UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended October 1, 2023

☐ TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ___ until ___

Commission File Number 001-41644

OPTEX SYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (972) 764-5700

Securities Registered under Section 12(b) of the Act

Securities Registered under Section 12(g) of the Act

Common Stock, par value $.001 per share

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 issuer (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 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 post 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.

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. 7262(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 Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the 4,765,068 shares of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the Nasdaq closing price on March 31, 2023 was $14,669,411.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the annual meeting of stockholders to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A or an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K are incorporated by reference into Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of Part III of this report. The registrant expects to file its definitive proxy statement or an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of October 1, 2023.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This Annual Report on Form 10-K by Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. (“Optex Systems Holdings,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), in particular Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains certain “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”). Any statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10- K and other reports, statements, and information we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”), in our press releases, presentations to securities analysts or investors, or in oral statements made by or with the approval of an executive officer, the words or phrases “believes,” “may,” “will,” “expects,” “should,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “will likely result,” “estimates,” “projects” or similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events, including, but not limited to, any statements regarding our growth strategy; product and development programs; financial performance and financial condition (including revenue, net income, profit margins and working capital); orders and backlog; expected timing of contract deliveries to customers and corresponding revenue recognition; increases in the cost of materials and labor; costs remaining to fulfill contracts; contract loss reserves; labor shortages; follow-on orders; supply chain challenges; the continuation of historical trends; the sufficiency of our cash balances for future liquidity and capital resource needs; the expected impact of changes in accounting policies on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows; anticipated problems and our plans for future operations; and the economy in general or the future of the defense industry.

We caution that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond our control, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, continued funding of defense programs and military spending, the timing of such funding, general economic and business conditions, including unforeseen weakness in the Company’s markets, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, changes in the U.S. Government’s interpretation of federal procurement rules and regulations, changes in spending due to policy changes in any new federal presidential administration, market acceptance of the Company’s products, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, inability to fully realize the expected benefits from acquisitions and restructurings or delays in realizing such benefits, challenges in integrating acquired businesses and achieving anticipated synergies, changes to export regulations, increases in tax rates, changes to generally accepted accounting principles, difficulties in retaining key employees and customers, unanticipated costs under fixed-price service and system integration engagements, changes in the market for microcap stocks regardless of growth and value and various other factors beyond our control. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the section “Item 1A Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and you are urged to review that section. 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 list of all potential risks or uncertainties.

We do not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. You should carefully evaluate such statements in light of factors described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Current Lines of Business

We manufacture optical sighting systems and assemblies for the U.S. Department of Defense, foreign military applications and commercial markets. Our products are installed on a variety of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams and Bradley fighting vehicles, light armored and advanced security vehicles and the Stryker family of vehicles. We also manufacture and deliver numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies. Our products consist primarily of build-to-customer print products that are delivered both directly to the armed services and to other defense prime contractors. Less than 1% of our revenue is related to the resale of products substantially manufactured by others. In this case, the product would likely be a simple replacement part of a larger system previously produced by us.

We continue to field new product opportunities from both domestic and international customers. We believe that given continuing unrest in multiple global hot spots, the need for precision optics continues to increase. Most of these requirements are for observation and situational awareness applications; however, we continue to see requests for higher magnification and custom reticles in various product modifications. The basic need to protect the soldier while providing information about the mission environment continues to be the primary driver for these requirements.

Recent Events

May 2023 Grants

On May 9, 2023, the Board of Directors approved a grant of 40,000 shares of restricted stock to independent board member Dayton Judd. The shares vest 50% on each of January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025. As of the grant date, the fair value of the shares was $124 thousand, to be amortized on a straight-line basis through December 31, 2024.

On May 3, 2023, the Board of Directors approved a grant of 100,000 and 35,000 performance shares to Danny Schoening, CEO, and Karen Hawkins, CFO, respectively. Each performance share represents a contingent right to receive one share of common stock. The performance shares vest in five equal increments if, in each case and during a five-year performance period beginning on October 2, 2023, the average VWAP per share of common stock over a 30 consecutive trading day period equals or exceeds $3.70, $4.45, $5.35, $6.40, or $7.70. The fair value of the shares as of the grant date was $320 thousand and will be amortized through December 31, 2025 based on the derived service periods using a Monte Carlo simulation valuation model. On October 2, 2023, 20,000 of Mr. Schoening’s performance shares and 7,000 of Ms. Hawkins’ performance shares vested, resulting in the net issuance of 15,600 and 5,460 shares of common stock, respectively.

On May 1, 2023, the Company granted an aggregate of 39,000 restricted stock units to eleven employees under its 2023 Equity Incentive Plan. The restricted stock units will vest at a rate of 33.33% annually beginning on the anniversary date of the grant and any unvested restricted stock units will be forfeited if employment terminates prior to the relevant vesting date. As of the grant date, assuming a 23.1% forfeiture rate based on expected turnover across the three years, the aggregate value of the restricted stock units is $90 thousand which will be amortized across the three-year period on a straight-line basis. On August 14, 2023, the Company granted an additional 3,000 restricted stock units to one new employee under the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan. The restricted stock units will vest at a rate of 33.33% annually beginning on the anniversary date of the grant and any unvested restricted stock units will be forfeited if employment terminates prior to the relevant vesting date. The fair value of the 3,000 restricted stock units at grant date was $11 thousand. During the twelve months ended October 1, 2023, there were 3,000 restricted stock units forfeited.

New Loan Agreement

On March 22, 2023, the Company and its subsidiary, Optex Systems, Inc. (collectively with the Company, the “Borrowers”), entered into a Business Loan Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Texas Capital Bank (the “Lender”), pursuant to which the Lender will make available to the Borrowers a revolving line of credit in the principal amount of $3 million (the “Texas Capital Facility”). The Texas Capital Facility replaced the Borrowers’ previous line of credit facility with PNC Bank, National Association, successor to BBVA USA, which had been increased from $1.125 million to $2 million on November 21, 2022.

The commitment period for advances under the Texas Capital Facility is twenty-six months expiring on May 22, 2025. We refer to the expiration of that time period as the “Maturity Date.” Outstanding advances under the Texas Capital Facility will accrue interest at a rate equal to the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) plus a specified margin, subject to a specified floor interest rate. As of October 1, 2023 the interest rate was 8.07% per annum and is currently 8.08% per annum.

The Loan Agreement contains customary events of default (including a 25% change in ownership) and negative covenants, including but not limited to those governing indebtedness, liens, fundamental changes (including changes in management), investments, and restricted payments (including cash dividends). The Loan Agreement also requires the Borrowers to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25:1 and a total leverage ratio of 3.00:1. The Texas Capital Facility is secured by substantially all of the operating assets of the Borrowers as collateral. The Borrowers’ obligations under the Texas Capital Facility are subject to acceleration upon the occurrence of an event of default as defined in the Loan Agreement. The Loan Agreement further provides for a $125,000 Letter of Credit sublimit.

The outstanding balance under the Texas Capital Facility was $1.0 million as of October 1, 2023.

NASDAQ Listing

On March 14, 2023, the Company’s shares of common stock were listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol “OPXS.”

2023 Equity Incentive Plan

On February 16, 2023, the Company’s shareholders approved the Company’s 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”), under which 600,000 shares of common stock are reserved for issuance. The 2023 Plan permits the grant of stock options, performance shares, performance units, restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights to officers, other employees, individuals engaged to become officers or employees, consultants, advisors and non-executive directors of the Company. In connection with the approval of the 2023 Plan, the Company’s 2016 Restricted Stock Unit Plan and 2009 Stock Option Plan were both canceled.

Recent Orders

Products

Our products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams, and Bradley and Stryker families of fighting vehicles, as well as light armored and armored security vehicles. We also manufacture and deliver numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies. We deliver our products both directly to the federal government and to prime contractors.

In addition, the Company offers military specification (“ mil-spec”) quality High Efficiency Anti-Reflective Coatings for Infrared applications in both the military and commercial markets. These coatings are manufactured at the Applied Optics Center (AOC) Division of the Company in Dallas, Texas.

We deliver high volume products, under multi-year contracts, to large defense contractors and government customers. Increased emphasis in the past several years has been on new opportunities to promote and deliver our products in foreign military sales, where U.S.-manufactured combat and wheeled vehicles are supplied (and upgraded) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense. We have a reputation for quality and credibility with our customers as a strategic supplier. We also anticipate the opportunity to integrate some of our night vision and optical sights products into commercial applications.

Specific product categories by product line include:

Contracts

Some of our contracts may allow for government contract financing in the form of contract progress payments pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-16, “Progress Payments”. Subject to certain limitations, this clause provides for government payment of up to 90% of incurred program costs prior to product delivery for small businesses like us. To the extent any contracts allow for progress payments and the respective contracts would result in significant preproduction cash requirements for design, process development, tooling, material or other resources which could exceed our current working capital or line of credit availability, we intend to utilize this benefit to minimize any potential negative impact on working capital prior to receipt of payment for the associated contract deliveries.

Our government contracts allow for Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.243-1 which entitles the contractor to an “equitable adjustment” for contract or statement of work changes eaffecting cost or time of performance. In essence, an equitable price adjustment request is a request for a contract price modification (generally an increase) that allows for the contractor to be “made whole” for additional costs incurred which were necessitated by some modification of the contract effort. This modification may come from an overt change in U.S. Government requirements or scope, or it may come from a change in the conditions surrounding the contract (e.g., differing site conditions or late delivery of U.S. Government-furnished property) which result in statement of work additions, deletions, part substitutions, schedule or other changes to the contract which impact the contractor’s overall cost to complete.

Each contract with our customers has specific quantities of material that need to be purchased, assembled, and then shipped. Prior to bidding for a contract, we contact potential sources of material and receive qualified quotations for each material. In some cases, the entire volume is given to a single supplier and in other cases, the volume might be split between several suppliers. If a contract has a single source supplier and that supplier fails to meet their obligations (e.g., quality, delivery), then we would attempt to find an acceptable alternate supplier, and if successful, we would then renegotiate contractual deliverables (e.g., specifications, delivery or price). As of December 6, 2023, approximately 9% of our material requirements are single-sourced across 13 suppliers representing approximately 27% of our active supplier order values. Single-sourced component requirements span across all of our major product lines. Of these single-sourced components, we have material contracts (purchase orders) with firm pricing and delivery schedules in place with each of the suppliers to supply the parts necessary to satisfy our current contractual needs. See “Item 1.A. Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Our Business – Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business” for a description of certain supplier risks we face, which description is incorporated herein by reference.

Approximately 92% of our contracts contain termination clauses for convenience. In the event these clauses should be invoked by our customer, future revenues against these contracts could be affected. However, these clauses allow for a full recovery of any incurred contract costs plus a reasonable fee up through and as a result of the contract termination. We are currently unaware of any pending terminations on our existing contracts.

In some cases, contract awards may be issued that are subject to renegotiation at a date (up to 180 days) subsequent to the initial award date. Generally, these subsequent negotiations have had an immaterial impact (zero to 5%) on the contract price of the affected contracts. Currently, none of our awarded contracts are subject to renegotiation.

We are subject to, and must comply with, various governmental regulations that impact, among other things, our revenue, operating costs, profit margins and the internal organization and operation of our business. The material regulations affecting our U.S. government business are summarized in the table below.

We are responsible for full compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Upon award, the contract may identify certain regulations that we need to meet. For example, a contract may allow progress billing pursuant to specific FAR clauses incorporated into the contract. Other contracts may call for specific first article acceptance and testing requirements. The FAR will identify the specific regulations that we must follow based on the type of contract awarded and contains guidelines and regulations for managing a contract after award, including conditions under which contracts may be terminated, in whole or in part, at the government’s convenience or for default. These regulations also subject us to financial audits and other reviews by the government of our costs, performance, accounting and general business practices relating to our government contracts, which may result in adjustment of our contract-related costs and fees and, among other things and impose accounting rules that define allowable and unallowable costs governing our right to reimbursement under certain contracts.

First Article Acceptance and Testing requirements consist of specific steps which could be comprehensive and time consuming. The dimensions and material specifications of each piece of the assembly must be verified, and some products may have in excess of 100 assembled parts. Once the individual piece parts are verified to be compliant to the specification, the assembly processes are documented and verified. A sample of the production (typically three units) is verified to meet final performance specifications. Once the units meet the final performance specification, they are then subjected to accelerated life testing, a series of tests which simulate the lifetime use of the product in the field. This consists of exposing the units to thermal extremes, humidity, mechanical shock, vibration, and other physical exposure tests. Once completed, the units undergo a final verification process to ensure that no damage has occurred as a result of the testing and that they continue to meet the performance specification. All of the information and data is recorded into a final first article inspection and test report and submitted to the customer along with the test units for final approval. First Article Acceptance and Testing is generally required on new contracts/product awards but may also be required on existing products or contracts where there has been a significant gap in production, or where the product has undergone significant manufacturing process, material, tooling, equipment or product configuration changes.

