Kartoon Studios, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Jun 30, 2024

The following discussion and analysis of our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and capital resources should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023*. Certain statements made or incorporated by reference in this report and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in our press releases and in statements made by or with the approval of authorized personnel constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Forward-looking statements reflect intent, belief, current expectations, estimates or projections about, among other things, our industry, management’s beliefs, and future events and financial trends affecting us. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. These differences can arise as a result of the risks described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” below in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Form 10-Q”) and in the section entitled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on April 9, 2024 (the “2023 Annual Report”), and elsewhere in this report, as well as other factors that may affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. Forward-looking statements in this report speak only as of the date hereof, and forward-looking statements in documents incorporated by reference speak only as of the date of those documents. Unless otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks and uncertainties, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this report will, in fact, transpire.*

Overview

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to provide readers of our condensed consolidated financial statements with the perspectives of management. This should allow the readers of this report to obtain a comprehensive understanding of our businesses, strategies, current trends, and future prospects. It should be noted that the MD&A contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Our Business

Our Content Distribution business is focused on achieving scale across our networks, including Kartoon Channel!, Frederator, Ameba, and Kartoon Channel! Worldwide. Revenue growth will be driven by the continued focus on licensed content and exploitation of our current content such as Stan Lee, Shaq's Garage, Rainbow Rangers and many more. Continued profit growth will be realized the more we can scale the business across our platforms. In addition, we are looking at artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools to reduce the cost of operating distribution expenses such as dubbing expenses, video resolution upscaling and converting between 2D and 3D.

Our Production Services business is focused on creating high-quality original and for hire content in the most efficient way possible. To achieve this, our Mainframe Studios division, the main driver of this business, is exploring more ways to improve operations by adopting a more flexible and efficient approach. This includes collaborating with outsource partners and utilizing AI technology to streamline processes and drive efficiencies within the organization.

Our Licensing & Royalties business has the most upside and potential for the Company. We are looking to take advantage of our incredible set of Stan Lee assets to drive consumer products - both digitally and physically. We will be focused on utilizing all of our IP assets further in 2024 and beyond.

Our Media Advisory & Advertising Services business is focused on driving deal flow opportunities and winning annuity business through retainers and projects. The team continues to focus on the toy business, but also expansion into tangential industries such as family and travel. The team has expanded their reach over the past 12-18 months by leveraging their relationships with influencers to promote products and provide bespoke marketing initiatives for the clients.

Results of Operations

Our summary results for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 are below:

Revenue

(in thousands, except percentages)

Production Services revenue was generated specifically by Wow providing animation production services. Revenue for production services is recognized over time on a percentage of completion basis, therefore, as the projects are still in progress, we recognize revenue based upon the proportion of costs incurred cumulatively to total expected costs. Consequently, less revenue is recognized during the periods in which the projects are near completion or completed. Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2024 was 28% lower than the Wow production services revenue recognized during three months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to a lower volume of active service production projects in the current period versus the prior year period.

Revenue related to Content Distribution on AVOD and SVOD, including advertising sales for the three months ended June 30, 2024, decreased by 20% as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023. This was primarily due to a decrease in Frederator’s multi-channel network revenue of $0.6 million from YouTube due to reduced ad spending and a decline in RPM advertising rates.

Revenue related to Licensing & Royalties for the three months ended June 30, 2024 decreased by 74% as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to higher royalties earned for owned IP for the period ended June 30, 2023.

Revenue generated by Media Advisory & Advertising services for the three months ended June 30, 2024 decreased by 3% as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to lower net renewal activity and media purchases from clients.

Expenses

(in thousands, except percentages)

The decrease in Marketing and Sales expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to expenses incurred for stock issued for services of $1.2 million related to the Company’s Shaq’s Garage series that was not incurred during the current three months ended June 30, 2024 and decrease of $0.2 million in media expenses.

