Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, we have provided certain non-GAAP measures, which we define as financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measure provided herein is earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items (“Adjusted EBITDA”), which should be viewed as supplemental to, and not as an alternative for, net income or loss calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP (referred to below as “net loss”).

Adjusted EBITDA is used by our management as an additional measure of our Company’s performance for purposes of business decision-making, including developing budgets, managing expenditures and evaluating potential acquisitions or divestitures. Period-to-period comparisons of Adjusted EBITDA help our management identify additional trends in our Company’s financial results that may not be shown solely by period-to-period comparisons of net income. In addition, we may use Adjusted EBITDA in the incentive compensation programs applicable to some of our employees in order to evaluate our Company’s performance. Our management recognizes that Adjusted EBITDA has inherent limitations because of the excluded items, particularly those items that are recurring in nature. In order to compensate for those limitations, management also reviews the specific items that are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA, but included in net income, as well as trends in those items.

We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in their analysis of our results for reasons similar to the reasons why our management finds it useful and because it helps facilitate investor understanding of decisions made by management in light of the performance metrics used in making those decisions. In addition, as more fully described below, we believe that providing Adjusted EBITDA, together with a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA, helps investors make comparisons between our Company and other companies that may have different capital structures, different effective income tax rates and tax attributes, different capitalized asset values and/or different forms of employee compensation. However, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended as a substitute for comparisons based on net loss. In making any comparisons to other companies, investors need to be aware that companies use different non-GAAP measures to evaluate their financial performance. Investors should pay close attention to the specific definition being used and to the reconciliation between such measures and the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures provided by each company under applicable SEC rules.

The following is an explanation of the items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA but included in net loss from continuing operations:

•       Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense is a non-cash expense relating to capital expenditures and intangible assets arising from acquisitions that are expensed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the related assets. The Company excludes depreciation and amortization expense from Adjusted EBITDA because management believes that (i) the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of the business operations and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of new acquisitions and full amortization of previously acquired tangible and intangible assets. Accordingly, management believes that this exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance. Investors should note that the use of tangible and intangible assets contributed to revenue in the periods presented and will contribute to future revenue generation and should also note that such expense will recur in future periods.

•       Stock-Based Compensation Expense. Stock-based compensation expense is a non-cash expense arising from the grant of stock-based awards to employees. Management believes that excluding the effect of stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons in the Company’s operating performance because (i) the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of business operations and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of the timing of grants of new stock-based awards, including grants in connection with acquisitions. Stock-based compensation expense includes certain separation expenses related to the vesting of stock options. Effective February 10, 2023, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, President and Class II member of the Board of Directors resigned. In connection with the resignation, the Company entered into a separation agreement providing for, among other things, accelerated vesting of 106,656 unvested restricted shares of the Company common stock. Stock based compensation expense for 2023 includes $349,832 related to the accelerated vesting of stock, which is recognized in separation expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. On March 2, 2022, the Company and the former chief executive officer and the former chief financial officer of Helix mutually agreed not to renew special advisor agreements. Per the terms of the agreements, options to purchase 366,166 shares of common stock continued to vest according to their original terms through March 2, 2023, and unvested stock options to purchase 732,332 shares of common stock were forfeited. The advisors were not required to perform services to the Company beyond the non-renewal date of March 2, 2022. As a result, management recorded $5,417,043 of stock compensation expenses during March 2022 related to the options that vested through the twelve months ending March 2, 2023, which is recognized in separation expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. Management believes that excluding stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA assists management and investors in making meaningful comparisons between the Company’s operating performance and the operating performance of other companies that may use different forms of employee compensation or different valuation methodologies for their stock-based compensation. Investors should note that stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to employees whose efforts contributed to the operating results in the periods presented and are expected to contribute to operating results in future periods. Investors should also note that such expenses will recur in the future.

•       Interest Expense. Interest expense is associated with the convertible notes entered into on September 1, 2021 in the amount of $24,000,000 (the “Notes”). The Notes are due on September 1, 2025, and accrue interest at an annual rate of 3.5%. Management excludes interest expense from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because it is not directly attributable to the performance of business operations and, accordingly, its exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance and (ii) to assist management and investors in making comparisons to companies with different capital structures. Investors should note that interest expense associated with the Notes will recur in future periods.

•       Investment Income. Investment income is associated with the level of marketable debt securities and other interest-bearing accounts in which we invest. Interest and investment income can vary over time due to changes in interest rates and level of investments. Management excludes interest and investment income from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because these items are not directly attributable to the performance of business operations and, accordingly, their exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance and (ii) to assist management and investors in making comparisons to companies with different capital structures. Investors should note that interest income will recur in future periods.

•       Other Items. The Company engages in other activities and transactions that can impact net income (loss). In the periods reported, these other items included (i) change in fair value of warrant liability relating to warrants assumed in the acquisition of Helix; (ii) gain on sale of investment relating to the sale of a minority equity interest;  (iii) gain on debt redemption, which relates to a gain on the early retirement of a portion of the convertible notes and (iv) litigation related expenses, which relate to certain litigation related to entities acquired in the acquisition of Helix. Management excludes these other items from Adjusted EBITDA because management believes these activities or transactions are not directly attributable to the performance of business operations and, accordingly, their exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance. Investors should note that some of these other items may recur in future periods.

•       Severance expenses. Effective February 10, 2023, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, President and Class II member of the Board of Directors resigned. In connection with the resignation, the Company entered into a separation agreement providing for, among other things, (i) salary continuation for twelve months and (ii) accelerated vesting of 106,656 unvested restricted shares of the Company common stock. Severance expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes $250,000 related to the salary continuation. Managements excludes these other items from Adjusted EBITDA because management believes these costs are not recurring and not directly attributable to the performance of business operations and, accordingly, their exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance. In addition, the Company records normal course of business severance expenses in the operating expense line item related to our employees’ activities.

•       Income tax expense. Management excludes the income tax expense from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because management believes that the income tax expense is not directly attributable to the underlying performance of business operations and, accordingly, its exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance and (ii) to assist management and investors in making comparisons to companies with different tax attributes.

There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures because non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures provided by other companies.

The non-GAAP financial measures are limited in value because they exclude certain items that may have a material impact upon our reported financial results. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments by management about which items are adjusted to calculate our non-GAAP financial measures. We compensate for these limitations by analyzing current and future results on a U.S. GAAP basis as well as a non-GAAP basis and also by providing U.S. GAAP measures in our public disclosures.

Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business and to view our non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures.

The following table reconciles the specific items excluded from U.S. GAAP metrics in the calculation of non-GAAP metrics for the periods shown below: