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CS Disco Inc

For the period ended Jun 30, 2024. Filed Aug 8, 2024.

View on SEC.gov

About this filing

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, 2024 · Filed Aug 8, 2024

LAW$5.66+0.7%Stored close · as of Nov 6, 2026

What changed in Risk Factors?

Read the current filing

Previous report: 10-Q

Period ended 2024-03-31; filed 2024-05-09.

0001625641-24-000072

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Current report: 10-Q

Period ended 2024-06-30; filed 2024-08-08.

0001625641-24-000122

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.

Compared 306 previous paragraphs and 307 current paragraphs.

295 unchanged; 11 reworded; 0 added; 0 removed; 0 previous and 1 current paragraphs rearranged.

Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.

A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.

Reworded paragraphs (11)

Previous wording

We have experienced substantial growth in our business, including significant growth in headcount, our number of customers, usage, and amount of data delivered across our product offerings, since inception. For example, our revenue was $35.6 million, $33.1 million, $138.1 million and $135.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. You should not rely on the revenue growth reflected by any prior quarterly or annual period as an indication of our future performance. Although our revenues increased year over year, our rate of revenue growth has declined from prior periods and our quarterly revenue within individual product offerings has fluctuated. Our revenue growth rate may continue to decline, and our revenue may decline, in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including the maturation of our business, increased competition, negative media or industry or financial analyst commentary regarding us or our product offerings, changes in personnel, changes to technology, a decrease or periodic fluctuations in the growth of our overall market, changes in the volume of legal matters and other organizational changes affecting our customer base and resulting in litigation, or our failure, for any reason, to continue to take advantage of growth opportunities. Overall growth of our revenue depends on a number of factors, including our ability to:

Current wording

We have experienced substantial growth in our business, including significant growth in headcount, our number of customers, usage, and amount of data delivered across our product offerings, since inception. For example, our revenue was $71.6 million, $67.4 million, $138.1 million and $135.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. You should not rely on the revenue growth reflected by any prior quarterly or annual period as an indication of our future performance. Although our revenues increased year over year, our rate of revenue growth has declined from prior periods and our quarterly revenue within individual product offerings has fluctuated. Our revenue growth rate may continue to decline, and our revenue may decline, in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including the maturation of our business, increased competition, negative media or industry or financial analyst commentary regarding us or our product offerings, changes in personnel, changes to technology, a decrease or periodic fluctuations in the growth of our overall market, changes in the volume of legal matters and other organizational changes affecting our customer base and resulting in litigation, or our failure, for any reason, to continue to take advantage of growth opportunities. Overall growth of our revenue depends on a number of factors, including our ability to:

Previous wording

We launched our business in 2013 and have experienced net losses in each fiscal year since inception. We incurred net losses of $10.6 million and $20.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We generated net losses of $42.2 million and $70.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. As of March 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $251.2 million. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels and manage costs in future periods in order to become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability. We intend to continue to incur significant costs to support further growth and development of our product offerings, including expanding the functionality of our platform, technology infrastructure and business systems, expanding our partner ecosystem, increasing our marketing activities and growing our international operations. We will also face increased compliance costs associated with the growth and expansion of our customer base. These increased expenditures will make it harder for us to achieve or sustain profitability. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the other risks described herein, and unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the value of our common stock could decline and our business may be harmed.

Current wording

We launched our business in 2013 and have experienced net losses in each fiscal year since inception. We incurred net losses of $21.4 million and $35.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We generated net losses of $42.2 million and $70.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of June 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $263.1 million. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels and manage costs in future periods in order to become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability. We intend to continue to incur significant costs to support further growth and development of our product offerings, including expanding the functionality of our platform, technology infrastructure and business systems, expanding our partner ecosystem, increasing our marketing activities and growing our international operations. We will also face increased compliance costs associated with the growth and expansion of our customer base. These increased expenditures will make it harder for us to achieve or sustain profitability. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the other risks described herein, and unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the value of our common stock could decline and our business may be harmed.

