines before dispatching a service truck. Since the majority of service and warranty costs are incurred by the service providers, preemptive analysis of customer site conditions prior to dispatch can significantly reduce their labor cost. Since the majority of service and warranty costs are incurred from the service providers, preemptive analysis of customer site conditions prior to dispatch can reduce their labor cost. From the machine owner’s perspective, the OmniMetrix product provides a powerful tool to be used in their efforts to avoid failures that come from consumables such as batteries and fuel. From the machine owner’s perspective, the OmniMetrix product provides a powerful tool to be used in their constant effort to avoid failures that come from consumables such as batteries and fuel. With proper monitoring, 95% of machine failures can be avoided completely. This migration from failure reporting to failure prevention is fundamentally OmniMetrix’s focus and is the result of a strong data collection and analysis design point. We believe that this transition to prognostics sets OmniMetrix apart from its competitors, many of whom are still in the failure reporting phase of application development. OmniMetrix has also shifted its primary focus to commercial and industrial segments from residential due, in part, to the ability to customize our products to the customers’ specifications. OmniMetrix has shifted its primary focus to the commercial and industrial segments from residential due, in part, to the ability to customize our products to the customers’ specifications. We have also increased our marketing efforts to end users in an effort to increase demand for our services. We have also increased our marketing efforts to end-users in an effort to increase demand for our services. These efforts have proven to be successful, and OmniMetrix continues to execute that strategy.
Competition
OmniMetrix is a vertical market company, deeply focused on providing excellent customer experience and product and service designs for a complete end-to-end program for its customers. Having been the first provider of wireless remote monitoring systems for standby generators, the Company has had the opportunity to mature its offering to a level not offered by others who compete in our two segments. Having been the first provider of wireless remote monitoring systems for standby generators, the company has had the opportunity to mature its offering to a level not offered by others who compete in our two segments. This long experience working with key brand and project partners over the years has resulted in product offerings that are highly competitive.
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There are two types of competitors in the PG marketplace:
We believe OmniMetrix has a well-established and well-defended position in the high-performance PG monitoring segment, due to its long history and numerous industry partner projects. While the execution of our aggressive sales strategy was interrupted by the impact of COVID-19, the Company subsequently resumed its comprehensive marketing efforts, developing more sophisticated, diagnostic products and custom solutions for commercial and industrial clientele and pursuing the market segment that requires less technology and lower price points (the extremely large and growing residential generator market). While the execution of our aggressive sales strategy was interrupted by the impact of COVID-19, the company has resumed an aggressive sales effort into the market segment requiring less technology and lower price (including the extremely large residential generator market) as well as developing more sophisticated, diagnostic products and custom solutions for commercial and industrial clientele.
Within the CP marketplace, there are no OEM competitors, but there are several companies that provide monitoring capabilities similar to OmniMetrix such as Mobiltex Solutions, Abriox, Elecsys, and American Innovations. We believe that OmniMetrix systems provide greater functionality than these competitors, though those competitors are much larger and have greater resources, potentially enabling better channel penetration in the future than OmniMetrix has accomplished to date.
Intellectual Property
OmniMetrix has always focused on being the technology leader in its markets, and as a result has created many “industry firsts” and “trade secrets”. Initially, the Company only pursued patents on the most valuable processes and systems and otherwise made public disclosure of many processes to prevent others from making later patent claims on those items. Initially, the company only pursued patents on the most valuable processes and systems and otherwise made public disclosure of many processes to prevent others from making later patent claims on those items. Nonetheless, OmniMetrix has four valid patents issued. OmniMetrix continually evaluates whether and how to best protect its intellectual property, but there can be no assurance that its efforts will be successful in all cases.
Facilities
OmniMetrix’s activities are currently conducted in 21,000 square feet of office and production space in the Hamilton Mill Business Park located in Buford, Georgia, under a lease that expires September 30, 2025. On July 6, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with King Industrial Realty, Inc., to sublease from the Company 1,900 square feet of unused office space. The sublease commenced on October 1, 2021 and also continues through September 30, 2025. We are currently considering new office space while also discussing potential renewal terms with our landlord.
Backlog
As of December 31, 2024, OmniMetrix had a backlog of $4.2 million, primarily comprised of deferred revenue, of which $3.5 million is expected to be recognized as revenue in 2025. This compares to a backlog of $5.6 million at December 31, 2023. Since September 1, 2023, OmniMetrix recognizes revenue, COGS and commissions from the sale of the new version of its hardware products sold when the product is shipped rather than over the estimated time that the unit is in service for the customer which is the reason for the decrease in the backlog. See discussion under Results of Operations under Item 7 below.
