Axon Enterprise 10-K 2022-12-31
Filed 2023-02-28. 23 sections, 431K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
(Mark One)
| ⌧ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the fiscal year ended December 31**,** 2022
or
| ◻ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the transition period from ______ to _______
Commission File Number: 001-16391
Axon Enterprise, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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| Delaware | 86-0741227 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of | | (I.R.S. Employer |
| incorporation or organization) | | Identification No.) |
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| 17800 North 85th Street | | 85255 |
| Scottsdale**,** Arizona | | (Zip Code) |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | | |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
(480) 991-0797
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of exchange on which registered |
| Common Stock, $0.00001 par value per share | AXON | The NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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| Large accelerated filer | ☒ | | Accelerated filer☐ |
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| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | | Smaller reporting company☐ |
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| | | | Emerging growth company☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 762(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2022, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $6.3 billion based on the closing sale price as reported on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.
The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of February 24, 2023 was 72,862,227
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Parts of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders to be prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after December 31, 2022 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.
AXON ENTERPRISE, INC.
INDEX TO ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
PART I
Statements contained in this report that are not historical are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions and strategies regarding the future. We intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events; they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be realized, although we believe we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions. Many events beyond our control may determine whether results we anticipate will be achieved. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward-looking statements. This report lists various important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. These factors are intended as cautionary statements for investors within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. Readers can find them under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and investors should refer to them. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Our filings with the SEC may be accessed at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
Risk Factor Summary
The following is only a summary of the principal risks that may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The following should be read in conjunction with the more complete discussion of the risk factors we face, which are set forth more fully in “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
Strategic Risks
| ● | If law enforcement agencies do not continue to purchase and use our products and services, our growth prospects, operating results and financial conditions will be adversely affected. |
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| ● | If our TASER conducted energy devices (“CEDs”) do not continue to be widely accepted, our growth prospects will be diminished. |
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| ● | If we are unable to design, introduce, sell and deploy new products or new product features successfully, our business and financial results could be adversely affected. |
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| ● | We face risks associated with rapid technological change and new competing products. |
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| ● | Our future success is dependent on our ability to expand sales through direct sales and distributors and our inability to increase direct sales or recruit new distributors would negatively affect our sales. |
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| ● | Acquisitions of, or investments in, other companies, products, or technologies could disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our operating results. |
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| ● | Our failure to retain executive officers, specifically Patrick W. Smith, could adversely impact our business. |
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Operational Risks
| ● | Unavailability of materials or higher costs could adversely affect our financial results. |
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| ● | Material adverse developments in domestic and global economic conditions, or the occurrence of other world events, could materially adversely affect our revenue and results of operations. |
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| ● | To the extent demand for our products increases, our future success will be dependent upon our ability to manage our growth and to increase manufacturing production capacity. |
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| ● | Delays in product development schedules could adversely affect our revenues and cash flows. |
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| ● | We expend significant resources in anticipation of a sale and may receive no revenue in return. |
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| ● | Changes in civil forfeiture laws may affect our customers’ ability to purchase our products. |
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| ● | Catastrophic events could materially adversely affect our business and/or financial condition. |
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| ● | If our security measures or those of our third-party cloud storage providers are breached and unauthorized access is obtained to customers’ data or our data, our network, customers may curtail or stop using our service and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure and liabilities. |
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| ● | Defects or disruptions in our services could impact demand for our services and subject us to substantial liability. |
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| ● | Defects in our products could reduce demand for our products or result in product recalls and result in a loss of sales, delay in market acceptance and damage to our reputation. |
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| ● | Our international operations expose us to additional risks that could adversely affect our business. |
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| ● | We depend on our ability to attract and retain our key management, sales and technical personnel. |
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| ● | If we fail to comply with federal, state or local regulations applicable to TASER 10 we may be subject to governmental actions or litigation which could adversely affect our business. |
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| ● | If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or identify a material weakness or significant deficiency, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected, investor confidence could diminish, and the value of our common stock may decline. |
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Financial Risks
| ● | An increasing percentage of our revenue is derived from subscription billing arrangements which may result in delayed cash collections and may increase customer credit risk on receivables and contract assets. |
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| ● | We may experience a decline in gross margins due to a shift in product sales to software and sensors products and services which may continue to carry a lower gross margin than that of TASER devices. |
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| ● | Software-as-a-Service revenue for Axon Evidence is recognized over the terms of the contracts, which may be several years, and, as such, trends in new business may not be immediately reflected in our operating results. |
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| ● | Most of our end-user customers are subject to budgetary and political constraints that may prevent sales. |
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| ● | Due to municipal government funding rules, certain of our contracts are subject to various cancellation clauses, which could allow our customers to cancel or not exercise options to renew contracts in the future. |
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| ● | We maintain most of our cash balances, some of which are not insured, at three depository institutions. |
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| ● | Stock transactions may have a material, unpredictable impact on our results of operations and may result in dilution to existing shareholders. |
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| ● | Our financial performance is subject to risks associated with changes in the value of the U.S. dollar versus local currencies. |
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| ● | Unanticipated changes in our effective tax rate and additional tax liabilities may impact our operating results. |
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| ● | Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate unexpectedly, which may cause our stock price to decline. |
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Legal and Compliance Risks
| ● | We may face personal injury, wrongful death, product liability and other liability claims that harm our reputation and adversely affect our sales and financial condition. |
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| ● | Other litigation, government inquiries and regulatory actions may subject us to significant costs and judgments and divert management attention from our business. |
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| ● | We have been, and may be subject to intellectual property infringement and other claims, which could incur substantial litigation costs, result in significant damage awards, inhibit our use of certain technologies, and divert management attention from our business. |
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| ● | If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brands and products may decrease and we may lose our competitive market advantage. |
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| ● | We may be limited in our ability to enforce patent rights internationally to only those jurisdictions in which our patent applications have been granted. |
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| ● | A variety of new and existing laws and/or interpretations could materially and adversely affect our business. |
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| o | Our business could be adversely affected by rules and regulations governing our radio spectrum devices. |
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| o | Changes in statutes, regulations, and interpretation outside of our control may result in our products being classified or reclassified as firearms and could substantially reduce our private citizen market. |
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| o | Failure to comply with U.S. federal regulations could disrupt our operations. |
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| o | Our inability to obtain export licenses or classifications on a timely basis for sales of our products to our international customers could adversely affect our international sales. |
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| o | Inability to comply with federal regulation of foreign national employees could curtail the company’s ability to execute research and development and production related to CED technology. |
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| o | Our product sales may be adversely affected by state and local governmental regulation of our TASER-branded devices. |
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| o | Certain jurisdictions prohibit, restrict, or require a permit for importation, sale, possession or use of CEDs, including in some countries by law enforcement agencies, limiting our international sales opportunities. |
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| o | Abrupt changes to domestic and international regulation of imports and exports of components in our supply chain can result in delays or interruptions to final product supplies. |
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| o | Any failure to properly maintain or license our foreign operations could limit our ability to sell, support, or develop our products and services both internationally and in the U.S. market. |
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| o | We may be adversely impacted by environmental or climate change disclosure litigation and new, or changes in, environmental safety laws, regulations or rules. |
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| o | Our inability to adequately address privacy concerns, or comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, industry standards and guidance, contractual obligations, or other legal obligations, could result in significant regulatory and third party liability, increased costs and may adversely affect our business. |
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| ● | We are subject to evolving corporate governance and public disclosure regulations and expectations that could expose us to numerous risks. |
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Risks Related to our Convertible Notes
| ● | Servicing our debt requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow to pay our substantial debt. |
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| ● | The conditional conversion feature of our 0.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”), if triggered, may adversely affect our operating results. |
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| ● | Conversion of the Notes may dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock. |
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| ● | Changes in the accounting treatment for the Notes may have a material effect on our reported financial results. |
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| ● | The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions may affect the value of the Notes and our common stock. |
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| ● | We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the convertible note hedge transactions. |
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Item 1. Business
Axon Enterprise, Inc. may be referred to as “the Company,” “Axon,” “we,” or “our.”