Previous wording

From time to time, there may be changes in our management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives and key employees, such as the departure of our former chief executive officer, Kiwi Camara, in September 2023. Any change in key personnel could disrupt our business. Mr. Camara’s departure and ensuing negative publicity about the company has resulted in some disruption to our business, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract, recruit and retain key employees.

Current wording

From time to time, there may be changes in our management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives and key employees, such as the departure of our former Chief Executive Officer, Kiwi Camara, in September 2023, or the appointments of Eric Friedrichsen as our Chief Executive Officer in April 2024 and Richard Crum as our Executive Vice President, Chief Product Officer in July 2024. Any change in key personnel could disrupt our business. Mr. Camara’s departure and ensuing negative publicity about the company has resulted in some disruption to our business, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract, recruit and retain key employees.

Previous wording

A component of our growth strategy involves the further expansion of our operations and customer base internationally. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the percentage of revenue generated from customers outside the United States was less than 10% of our total revenue. We are continuing to adapt to and develop strategies to address international markets but there is no guarantee that such efforts will have the desired effect. In connection with such expansion, we may face difficulties, including costs associated with expansion, varying seasonality patterns, potential adverse movement of currency exchange rates, longer payment cycle difficulties in collecting accounts receivable in some countries, increased management, travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs associated with having operations and developing our business in multiple jurisdictions, different technical standards, existing or future regulatory and certification requirements and required features and functionality, political and economic conditions and uncertainty in each country or region in which we operate and general economic and political conditions and uncertainty around the world, tariffs and trade barriers, a variety of regulatory or contractual limitations on our ability to operate, adverse tax events, reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some countries and a geographically and culturally diverse workforce and customer base. In addition, our product offerings have been developed with a focus on the practice of law in the United States and the rules and regulations applicable domestically in the United States and we may be required to expend substantial time and resources to update our product offerings or develop new applications to address alternative systems of legal resolution in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, in certain jurisdictions in which we seek to enter, the rules and regulations governing the practice of law and e-discovery may impose additional obligations or restrictions on our operations. Failure to overcome any of these difficulties could harm our business.

Current wording

A component of our growth strategy involves the further expansion of our operations and customer base internationally. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the percentage of revenue generated from customers outside the United States was less than 10% of our total revenue. We are continuing to adapt to and develop strategies to address international markets but there is no guarantee that such efforts will have the desired effect. In connection with such expansion, we may face difficulties, including costs associated with expansion, varying seasonality patterns, potential adverse movement of currency exchange rates, longer payment cycle difficulties in collecting accounts receivable in some countries, increased management, travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs associated with having operations and developing our business in multiple jurisdictions, different technical standards, existing or future regulatory and certification requirements and required features and functionality, political and economic conditions and uncertainty in each country or region in which we operate and general economic and political conditions and uncertainty around the world, tariffs and trade barriers, a variety of regulatory or contractual limitations on our ability to operate, adverse tax events, reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some countries and a geographically and culturally diverse workforce and customer base. In addition, our product offerings have been developed with a focus on the practice of law in the United States and the rules and regulations applicable domestically in the United States and we may be required to expend substantial time and resources to update our product offerings or develop new applications to address alternative systems of legal resolution in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, in certain jurisdictions in which we seek to enter, the rules and regulations governing the practice of law and e-discovery may impose additional obligations or restrictions on our operations. Failure to overcome any of these difficulties could harm our business.

Previous wording

As of March 31, 2024, we had 10 U.S. granted patents and 15 pending U.S. patent applications related to our platform and its technology. We cannot assure you that any of our patent applications will result in the issuance of a patent or that the examination process will not require us to narrow our claims. Any patents that issue from any patent applications may not give us the protection that we seek or may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. Any patents that may issue in the future from our pending or future patent applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection and may not be valid and enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Any patents we have obtained or may obtain in the future may be found to be invalid or unenforceable in light of recent and future changes in the law, or because of technology developed prior to the inventions we have sought to patent or because of defects in our patent prosecution process.