We are also subject to laws, regulations and executive orders restricting the use and dissemination of information deemed classified for national security purposes and the exportation of certain products and technical data as covered by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). In order to import or export items listed on the U.S. Munitions List, we are required to be registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls office. The registration is valid for one year, and the registration fees are established based on the number of license applications submitted the previous year. We currently have an approved and current registration on file with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls office. Once the registration is approved, each import/export license must be filed separately. License approval requires the company to provide proof of need, such as a valid contract or purchase order requirement for the specific product or technical data requested on the license and requires a detailed listing of the items requested for export/import, the end-user, the end-user statement, the value of the items, consignees/freight forwarders and a copy of a valid contract or purchase order from the end-user. The approval process for the license can vary from several weeks to six months or more. The licenses we currently use are the Department of State licenses: DSP-5 (permanent export), DSP-6 (license revisions) and DSP-73 (temporary export) and Department of Commerce: BIS-711 (export).

The above licenses are valid for 48 months from date that each license is issued. A summary of our active ITAR licenses is presented below (updated as of December 1, 2023):

These licenses are subject to termination if a licensee is found to be in violation of the Arms Export Control Act or the ITAR requirements. If a licensee is found to be in violation, in addition to a termination of its licenses, it can be subject to fines and penalties by the government.

Our contracts may also be governed by the Truth in Negotiation Act (TINA) requirements where certain of our contracts or proposals exceed the TINA threshold ($2 million for awards after June 30, 2018), and/or are deemed as sole source, or non-competitive awards, covered under this act. For these contracts, we must provide a vast array of cost and pricing data in addition to certification that our pricing data and disclosure materials are current, accurate and complete upon conclusion of the negotiation. Due to the additional disclosure and certification requirements, if a post contract award audit were to uncover that the pricing data provided was in any way not current, accurate or complete as of the certification date, we could be subjected to a defective pricing claim adjustment with accrued interest. We have no history of defective pricing claim adjustments and have no outstanding defective pricing claims pending. Additionally, as a result of this requirement, contract price negotiations may span from two to six months and can result in undefinitized or not to exceed ceiling priced contracts subject to future downward negotiations and price adjustments. Currently, we do not have any undefinitized contracts subject to further price negotiation.

Our failure to comply with applicable regulations, rules and approvals or misconduct by any of our employees could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, the loss of security clearances, the loss of our U.S. government contracts or our suspension or debarment from contracting with the U.S. government generally, any of which could have a material adverse effect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We are currently in compliance with all applicable regulations and do not have any pending claims as a result of noncompliance.

The terms of our significant contracts as of December 6, 2023, are as follows:

Market Opportunity — U.S. Military

During the twelve months ended October 1, 2023, approximately 74% of our business was in support of U.S. military products. The chart below was derived from public government spending sources and depicts total U.S. military spending from 2018 through 2023 and estimated spending through 2028. The purpose of including this chart is to provide the reader with historical trend data and projected U.S. military defense and procurement spending over time. For fiscal year 2024, the total projected military spending is estimated at $863 billion, an overall increase of 11.9% over estimated 2023 spending. The chart below also depicts increased spending through 2028 of 6.1% from the 2024 plan level, reflecting an average increase of 1.5% per year for years 2025 through 2028. Military procurement spending, a subset of total military spending, depicts an overall increase of $15.3 billion, or 10.8%, in fiscal year 2024 as compared to the estimated spending in fiscal year 2023.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 was enacted by Congress in December 2023 for $886 billion, an increase of $28 billion, or 3% over the prior year NDAA. The 2024 NDAA includes DOD military procurement of $169 billion, 8% above the Department of Defense procurement budget request of $156.4 billion. The Chart below depicts the original estimated funding levels from the U.S. Department of Defense based on the FY2024 budget request.

Source: Government Publishing Office, U.S. Budget Historical Tables, FY 2024, Table 3.2 Outlays by function and sub function, 1962-2028.

The table below depicts the U.S. Department of Defense budget request for fiscal year 2024 for major ground system programs. The last five years have experienced a significant reduction in spending for U.S ground system military programs, and more specifically on the Abrams Tank Modifications/Upgrades, which has a direct impact on the Optex Systems Richardson segment revenue. The total fiscal year 2024 budget request for major ground system programs decreased by 2.3% from the fiscal year 2023 levels and by 10.8% from the fiscal year 2020 levels. Although it is difficult to directly tie the budget request to specific components provided by Optex Systems, we provide periscopes, collimator assemblies, vision blocks and laser interface filters to the U.S. armed forces on almost all of the ground system platforms categorized below.

Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, “Program Acquisition Cost by Weapon System, United States Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request”, March 2023 and “Program Acquisition Cost by Weapon System, United States Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request”, April 2022 and “Program Acquisition Cost by Weapon System, United States Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request”, May 2021.

The 2024 Department of Defense Budget indicates an overall decrease in ground system vehicle program spending in the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 appropriation budget years. There is generally a six- to eighteen-month delay between U.S. defense budget requests and program delivery orders related to our products from government agencies and our prime defense customers. In addition, DoD budget requests are often changed throughout the congressional NDAA Budgeting and Budget appropriations process. The DoD budget requests exclude any foreign military sales as they are funded separately from the annual NDAA budgets. We are carefully watching the projected trends in both DoD military spending and FMS as defense allocation priorities change, as well as challenges which are presented from the global recession and changes in political climate to ascertain any potential impact to the Company’s future revenue.

The Applied Optics Center supports numerous other military platforms outside of the ground system vehicles budget, such as infantry rifle scopes, night vision monoculars, infantry and navy binoculars, night goggles, and infrared aircraft filters. The Applied Optics Center has seen a substantial increase in orders from new and existing customers in support of the other platforms, which we expect to offset the impact of the ground systems reductions to their base revenue.

Market Opportunity — Foreign Military

Our products directly support FMS combat vehicles globally, including Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, South America, and Israel. We have increased efforts to promote our proven military products, as well as newly improved product solutions directly to foreign military representatives and domestic defense contractors supporting the FMS initiatives.