Direct Operating Costs during the three months ended June 30, 2024 consisted primarily of salaries and related expenses for the animation production services employees of Wow and Frederator. Channel expenses, licensing and production of content costs, such as participation expenses related to profit sharing obligations with various animation studios, post-production studios, writers, directors, musicians or other creative talent that had rendered services and amortization, including any write-downs of film and television costs, make up the remainder of Direct Operating Costs. The decrease was primarily due to a $6.1 million reduction in salary costs from a decline in headcount as a result of lower volumes of service production projects for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to the same period of the prior year, offset by a $2.1 million reduction in tax credits earned as correlated to the decrease in labor costs, and an increase of $0.5 million of production costs as new project contracts were signed during the current period.

The decrease in General and Administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to a decrease of $1.0 million as a result of decreased use in equipment rentals and software licenses, a decrease of $0.6 million in share-based compensation expense, a decrease of $0.4 million in depreciation related to equipment leases that had ended prior to the current period, and a decrease in general administrative expenses related to our cost saving initiatives, offset by an increase of $0.7 million in litigation fees and an increase of $0.3 million in annual shareholder meeting expenses of holding the annual shareholder meeting during the quarter ended June 30, 2024 as opposed to later in the prior year.

During the three months ended June 30, 2023, we reassessed our nonfinancial assets, including our definite-lived intangible assets, our indefinite-lived intangible assets and our remaining goodwill for impairment. As a result, we concluded that impairment charges to those assets were required. We concluded that there were no indications or triggering events that would further impair the assets during the three months ended June 30, 2024.

Our summary results for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 are below:

Revenue

(in thousands, except percentages)

Production Services revenue was generated specifically by Wow providing animation production services. Revenue for production services is recognized over time on a percentage of completion basis, therefore, as the projects are still in progress, we recognize revenue based upon the proportion of costs incurred cumulatively to total expected costs. Consequently, less revenue is recognized during the periods in which the projects are near completion or completed. Revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2024 was 54% lower than the Wow production services revenue recognized during six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to a lower volume of active service production projects in the current period versus the prior year period.

Revenue related to Content Distribution on AVOD and SVOD, including advertising sales for the six months ended June 30, 2024, decreased by 25% as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023. This was primarily due to a decrease in Frederator’s multi-channel network revenue of $1.5 million from YouTube due to reduced ad spending and a decline in RPM advertising rates.

Revenue related to Licensing & Royalties for the six months ended June 30, 2024 decreased by 15% as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to higher royalties earned for owned IP for the period ended June 30, 2023.

Revenue generated by Media Advisory & Advertising services for the six months ended June 30, 2024 decreased by 5% as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to lower net renewal activity and media purchases from clients.

Expenses

(in thousands, except percentages)

The decrease in Marketing and Sales expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to expenses incurred for stock issued for services of $1.3 million related to the Company’s Shaq’s Garage series that was not incurred during the current three months ended June 30, 2024.

Direct Operating Costs during the six months ended June 30, 2024 consisted primarily of salaries and related expenses for the animation production services employees of Wow and Frederator. Channel expenses, licensing and production of content costs, such as participation expenses related to profit sharing obligations with various animation studios, post-production studios, writers, directors, musicians or other creative talent that had rendered services and amortization, including any write-downs of film and television costs, make up the remainder of Direct Operating Costs. The decrease was primarily due to a $14.2 million reduction in salary costs as a result in a reduction in headcount due to a lower volume of service production projects for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to the same period of the prior year, partially offset by a $4.3 million reduction in tax credits earned as correlated to the decrease in labor costs.

The decrease in General and Administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to a decrease of $1.5 million as a result of decreased use in equipment rentals and software licenses, a decrease of $1.2 million in share-based compensation expense, a decrease of $0.7 million in payroll related expenses, a decrease of $0.6 million in depreciation related to equipment leases that had ended prior to the current period, and a decrease in general administrative expenses related to our cost saving initiatives, partially offset by an increase of $1.0 million in litigation and legal fees and an increase of $0.3 million in annual shareholder meeting expenses due to holding the annual shareholder meeting earlier in the year versus the prior year.

During the six months ended June 30, 2023, we reassessed our nonfinancial assets, including our definite-lived intangible assets, our indefinite-lived intangible assets and our remaining goodwill for impairment. As a result, we concluded that impairment charges to those assets were required. The Company concluded that there were no indications or triggering events that would further impair the assets during the six months ended June 30, 2024.