Current wording

As of June 30, 2024, we had 11 U.S. granted patents and 17 pending U.S. patent applications related to our platform and its technology. We cannot assure you that any of our patent applications will result in the issuance of a patent or that the examination process will not require us to narrow our claims. Any patents that issue from any patent applications may not give us the protection that we seek or may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. Any patents that may issue in the future from our pending or future patent applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection and may not be valid and enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Any patents we have obtained or may obtain in the future may be found to be invalid or unenforceable in light of recent and future changes in the law, or because of technology developed prior to the inventions we have sought to patent or because of defects in our patent prosecution process.

Previous wording

Moreover, in the ordinary course of business, we may transfer personal information from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted data laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal information to other countries. For example, absent appropriate safeguards, the EU GDPR generally restricts the transfer of personal information to countries outside the EEA absent certain safeguards. Laws in Switzerland and the UK similarly restrict personal information transfers outside of those jurisdictions to countries such as the United States of America that do not provide an adequate level of protection for personal information. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal information from the EEA and UK to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA standard contractual clauses, the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK extension thereto (which allows for transfers to relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal information to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal information from the EEA, the UK, or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal information necessary to operate our business. Some European regulators have prevented companies from transferring personal information out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations. The United States is also increasingly scrutinizing certain data transfers and may also impose certain data localization requirements, particularly if we transfer personal information to, or process personal information of residents of, high risk or sanctioned jurisdictions.

Current wording

Moreover, in the ordinary course of business, we may transfer personal information from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted data laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal information to other countries. For example, absent appropriate safeguards, the EU GDPR generally restricts the transfer of personal information to countries outside the EEA absent certain safeguards. Laws in Switzerland and the UK similarly restrict personal information transfers outside of those jurisdictions to countries such as the United States of America that do not provide an adequate level of protection for personal information. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal information from the EEA and UK to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA standard contractual clauses, the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK extension thereto (which allows for transfers to relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal information to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal information from the EEA, the UK, or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal information necessary to operate our business.

Previous wording

Our information technology systems and those of third parties with whom we work are potentially vulnerable to breakdown or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunction, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication, electrical failures and security incidents. Cyberattacks and other malicious internet-based activity continue to increase and are increasingly difficult to detect, respond to and mitigate. Other evolving threats to our information systems and data include, but are not limited to, social engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware, denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, and supply-chain attacks. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, internal personnel, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors and organized criminals now engage in attacks. We have and may in the future experience a security incident or significant vulnerability, including without limitation, those resulting from acts, errors or omissions of our personnel (including those caused by our, or our vendors’, employees or contractors), including inadvertent storage or disclosure of personal information, our confidential information, or our customers’ confidential information, or coding errors, defects and bugs, or accidentally providing a customer with access to or copies of another customer’s confidential information. Ransomware and cyber extortion attacks, including those perpetrated by organized criminal threat actors, nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, leaks and public disclosures of sensitive information, extortion of our customers, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. Additionally, our employees are routinely working remotely, which may pose additional data security risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers, and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations.

Current wording

Our information technology systems and those of third parties with whom we work are potentially vulnerable to breakdown or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunction, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication, electrical failures and security incidents. Cyberattacks and other malicious internet-based activity continue to increase and are increasingly difficult to detect, respond to and mitigate. Other evolving threats to our information systems and data include, but are not limited to, social engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware, denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, and supply-chain attacks. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, internal personnel, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors and organized criminals now engage in attacks. We have and may in the future experience a security incident or significant vulnerability, including without limitation, those resulting from acts, errors or omissions of our personnel (including those caused by our, or our vendors’, employees or contractors), including inadvertent storage or disclosure of personal information, our confidential information, or our customers’ confidential information, or coding errors, defects and bugs, or accidentally providing a customer with access to or copies of another customer’s confidential information. Ransomware and cyber extortion attacks, including those perpetrated by organized criminal threat actors, nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, leaks and public disclosures of sensitive information, extortion of our customers, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. It may be difficult and/or costly to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident. Our efforts to do so may not be successful. Actions taken by us or the third parties with whom we work to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident could result in outages, data losses, and disruptions of our business. Threat actors may also gain access to other networks and systems after a compromise of our networks and systems. Additionally, our employees are routinely working remotely, which may pose additional data security risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers, and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations.