We were successful with the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) in refurbishing a small quantity of their Night Vision Rifle Scopes. Given this success, in November 2022, the IMOD awarded us a $3.4 million follow on contract to continue this activity. We anticipate deliveries against the contract to begin during the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. If we successfully execute this contract, we would expect another contract award of similar size and duration.

We are also exploring possibilities to adapt some of our products for commercial use in those markets that demonstrate potential for solid revenue growth, both domestically and internationally.

Market Opportunity — Commercial

Our products are currently sold to military and related government markets. We believe there may be opportunities to commercialize various products we presently manufacture to address other markets. Our initial focus will be directed in three product areas.

Customer Base

We serve customers in four primary categories: as prime defense contractor (Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime, DLA Warren, DLA Aviation, U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps), as defense subcontractor (General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Elbit Systems, BAE, Sig Sauer, Enterprise Cabling and Vortex Optics), as a military supplier to foreign governments (Israel, Australia, South America and Canada) and also as a commercial optical assembly supplier (Nightforce Optics, Gables Engineering, Amazon). During the twelve months ended October 1, 2023, we derived approximately 72% of our gross business revenue from five major customers: U.S. government agencies (22%), three U.S. defense contractors (14%, 7%, and 6%) and one major commercial customer (23%). We have approximately 151 discrete contracts for items that are utilized in vehicles, optical product lines and as spare parts. Due to the high percentage of prime and subcontracted U.S. defense revenues, large customer size and the fact that there are multiple contracts with each entity, which are not interdependent, we are of the opinion that this provides us with a fairly well diversified revenue pool.

Marketing Plan

We believe we are well positioned to service both U.S. and foreign military needs by our focus on delivering products that satisfy the following factors important to the U.S. military:

Potential Entrants — Low Risk to us. In order to enter this market, potential competitors must overcome several barriers to entry. The first hurdle is that an entrant would need to prove to the government agency in question the existence of a government approved accounting system for larger contracts. Second, the entrant would need to develop the processes required to produce the product. Third, the entrant would then need to produce the product and submit successful test requirements (many of which require lengthy government consultation for completion). Finally, in many cases, the customer has an immediate need and therefore cannot wait for this qualification cycle and therefore must issue the contracts to existing suppliers. Given the expense of development and qualification testing, the barrier to entry is high for new competitors.

Buyers — Medium Risk to us. In most cases the buyers (usually government agencies or defense contractors) have two fairly strong suppliers. It is in their best interest to keep at least two, and therefore, in some cases, the contracts are split between suppliers. In the case of larger contracts, the customer can request an open book policy on costs and expects a reasonable margin to have been applied.

Substitutes — Low Risk to us. We have both new vehicle contracts and replacement part contracts for the same product. Three combat vehicles have a long history of service in the U.S. Army. The first M-1 Abrams Tank entered service with the Army in 1980; the M-2/M-3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle in 1981; and the Stryker Combat Vehicle in 2001. Under current Army modernization plans, the Army envisions all three vehicles in service with Active and National Guard forces beyond FY2028. Optex Systems provides periscopes and optical sighting systems in support of all three vehicle platforms. Since it was first fielded in 1980, the Abrams tank has undergone near-continuous upgrades and improvements; however, as illustrated above, spending on modifications and upgrades of the Abrams tank by the U.S. military has significantly decreased in the past five years and we expect this trend to continue. The Abrams is the principal battle tank of the United States Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and since 2007, Australia. On average, there has been a new improvement package every seven years. The Army is currently upgrading the Abrams with a System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3), with additional upgrades in development. Additionally, the US Army has announced contracts to produce 742 Stryker DVH vehicles, redesigned (dual v-hulled vehicles) to be more resistant to land mines, as retrofits and as new production vehicles. The Abrams, Bradley and Striker vehicles are the only production tanks currently in production by the government. We believe that this, in conjunction with the 30-year life span, supports our expectation that they will continue to be used through approximately 2040.

Suppliers — Low to Medium Risk to Optex Systems Holdings. The suppliers of standard processes (e.g., casting, machining and plating) need to be very competitive to gain and/or maintain contracts. Those suppliers of products that use top secret clearance processes have a slight advantage; however, there continues to be multiple avenues of supply and therefore only moderate power.

Consistent with our marketing plan and business model, the AOC acquisition strengthened our overall position by decreasing the bargaining power of their suppliers through the backwards integration of a key supplier and created additional barriers of entry for potential competitors.

The following matrix reflects the current focus of our four basic approaches for sales and development:

Operations Plan

Our operations plan can be broken down into three distinct areas: material management, manufacturing space planning and efficiencies associated with economies of scale.

Materials Management

The largest portion of our costs is materials. We have completed the following activities in order to demonstrate continuous improvement:

Future continuous improvement opportunities include installation and training of shop floor control module within the ERP system and organizational efficiencies of common procurement techniques among buyers.

Manufacturing Space Planning

We currently lease 93,967 square feet of manufacturing space (see “Properties”). Our current facilities are sufficient to meet our immediate production needs without excess capacity. As our processes are primarily labor driven, we are able to easily adapt to changes in customer demand by adjusting headcounts, overtime schedules and shifts in line with production needs. In the event additional floor space is required to accommodate new contracts, Optex has the option to lease adjacent floor space at the current negotiated lease cost per square foot. Consistent with the space planning, we will drive economies of scale to reduce support costs on a percentage of sales basis. These cost reductions can then be either passed through directly to the bottom line or used for business investment.

Our manufacturing process is driven by the use of six sigma techniques and process standardization. Initial activities in this area have been the successful six sigma projects in several production areas which have led to improved output and customer approval on the aesthetics of the work environment. In addition, we use many tools including 5S programs and six sigma processes, and define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) problem solving techniques to identify bottlenecks within the process flow, reduce cost and improve product yields. Successful results can then be replicated across the production floor and drive operational improvements.

Economies of Scale

Plant efficiencies fluctuate as a function of program longevity, complexity and overall production volume. Our internal processes are primarily direct labor intensive and can be more easily adapted to meet fluctuations in customer demand; however, our material purchases, subcontracted operations and manufacturing support costs are extremely sensitive to changes in volume. As our volume increases, our support labor, material and scrap costs decline as a percentage of revenue as we are able to obtain better material pricing, and scrap, start up and support labor (fixed) costs and they are spread across a higher volume base. Conversely, as production volumes decline, our labor and material costs per unit of production generally increase. Additional factors that contribute to economies of scale relate to the longevity of the program. Long running, less complex programs (e.g., periscopes) do not experience as significant of an impact on labor costs as production volumes change, as the associated workforce is generally less skilled and can be ramped quickly as headcounts shift. Our more complex thin laser filter coatings, Howitzer and thermal day/night programs are more significantly impacted by volume changes as they require a more highly-skilled workforce and ramp time is longer as the training is more complex. We continually monitor customer demand over a rolling twelve-month window and in order to anticipate any changes in necessary manpower and material which allows us to capitalize on any benefits associated with increased volume and minimize any negative impact associated with potential declines in product quantities.