Other Expense, net

Components of Other Expense, net are summarized as follows (in thousands):

Three Months and Six Months Ended June 30, 2024

(a) Interest Expense during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 primarily consisted of $0.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively, primarily due to interest incurred on bank indebtedness.

(b) There was no warrant incentive expense in 2024.

(c) The Gain on Revaluation of Warrants during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 is primarily related to the changes in fair value of the remaining outstanding warrant classified as a liability due to decreases in market price.

(d) As accounted for using the fair value option, the loss on the YFE investment revaluation during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, excluding the impact of foreign currency recorded separately, is a result of a decrease in YFE’s stock price as of June 30, 2024.

(e) The Realized Loss on Marketable Securities Investments during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 reflects the loss that will not be recovered from the investments due to selling securities prior to maturity.

(f) The Gain (Loss) on Foreign Exchange during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 primarily related to the revaluation of the YFE investment, resulting in a loss of $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively due to the EURO fluctuation to USD as compared to the prior reporting period. The remaining balance is related to remeasurements of transactions made in foreign currencies that are outstanding as of the condensed consolidated balance sheet date.

(g) Interest Income during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 primarily consisted of interest income, net of premium amortization expense, recorded for the investments in marketable securities.

(h) The Finance Lease Interest Expense during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 represents the interest portion of the finance lease obligations for equipment purchased under an equipment lease line.

(i) Other during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 is primarily related to late fees from select clients on a payment plan.

Three Months and Six Months Ended June 30, 2023

(a) Interest expense during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily consisted of $0.6 million and $1.3 million of interest incurred on the margin loan, respectively, and $0.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively, of interest incurred on production facilities loans and bank indebtedness assumed as part of the Wow Acquisition.

(b) The Warrant Incentive Expense is related to the $12.7 million fair value of Exchange Warrants that were issued during the three months ended June 30, 2023 to certain existing warrant holders in exchange for previously issued outstanding warrants and $3.5 million recorded as the incremental expense of the 2021 Warrants immediately before and after the repricing.

(c) The gain on warrant revaluation during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 is primarily related to the $6.0 million change in fair value as of the end of the reporting period of the Exchange and SEG Warrants compared to the fair value at issuance date.

(d) As accounted for using the fair value option, the gain on the YFE investment revaluation during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, excluding the impact of foreign currency recorded separately, is a result of an increase in YFE’s stock price as of June 30, 2023.

(e) The net realized loss on marketable securities reflects the loss that will not be recovered from the investments due to selling securities and issuers' prepayments of principals on certain mortgage-backed securities.

(f) The gain on foreign currency exchange during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily related to the EURO weakening against the USD compared to the three and six months ended prior period.

(g) Interest Income during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 primarily consisted of cash interest received of $0.3 million and $0.7 million from the investments in marketable securities, respectively, net of premium amortization expense of $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

(h) The finance lease interest expense represents the interest portion of the finance lease obligations assumed as part of the Wow Acquisition for equipment purchased under an equipment lease line. Prior to the acquisition of Wow, finance leases did not exist.

(i) Other during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 is primarily related to late fees from select clients on a payment plan.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2024, the Company had cash of $2.7 million, which decreased by $1.4 million as compared to December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to cash used in financing activities of $4.8 million and cash used for operating activities of $2.7 million, offset by cash provided by investing activities of $5.5 million. The cash used in financing activities was primarily due to repayments of the production facilities, margin loan and bank indebtedness, net of proceeds from each, resulting in net cash used of $7.7 million, offset by proceeds from the Offering of $3.3 million. The cash provided by investing activities was due to sales of marketable securities of $5.5 million.

As of June 30, 2024, the Company held available-for-sale marketable securities with a fair value of $6.5 million, a decrease of $5.5 million as compared to December 31, 2023 due to sales and maturities during the six months ended June 30, 2024. The available-for-sale securities consist principally of corporate and government debt securities and are also available as a source of liquidity.