Overview
Axon’s mission is to protect life in service of promoting peace, justice and strong institutions. Our moonshot goal is to cut gun-related deaths between police and the public in the United States by 50 percent before 2033.
As a technology leader in global public safety, Axon is building the public safety operating system of the future by integrating a suite of hardware devices and cloud software solutions that lead modern policing. Axon's suite includes TASER energy devices, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, cloud-hosted digital evidence management solutions, productivity software and real-time operations capabilities.
Our hardware and software solutions advance our long-term strategic vision of a) obsoleting the bullet, b) reducing social conflict, c) enabling a fair and effective justice system, and d) building for racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our products solve some of society's most challenging problems and our mission attracts top talent.
Our research & development (“R&D”) investments support continuous innovation on behalf of our customers. Our financial strategy is to build highly recurring, highly profitable businesses. Axon products are generally cloud-connected, designed to drive better outcomes and customer experiences, and sold via mutually reinforcing integrated bundles.
Axon’s operations comprise two reportable segments:
| 1. | Software and Sensors: We develop, manufacture and sell fully integrated hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share and analyze video and other digital evidence. Our software offerings also support productivity and real-time operations. |
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| 2. | TASER: Axon is the market leader in the development, manufacture and sale of conducted energy devices ("CEDs"), which we sell under our brand name, TASER. |
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Further information about our reportable segments and sales by geographic region is included in Notes 1, 2 and 20 of the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For backlog by reportable segment, refer to Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Axon employees are distributed across multiple geographies and report to work via a remote-hybrid model, which leverages both in-person collaboration environments as well as cloud-based software tools that enable remote productivity. Our physical headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona houses some executive management, sales, marketing, certain engineering, manufacturing, finance and other administrative support functions. Our other key in-person facilities include Seattle, London and Ho Chi Minh City. We also have subsidiaries, and in some cases offices located in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
Key Product Category Revenue Drivers: What We Offer
Axon products are generally cloud-connected, designed to drive better outcomes and customer experiences, and sold via mutually reinforcing integrated bundles. Our key revenue drivers belong to three broad product categories:
| ● | TASER: We develop smart devices, tools and services that support public safety officers in de-escalating situations, avoiding or minimizing use of force and aiding consumer personal protection. These tools include TASER devices, virtual reality training services and consumer devices. Research has shown that TASER devices are the most effective less-than-lethal force option, with the lowest likelihood of injury to officers and assailants. Since our inception in 1993, TASER devices have been |
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| adopted by a majority of U.S. state and local police departments and are used daily to help keep communities safe. Global adoption of TASER devices remains early and we are expanding into new geographies. Axon VR solutions make public safety training more accessible, relevant and affordable — with the goal of using new immersive VR technologies to better prepare officers for real-life situations in the field. |
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| ● | Sensors: Axon devices address many needs, including transparency, real-time situational awareness, and capturing evidence accurately and integrating with software workflows. Product categories within sensors include Axon body cameras, Axon Fleet in-car systems, and other devices that work with our software. |
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| ● | Software: Axon is building a suite of cloud-based, software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) solutions that integrate with our sensors and TASER devices to benefit customers and drive annual recurring revenue, which totaled $473 million(a) as of December 31, 2022. We have many SaaS solutions, which can best be trisected into three categories: digital evidence management, productivity and real-time operations solutions. Axon Evidence is the world’s largest cloud-hosted public safety data repository of public safety video data and other types of digital evidence. Our productivity suite, which includes Axon Records, is designed to save officers time spent writing reports and doing paperwork. And our real-time operations capabilities, which include Axon Respond, integrates location data, signal alerts and video feeds to provide a complete picture of evolving situations. |
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| (a) | Monthly recurring license, integration, warranty, and storage revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. |
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Sales and Distribution: Who We Sell To and Where We Deliver
We think of our core customers as falling into roughly four categories of funding sources: U.S. state and local governments, the U.S. federal government, international government customers, and commercial enterprises. Additionally, the types of customers who find value in our product offerings are expanding beyond law enforcement to include attorneys, fire and EMS personnel, corrections and the U.S. military.
Axon’s sales force and strong customer relationships represent key strategic advantages. The majority of our revenues are generated via direct sales, including our online store, although we do leverage distribution partners and third-party resellers.
Our largest customer segment is U.S. state and local law enforcement. Axon has a customer relationship with over 95% of state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. The remaining agencies are served via our telesales team, as well as distributors.
No customer represented more than 10% of total net sales for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 or 2020.
We are diversifying into new markets by adding new types of customer profiles, or users, and by adding to our core customer base. In recent years, we have been investing in sales personnel to capture these new markets, and in 2023, we will focus on strategic headcount additions to support key new markets and newer products.
Governmental agencies generally have the ability to terminate our contracts, in whole or in part, for reasons including, but not limited to, non-appropriation of funds. We continue to monitor developments in federal government funding.
Resources
Manufacturing and Supply Chain
We perform light manufacturing, final assembly, and final test operations at our headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, and own substantially all of the equipment required to develop, prototype, manufacture and assemble our finished products. We have continued to maintain both our ISO 9001 and our ISO 9001:2015 certifications.
We continue to take steps to diversify our supply chain and global manufacturing footprint, which positioned us well managing through the recent supply chain challenges. Thus far, we have been able to produce and ship our critical core products. As we enter 2023, material availability is improving but still poses real risks to all businesses that manufacture products. Supplier decommitments remain our largest area of risk as we continue to experience this in several areas. However, we have put programs in place to mitigate this risk. We proactively manage our supply chain down to third tier suppliers to overcome material shortages as they arise. These actions align to our strategic model to help meet strong product demand while also preparing us to stagger factory work schedules as needed, which enables us to meet compressed build schedules over short periods of time. We continue to adjust strategic inventory levels based on areas of risk to mitigate potential supply disruptions.
In light of our broad domestic and international geographic supplier base, we are continuously monitoring our supply chain to manage through potential impacts, identifying alternate shipping / logistic sources, and working with foreign regulators to ensure that our suppliers can provide parts.
We obtain many of our components from single source suppliers; however, because we own the injection molded component tooling used in their production, we believe we could obtain alternative suppliers in most cases without incurring significant production delays. For additional discussion of sources and availability of raw materials, refer to Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We provide limited manufacturer’s warranties on our Axon devices and CEDs, and customers also have the option to purchase extended warranties. For additional information about our warranties, refer to Note 1 in the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Intellectual Property
We protect our intellectual property with U.S. and international patents and trademarks. Our patents and pending patent applications relate to technology used by us in connection with our products. We also rely on international treaties, organizations and laws to protect our intellectual property. As of December 31, 2022, we hold 274 U.S. patents, 109 U.S. registered trademarks, 165 international patents, and 415 international registered trademarks, and also have numerous patent and trademark applications pending.
We continuously assess whether and where to seek formal protection for particular innovations and technologies based on such factors as the commercial significance of our operations and our competitors’ operations in particular countries and regions, our strategic technology or product directions in different countries, and the degree to which intellectual property laws exist and are meaningfully enforced in different jurisdictions. We have the exclusive rights to many Internet domain names, primarily including “Axon.com”, “Evidence.com”, and “TASER.com.” We also vigorously protect our intellectual property, including trademarks, patents and trade secrets against third-party infringement.