Sources and Availability of Raw Materials

Disclosure responsive to this item is incorporated herein by reference to “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business – Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business.”

Intellectual Property

We utilize several highly specialized and unique processes in the manufacture of our products. While we believe that these trade secrets have value, it is probable that our future success will depend primarily on the innovation, technical expertise, manufacturing and marketing abilities of our personnel. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets or that our non-disclosure agreements will provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or other disclosure. The confidentiality agreements that are designed to protect our trade secrets could be breached, and we might not have adequate remedies for the breach. Additionally, our trade secrets and proprietary know-how might otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others. We possess three utility patents and three design patents.

Our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources, may have applied for or obtained, or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make and sell some of our products. Although we believe that our products do not infringe on the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us or that such claims will not be successful.

The following patents generally expire 20 years after issuance.

On April 4, 2023, we were issued U.S. Patent No. 11,619,824 B2 titled “Selectable Offset Image Wedge” which is a mechanical wedge used to offset the image anywhere in the selectable range of circular travel within the defined offset field of view. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298 and claims priority to U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298, issued on June 18, 2019.

On November 4, 2021 we were issued U.S. Patent No. 2021/0341746A1 titled “Selectable Offset Image Wedge” which is a mechanical wedge used to offset the image anywhere in the selectable range of circular travel within the defined offset field of view. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298 and claims priority to U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298, issued on June 18, 2019.

On June 18, 2019 we were issued U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298 titled “Offset Image Wedge with Dual Capability and Alignment Technique”. The invention relates to an offset image wedge for use on a bore-sighted rifle mounted directly onto the scope via a clamp mounting device. The wedge allows for a dual image which can be aligned in the field and provides the user with a choice of either a bore-sighted image or an offset image without removing the wedge.

On July 11, 2017, we were issued U.S. Patent No. D791,852 S, for our Red Tail Digital Spotting Scope. We have a retail sales relationship with Cabela’s Inc. and Amazon, to distribute these scopes. They are currently the only digital spotting scope offered by Cabela’s. Our Red Tail Digital Spotting Scopes also received a favorable review from Trigger Magazine in 2017.

In May 2015, we announced the issuance to us of U.S. Patent No. 13,792,297 titled “ICWS Periscope”. This invention improves previously accepted levels of periscope performance that, in turn, improve soldier’s safety.

In December 2013, Optex Systems, Inc. was issued U.S. Patent No. 23,357,802 titled “Multiple Spectral Single Image Sighting System Using Single Objective Lens Set.” The technology platform, designed for our DDAN program, is applicable to all ground combat vehicles used by the US and foreign militaries. This invention presents a single image to both day and night sensors using precision optics, which in turn allows the user to individually observe day, night, or day and night simultaneously. In addition, it has proven to be especially useful in light transition points experienced at dusk and dawn. We are in production and currently delivering sighting systems with this advanced technology, a significant upgrade in the goal of supporting our customers as they modernize the worldwide inventory of aging armored vehicles. This technology is applicable to many sighting systems, and it has already been designed for implementation on the Light Armored Vehicles, the Armored Security Vehicle, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, and the M60 Main Battle Tank. Digital Day and Night technology has advanced the capabilities of these installed weapon systems and is the first in a series of patents we have applied for to protect our Intellectual Property portfolio in support of the warfighters who use these systems.

In May 2012, we purchased a perpetual, non-exclusive license, with a single up-front license fee of $200,000 to use Patent 7,880,792 “Optical and Infrared Periscope with Display Monitor” (issued in 2011 and owned by Synergy International Optronics, LLC). We believe the purchase of the license agreement may allow us to extend and expand our market potential for the M113APC vehicle type which has the highest number of commonly used armored vehicles in the world. The current estimated active M113 APC worldwide inventory is over 80,000 units. This licensing of this patent allows us to develop additional products for this vehicle type, including the M17 Day/Thermal and M17 Day/Night periscopes. We are actively marketing the new periscopes internationally and completed our first international shipment utilizing this technology in March 2014. We continue to prototype these products and demonstrate them to potential customers.

Competition

The markets for our products are competitive. We compete primarily on the basis of our ability to design and engineer products to meet performance specifications set by our customers. Our customers include military and government end users as well as prime contractors that purchase component parts or subassemblies, which they incorporate into their end products. Product pricing, quality, customer support, experience, reputation and financial stability are also important competitive factors.

There are a limited number of competitors in each of the markets for the various types of products that we design, manufacture and sell. At this time, we consider our primary competitors for the Optex, Richardson site to be Kent Periscopes and Synergy International Optronics, LLC. The Applied Optics Center thin film and laser coatings products compete primarily with Materion-Barr, Artemis and Alluxa.

Our competitors are often well entrenched, particularly in the defense markets. While we believe that the quality of our technologies and product offerings provides us with a competitive advantage over certain manufacturers, some of our competitors have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do to spend on the research and development of their technologies and for funding the construction and operation of commercial scale plants.

We expect our competitors to continue to improve the design and performance of their products. We cannot assure investors that our competitors will not develop enhancements to, or future generations of, competitive products that will offer superior price or performance features, or that new technology or processes will not emerge that render our products less competitive or obsolete. Increased competitive pressure could lead to lower prices for our products, thereby adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, competitive pressures may force us to implement new technologies at a substantial cost, and we may not be able to successfully develop or expend the financial resources necessary to acquire new technology. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully in the future.

Employees and Human Capital

We had 106 full time equivalent employees as of October 1, 2023 and 102 employees as of December 6, 2023, which include a small temporary work force to handle peak loads as needed. We are in compliance with local prevailing wage, contractor licensing and insurance regulations, and have good relations with our employees, who are not currently unionized. We use outside consultants for various services. We have not experienced any work stoppages and are not a party to a collective bargaining agreement. Management considers labor relations to be good.