As of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s margin loan balance was $1.1 million and $0.8 million, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company borrowed an additional $6.3 million from its investment margin account and repaid $6.0 million primarily with cash received from sales and maturities of marketable securities. The borrowed amounts were primarily used for operational costs. The interest rates for the borrowings fluctuate based on the Fed Funds Upper Target plus 0.60%. The weighted average interest rates were 0.82% and 0.98%, respectively, on average margin loan balances of $9.8 million and $27.4 million as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

For three months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, the Company incurred interest expense on the loan of $12,429 and $0.6 million, respectively. The Company incurred interest expense on the loan of $31,061 and $1.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively. The investment margin account borrowings do not mature but are collateralized by the marketable securities held by the same custodian and the custodian can issue a margin call at any time, effecting a payable on demand loan. Due to the call option, the margin loan is recorded as a current liability on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company is subject to financial and customary affirmative and negative non-financial covenants on the revolving demand facility and equipment lease agreements that have an aggregate total outstanding balance of $1.3 million $1.7 million.

During March 2024, the Company amended the revolving demand facility, equipment lease line, and treasury risk management facility. As a result of the amendment, the revolving demand facility allows for draws of up to CAD 1.0 million to be made by way of CAD prime rate loans, CAD overdrafts, USD base rate loans or letters of credit up to a maximum of $200,000 in either CAD or USD and having a term of up to 1 year. The CAD prime borrowings and overdrafts bear interest at a rate equal to bank prime plus 2.00% per annum. The USD base rate borrowings bear interest at a rate equal to bank base rate plus 2.00% per annum. In addition, the equipment lease line was terminated, however, the Company has and will continue to make the regular principal and interest payments under the specific financing terms of the existing equipment lease agreements. The amendment removed the treasury risk management facility that allowed for advances of up to CAD 0.5 million. As of June 30, 2024 and the date of the amendment, there were no outstanding amounts drawn under the treasury risk management facility. The amendment also introduced revised financial covenants that are effective as of March 15, 2024. As of June 30, 2024, the Company was not in compliance with two financial covenants. The financial covenants required the Company to maintain a minimum liquidity threshold and to complete a minimum equity raise by June 30, 2024. As a result of the covenant violations, the Company’s remaining equipment lease agreements with the lender of CAD 1.2 million (USD $0.9 million) are subject to repayment in the fourth quarter of 2024. As of August 14, 2024, the lender and the Company have agreed to a repayment plan for the equipment leases to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2024. The amendment and covenant violation did not have any impact on the Company’s production facilities that are separate from the revolving demand facility and are used for financing specific productions.

Working Capital

As of June 30, 2024, we had total current assets of $38.8 million, including cash of $2.7 million and marketable securities of $6.5 million, and our total current liabilities were $33.6 million. We had working capital of $5.2 million as of June 30, 2024 as compared to working capital of $11.5 million as of December 31, 2023. The decrease of $6.3 million was primarily due to a decrease in our cash and marketable securities position.

During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we met our immediate cash requirements through existing cash balances and through the sale of marketable securities. Additionally, we used equity and equity-linked instruments to pay for services and compensation. We believe that our current cash balances and our investments in available for sale marketable securities are sufficient to support our operations for at least the next twelve months. To meet our short and long-term liquidity needs, we expect to use existing cash and marketable securities balances.

Comparison of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023

Our total cash as of June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023 was $2.7 million and $4.8 million, respectively.

(in thousands)

Net Non-cash Expenses

Items necessary to reconcile from net loss to cash used in operating activities included net non-cash expenses of $4.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to net non-cash expenses of $27.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The majority of the decrease of $22.4 million in non-cash expenses was primarily due to the absence of the recognition of $15.4 million in impairment expenses of long-lived assets, intangible assets and goodwill and warrant incentive expense of $12.7 million, a decrease of realized losses from marketable securities of $1.9 million and a decrease in share-based compensation of $1.2 million. The decreases were partially offset by the six months ended June 30, 2023 reconciling non-cash items of $10.5 million related to gains from revaluations of our investment in YFE and warrants.

Change in Operating Activities

The net change in operating asset and liability activities provided by operating activities of $5.5 million as of June 30, 2024 compared to the net change in operating asset and liability activities used by operating activities of $1.4 million as of June 30, 2023 was primarily due to an increase in net receipts of tax credits during the current year of $4.6 million as credits were received for production completed in the prior year, a decrease in deferred revenue of $5.9 million, a decrease in accounts receivable, net of $1.9 million and a $1.4 million increase in accounts payable due to timing.