Confidentiality agreements are used with employees, consultants and key suppliers to help ensure the confidentiality of our trade secrets.
Competition
Sensors — Connected Cameras and Digital Evidence Management Software: The body-worn camera and in-car video/automatic license plate readers market is highly competitive. Our competition includes Motorola Solutions, Utility Associates, Getac Technology Corporation, Panasonic Corp., Reveal Media, Safe Fleet, Digital Ally Inc., Visual Labs Inc., Intrensic, LLC, as well as Safety Vision, LLC, Rekor Systems Inc., and Genetec Inc.
The market for software solutions to improve public safety agency workflows is both highly fragmented and highly competitive. Our cloud-based digital evidence management system, Axon Evidence, competes with both cloud-based platforms and on-premises based systems designed by third-parties or developed internally by an agency's technology staff. Our competition includes Motorola Solutions, Panasonic Corp., IBM, Oracle, FotoWare, Vidizmo, LLC, NICE, QueTel Corporation, OpenText Corporation, and FileOnQ among others.
Key competitive factors in this market include product performance, product features (including live-streaming, GPS tracking, and pre-event buffering), battery life, product quality and warranty, total cost of ownership, data security, data and information workflows, company reputation and financial strength, and relationships with customers.
Productivity and Real-Time Operations — Records Management System (RMS) and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD): The RMS and CAD markets are highly competitive and highly fragmented. We have identified more than 50 software providers, including Motorola Solutions, Tyler Technologies, Central Square Technologies (formerly Superion, TriTech and Aptean), Northrop Grumman, Hexagon AB, Niche Technology Inc., Caliber Public Safety (parent, Harris Computer Systems), Saab, SOMA Global, RapidDeploy Inc., Sopra Steria, Mark43 Inc, and CSI Technology Group. In addition, not all law enforcement agencies use software for report writing — some still use paper. We believe our network of camera sensors and digital evidence management platform give us a strategic advantage in these product categories. Our Respond offering competes both with real-time operations platforms that ingest body camera video feeds, like Motorola’s CommandCentral Aware, Hitachi's Visualization Suite and Genetec's Citigraf as well as platforms that ingest video feeds exclusively from surveillance cameras, like Rave Mobile Safety, Live Earth and Mutualink among others.
TASER for Professional User Markets: Our CEDs compete with a variety of less-lethal alternatives to firearms, including rubber bullets or rubber baton rounds, such as those made by Combined Systems; pepper spray, pepper spray projectiles, such as those made by Byrna Technologies Inc. (dba Fox Labs), SABRE Corporation, and Mace Security International, Inc.; traditional stun guns, such as those made by UZI and Jolt; hand-held remote restraint devices involving a tether, such as the one made by Wrap Technologies Inc.; laser dazzlers that cause temporary blindness, such as the one made by B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc.; stun grenades, such as those made by Combined Systems, Inc.; long-range acoustic devices, such as the one made by Genasys Inc.; police batons and night sticks, such as those made by Monadnock and by Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc. TASER devices offer advanced technology, versatility, portability, effectiveness, built-in accountability systems, and low injury rates, which enable us to compete effectively against other less-lethal alternatives. TASER devices also offer connectivity to our cloud network, which allows law enforcement agencies and other professional users to more effectively manage their less-lethal programs and automate use-of-force reporting.
The primary competitive factors in this market include a device’s accuracy, effectiveness, reputation, safety, cost, ease of use, and exceptional customer experience. The design maturity of the TASER platform, as well as our development and sale of a two-shot device, are also key competitive differentiators. We are aware of competitors providing competing CED products primarily in international markets.
Virtual Reality (“VR”) De-Escalation Training for Law Enforcement, Corrections and Private Security Markets: Our VR Training platform competes with several other companies in the space who offer simulation scenarios, including simulated training on the use of both lethal and less-lethal alternatives. Our competition in this space includes VirTra Inc., Apex Officer, Laser Shot Inc., InVeris Training Solutions Inc., MILO, Ti Training Corp, Adaptive VR Ltd. (AVRT), V-Armed, Street Smarts VR and WRAP Technologies.
Key competitive factors in this market include scale of content library, integration to additional sensors and devices (e.g. haptic suit, TASER), ease of use, visual fidelity and realism, quality of immersion experience (enhanced by capabilities such as eye tracking and speech recognition) and portability.
TASER for Personal Safety: In the private citizen market, TASER devices compete with firearms and with other less-than-lethal self-defense options such as stun guns and pepper spray-based products including pepper guns and miniature spray cans. Leading competitors in the less-than-lethal space include Byrna Technologies, Inc., Salt Supply Co., PepperBall, Mace, SABRE and Vipertek. The TASER StrikeLight competes in the flashlight category, in which there are dozens, if not hundreds, of competitors, including tactical flashlight providers with and without stun-gun capabilities.
TASER personal safety devices are not stun guns, and have different capabilities, including NMI (neuro-muscular incapacitation) functionality. The broader market for personal safety and home defense is far-reaching, and
categories range from threat detection and accountability (dash and doorbell cameras), to home security (home alarms, locks, and response services) to personal defense (firearms, stun guns, TASER devices, pepper spray, tactical flashlights, and personal alarms), to personal tracking and emergency notification mobile applications.
The primary benefit of TASER devices is in less-than-lethal stopping power. Other competitive factors include a device’s cost, effectiveness, safety, ease of use, and available training options.
Non-Axon trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Seasonality
We have historically experienced higher net sales in our fourth quarter compared to other quarters in our fiscal year due primarily to municipal budget cycles. Additionally, new product introductions can significantly impact the cadence of net sales, product costs and operating expenses. Municipal law enforcement budgets tend to feature a mix of fiscal years that end in either June, September or December. However, historical seasonal patterns, municipal budgets or historical patterns of product introductions should not be considered reliable indicators of our future net sales or financial performance.
Governmental Regulation
We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad that involve matters central to our business, including, for example, laws and regulations related to: privacy and data protection, security, retention, and deletion; rights of publicity; content; intellectual property; regulation of certain of our CEDs as firearms; advertising; marketing; distribution; electronic contracts and other communications; competition; consumer protection; telecommunications; product liability; taxation; labor and employment; economic or other trade prohibitions or sanctions; securities; and online payment services. There are a number of legislative proposals in the U.S., at both the federal and state level, that could impose new obligations in areas affecting our business, such as liability for copyright infringement by third parties. Foreign laws and regulations can impose different obligations or be more restrictive than those in the U.S.
These U.S. federal and state and foreign laws and regulations, which in some cases can be enforced by private parties in addition to government entities, are constantly evolving and can be subject to significant change. As a result, the application, interpretation, and enforcement of these laws and regulations are often uncertain and may be interpreted and applied inconsistently from country to country and inconsistently with our current policies and practices. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legal and Compliance Risks - A variety of new and existing laws and/or interpretations could materially and adversely affect our business.”
Radio Spectrum Devices
Certain of our products utilize the radio spectrum to provide wireless voice, data and video communications services. The allocation of spectrum is regulated in the U.S. and other countries and limited spectrum space is allocated to wireless services and specifically to public safety users. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) regulates spectrum use by non-federal entities and federal entities. Similarly, countries around the world have one or more regulatory bodies that define and implement the rules for use of radio spectrum and electromagnetic interference, pursuant to their respective national laws. We manufacture and, after receiving the required approvals, we market our products in spectrum bands already made available by regulatory bodies.
Axon body worn cameras, docks, fleet vehicle cameras and signal devices are subject to FCC’s rules and regulations. The FCC regulates not only the "intentional radiation" of radio transmitters, but also the "unintentional radiation" of noise from all sorts of electrical equipment. Current Axon products use Bluetooth, WiFi and/or Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) radio technologies. With the integration of LTE technologies, we must also apply for the approval of private certifications such as Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association certification, required
by FirstNet and other operators. These regulations affect CEDs with Signal technology, including the TASER 7 and TASER 10, SPPM, and future CEDs implementing wireless technology.
Axon and TASER Devices
For our TASER products, we rely on the opinions of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), including the determination that a device that does not expel projectiles by the action of an explosive is not classified as a firearm.
Federal regulation of sales in the U.S.: All current CED models, with the exception of TASER 10, which launched in January 2023, are not firearms regulated by the ATF, and our consumer products are regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The TASER 10 is regulated by the ATF under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and is subject to applicable state and local firearms regulations that are jurisdiction-specific. Axon must maintain a federal firearms license to manufacture and sell the TASER 10, which subjects Axon to periodic compliance inspections by the ATF. License violations discovered by the ATF can result in fines, penalties, warning letters or license revocation. Additionally, if we fail to comply with ATF rules and regulations, the ATF may limit our TASER 10 activities or growth, fine us, or ultimately, suspend our ability to produce and sell the TASER 10 product line. There are currently no federal laws restricting sales of our other currently offered CED products in the U.S.
Axon devices using lithium batteries are subject to U.S.-DOT/UN 38.3 for transportation.
Our CED products are also subject to testing, safety and other standard organizations such as the American National Standards Institute, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Underwriters Laboratories. These regulations also affect CEDs with Axon Signal technology, including Signal Performance Power Magazine technology, and TASER 7 battery packs.
Federal regulation of international sales: Our CEDs are considered a “crime control” product by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) for export directly from the U.S. which requires us to obtain an export license from the DOC for the export of our CED devices from the U.S. to any country other than Canada. Future products and services may require classifications from the DOC before they may be shipped internationally. Our inability to obtain DOC export licenses or classifications on a timely basis for sales of our products to our international customers could significantly and adversely affect our international sales. Although TASER 10 is regulated by the ATF for domestic sales, the U.S. DOC has ruled that the product’s unique propulsion design has no impact on its export classification and that the TASER 10 model’s export classification remains consistent with all other TASER CED models.
Federal regulation of foreign national employees: Our CED development and production is also considered controlled “technology” by the U.S. DOC and is categorized as a “deemed export” for any foreign national employees exposed to the technology within the U.S. Consequently, we must obtain export licenses from the DOC for any deemed export within the U.S. made to a foreign national employee exposed to the deemed controlled technology. Deemed export licenses are subject to DOC approvals and issued licenses require annual status reports for the stated employees. Inability to obtain proper licensing could curtail the company’s ability to recruit employees and execute R&D and production related to CED technology.
State and local regulation: Our CEDs are controlled, restricted or, less frequently, prohibited by some state and local governments. As of December 31, 2022, Rhode Island is the only state that prohibits the possession of our TASER-branded devices that are not regulated by the ATF. However, that prohibition was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal court, and new legislation is expected. Additionally, some cities and municipalities also prohibit private citizen possession or use of our CED products. However, with the launch of TASER 10 in January 2023, we may need to comply with additional state and local requirements governing the sale of firearms if that device is sold to non-law enforcement customers.
International regulation of foreign imports and sales: Certain jurisdictions prohibit, restrict, or require a permit for the importation, sale, possession or use of CEDs, including in some countries by law enforcement agencies, limiting our international sales opportunities.
U.S. and International regulation of component movements globally: We rely on a global supply chain of components across our product lines with most final assembly occurring in the U.S. Export of these components from abroad is subject to shifting regulatory landscapes imposed by both the foreign government and U.S. authorities upon import. Additionally, certain TASER 10 components are regulated for import into the U.S. by the ATF and are subject to ATF import permits which limits Axon’s ability to source from some suppliers leading to a potential decrease in supply chain agility.
International regulation of foreign-based operations: We maintain foreign operations in several countries globally for purposes of logistics, sales, general and administrative services, and R&D support. Depending on these activities, regulations can include business activity licensing and registration, import permits and recordkeeping, warehousing & storage security and permitting, and government reporting.
Environmental Regulations
We are subject to various state, federal and international laws and regulations governing the environment, including restricting the presence of certain substances in our products and making producers of those products financially responsible for the collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of such products.
The European Union (“EU”) has published Directives on the restriction of certain hazardous substances in electronic and electrical equipment (the “RoHS Directive”) and on electronic and electrical waste management (the “WEEE Directive”). The RoHS Directive restricts the use of a number of substances, including lead. The WEEE Directive directs members of the EU to enact laws, regulations, and administrative provisions to ensure that producers of electric and electronic equipment are financially responsible for the collection, recycling, treatment and environmentally responsible disposal of certain products sold into the EU. In addition, similar environmental legislation has been enacted in other jurisdictions, including the U.S. (under federal and state laws) and other countries.
In addition, the EU has defined a regulation for the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals that places responsibility on companies to manage the risks from chemicals contained in products and to provide safety information about such substances. Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of the chemical substances in their products and provide for their safe handling. As of January 5, 2021, companies supplying products on the EU market containing substances of very high concern as identified by the EU have to submit information on these products to the European Chemicals Agency. The information in their database is then made available to waste operators and consumers.
Other countries have adopted chemical restrictions regulations, including but not limited to the U.S., Canada, and Australia. New, or changes in, environmental safety laws, regulations or rules could also lead to increased costs of compliance, including remediations of any discovered issues, and changes to our operations, which may be significant. Any failures to comply could result in significant expenses, delays or fines.
Privacy Regulations
We are subject to laws and regulations that dictate whether, how, and under what circumstances we can collect, transfer, process and/or receive certain data that is critical to our operations, including data shared between countries or regions in which we operate and data shared among our products and services. These laws and regulations often create private rights of action, impose new potential monetary penalties for noncompliance, and may require us to adopt additional contractual obligations as well as restrict our ability to store or process data.
We continue to monitor and assess for compliance as the regulatory environment evolves both within the United States and in relevant international markets. Laws and regulations often involve matters central to our business, including:
| ● | Privacy laws, such as the European General Data Protection Regulation, California’s Consumer Privacy Act and Privacy Rights Act, Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act, the Colorado Privacy Act and other laws. |
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| ● | Data protection laws passed by many states within the U.S. regarding notification to data subjects or regulators where there is a security breach of personal data. |
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| ● | Data localization or data sovereignty laws requiring that certain data types collected in a particular country be stored or processed within that country. |
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Dynamic, and sometimes inconsistent, interpretations of what constitutes “personal information” enhance the complexity of complying with these regulations across jurisdictions.
Human Capital Resources
Our success depends on the continued service of our employees and on our ability to continue to attract, retain, and motivate top talent. To facilitate this, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment at Axon, with equitable opportunities for employee growth and development, supported by strong compensation and benefits and by programs that build connections between our employees and their communities. Axon’s mission is central to our recruiting and retention efforts.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 2,821 full-time employees and 913 temporary employees (temporary employees include contractors, interns, and consultants). During fiscal 2022, the number of full-time employees increased by 673 or 31%, primarily for product support, R&D, and other support organizations.
Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreement, and we have never experienced a work stoppage. We believe that our relations with our employees are strong. We closed the year with our regrettable attrition rate(a) at 2.02%, well under the annual goal of 2.5%. More than 90% of employees reported feeling proud to work at Axon during 2022’s employee engagement survey.
| (a) | Regrettable attrition is defined as rolling 12-month attrition of employees rated as top performing in the prior performance rating cycle. |
|---|
Diversity and Inclusion
We embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. A truly innovative workforce needs to be diverse, leverage the skills and perspectives of a wealth of backgrounds and experiences, and ensure that all employees are equitably empowered to succeed. We continue to focus on the hiring, retention, development, and advancement of women and underrepresented communities. We are focused on recruiting diverse candidates and on internal talent development of our diverse leaders so that they can advance their careers and move into leadership positions.