We are dedicated to preserving operational excellence and remaining an employer of choice. We provide and maintain a work environment that is designed to attract, develop and retain top talent through offering our employees an engaging work experience that contributes to their career development. We recognize that our success is based on the collective talents and dedication of those we employ, and we are highly invested in their success. We value our employees and believe that employee loyalty and enthusiasm are key elements of our operating performance.

Corporate History

Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware corporation originally organized in Delaware as Sustut Exploration, Inc. in April 2006. Optex Systems, Inc. is a Delaware corporation organized in September 2008. In March 2009, Optex Systems, Inc. engaged in a reverse merger with Sustut Exploration, Inc., in connection with which the latter was renamed Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. and the former became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Optex Systems Holdings, Inc.

Internet Address

The Company maintains an internet website at the following address: www.optexsys.com. The information on the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Prospective investors should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included or referred to in this Annual Report, before purchasing shares of our common stock. There are numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent us from achieving our goals. The risks described below are not the only risks we face. If any of these risks actually materializes, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors in our common stock could lose all or part of their investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not exclusive and are intended to reflect the material risks that are specific to us, our industry and companies that have securities trading on an over-the-counter market.

Risks Related to our Business

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions globally and the effects of these conditions on our customers’ businesses and levels of business activity.

Economic and political events in the past few years have altered the landscape in which we and other U.S. companies operate in a variety of ways. In response to inflationary pressures, the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates, resulting in an increase in the cost of borrowing for us, our customers, our suppliers, and other companies relying on debt financing. World events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions, have impacted the global economy, including by exacerbating inflationary and other pressures linked to COVID-related supply chain disruptions. In addition, the threat of a larger war in the Middle East after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel could affect oil prices and have other, potentially recessionary, effects on the global economy. Prolonged inflationary conditions and prolonged periods of high interest rates could further negatively affect U.S. and international commerce and exacerbate or prolong the period of high energy prices and supply chain constraints. At this time, the extent and duration of these economic and political events and their effects on the economy and the Company are impossible to predict.

Low unemployment and tight labor markets may adversely affect our labor costs and our ability to hire and retain a sufficient workforce required to meet the backlog and customer demands. If we are not able to maintain a sufficient workforce and attract and retain additional personnel as required, we may not be able to implement our business plan and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We compete with several other large defense contractors, as well as homebuilding, industrial manufacturing and warehousing industries within the immediate area of our manufacturing facilities for both lower and higher skill level manufacturing employees. The limited supply of available workers for hire, combined with increasing competition among other local industries, may result in increased production costs associated with higher wages, employee bonuses, overtime premiums and enhanced employee benefits in addition to cost increases associated with employee recruitment, employee turnover, training and learning curve inefficiencies. We may be unable to fill the labor positions required to meet our customer demands in a timely or cost-effective manner, which would impede our ability to meet current or increasing production levels in line with our customer expectations and adversely affect our ability to grow revenue or maintain our current margin levels.

Our ability to fulfill our backlog may have an effect on our long-term ability to procure contracts and fulfill current contracts.

Our ability to fulfill our backlog may be limited by our ability to devote sufficient financial and human capital resources and limited by available material supplies. Disruptions in our supply chain and transportation delays, combined with inflationary pressures and tight labor market conditions could impede our ability to meet customer requirements. If we do not fulfill our backlog in a timely manner, we may experience delays in product delivery which would postpone receipt of revenue from those delayed deliveries. Additionally, if we are consistently unable to fulfill our backlog, this may be a disincentive to customers to award large contracts to us in the future until they are comfortable that we can effectively manage our backlog.

Our historical operations depend on government contracts and subcontracts. We face risks related to contracting with the federal government, including federal budget issues and fixed price contracts.

Future general political and economic conditions, which cannot be accurately predicted, may directly and indirectly affect the quantity and allocation of expenditures by federal agencies. Even the timing of incremental funding commitments to existing, but partially funded, contracts can be affected by these factors. Therefore, cutbacks or re-allocations in the federal budget could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Obtaining government contracts may also involve long purchase and payment cycles, competitive bidding, qualification requirements, delays or changes in funding, budgetary constraints, political agendas, extensive specification development, price negotiations and milestone requirements. In addition, our government contracts are primarily fixed price contracts, which may prevent us from recovering costs incurred in excess of budgeted costs. Fixed price contracts require us to estimate the total project cost based on preliminary projections of the project’s requirements. The financial viability of any given project depends in large part on our ability to estimate such costs accurately and complete the project on a timely basis. Some of those contracts are for products that are new to our business and are thus subject to unanticipated impacts to manufacturing costs. Even if our estimates are reasonable at the time made, prices of materials are subject to unanticipated adverse fluctuation. In the event our actual costs exceed the fixed costs determined under our product contracts, we will not be able to recover the excess costs which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We examine these contracts on a regular basis and accrue for anticipated losses on these contracts, if necessary.

We have several multiyear IDIQ contracts at fixed prices which have open ordering periods and are currently at low profit rates or in a loss condition. These contracts are typically three-year IDIQ contracts with two optional award years, and as such, we are obligated to accept new task awards against these contracts until the contract expiration. Should contract costs continue to increase above the negotiated selling price, or in the event the customer should release substantial quantities against these existing loss contracts, the losses could be material. For contracts currently in a loss status based on the estimated per unit contract costs, losses are booked immediately on new task order awards. As of October 1, 2023, there was $243 thousand in accrued loss provisions for loss contracts or cost overruns.

Approximately 92% of our contracts contain termination clauses for convenience. In the event these clauses should be invoked by our customer, future revenues against these contracts could be affected, however these clauses allow for a full recovery of any incurred contract costs plus a reasonable fee up through and as a result of the contract termination. We are currently unaware of any pending terminations on our existing contracts.

In some cases, contract awards may be issued that are subject to renegotiation at a date (up to 180 days) subsequent to the initial award date. Generally, these subsequent negotiations have had an immaterial impact (zero to 5%) on the contract price of the affected contracts. Currently, none of our awarded contracts are subject to renegotiation.

We have sought to minimize the adverse impact from the slower pace of U.S. military orders on our results of operations by seeking to obtain foreign military orders, expanding our customer base as well as seeking new commercial business. We do not expect these markets to completely mitigate the negative impact of lower U.S. defense spending.