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R&D Expense, Net
R&D expense recorded for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 for our OmniMetrix subsidiary is as follows (amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars):
Employees
At December 31, 2024, we had a total of 26 employees (all of whom were employed in the United States by OmniMetrix), of whom 25 were full-time and one was part-time. Our CEO, who also serves as acting CEO of OmniMetrix, and our CFO, who also serves as COO of OmniMetrix, are hired as consultants to Acorn. OmniMetrix also has consultants that supplement our employed staff and provide monthly recurring services in engineering and information technology. OmniMetrix also has consultants that supplement our employed staff and provide monthly recurring services in human resources, accounting and information technology.
Thirteen of OmniMetrix’s 26 employees are engaged in production, engineering and technical support, eight in marketing and sales and five in finance and IT. We consider our relationship with our employees to be positive. We have no collective bargaining agreements with any of our employees.
Additional Financial Information
For additional financial information regarding our operating segments, foreign and domestic operations and sales, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Notes 12 and 13 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.
Available Information
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These filings are available to the public over the internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room.
Our website can be found at http://www.acornenergy.com. We make available free of charge on or through our website, access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed, or furnished, to the SEC. Our website also includes our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and our Board of Directors’ Committee Charter for the Audit Committee.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
We may from time to time make written or oral statements that contain forward-looking information. However, our actual results may differ materially from our expectations, statements or projections. The following risks and uncertainties, together with other factors not presently determinable, could cause actual results to differ from our expectations, statements or projections.
General Factors
We depend on key management for the success of our business.
Our success is largely dependent on the skills, experience and efforts of our senior management team, including Jan Loeb, CEO of Acorn and Acting CEO of OmniMetrix, who beneficially owns approximately 21.07% of the Company’s stock, and Tracy Clifford, CFO of Acorn and COO of OmniMetrix. The loss of the services of either of these key managers could materially harm our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow. The loss of the services of any of these key managers could materially harm our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow. We do not maintain “key person” life insurance policies on any members of senior management. We may also not be able to locate or employ on acceptable terms qualified replacements for our senior management if their services were no longer available.
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Loss of the services of a few key employees could harm our operations.
We depend on key technical employees and sales personnel. The loss of certain personnel could diminish our ability to develop and maintain relationships with customers and potential customers. The loss of certain technical personnel could harm our ability to meet development and implementation schedules. The loss of key sales personnel could have a negative effect on sales to certain current customers. Our future success also depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, train and retain other highly qualified technical and managerial personnel. If we fail to attract or retain highly qualified technical and managerial personnel in the future, our business could be disrupted.
There is a limited trading market for our common stock and the price of our common stock may be volatile.
Our common stock is traded on the OTCQB marketplace under the symbol “ACFN.” The OTCQB is a regulated quotation service that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices and volume information in over-the-counter equity securities and provides significantly less liquidity than a listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market or other national securities exchanges. The OTCQB securities are traded by a community of market makers that enter quotes and trade reports. This market is limited in comparison to the national stock exchanges, and any prices quoted may not be a reliable indication of the value of our common stock.
Trading on the OTCQB marketplace as opposed to a national securities exchange has resulted, and may continue to result, in a reduction in some or all of the following, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock and our company:
In addition, the market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to:
See “Risks Related to Our Securities” below.
Compliance with changing regulations of corporate governance, public disclosure and financial accounting standards may result in additional expenses and affect our reported results of operations.
Keeping informed of, and in compliance with, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance, public disclosure and accounting standards, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, as well as new and proposed SEC regulations and accounting standards, has required an increased amount of management attention and external resources. Compliance with such requirements may result in increased general and administrative expenses and an increased allocation of management time and attention to compliance activities.
We may not be able to successfully integrate companies which we may invest in or acquire in the future, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow.
Part of our business plan includes the acquisition of new companies either as new platform companies or complimentary companies. Any failure to effectively integrate any future acquisitions into our controls, systems and procedures could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flow. Any failure to effectively integrate any future acquisition’s management into our controls, systems and procedures could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.
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Any significant acquisition could require substantial use of our capital and may require significant debt or equity financing. We anticipate the need to closely manage our cash for the foreseeable future and cannot provide any assurance as to the availability or terms of any such financing or its effect on our liquidity and capital resources.