Change in Investing Activities

The decrease in cash provided by investing activities of $30.4 million was primarily due to a decrease in proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $29.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2024 as a result of selling less marketable securities during the current period.

Change in Financing Activities

The decrease in cash used in financing activities of $23.1 million was primarily due to a decrease in repayments of our margin loan of $35.8 million, offset by repayments during the current period, compared to proceeds from bank indebtedness during the prior year period, resulting in a net increase of cash used in financing of $5.6 million. In addition, we did not receive proceeds from a warrant exchange in the current period compared to the prior year period of $5.3 million.

Material Cash Requirements

We have entered into arrangements that contractually obligate us to make payments that will affect our liquidity and cash flows in future periods. Our material cash requirements from known contractual and other obligations primarily relate to our debt and lease obligations and our employment and consulting contracts. The aggregate amount of future minimum purchase obligations under these agreements over the period of next five years is approximately $27.2 million as of June 30, 2024, of which about $6.3 million could be owed within one year if the margin loan is called.

We plan to utilize our liquidity (as described above) to fund our material cash requirements.

As of June 30, 2024, we had $1.4 million in commitments for capital expenditures, related to equipment leases.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of the financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and operating results require our management to make judgments, assumptions and estimates that affect the amounts reported. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates, and such differences may be material.

Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q and in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of our 2023 Annual Report, and “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in Part II, Item 7 of the 2023 Annual Report describe the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements.

As a “smaller reporting company,” as defined by Item 10 of Regulation S-K, we are not required to provide information required by this Item.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) Exchange Act.Based upon our evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that that as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e), were not effective at the reasonable assurance level due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which were disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has also concluded that as of December 31, 20243 and March 31, 2024 our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e), were not effective at the reasonable assurance level due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which were disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

As disclosed in Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, our management identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting:

• Inadequate design of user access provisioning/deprovisioning controls and inadequate segregation of duties on certain controls or processes;
• Lack of specialized experts related to income tax areas; and
• Inappropriate application of accounting standards related to warrant modifications

Notwithstanding the identified material weaknesses, our management believes the unaudited condensed financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly present, in all material respects, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented in accordance with GAAP.

Management’s Plan to Remediate the Material Weakness

We continue to be committed to maintaining a strong internal control environment. In response to the identified material weaknesses, management has taken comprehensive actions to strengthen its internal controls and has been and continues to implement measures designed to ensure that control deficiencies contributing to the material weakness are remediated.

Our plans for remediation include, but are not limited to, the efforts summarized below, which have been or are in the process of being implemented:

• Enhanced procedures for formal documented review and approval of journal entries;
• Reorganized the accounting team members to ensure proper segregation of duties;
• Implemented core financial reporting and financial close software systems;
• Performed risk assessment procedures and improved the documentation of internal processes and controls;
• Improved documentation over complex financial transactions;
• Implemented additional procedures over assessment of cybersecurity and information technology general controls;
• Increase the extent of oversight and verification checks included in operation of user access controls and processes; and
• Continue to enhance review over financial reporting, financial operations, internal controls including segregation of duties; as well as improve tax analysis and fair value estimates.

We will not be able to conclude whether these efforts will fully remediate the material weakness until the updated process has operated for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that such controls are operating effectively.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the remediation efforts described above, there was no change in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations over Internal Controls

Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error and circumvention by collusion or overriding of controls. Accordingly, even an effective internal control system may not prevent or detect material misstatements on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

We have incurred net losses since inception.

We have a history of operating losses and incurred net losses in each fiscal quarter since our inception. Six Months Ended June 30, 2024, we generated total revenues of $14.5 million and incurred a net loss of $12.9 million, while for the previous year, we generated total revenue of $25.2 million and incurred a net loss of $36.3 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we generated total revenues of $44.1 million and incurred a net loss of $77.1 million, while for the previous year, we generated net revenue of $62.3 million and incurred a net loss of $45.6 million. These losses, among other things, have had an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, stockholders’ equity, net current assets and working capital.

We will need to generate additional revenue and/or reduce costs to achieve profitability. We are generating revenues derived from our existing properties, properties in production, and new brands being introduced into the marketplace. However, the ability to sustain these revenues and generate significant additional revenues and reduce our expenses or achieve profitability will depend upon numerous factors some of which are outside of our control.