If we fail to scale our operations appropriately in response changes in demand, we may be unable to meet competitive challenges or exploit potential market opportunities, and our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Significant fluctuations in customer demand place a significant strain on our management personnel, infrastructure and resources. To implement our current business and product plans, we need to appropriately manage our cost base, as well as train, manage and motivate our workforce, while continuing to maintain our critical operational and financial systems and our manufacturing and service capabilities. All of these endeavors require substantial management effort and potential capital. If we are unable to effectively manage our operations to our customer demand levels, we may be unable to scale our business quickly enough to meet competitive challenges or exploit potential market opportunities, and our current or future business could be materially and adversely affected.

We do not have employment agreements with our key personnel, other than our Chief Executive and Financial Officers, and our management has minimal unencumbered equity ownership in us. If we are not able to retain our key personnel or attract additional key personnel as required, we may not be able to implement our business plan and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We depend to a large extent on the abilities and continued participation of our executive officers and other key employees. The loss of either executive officer or any other key employee could have a material adverse effect on our business. We currently have only two employment agreements. We do not presently maintain “key man” insurance on any other key employees. We believe that experienced personnel will continue to be required to implement our business plan. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we cannot assure you that they will be available when required, or that we will have the ability to attract and retain them. In addition, due to our small size, we do not presently have depth of staffing in our executive, operational and financial management areas in order to have an effective succession plan should the need arise. Thus, in the event of the loss of one or more of our management employees, our results of operations could be vulnerable to challenges associated with recruiting additional key personnel, if such recruiting efforts are not successful in a timely manner.

Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business.

We expect recent supply chain disruptions driven by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the related sanctions, combined with raw material shortages, labor shortages, transportation delays and inflationary pressures, to continue for the foreseeable future. These conditions have strained our suppliers and extended supplier delivery lead times, affecting their ability to sustain operations. We are experiencing market wide material shortages for paint and resin products as well as critical epoxies and chemicals used in our manufacturing process. In addition, we are seeing substantial increases in the costs of aluminum, steel and acrylic commodities. In addition, we have experienced supplier schedule delays for other key components which are driven by supplier labor and material shortages. In several cases, spotty supply and material shortages have resulted in stocking higher inventory “safety stock” levels to ensure adequate lead time to replenish critical supplies.

We have selectively single-sourced some of our material components in order to mitigate excess procurement costs associated with significant tooling and startup costs. Furthermore, because of the nature of government contracts, we are often required to purchase selected items from U.S. government approved suppliers, which may further limit our ability to utilize multiple supply sources for these key components.

To the extent any of these single sourced or government approved suppliers may have disruptions in deliveries due to production, quality, or other issues, we may also experience related production delays or unfavorable cost increases associated with retooling and qualifying alternate suppliers. The impact of delays resulting from disruptions in supply for these items could negatively impact our revenue, our reputation with our customers, and our results of operations. In addition, significant price increases from single-source suppliers could have a negative impact on our profitability to the extent that we are unable to recover these cost increases on our fixed price contracts.

Each contract has a specific quantity of material which needs to be purchased, assembled, and shipped. Prior to bidding on a contract, we contact potential sources of material and receive qualified quotations for this material. In some cases, the entire volume is given to a single supplier and in other cases; the volume might be split between several suppliers. If a contract has a single source supplier and that supplier fails to meet their obligations (e.g., quality, delivery), then we would seek to find an alternate supplier and bring this information back to the final customer. Contractual deliverables would then generally be re-negotiated (e.g., specifications, delivery, price). As of December 1, 2023, approximately 9% of our material requirements are single-sourced across 13 suppliers representing approximately 27% of our active supplier order value. Single-sourced component requirements span across all of our major product lines.

We consider it a material financial or schedule risk if we believe it will take us at least three months to identify and qualify a suitable replacement for specialized single source suppliers. In the table below, we identify those specialized single source suppliers with respect to which we face such a material risk and the product lines supported by those materials utilized by us as of December 6, 2023.

The defense technology supply industry is subject to technological change and if we are not able to keep up with our competitors and/or they develop advanced technology as response to our products, we may be at a competitive disadvantage.

The market for our products is generally characterized by technological developments, evolving industry standards, changes in customer requirements, frequent new product introductions and enhancements, short product life cycles and severe price competition. Our competitors could also develop new, more advanced technologies in reaction to our products. Currently accepted industry standards may change. Our success depends substantially on our ability, on a cost-effective and timely basis, to continue to enhance our existing products and to develop and introduce new products that take advantage of technological advances and adhere to evolving industry standards. An unexpected change in one or more of the technologies related to our products, in market demand for products based on a particular technology or of accepted industry standards could materially and adversely affect our business. We may or may not be able to develop new products in a timely and satisfactory manner to address new industry standards and technological changes, or to respond to new product announcements by others. In addition, new products may or may not achieve market acceptance.

Unexpected warranty and product liability claims could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The possibility of future product failures could cause us to incur substantial expense to repair or replace defective products. We warrant the quality of our products to meet customer requirements and be free of defects for twelve months subsequent to delivery. We establish reserves for warranty claims based on our historical rate of returned shipments against these contracts. There can be no assurance that this reserve will be sufficient if we were to experience an unexpectedly high incidence of problems with our products. Significant increases in the incidence of such claims may adversely affect our sales and our reputation with consumers. Costs associated with warranty and product liability claims could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on the proper function, availability and security of information technology systems to operate our business and a cyber-attack or other breach of these systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We rely on information technology systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information in our day-to-day operations. Similar to other companies, the size and complexity of our information technology systems makes them vulnerable to a cyber-attack, malicious intrusion, breakdown, destruction, loss of data privacy, or other significant disruption. Our information systems require an ongoing commitment of significant resources to maintain, protect, and enhance existing systems and develop new systems to keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology, evolving systems and regulatory standards.

On July 13, 2021, we experienced a ransomware attack. While we do not expect that attack to have material adverse consequences, similar attacks, if not caught and effectively addressed in a timely manner, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure by us to maintain or protect our information technology systems and data integrity, including from cyber-attacks, intrusions or other breaches, could result in the unauthorized access to personally identifiable information, theft of intellectual property or other misappropriation of assets, or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. Any of these events may cause us to have difficulty preventing, detecting, and controlling fraud, be subject to legal claims and liability, have regulatory sanctions or penalties imposed, have increases in operating expenses, incur expenses or lose revenues as a result of a data privacy breach or theft of intellectual property, or suffer other adverse consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We derive almost all of our revenue from a small number of customers and the loss of any of these customers could have a material adverse effect on our revenues.