Integrating acquisitions is often costly, and we may not be able to successfully integrate acquired companies with existing operations without substantial costs, delays or other adverse operational or financial consequences. Integrating acquired companies involves a number of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, including:
We have reported material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 and we cannot assure you that additional material weaknesses will not be identified in the future or that we can effectively remediate our reported weaknesses. If our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, there may be errors in our consolidated financial statements that could require a restatement of our consolidated financial statements, or our filings may not be timely, and investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information. If our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, there may be errors in our consolidated financial statements that could require a restatement, or our filings may not be timely, and investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of each year, and to include a management report assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in each Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some people, by the collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. Controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. Over time, controls may become inadequate because changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may occur. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Any failure to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, cause us to fail to timely meet our periodic reporting obligations, or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations regarding disclosure controls and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder. The existence of a material weakness could result in errors in our consolidated financial statements that could result in a restatement of our consolidated financial statements, cause us to fail to timely meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. The existence of a material weakness could result in errors in our consolidated financial statements that could result in a restatement of consolidated financial statements, cause us to fail to timely meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.
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If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, or our intellectual property protection efforts are unsuccessful, others may duplicate our technology.
We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. Our ability to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology, systems’ designs and manufacturing processes. The ability of others to use our intellectual property could allow them to duplicate the benefits of our products and reduce our competitive advantage. We could incur substantial costs in prosecuting patent and other intellectual property infringement suits and defending the validity of our patents and other intellectual property. While we have attempted to safeguard and maintain our property rights, we do not know whether we have been or will be completely successful in doing so. These actions could place our patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights at risk and could result in the loss of patent, trademark or other intellectual property rights protection for the products, systems and services on which our business strategy partly depends. Furthermore, it is not practical from a cost/benefit perspective to file for patent or trademark protection in every jurisdiction where we now or in the future may conduct business. In those territories where we do not have the benefit of patent or trademark protections, our competitors may be able to prevent us from selling our products or otherwise limit our ability to advertise under our established product names. In those territories where we do not have the benefit of patent or trademark protections, our competitors may be able to prevent us from selling our products or otherwise limit our ability to advertise under our established product names and we may face risks associated with infringement litigation as discussed below.
We rely, to a significant degree, on contractual provisions to protect our trade secrets and proprietary knowledge. These trade secrets either cannot be protected by patent protection, or we have determined that seeking a patent is not in our interest. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. Our trade secrets may also be known without breach of such agreements or may be independently developed by competitors.
It can be difficult or expensive to obtain the insurance we need for our business operations.
As part of our business operations, we maintain insurance as a corporate risk management strategy. Insurance products are impacted by market fluctuations and can become expensive and sometimes very difficult to obtain. There can be no assurance that we can secure all necessary or appropriate insurance at affordable prices for the required limits. Our failure to obtain such insurance could lead to uninsured losses that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition or cause us to be out of compliance with our contractual obligations.
We may in the future be involved in product liability and product warranty claims relating to the products we manufacture and distribute that, if adversely determined, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Product liability claims can be expensive to defend and can divert the attention of management and other personnel for significant periods, regardless of the ultimate outcome. Claims of this nature could also have a negative impact on customer confidence in our products and our company.
Our financial instruments could subject us to concentrations of credit risk.
Our financial instruments, which potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of cash and trade accounts receivable. Our cash was deposited with a U.S. bank and amounted to $2,326,000 at December 31, 2024. We had one customer, the party to the Material Contract, as defined below under Other Matters in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which represented 61% of the accounts receivable at December 31, 2024 of which 53% was collected as of March 4, 2025. Typically, credit risk with respect to the balance of trade receivables is generally diversified due to the number of entities comprising our customer base. However, at December 31, 2024, the balance of accounts receivable under the Material Contract was the majority of the outstanding balance of accounts receivable. Although we do not believe there is a significant risk of non-performance by this customer, any failures or defaults on their part could negatively impact the value of our financial instruments and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition. Although we do not believe there is significant risk of non-performance by these counterparties, any failures or defaults on their part could negatively impact the value of our financial instruments and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.
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We are dependent on information technology and our systems and infrastructure face certain risks, including cybersecurity breaches and data leakage.
We rely extensively on information technology systems, networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools, physical security systems and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used for third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. A significant breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems or infrastructure, by our workforce, others with authorized access to our systems or unauthorized persons could negatively impact our operations. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, creates opportunities for the unintentional dissemination or intentional destruction or modification of confidential information stored in our, or our third-party providers’ systems, portable media or storage devices. We could also experience a business interruption, theft of confidential information or reputational damage from industrial espionage attacks, malware or other cyber-attacks, which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage, either internally or at our third-party providers. We have invested in appropriate industry protections and monitoring practices of our data and IT and have established a Cybersecurity Steering Committee to reduce these risks and continue to monitor our systems on an ongoing basis for any current or potential threats. While we have purchased cybersecurity insurance, there are no assurances that the coverage would be adequate in relation to any losses incurred. Moreover, as cyber-attacks increase in frequency and magnitude, we may be unable to obtain cybersecurity insurance in amounts and on terms we view as appropriate for our operations. There can be no assurance that our continuing efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches of our and/or our third-party providers’ databases or systems that could adversely affect our business. There can be no assurance that our continuing efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches to our or our third-party providers’ databases or systems that could adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to Omnimetrix
An increase in customer terminations would negatively affect our business by reducing OmniMetrix’s revenue or requiring us to spend more money to grow our customer base.
Although our historical renewal rate is greater than 90%, non-renewals or other monitoring service terminations could increase in the future due to customer dissatisfaction with our products and services, increased competition from other providers or alternative technologies.
If we have an increase in our non-renewal rate, we will have to acquire new customers on an ongoing basis just to maintain our existing level of customers and revenues. As a result, marketing expenditures are an ongoing requirement of our business. We incur costs to acquire new customers, and those costs are a factor in determining our net profitability. We incur significant costs to acquire new customers, and those costs are an important factor in determining our net profitability. Therefore, if we are unsuccessful in retaining customers or are required to spend significant amounts to acquire new customers, our revenue could decrease and/or our operating results could be affected.
OmniMetrix is a relatively small company with limited resources compared to some of its current and potential competitors, which may hinder its ability to compete effectively.
Some of OmniMetrix’s current and potential competitors have significantly greater resources and broader name recognition than it does. As a result, these competitors may have greater credibility with OmniMetrix’s existing and potential customers. They also may be able to adopt more aggressive pricing policies and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products, which would allow them to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. In particular, at the present time we are facing significant competition from certain generator manufacturers who offer their own monitoring solutions.
OmniMetrix may not be able to access sufficient capital to support growth.
While we believe we have sufficient cash to finance our operations for at least twelve months from the issuance of the audited consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report, we may need to seek additional sources of funding for long-term corporate costs or if OmniMetrix were not to grow at the rate anticipated and needed additional funds for their operations. Additional financing for OmniMetrix may be in the form of a bank line, a new loan or investment by others, an equity raise by Acorn which could then facilitate a loan by Acorn to OmniMetrix, or any combination thereof. The availability and amount of any additional loans from us to OmniMetrix may be limited by the working capital needs of our corporate activities. Whether Acorn will have the resources necessary to provide funding, or whether alternative funds, such as third-party loans or investments, will be available at the time and on terms acceptable to Acorn and OmniMetrix cannot be determined at this time.
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OmniMetrix sells equipment and services which monitor third-party products; thus its revenues are dependent on the continued sales of such third-party products.
OmniMetrix’s end-user customer base is comprised exclusively of parties who have chosen to purchase either generators or construct gas pipelines. OmniMetrix has no ability to control the rate at which new generators or cathodic protection systems are acquired. If purchases of such products decline, the associated need for OmniMetrix’s products and services would be expected to decline as well.
If OmniMetrix is unable to keep pace with changing markets or customer-mandated product and service improvements, OmniMetrix’s results of operations and financial condition may suffer.
Many of OmniMetrix’s existing products may require ongoing engineering and upgrades in conjunction with market developments as well as specific customer needs. There can be no assurance that OmniMetrix will continue to be successful in its engineering efforts regarding the development of its products, and future technological difficulties could adversely affect its business, results of operations and financial condition.
The cellular networks used by OmniMetrix are also subject to periodic technical updates that may require corresponding updates to, or replacement of, OmniMetrix’s monitoring equipment.
Cellular networks have evolved over time to offer more robust technical capabilities in both voice and data transmission. As new capabilities come online, it will be necessary to have equipment that can readily interface with the newer cellular networks to avoid negative impacts on customer service. Not all of the costs associated with OmniMetrix’s corresponding equipment upgrades can be passed on to customers, and any increased expenses are expected to have a negative impact on OmniMetrix’s operating results.
A substantial portion of OmniMetrix’s revenues is expected to be generated not from product sales, but from periodic monitoring fees and thus it is continually exposed to risks associated with its customers’ financial stability.
OmniMetrix sells on-going monitoring services to both PG and CP customers. It is therefore dependent on these customers continuing to timely pay service fees on an on-going basis. If a significant portion of these fees are not paid on a timely basis and/or are not renewed from year-to-year, OmniMetrix could expect to experience deterioration in its financial condition.