Our employee affinity groups are company-sponsored, employee-led communities that address specific needs, priorities, and barriers to success for each community of focus. These groups provide a forum for employees to discuss problems and craft solutions for each community of focus, while also creating leadership and professional development opportunities for members. Throughout 2022 we continued to see active participation in all six of our affinity groups — Axon Allies for LGBTQ+ employees, APIA for Asian Pacific Islander employees, HOLA for Hispanic employees, Axon Mosaic for Black employees, Axon Vets for service veterans, and Women at Axon. Each affinity group is inclusive of employees who identify as members of each community, as well as allies.
In 2022, we formed the Ethics & Equity Advisory Council (EEAC) to ensure that ethics and equity are at the forefront of our services and product development. We believe that our ability to retain our workforce is dependent
upon fostering an environment that is sustainably safe, respectful, fair and inclusive of everyone and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside of our business. Internally, we continue to listen to our employees with town hall sessions, provide expert-led webinars, and host community round tables.
Health and Safety
The health and safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us. We conduct regular self-assessments and audits to ensure compliance with our health and safety guidelines and regulatory requirements. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a level of work-related injuries as close to zero as possible through continuous investment in our safety programs. We provide protective gear (e.g. eye protection, masks and gloves) as required by applicable standards and as appropriate given employee job duties.
To promote mental and emotional wellbeing, all full-time employees are provided free, unlimited access by Axon to Ginger. Ginger is a 24/7 resource that includes individualized coaching via text in addition to access to articles and activities offering guidance on maintaining emotional balance throughout tumultuous times.
Additionally, we have a Wellness Incentive Program for our domestic employees that incentivizes healthy lifestyles. The program rewards employees for completing a variety of well-being activities that help foster their financial wellness, mental health, social wellbeing, community engagement and nutrition.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Arizona in September 1993 as ICER Corporation. We changed our name to AIR TASER, Inc. in December 1993 and to TASER International, Incorporated in April 1998. In January 2001, we reincorporated in Delaware as TASER International, Inc., and in April 2017, changed our name to Axon Enterprise, Inc.
Available Information
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC are available free of charge on our website at http://investor.axon.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such material to the SEC. The information on our website, including information about our trademarks, is not incorporated by reference into or otherwise a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Because of the following factors, as well as other variables affecting our operating results, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of our future performance and historical trends should not be used to anticipate our results or trends in future periods. You should carefully consider the trends, risks and uncertainties described below and other information in this Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC before making any investment decision with respect to our securities. If any of the following trends, risks or uncertainties actually occurs or continues, our business, financial condition or operating results could be materially adversely affected, the trading prices of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Strategic Risks
We are substantially dependent on acceptance of our products by law enforcement markets, throughout the world. If law enforcement agencies do not continue to purchase and use our products and services, our growth prospects, operating results and financial conditions will be materially adversely affected.
At any point, whether or not related to the performance of our products and services, law enforcement agencies may elect to no longer purchase our CEDs or other products and services. For example, in the past, we believe that our sales were adversely impacted by negative coverage and publicity surrounding our products and services and their use. If law enforcement agencies no longer purchase our products and services, or materially decrease their purchases, our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition will be materially adversely affected.
We substantially depend on sales of our TASER CEDs, and if these products do not continue to be widely accepted, our growth prospects will be diminished.
In the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, we derived a significant portion of our revenues from sales of TASER brand devices and related cartridges, whether on a standalone basis or as part of a bundled offering, and expect to depend on sales of these products for a significant portion of our revenue for the foreseeable future. A decrease in the selling prices of, or demand for these products, or their failure to maintain broad market acceptance, would significantly harm our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition.
If we are unable to design, introduce, sell and deploy new products or new product features successfully, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.
Our future success will depend on our ability to develop new products or new product features that achieve market acceptance in a timely and cost-effective manner. The development of new products and new product features is complex, time consuming and expensive, and we may experience delays in completing the development and introduction of new products. We may choose to carry higher levels of inventory to mitigate the risk of production delays, which may in turn expose us to an increased risk of obsolescence.
We have devoted, and continue to devote, significant resources to develop and deploy our cloud-based productivity and real-time operations SaaS solutions, which we continue to broadly deploy to a large number of customers. Customer requirements for these products are complex and varied. If we are unable to develop scalable solutions that can be consistently configured for customers with minimal effort, or if we are unable to grow a professional services team that can consistently configure our products to meet the requirements of large numbers of customers in a timely and cost-effective manner, our ability to broadly scale our cloud-based productivity and real-time operations SaaS solutions could be negatively impacted, and our business prospects, operating results and financial condition could be negatively impacted..
We cannot provide any assurance that products that we may develop in the future will achieve market acceptance. If we fail to develop new products or new product features on a timely basis that achieve market acceptance, our business, financial results and competitive position could be adversely affected.
We face risks associated with rapid technological change and new competing products.
The technology associated with law enforcement devices and software is receiving significant attention and is rapidly evolving. While we have some patent protection in certain key areas of our Axon device, CED and SaaS technology, new technology may result in competing products that operate outside our patents and could present significant competition for our products, which could adversely affect our business, financial results and competitive position.
Our future success is dependent on our ability to expand sales through direct sales and distributors and our inability to increase direct sales or recruit new distributors would negatively affect our sales.
Our distribution strategy is to pursue sales through multiple channels which is principally through direct sales and independent distributors. We are focusing on direct sales to larger agencies through our regional sales managers
and our inability to grow sales to these agencies in this manner would materially adversely affect our business prospects, operating results and financial condition In addition, our inability to establish relationships with and retain law enforcement equipment distributors, who we believe can successfully sell our products, would materially adversely affect our business prospects, operating results and financial condition. If we do not competitively price our products, meet the requirements of our distributors or end-users, provide adequate marketing support, or comply with the terms of our distribution arrangements, our distributors may fail to aggressively market our products or may terminate their relationships with us. These developments would likely have a material adverse effect on our sales. Our reliance on the sales of our products by others also makes it more difficult to predict our revenues, cash flow and operating results.
In certain states and foreign jurisdictions we have decided to pursue sales directly with law enforcement customers, rather than working through established distribution channels. Our customers may have strong working relationships with distributors and we may face resistance to this change. If we do not overcome this resistance and effectively build a direct relationship with our customers, sales may be adversely affected.
Acquisitions of, or investments in, other companies, products, or technologies may require significant management attention and could disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our operating results.
Our business strategy may include acquiring other complementary products, technologies or businesses. Negotiating these transactions can be time-consuming, difficult and expensive, and our ability to close these transactions may be subject to third-party approvals, such as government regulatory approvals, which are beyond our control. Consequently, we can make no assurance that these transactions once undertaken and announced, will close.
These kinds of acquisitions or investments may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. If we acquire businesses or technologies, we may not be able to integrate the acquired personnel, operations, and technologies successfully, or effectively manage the combined business following the acquisition. We also may not achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquired business due to a number of factors, including:
| | ● | inability to integrate or benefit from acquired technologies, products, personnel or services in a profitable manner; | |
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities are based in an approximately 100,000 square foot facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, which we own. We also lease premises in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; San Leandro, California; East Point, Georgia; Topsfield, Massachusetts; Seattle and Spokane, Washington; Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Daventry and London, England; Tampere, Finland; Frankfurt, Germany; Delhi, India; Rome, Italy; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We also own a parcel of land located in Scottsdale, Arizona on which we intend to develop a new campus.
We believe our existing facilities are well maintained and in good operating condition. We also believe we have adequate manufacturing capacity for our existing product lines. To the extent that we introduce new products in the future, we will likely need to acquire additional facilities to locate the associated production lines. However, we believe we can acquire or lease such facilities on reasonable terms. We continue to make investments in capital equipment as needed to meet anticipated demand for our products.
The majority of our locations support both of our reportable segments, except for our Vietnam and Seattle, Washington locations, which primarily support our Software & Sensors segment.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
See discussion of litigation in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which discussion is incorporated by reference herein.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is quoted under the symbol “AXON” on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.
Holders
As of December 31, 2022, there were 212 holders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
To date, we have not declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In February 2016, our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program to acquire up to $50.0 million of our outstanding common stock subject to stock market conditions and corporate considerations. The stock repurchase program does not have a stated expiration date. During the year ended December 31, 2022, no common shares were purchased under the program. As of December 31, 2022, $16.3 million remained available under the plan for future purchases.
Stock Performance Graph
The following stock performance graph compares the performance of our common stock to the NASDAQ Composite Index, Russell 2000 Index, Russell Midcap Index, and S&P 500 Index.
The graph covers the period from December 31, 2017 to December 31, 2022. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our stock and in each index was $100 at December 31, 2017, and that all dividends were reinvested. We do not pay dividends on our common stock.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Axon Enterprise, Inc. | | $ | 100.00 | | $ | 165.09 | | $ | 276.53 | | $ | 462.38 | | $ | 592.45 | | $ | 626.08 |
| NASDAQ Composite | | | 100.00 | | | 97.16 | | | 132.81 | | | 192.47 | | | 235.15 | | | 158.65 |
| Russell 2000 | | | 100.00 | | | 88.99 | | | 111.70 | | | 134.00 | | | 153.85 | | | 122.41 |
| Russell Midcap Index | | | 100.00 | | | 90.94 | | | 118.72 | | | 139.02 | | | 170.42 | | | 140.91 |
| S&P 500 | | | 100.00 | | | 95.62 | | | 125.72 | | | 148.85 | | | 191.58 | | | 156.88 |
Note: Index data copyright NASDAQ OMX, Inc.; Russell Investments; and Standard and Poor’s, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A")
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") is designed to provide a reader of our consolidated financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of our management on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and certain other factors that may affect our future results. Our MD&A should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Part I, Item 1A: “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 8: “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The various sections of this MD&A contain a number of forward-looking statements, all of which are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risk factors described throughout this filing. The tables in the MD&A sections below are derived from exact numbers and may have immaterial rounding differences.
This section discusses our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. For a discussion and analysis of the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the same period in 2020 please refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2022.
Overview
Axon's product suite includes TASER energy devices, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, cloud-hosted digital evidence management solutions, productivity software and real-time operations capabilities. Our financial strategy is to build highly recurring, highly profitable businesses. Axon products are generally cloud-connected, designed to drive better outcomes and customer experiences, and sold via mutually reinforcing integrated bundles.
Axon’s operations comprise two reportable segments:
| 1. | Software and Sensors: We develop, manufacture and sell fully integrated hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share and analyze video and other digital evidence. Our software offerings also support productivity and real-time operations. |
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| 2. | TASER: Axon is the market leader in the development, manufacture and sale of CEDs, which we sell under our brand name, TASER. |
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We derive revenue from two primary sources: (1) the sale of physical products, including Axon cameras, Axon Signal enabled devices, CEDs, corresponding hardware extended warranties, and related accessories such as Axon docks, cartridges and batteries, among others, and (2) subscriptions to our Axon Evidence digital evidence management software-as-a-service ("SaaS") (including data storage fees and other ancillary services), which includes varying levels of support. To a lesser extent, we also recognize revenue from training, professional services and other software and SaaS services.
Some of our products and services are sold on a standalone basis. We also bundle our hardware products and services together and sell them to our customers in single transactions, where the customer can make payments over a multi-year period. These sales may include payments for upfront hardware and services, as well as payments for hardware and services to be provided by us at a future date.
Our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022 were $1,189.9 million, an increase of $326.6 million, or 37.8%, from the prior year. We had income from operations of $93.3 million compared to a loss from operations of $168.1 million in the prior year. Gross margin dollars increased by $187.7 million, but decreased as a percentage of revenue compared to 2021, reflecting higher labor and freight costs. Operating expenses decreased $73.6 million, reflecting a decrease of $195.9 million in stock-based compensation expense primarily related to the CEO Performance Award and XSPP, partially offset by an increase in salaries and bonus expense, and increases in travel and commissions expense. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded net income of $147.1 million, which reflected net unrealized gains of $131.9 million related to observable price changes for our existing investments and related warrants and an unrealized loss of $32.9 million on market securities related to our investment in Cellebrite DI Ltd (“CLBT”), compared to a net loss of $60.0 million for the prior year.
Results of Operations
The following table presents data from our consolidated statements of operations as well as the percentage relationship to total net sales of items included in our statements of operations (dollars in thousands):
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
| | | 2022 | | 2021 | ||||||||
| Net sales from products | $ | 801,388 | 67.3 | % | | $ | 608,525 | 70.5 | % | |||
| Net sales from services | | 388,547 | 32.7 | | | 254,856 | 29.5 | | ||||
| Net sales | | 1,189,935 | 100.0 | | | 863,381 | 100.0 | | ||||
| Cost of product sales | | 363,219 | 30.5 | | | 260,098 | 30.1 | | ||||
| Cost of service sales | | 98,078 | 8.3 | | | 62,373 | 7.2 | | ||||
| Cost of sales | | 461,297 | 38.8 | | | 322,471 | 37.3 | | ||||
| Gross margin | | 728,638 | 61.2 | | | 540,910 | 62.7 | | ||||
| Operating expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sales, general and administrative | | 401,575 | 33.7 | | | 515,007 | 59.7 | | ||||
| Research and development | | 233,810 | 19.7 | | | 194,026 | 22.5 | | ||||
| Total operating expenses | | 635,385 | 53.4 | | | 709,033 | 82.2 | | ||||
| Income (loss) from operations | | 93,253 | 7.8 | | | (168,123) | (19.5) | | ||||
| Interest and other income, net | | 103,265 | 8.7 | | | 26,748 | 3.1 | | ||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | | 196,518 | 16.5 | | | (141,375) | (16.4) | | ||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | | 49,379 | 4.1 | | | (81,357) | (9.4) | | ||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 147,139 | 12.4 | % | | $ | (60,018) | (7.0) | % |
Net sales to the U.S. and other countries are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
| | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |||||||
| United States | $ | 987,975 | 83 | % | | $ | 686,914 | 80 | % | |||
| Other Countries | | 201,960 | 17 | | | 176,467 | 20 | | ||||
| Total | | $ | 1,189,935 | 100 | % | | $ | 863,381 | 100 | % |
International revenue increased in 2022, driven by strength in our Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region, but decreased as a percentage of total revenue compared to 2021.
Our operations are comprised of two reportable segments. In both segments, we report sales of products and services. Service revenue in both segments includes sales related to Axon Evidence.
| ● | The "Software and Sensors" segment includes software and sensors, which includes the sale of devices, wearables, applications, cloud and mobile products, and services. |
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| o | “Axon Cloud revenue” includes recurring cloud-hosted software revenue, related non-recurring professional services, and certain software, including on-premise licenses. |
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| | o | “Sensors and Other revenue” is referred to as revenue from our “products” in the Software and Sensors segment, which is generally from the sales of sensors, including on-officer body cameras, Axon
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
We typically invest in a limited number of financial instruments, consisting principally of investments in money market accounts, certificates of deposit, corporate and municipal bonds with a typical long-term debt rating of “A” or better by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization, denominated in U.S. dollars. All of our cash equivalents and investments are treated as “available-for-sale”. We report available-for-sale investments at fair value as of each balance sheet date and record any unrealized gains or losses as a component of stockholders’ equity. The cost of securities sold is determined on a specific identification basis, and realized gains and losses are included in interest and other income, net within the consolidated statements of operations. When the fair value is below the amortized cost of a marketable security, an estimate of expected credit losses is made. The credit-related impairment
amount is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. Credit losses are recognized through the use of an allowance for credit losses account in the consolidated balance sheet and subsequent improvements in expected credit losses are recognized as a reversal of an amount in the allowance account. If we have the intent to sell the security or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, then the allowance for the credit loss is written-off and the excess of the amortized cost basis of the asset over its fair value is recorded in the consolidated statements of operations. Based on investment positions as of December 31, 2022, a hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates across all maturities would result in a $3.4 million decline in the fair market value of the portfolio. Such losses would only be realized if we sold the investments prior to maturity.
Additionally, we have access to a $200.0 million line of credit borrowing facility which bears interest at SOFR 1.25 to 1.75% per year determined in accordance with a pricing grid based on our net leverage ratio and consolidated interest coverage ratio. Under the terms of the line of credit, available borrowings are reduced by outstanding letters of credit, which totaled $7.0 million at December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2022, there was no amount outstanding under the line of credit, and the available borrowing under the line of credit was $193.0 million. We have not borrowed any funds under the line of credit since its inception; however; should we need to do so in the future, such borrowings could be subject to adverse or favorable changes in the underlying interest rate.
Exchange Rate Risk
Our results of operations and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, in each case compared to the U.S. dollar, related to transactions by our foreign subsidiaries. The majority of our sales to international customers are transacted in foreign currencies and therefore are subject to exchange rate fluctuations on these transactions. The cost of our products to our customers increases when the U.S. dollar strengthens against their local currency, and we may have more sales and expenses denominated in foreign currencies in future years which could increase our foreign exchange rate risk. Additionally, intercompany sales to our non-U.S. dollar functional currency international subsidiaries are transacted in U.S. dollars which could increase our foreign exchange rate risk caused by foreign currency transaction gains and losses.
To date, we have not engaged in any currency hedging activities. However, we may enter into foreign currency forward and option contracts with financial institutions to protect against foreign exchange risks associated with certain existing assets and liabilities, certain firmly committed transactions, forecasted future cash flows and net investments in foreign subsidiaries. However, we may choose not to hedge certain foreign exchange exposures for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to the prohibitive economic cost of hedging particular exposures. As such, fluctuations in currency exchange rates could harm our business in the future.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
AXON ENTERPRISE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except share data)
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | December 31, | | December 31, | |||
| | | 2022 | | 2021 | ||
| ASSETS | | | ||||
| Current assets: | | | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 353,684 | | $ | 356,332 |
| Marketable securities | | | 39,240 | | | 72,180 |
| Short-term investments | | 581,769 | | 14,510 | ||
| Accounts and notes receivable, net of allowance of $2,176 and $2,203 as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively | | 358,190 | | 320,819 | ||
| Contract assets, net | | 196,902 | | 180,421 | ||
| Inventory | | 202,471 | | 108,688 | ||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | 73,022 | | 56,540 | ||
| Total current assets | | 1,805,278 | | 1,109,490 | ||
| Property and equipment, net | | 169,843 | | 138,457 | ||
| Deferred tax assets, net | | 156,866 | | 127,193 | ||
| Intangible assets, net | | 12,158 | | 15,470 | ||
| Goodwill | | 44,983 | | 43,592 | ||
| Long-term investments | | 156,207 | | 31,232 | ||
| Long-term notes receivable, net | | 5,210 | | 11,256 | ||
| Long-term contract assets, net | | | 45,170 | | | 29,753 |
| Strategic investments | | | 296,563 | | | 83,520 |
| Other long-term assets | | 159,616 | | 98,247 | ||
| Total assets | | $ | 2,851,894 | | $ | 1,688,210 |
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | | | ||||
| Current liabilities: | | | ||||
| Accounts payable | | $ | 59,918 | | $ | 32,220 |
| Accrued liabilities | | 155,934 | | 103,707 | ||
| Current portion of deferred revenue | | 360,037 | | 265,591 | ||
| Customer deposits | | 20,399 | | 10,463 | ||
| Other current liabilities | | 6,358 | | 6,540 | ||
| Total current liabilities | | 602,646 | | 418,521 | ||
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | | 248,003 | | 185,721 | ||
| Liability for unrecognized tax benefits | | 10,745 | | 3,797 | ||
| Long-term deferred compensation | | 6,285 | | 5,679 | ||
| Deferred tax liability, net | | | 1 | | | 811 |
| Long-term lease liabilities | | 37,143 | | 20,440 | ||
| Convertible notes, net | | | 673,967 | | | - |
| Other long-term liabilities | | 4,613 | | 5,392 | ||
| Total liabilities | | 1,583,403 | | 640,361 | ||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 13) | | | ||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | | | ||||
| Preferred stock, $0.00001 par value; 25,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively | | — | | — | ||
| Common stock, $0.00001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 71,474,581 and 70,896,856 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively | | 1 | | 1 | ||
| Additional paid-in capital | | 1,174,594 | | 1,095,229 | ||
| Treasury stock at cost, 20,220,227 shares as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 | | (155,947) | | (155,947) | ||
| Retained earnings | | 257,022 | | 109,883 | ||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | | (7,179) | | (1,317) | ||
| Total stockholders’ equity | | 1,268,491 | | 1,047,849 | ||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | | $ | 2,851,894 | | $ | 1,688,210 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AXON ENTERPRISE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(in thousands, except per share data)
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | For the Years Ended December 31, | |||||||
| | 2022 | 2021 | | 2020 | |||||
| Net sales from products | | $ | 801,388 | | $ | 608,525 | | $ | 500,250 |
| Net sales from services | | 388,547 | | 254,856 | | 180,753 | |||
| Net sales | | 1,189,935 | | 863,381 | | 681,003 | |||
| Cost of product sales | | 363,219 | | 260,098 | | 224,131 | |||
| Cost of service sales | | 98,078 | | 62,373 | | 40,541 | |||
| Cost of sales | | 461,297 | | 322,471 | | 264,672 | |||
| Gross margin | | 728,638 | | 540,910 | | 416,331 | |||
| Sales, general and administrative | | 401,575 | | 515,007 | | 307,286 | |||
| Research and development | | 233,810 | | 194,026 | | 123,195 | |||
| Total operating expenses | | 635,385 | | 709,033 | | 430,481 | |||
| Income (loss) from operations | | 93,253 | | (168,123) | | (14,150) | |||
| Interest and other income, net | | 103,265 | | 26,748 | | 7,859 | |||
| Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes | | 196,518 | | (141,375) | | (6,291) | |||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | | 49,379 | | (81,357) | | (4,567) | |||
| Net income (loss) | | $ | 147,139 | | $ | (60,018) | | $ | (1,724) |
| Net income (loss) per share: | | | | ||||||
| Basic | | $ | 2.07 | | $ | (0.91) | | $ | (0.03) |
| Diluted | | $ | 2.03 | | $ | (0.91) | | $ | (0.03) |
| Weighted average shares outstanding: | | | | ||||||
| Basic | | 71,093 | | 66,191 | | 61,782 | |||
| Diluted | | 72,534 | | 66,191 | | 61,782 | |||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Net income (loss) | | $ | 147,139 | | $ | (60,018) | | $ | (1,724) |
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | | | (4,818) | | | (1,251) | | 1,237 | |
| Unrealized losses on available-for-sale investments | | (1,044) | | (207) | | | — | ||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | | $ | 141,277 | | $ | (61,476) | | $ | (487) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AXON ENTERPRISE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(in thousands, except share data)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | Accumulated | | | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | Additional | | | | | | | | | | Other | | Total | |||
| | | Common Stock | | Paid-in | | Treasury Stock | | Retained | | Comprehensive | | Stockholders’ | ||||||||||
| | | Shares |
Showing the first 8K of 180K characters. Open the full section
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Attached as exhibits to this Form 10-K are certifications of the Chief Executive Officer (as the principal executive officer) and Chief Financial Officer (as the principal financial and accounting officer), which are required in accordance with Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act. This “Controls and Procedures” section includes information concerning the controls and controls evaluation referred to in the certifications. This section should be read in conjunction with the certifications and the Grant Thornton LLP attestation report for a more complete understanding of the topics presented. Grant Thornton LLP has independently assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and its report is included below.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are responsible for the evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2022 our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective because of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described below.
Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. As a result of this assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2022, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective in providing reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is defined as 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 our financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Specifically, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls stemming from control deficiencies with respect to the risks of understatement of software and services revenue and overstatement of deferred revenue. This material weakness in internal control over financial reporting resulted from a failure to effectively manage the migration of triggering events for certain software and services performance obligations during the quote-to-cash phase of the implementation of our Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) and related systems in 2021. Additionally, there were limited instances of invoicing errors resulting from ineffective change management of the quote-to-cash systems implementation. The manual business processes for tracking open software and services performance obligations and for monitoring billing events were not sufficiently robust to prevent the errors. The related business processes and account reconciliation detective controls were not designed to operate with a sufficient degree of precision to identify these errors on a timely basis. These deficiencies resulted in immaterial understatements of revenue that accumulated over time and were corrected in the fourth quarter of 2022 as disclosed in Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Grant Thornton LLP has independently assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and its report is included below.
Remediation Plan
To remediate the material weakness described above, we are designing and implementing new business processes and automation of integrations between our systems as well as enhancing our reconciliation controls and monitoring procedures to properly ensure transactions are identified and recorded timely and accurately.
We are in the process of documenting, assessing and testing the necessary changes in our internal control over financial reporting as part of our efforts to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until the applicable remedial controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are operating effectively.
We expect that the remediation of this material weakness will be completed prior to the end of fiscal year 2023.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except for the changes noted above, there have been no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2022, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Board of Directors and Stockholders
Axon Enterprise, Inc.
Opinion on internal control over financial reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Axon Enterprise, Inc. (a Delaware corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, because of the effect of the material weakness described in the following paragraphs on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria, the Company has not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by COSO.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The following material weakness has been identified and included in management’s assessment. Management has identified a material weakness resulting from a failure to effectively manage the migration of triggering events for certain software and services performance obligations and invoicing errors during the quote-to-cash cycle. The related business processes and account reconciliation detective controls were not designed to operate with a sufficient degree of precision to identify these errors on a timely basis.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022. The material weakness identified above was considered in determining the nature, timing, and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2022 consolidated financial statements, and this report does not affect our report dated February 28, 2023 which expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and limitations of internal control over financial reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. 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.
/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
Phoenix, Arizona
February 28, 2023
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
None.
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required to be disclosed by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2023 Proxy Statement”), which proxy statement we expect to file with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required to be disclosed by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2023 Proxy Statement.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Equity Compensation Plan Information
A description of our equity compensation plans approved by our stockholders is included in Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following table provides details of our equity compensation plans at December 31, 2022:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Number of | | Weighted | | Number of Securities | |
| | | Securities to be | | Average | | Remaining Available for | |
| | | Issued upon | | Exercise Price | | Future Issuance Under Equity | |
| | | Exercise of Outstanding | | of Outstanding Options, | | Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities | |
| | | Options, Warrants and Rights | | Warrants and Rights | | Reflected | |
| Plan Category | (a) | (b) (1) | in Column (a)) (c) | ||||
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | | 5,096,956 | $ | 28.58 | 2,749,539 | ||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders(2) | | 275,095 | | | | 112,505 | |
| Total | | 5,372,051 | $ | — | 2,862,044 |
| (1) | The weighted average exercise price is calculated based solely on the exercise prices of the outstanding options and does not reflect the shares that will be issued upon the vesting of outstanding awards of RSUs which have no exercise price. |
|---|
| (2) | In September 2022, our Board of Directors adopted the Axon Enterprise, Inc. 2022 Stock Inducement Plan (the “2022 Inducement Plan”) pursuant to which we reserved 250,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the Inducement Plan. In September 2019, our Board of Directors adopted the Axon Enterprise, Inc. 2019 Stock Inducement Plan (the “2019 Inducement Plan”) pursuant to which we reserved 500,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the Inducement Plan. The 2022 and 2019 Inducement Plans were adopted without stockholder approval pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) and Rule 5635(c)(3) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The Inducement Plans provides for the grant of equity-based awards, including restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance shares and performance units, and its terms are substantially similar to our stockholder-approved 2022 Plan and 2019 Plan, respectively. In accordance with Rule 5635(c)(4) and Rule 5635(c)(3) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, awards under the Inducement Plan may only be |
|---|
| made to individuals not previously employees or non-employee directors of the Company (or following such individuals’ bona fide period of non-employment with the Company), as an inducement material to the individuals’ entry into employment with the Company. |
|---|
All other information required to be disclosed by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2023 Proxy Statement.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required to be disclosed by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2023 Proxy Statement.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The information required to be disclosed by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2023 Proxy Statement.
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this report: |
|---|
| 1. | Consolidated financial statements: All consolidated financial statements as set forth under Part II, Item 8 of this report. |
|---|
| 2. | Supplementary Financial Statement Schedules: Supplementary schedules have not been included because they are not applicable or because the information is included elsewhere in this report. |
|---|
| 3. | Exhibits: |
|---|
| + | Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement |
|---|
| * | Filed herewith |
|---|
| ** | Furnished herewith |
|---|
| ± | Certain confidential portions of this Exhibit were omitted by means of marking such portions with brackets (“[***]”) because the identified confidential portions (i) are not material and (ii) would be competitively harmful if publicly disclosed. |
|---|
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| AXON ENTERPRISE, INC. | | |
| | | |
| Date: February 28, 2023 | | |
| | By: | /s/ PATRICK W. SMITH |
| | | Chief Executive Officer, Director |
| | | (Principal Executive Officer) |
| | | |
| Date: February 28, 2023 | By: | /s/ BRITTANY BAGLEY |
| | | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer |
| | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Patrick W. Smith his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| | | Chief Executive Officer, Director | | |
| /s/ PATRICK W. SMITH | | (Principal Executive Officer) | | February 28, 2023 |
| Patrick W. Smith | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer | | |
| /s/ BRITTANY BAGLEY | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | | February 28, 2023 |
| Brittany Bagley | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ ADRIANE M. BROWN | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Adriane M. Brown | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ JULIE A. CULLIVAN | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Julie A. Cullivan | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ MICHAEL GARNREITER | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Michael Garnreiter | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ CAITLIN E. KALINOWSKI | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Caitlin E. Kalinowski | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ MARK W. KROLL | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Mark W. Kroll | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ MATTHEW R. MCBRADY | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Matthew R. McBrady | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ HADI PARTOVI | | Director | | February 28, 2023 |
| Hadi Partovi | | | | |