For the year ended October 1, 2023, the Company’s consolidated revenues were derived from U.S. government agencies (22%), three U.S. defense contractors (14%, 7%, and 6%), one major commercial customer (23%) and all other customers (28%). Approximately 95% of total Company revenue is generated from domestic customers and 5% is derived from foreign customers, primarily Canada. In particular, a decision by one of our major defense contract customers, U.S. government agencies, or major commercial customers to cease issuing contracts to us could have a significant material impact on our business and results of operations given that they represent over 72% of our gross business revenue. There can be no assurance that we could replace these customers on a timely basis or at all.

We have approximately 151 discrete contracts with major defense contractors and the U.S. Government (primarily Defense Logistics Agencies (DLA), and other prime U.S. defense contractors. If they choose to terminate these contracts, we are entitled to fully recover all contractual costs and reasonable profits incurred up to or as a result of the terminated contract.

We only possess six patents and rely primarily on trade secrets to protect our intellectual property.

We utilize several highly specialized and unique processes in the manufacture of our products, for which we rely solely on trade secrets to protect our innovations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets or that our non-disclosure agreements will provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or other disclosure. The non-disclosure agreements that are designed to protect our trade secrets could be breached, and we might not have adequate remedies for the breach.

It is also possible that our trade secrets will otherwise become known or independently developed by our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources than us, and these competitors may have applied for or obtained, or may in the future apply for or obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make and sell some of our products. Although based upon our general knowledge (and we have not conducted patent searches), we believe that our products do not infringe on the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties; however, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us or that such claims will not be successful.

We may need to raise additional capital in the future beyond any cash flow from our existing business; additional funds may not be available on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.

We may need to raise additional capital in the future to finance our future working capital needs. We cannot assure you that any additional capital will be available on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. Future equity or debt financings may be difficult to obtain. If we are not able to obtain additional capital as may be required, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We anticipate that our capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

Even if available, financings may involve significant costs and expenses, such as legal and accounting fees, diversion of management’s time and efforts, and substantial transaction costs. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be unable to finance our operations, develop or enhance our products, expand our sales and marketing programs, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures.

Risks Related to our Credit Facility and Liquidity

Our level of debt and restrictions in our credit agreement could negatively affect our operations and limit our liquidity and our ability to react to changes in the economy.

Our Loan Agreement with Texas Capital Bank contains restrictive covenants that require us to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25:1 and a total leverage ratio of 3.00:1, which we may fail to meet if there is a material decrease in our profitability or liquidity. In addition, the Loan Agreement contains restrictive covenants governing indebtedness, liens, fundamental changes (including changes in management), investments, and restricted payments (including cash dividends). The borrowings under the Loan Agreement are secured by substantially all of our operating assets as collateral.

A breach of any of the restrictions and covenants could result in a default under our Loan Agreement, which, if not cured or waived, could cause any outstanding indebtedness under the agreement (or under any future financing arrangements) to become immediately due and payable, and result in the termination of commitments to extend further credit. We may not have sufficient funds on hand to repay the loan, and if we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms, or are unable to refinance at all, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected by increased costs and rates.

If our debt level significantly increases in the future, it could have significant consequences on our ongoing operations including requiring us to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flow from operations to servicing debt rather than using it to execute our strategic initiatives; limiting our ability to obtain additional debt financing for future working capital, capital expenditures, or other worthwhile endeavors; and limiting our ability to react to changes in the market.

Risks Related to Our Stock

Our stock typically trades in low volumes daily which could lead to illiquidity, volatility, or depressed stock price.

Our stock is listed on Nasdaq, but typically trades in low daily volumes. Because of a history of low trading volume, our stock is relatively illiquid and its price may be volatile. This may make it more difficult for our stockholders to resell shares when desired or at attractive prices. Some investors view low-volume stocks as unduly speculative and therefore not appropriate candidates for investment. Also, due to the low volume of shares traded on any trading day, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence prices of our stock.

Any analysts covering our stock could negatively impact the stock price.

The trading market for our common stock will likely be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any such analysts downgrade their evaluation of our stock, the price of our stock could decline. Furthermore, if our operating results fail to meet analysts’ expectations, our stock price would likely decline.

Our stock price has been and will likely continue to be extremely volatile, and, as a result, stockholders may not be able to resell shares at or above their purchase price, and we may be more vulnerable to securities class action litigation.

Since our common stock was listed on Nasdaq in March 2023, our stock price, as reported by Nasdaq, has ranged from a low of $2.87 to a high of $4.47. As a result, the market price and trading volume of our common stock is likely to be similarly volatile in the future, and investors in our common stock may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their stock, including decreases unrelated to our results of operations or prospects, and could lose part or all of their investment.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Because of the potential volatility of our stock price, we may become the target of securities litigation in the future. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources from our business and adversely affect our business.

We are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in SEC regulations, and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are a “smaller reporting company” as defined under SEC regulations and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not smaller reporting companies including, among other things, reduced financial disclosure requirements including being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information that they may deem important. We could remain a smaller reporting company indefinitely. As a smaller reporting company, investors may deem our stock less attractive and, as a result, there may be less active trading of our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

General Risk Factors

Changes in current economic conditions may adversely affect our ability to continue operations.

Changes in current economic conditions may cause a decline in business, consumer and defense spending and capital market performance, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Our ability to raise funds, which could be required for business continuity or expansion of our operations, may be adversely affected by current and future economic conditions, such as a reduction in the availability of credit, financial market volatility and economic recession.

In the future, we may look to acquire other businesses in our industry and the acquisitions will require us to use substantial resources.

In the future, we may decide to pursue acquisitions of other businesses in our industry. In order to successfully acquire other businesses, we would be forced to spend significant resources for both acquisition and transactional costs, which could divert substantial resources in terms of both financial and personnel capital from our current operations. Additionally, we might assume liabilities of the acquired business, and the repayment of those liabilities could have a material adverse impact on our cash flow. Furthermore, when a new business is integrated into our ongoing business, it is possible that there would be a period of integration and adjustment required which could divert resources from ongoing business operations.

The elimination of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under Delaware law and the existence of indemnification rights to our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenditures by us and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.

We provide indemnification to our directors and officers to the extent provided by Delaware law. The foregoing indemnification obligation could result in our incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against directors and officers, which we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resultant costs may also discourage us from bringing a lawsuit against directors and officers for breaches of their fiduciary duties and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our stockholders against our directors and officers even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders.

Our stock price is speculative, and there is a risk of litigation.

The trading price of our common stock has in the past and may in the future be subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors such as the following: