Aterian, Inc.
For the period ended Jun 30, 2025. Filed Aug 13, 2025.
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A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.
Jun 30, 2025 · Filed Aug 13, 2025
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report and this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or future results. The risks described in our Annual Report and this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are not the only risks facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results. Except as presented below, there have been no material changes from the risk factors associated with our business previously disclosed in our Annual Report.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We have historically operated at a loss and we may never achieve or sustain continuous profitability or positive cash flows. Further our independent registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph in its report on our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, that raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We have experienced significant after-tax losses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024. In addition, our costs have increased historically and may increase further in future periods, which could negatively affect our future operating results and ability to achieve and sustain long-term ongoing profitability. For example, we may need to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on the ideation, sourcing and development of products, our technology infrastructure, research and development, sales and marketing, international expansion and general administration, including expenses related to being a public company. We have had to rely on a combination of cash flow from operations and new capital in order to sustain our business. Despite the fact that we have raised significant capital, there can be no assurance that we will ever achieve long-term continuous profitability. Even if we do, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Failure to achieve or sustain profitability could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our growth strategy has resulted in operating losses and negative cash flows from operations that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our independent registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph in its report on our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, that raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue as a going concern or maintain our financial covenants with our lenders, we may have to make significant changes to our operating plan, such as delay expenditures, reduce investments in new products, reduce our sale and distribution infrastructure, or significantly reduce our business. Further, if we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may be forced to liquidate our assets and the values we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our financial statements.
Our efforts to grow our business through new products, marketplace and geographic expansion may not be successful and may place a significant strain on our management and operational, financial and other resources.
Our long-term success depends on our ability to develop and commercialize a continuing stream of new products, to expand both to new marketplaces and geographies and to leverage new technologies we may incorporate into our business. We have entered and expect to continue to enter new product categories and both new marketplaces and geographies for which we have limited or no experience. In part we rely on Amazon’s global reviews program for success in our international expansion. If that program were to be limited, reduced or discontinued, our international expansion would be negatively affected. We also in part rely on our ability to include new products as variations to existing listings on Amazon. If that strategy were no longer possible for whatever reason, our ability to launch new products could be materially affected. That strategy could also have unanticipated or unexpected negative consequences. Our efforts to grow our business place significant strain on our management, personnel, operations, systems, financial resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions, among other things. We have limited personnel and resources and have reduced headcount significantly in recent years. In order to accomplish our growth goals, our team is required to focus on such growth ventures and reallocate their time and other resources, creating risk in all aspects of our business. We face the risk that we will be unable to disrupt incumbents and that our competitors will introduce new and better products that compete with us. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in successfully developing and commercializing new products on a continuing basis and new product launches may not deliver expected growth in sales or operating results. Any new product that we develop and market may not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner, may contain defects, errors, quality or other issues, or may not achieve the market acceptance necessary to generate sufficient revenue or may never become profitable. If we are unable to develop and introduce a continuing stream of competitive new products, it may have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows. Our failure to successfully execute on our growth initiatives can negatively impact our financial results, financial condition, and cash flows.
We may be unable to attract, retain or motivate key personnel, which could harm our business.
Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract, motivate and retain well qualified employees. Competition for well-qualified employees in all aspects of our business is intense globally. The loss of one or more of our key personnel or our inability to promptly identify a suitable successor to a key role, including through a succession plan, could have an adverse effect on our business. Further, the Company recently announced a restructuring whereby a number of employees positions with the Company were terminated, which could have a negative effect on our ability to retain and motivate our personnel. Each of our executive officers, key personnel and other employees could terminate their employment relationship with us at any time. Moreover, we rely on stock-based compensation as a method to attract, retain and motivate our employees. If our common stock continues to be volatile or depressed, we may be unable to attract, retain and motivate employees, and if this occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows. We do not currently maintain key person life insurance policies on any member of our senior management team or any other key employees.
Risks Relating to the Litigation and Government Regulation
Claims, litigation, government investigations, product liability and recalls, and other proceedings may adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows.
We are, from time to time, involved in various claims, litigation matters and regulatory proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on us. These matters may include personal injury and other tort claims, deceptive trade practice disputes, intellectual property disputes, product recalls, contract disputes, employment and tax matters and other proceedings and litigation, including class actions lawsuits. It is not possible to predict the outcome of pending or future litigation and any such claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming and expensive, and may require the Company to incur substantial costs and divert the resources of management.
We face exposure to product liability and other claims in the event that one of our products is alleged to have resulted in property damage, bodily injury or other adverse effects. In addition, if we are required to, or voluntarily, repair, replace or refund one or more of our products, it could have a material impact on our business, operating results, financial condition and reputation.
Determining legal reserves or possible losses from claims against us involves judgment and may not reflect the full range of uncertainties and unpredictable outcomes. Until the final resolution of such matters, we may be exposed to losses in excess of the amount recorded, and such excess amounts could have a material effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. In addition, it is possible that a resolution of any claim, including as a result of a settlement, could require us to make substantial future payments, prevent us from offering certain products or services, or require us to change our business practices each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows.
U.S. government trade actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and results of operation.
Over the past several years, the U.S. government has taken a number of trade actions that impact or could impact our operations, including imposing tariffs on certain goods imported into the United States.
The U.S. government has recently implemented significant tariff measures on several major trading partners, including China, Canada, the European Union, and numerous other countries. As of August 12, 2025, a 10% baseline reciprocal tariff applies to nearly all imports, in addition to country-specific rates. Tariffs on China were temporarily reduced to approximately 30% from May 14, 2025, pursuant to a 90-day truce, which has now been extended an additional 90 days through November 9, 2025; absent a new agreement, higher rates may be reinstated thereafter. Effective August 1, 2025, tariffs on Canada increased to 35% for goods not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The EU has negotiated a reduced tariff rate of 15% on its exports to the U.S., which remains subject to change. Many other countries are now subject to increased tariffs, in some cases as high as 50%, and these rates are subject to change at any time.
These tariff actions, along with the potential for retaliatory measures, create uncertainty and may increase our product costs, disrupt our supply chain, and adversely affect our competitive position. In particular, continued or escalated trade and political tensions with China or other key trading partners could result in retaliatory restrictions that impair our ability to source products and components from contract manufacturers or service providers operating in those countries. Any sustained increase in tariffs, or the imposition of additional trade barriers, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In addition to the tariff measures described above, changes in U.S. or foreign trade policy may create ongoing uncertainty in international trade relations. Future actions by the United States or other governments — including the imposition, increase, or extension of tariffs, quotas, or other trade restrictions, or changes to existing trade agreements or policies — could occur at any time and without notice. Any such actions, whether unilateral or in response to geopolitical or economic developments, could reduce demand for our products, increase our costs, disrupt our supply chain, reduce our profitability, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are continually evaluating the impact of the current and any possible new tariffs on our supply chain, costs and sales and are considering strategies to mitigate such impact, including reviewing sourcing options and working with our suppliers. We can provide no assurance that any strategies we implement to mitigate the impact of such tariffs or other trade actions will be successful or that any newly sourced products will be of the same quality of those previously sourced elsewhere. Given the uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of these trade actions by the U.S. government or other countries, as well as the potential for additional trade actions, the impact on our operations and results remains uncertain.
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.
The market price and trading volume of our common stock has at times experienced substantial price volatility. There has been, and we expect will continue to be, significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of our common stock. In certain instances, these fluctuations have been unrelated or disproportionate to our operating performance, financial condition, and cash flows. In addition, the market price of our common stock may be, and we believe has been, significantly impacted by investors covering large short positions in our common stock. In addition, there are many other factors that have caused and may continue to cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate, including: our announcement of our Board’s temporary suspension of our share repurchase program, actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results, or the operating results, financial condition, and cash flows of companies perceived to be similar to us; deterioration and decline in general economic, industry and/or market conditions; changes in estimates of our financial results or recommendations by equity research analysts, including any decision by equity research analysts to initiate or discontinue coverage; announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic alliances or joint ventures; and changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt.
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