We have incurred indebtedness that could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

As of June 30, 2024, we and our subsidiaries have production loan facility obligations of approximately $9.8 million and advances outstanding of $0.4 million under our senior secured revolving credit facility. As of December 31, 2023, we and our subsidiaries have production loan facility obligations of approximately $15.3 million and advances outstanding of $2.9 million under our senior secured revolving credit facility. We also had an outstanding margin loan of $0.8 million secured by our marketable investment securities as of December 31, 2023. The facilities are guaranteed by us and the security reflects substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets including a combination of federal and provincial tax credits, other government incentives, production service agreements and license agreements. The facilities and the margin loan are generally repayable on demand and are subject to customary default provisions, representations and warranties and other terms and conditions.

Our level of debt could have adverse consequences on our business, such as making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our other debt; limiting our ability to refinance such indebtedness or to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements; requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; increasing our vulnerability to economic downturns and adverse developments in our business; exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings are at fixed long term rates and or variable rates of interest; limiting our flexibility in planning for, and reducing our flexibility in reacting to, changes in the conditions of the financial markets and our industry; placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; increasing our cost of borrowing; and restricting the way in which we conduct our business because of financial and operating covenants in the agreements governing our existing and future indebtedness and exposing us to potential events of default (if not cured or waived) under covenants contained in our debt instruments.

We are currently in default under financial covenants under our revolving demand facility.

We were not in compliance with financial covenants under its revolving demand facility as of June 30, 2024. As a result of the covenant violations, our remaining equipment lease agreements with the lender of CAD million are subject to repayment. As of August 14, 2024, the lender and the Company have agreed to a repayment plan for the equipment leases to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2024. The amendment and covenant violations did not have any impact on the Company’s production facilities that are separate from the revolving demand facility and are used for financing specific productions.

Offers or availability for sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may cause the price of our common stock to decline.

If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market upon the expiration of any statutory holding period under Rule 144, or shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants, it could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an “overhang” and, in anticipation of which, the market price of our common stock could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate. In general, under Rule 144, a non-affiliated person who has held restricted shares of our common stock for a period of six months may sell into the market all of their shares, subject to us being current in our periodic reports filed with the SEC.

As of June 30, 2024, approximately 38,373,500 shares of common stock of the 39,463,517 shares of common stock issued are outstanding and freely trading. As of June 30, 2024, there were 6,926,952 warrants outstanding. Lastly, as of June 30, 2024, there are 958,806 shares of common stock underlying outstanding options granted, 2,293,603 shares, including vested and unvested, of common stock underlying outstanding restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and 216,767 shares reserved for issuance under our Kartoon Studios, Inc. 2020 Incentive Plan.

To date, our revenues have come from a limited number of customers, making us dependent on those few customers.

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, we had four customers, whose total revenue exceeded 10% of the total condensed consolidated revenue. These customers accounted for 80.9% of the total revenue.

During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we had three customers, whose total revenue exceeded 10% of the total condensed consolidated revenue. These customers accounted for 66.7% of the total revenue. As of June 30, 2024, the Company had three customers whose total accounts receivable exceeded 10% of the total accounts receivable. These customers accounted for 66.0% of the total accounts receivable as of June 30, 2024.

The loss of, or a significant reduction of business from, any of our primary customers will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation unless we are able to replace such customers with other primary customers.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Failure to remediate the material weaknesses or any other material weaknesses that we identify in the future could result in material misstatements in our financial statements.

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, our management is required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing the standards that must be met for management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. Annually, we perform activities that include reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we will not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could result in significant expenses to remediate any internal control deficiencies and lead to a decline in our stock price.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We cannot provide assurance that we have identified all, or that we will not in the future have additional, material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, we may be required to implement further remedial measures and to design enhanced processes and controls to address deficiencies. If we do not effectively remediate the material weaknesses identified by management and maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to prepare reliable financial reports and comply with our reporting obligations under the Exchange Act on a timely basis. Any such delays in the preparation of financial reports and the filing of our periodic reports may result in a loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect our business, the market value of our common stock and our access to capital markets.