OmniMetrix’s ability to provide, and to collect revenues from, monitoring services is dependent on the reliability of cellular networks not controlled by OmniMetrix.
OmniMetrix provides monitoring services through the use of cellular and satellite technology utilizing the networks of third-party providers. These providers generally do not warrantee their services to either OmniMetrix or the end users, and any dropped transmissions could result in the loss of customer renewals and potential claims against OmniMetrix. There is no assurance that customers will not cancel monitoring services due to network issues.
OmniMetrix’s business is dependent on its ability to reliably store and manage data, but there can be no guarantee that it has sufficient capabilities to mitigate potential data loss in all cases.
The efficient operation of OmniMetrix’s business is dependent on its information technology systems. In addition, OmniMetrix’s ability to assist customers in analyzing data related to the performance of such customers’ power and cathodic protection monitoring systems is an important component of its customer value proposition. In addition, OmniMetrix’s ability to assist customers in analyzing data related to the performance of such customers’ power and cathodic protection monitoring systems is an important component of its customer value proposition. OmniMetrix utilizes Microsoft Azure cloud-hosted data servers utilizing accepted data and power monitoring and protection processes, but whether a data loss can be avoided cannot be assured in every case. OmniMetrix utilizes Microsoft Azure cloud-hosted data servers utilizing accepted data and power monitoring and protection processes, but whether a data loss can be avoided cannot be assured in every case. OmniMetrix’s information technology systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, sabotage (including theft and attacks by computer viruses or hackers), power outages, and computer systems, Internet, telecommunications or data network failure. OmniMetrix’s information technology systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, sabotage (including theft and attacks by computer viruses or hackers), power outages, and computer systems, Internet, telecommunications or data network failure. Any interruption of OmniMetrix’s information technology systems could result in decreased revenue, increased expenses, increased capital expenditures, customer dissatisfaction and potential lawsuits, any of which could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations and financial condition. Any interruption of OmniMetrix’s information technology systems could result in decreased revenue, increased expenses, increased capital expenditures, customer dissatisfaction and potential lawsuits, any of which could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations and financial condition.
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Risks Related to Our Securities
Our stock price is highly volatile, and we do not expect to pay dividends on shares of our common stock for the foreseeable future. Investors may never obtain a return on their investment.
The market price of our common stock has fluctuated substantially in the past and is likely to continue to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. During 2024, our common stock traded at prices as low as $5.76 and as high as $19.35 per share. Fluctuations in our stock price may continue to occur in response to various factors, many of which we cannot control, including:
We do not intend to pay dividends to our stockholders in the foreseeable future. We intend to reinvest earnings, if any, in the development and expansion of our business. Accordingly, investors will need to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, in order to realize a return on their investment. Accordingly, investors will need to rely on sales of your common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, in order to realize a return on their investment.
Our share price may decline due to the large number of shares of our common stock eligible for future sale in the public market including shares underlying options.
Almost all of our outstanding shares of common stock are, or could upon exercise of options become, eligible for sale in the public market as described below. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the possibility of these sales, may adversely affect our stock price.
As of March 4, 2025, 2,491,130 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. As of that date, we had 68,089 options outstanding and exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $6.80 per share, which if exercised would result in the issuance of additional shares of our common stock. As of that date we had 835,251 options outstanding and exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $0.41 per share, which if exercised would result in the issuance of additional shares of our common stock. In addition to the options noted above, at March 4, 2025, there were 8,960 options outstanding that have not yet vested and are not yet exercisable.
Substantially all of our currently outstanding shares and shares issuable under our outstanding options are or would be freely tradable.
We may have to offer additional securities for sale in the near future.
As of March 4, 2025, we had consolidated cash of $2,800,000 which we believe is sufficient for at least the next twelve months. Despite this, we may ultimately not have sufficient cash to allow us to execute our plans, and the occurrence of one or more unanticipated events may require us to make significant expenditures. Accordingly, we may need to raise additional amounts to finance our operations. If we were to do so by selling shares of our common stock and/or other securities convertible into shares of our common stock, current investors may incur dilution in the value of their shares.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
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ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Securing our business information, intellectual property, customer and employee data, and technology systems is essential for the continuity of our business, meeting applicable regulatory requirements and maintaining the trust of our stockholders.
Governance
Although we did not experience a material cybersecurity incident during the year ended December 31, 2024, the scope and impact of any future incident cannot be predicted. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information on our cybersecurity-related risks.
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