Previous wording

Notifications and follow-up actions related to a security incident could impact our reputation, result in a loss of customers and prospects, and cause us to incur significant costs, including legal expenses and remediation costs. We may have contractual and legal obligations under applicable data privacy and security laws to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches. Such disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers or prospective customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.

Current wording

Notifications and follow-up actions related to a security incident could impact our reputation, result in a loss of customers and prospects, and cause us to incur significant costs, including legal expenses and remediation costs. We may have contractual and legal obligations under applicable data privacy and security laws to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches, or we may voluntarily choose to notify relevant stakeholders including affected individuals, customers, regulators, and investors, of security incidents, or to take other actions, such as providing credit monitoring and identify theft protection services. Such disclosures and related actions can be costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such applicable requirements could lead to adverse consequences including negative publicity, which may cause our customers or prospective customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.

Previous wording

In addition, there were 0.5 million shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options and 5.2 million shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units outstanding as of March 31, 2024. We have registered all of the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or other equity incentives we may grant in the future, for public resale under the Securities Act. The shares of common stock will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent such options are exercised.

Current wording

In addition, there were 0.4 million shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options and 5.6 million shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units outstanding as of June 30, 2024. We have registered all of the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or other equity incentives we may grant in the future, for public resale under the Securities Act. The shares of common stock will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent such options are exercised.

Previous wording

In March 2024, our board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program for up to $20.0 million of our common stock, of which $2.7 million was utilized as of March 31, 2024. Although our board of directors has authorized the stock repurchase program, it does not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of shares, there is no expiration date for the stock repurchase program, and the stock repurchase program may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time and for any reason. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased under the stock repurchase program will depend on a variety of factors, including the acquisition price of the shares, our liquidity position, general market and economic conditions, legal and regulatory requirements and other considerations. Our ability to repurchase shares may also be limited by restrictive covenants in future borrowing arrangements we may enter into from time to time.

Current wording

In March 2024, our Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program for up to $20.0 million of our common stock, which was fully utilized as of June 30, 2024.

Previous wording

Repurchases of our shares could increase the volatility of the trading price of our stock, which could have a negative impact on the trading price of our stock. Similarly, the future announcement of the termination or suspension of the stock repurchase program, or our decision not to utilize the full authorized repurchase amount under the stock repurchase program, could result in a decrease in the trading price of our stock. In addition, the stock repurchase program could have the impact of diminishing our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance our growth, complete acquisitions and execute our strategic plan. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases we do elect to make will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased our shares. Although our stock repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, we cannot guarantee that it will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the effectiveness of the stock repurchase program.

Current wording

Any future repurchases of our shares could increase the volatility of the trading price of our stock, which could have a negative impact on the trading price of our stock. Any future stock repurchase program could have the impact of diminishing our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance our growth, complete acquisitions and execute our strategic plan. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases we do elect to make will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased our shares. Although stock repurchase programs, including our recently completed stock repurchase program, are intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, we cannot guarantee that any such program will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the effectiveness of such stock repurchase program.
Rearranged current paragraphs (1)

Current report — wording carried from elsewhere

Some European regulators have prevented companies from transferring personal information out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations. Regulators in the United States are also increasingly scrutinizing certain personal information transfers and may impose data localization requirements, for example, the Biden Administration’s executive order Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern.