Announces Positive Product and Customer
Momentum
AEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIDR), a global leader in adaptive,
high-performance LiDAR solutions, today announced its third quarter
2021 financial results.
“AEye is experiencing positive customer and partnership
momentum,” commented Blair LaCorte, CEO of AEye. “We believe this
business traction is directly attributable to our decision to take
the time to build an adaptive LiDAR platform, in contrast to how
our peers approached the market. Our platform is unique as it can
be licensed to ADAS customers, such as Continental, as well as sold
directly into a variety of industrial and mobility markets in
conjunction with our system integrator partners. AEye’s goal
remains to leverage this unique adaptive architecture to deliver
reliable, cost-effective, and high-performance products to
accelerate the adoption of LiDAR.”
AEye management will hold a conference call today, November 11,
2021, at 3:00 p.m. Pacific time (6:00 p.m. Eastern time) to discuss
these results. AEye’s CEO, Blair LaCorte, and CFO, Bob Brown, will
host the call, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The webcast and accompanying slides will be accessible via the
company’s website at https://investors.aeye.ai/.
Strategic Milestones for
2021
- Financial
- AEye completed its public debut by listing on Nasdaq (LIDR),
raising more than $200 million, net of fees, to fund product
development, increase scale, and support AEye’s growing customer
base.
- Product
- AEye established new LiDAR industry performance standards for
range, rate, and resolution in performance specification tests
monitored, validated, and published by VSI Labs, one of the
nation’s leading independent evaluators and advisors on active
safety and automated vehicle technologies.
- AEye validated superior weather performance as documented in
the journal, Atmosphere.
- Manufacturing
- ADAS: AEye transitioned initial production of automotive
B-samples of AEye-based long-range LiDAR sensors to a Continental
manufacturing line. The Continental HRL131 is on-track for
large-scale series production in 2024. The HRL 131 will be
manufactured, sold, and supported, under Continental’s name to its
installed base of 25 ADAS customers/OEMs.
- Industrial: AEye is on schedule to transition manufacturing of
AEye’s 4Sight™ M sensor for industrial and mobility applications
from AEye’s Advanced Development Center in Dublin, CA to Sanmina,
AEye’s lead contract manufacturing partner, in the fourth quarter
of 2021.
- Customers and Partners
- Continental announced the integration of AEye’s LiDAR
technology into their full-stack (cameras, radar, lidar, and ECU)
automotive-grade system for Level 2+ automated and autonomous
driving applications – allowing Continental to sell a standalone
high-performance long-range LiDAR sensor or as part of a complete
ADAS system.
- AEye announced a partnership with TuSimple to deploy AEye’s
long-range, high-performance LiDAR for autonomous trucking
applications.
- AEye announced integration of its adaptive LiDAR with the
Nvidia DRIVE Platform for autonomous vehicles.
- AEye launched its adaptive LiDAR solutions for Intelligent
Transportation Systems at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg in
October:
- Partnered with Seoul Robotics, a global leader in perception
software, to integrate AEye’s adaptive LiDAR with Seoul Robotics’
SENSR perception software to deliver a complete solution for
long-range object detection, classification, and perception.
- Collaborated with Intetra, a leading provider of end-to-end ITS
solutions, to demonstrate how AEye’s software-definable LiDAR
enables improved detection accuracy for automated tolling in all
lighting, weather, and traffic conditions.
- AEye is also working with ITS industry leaders such as
Mitsubishi and Econolite.
- AEye, as previously announced, is working with leaders in other
industrial markets such as Komatsu (Construction) and Hitachi
(Rail).
- Governance
- A new board of directors was elected, bringing to AEye
extensive public governance, legal, and financial management
experience as well as deep domain expertise in the automotive,
trucking, aerospace, and defense markets.
- Scaling the Company
- AEye opened offices in Japan and Korea and expanded our
presence in Germany to support international growth.
- AEye increased key employee headcount primarily in engineering,
operations, and sales and marketing to support product
roll-out.
- Innovation
- AEye filed its 100th patent for groundbreaking concepts that
meaningfully strengthen AEye’s IP protection and competitive
position.
Q3 2021 Financials AEye
reported revenue of $0.1 million, and a GAAP net loss of $(17.4)
million, or $(0.15) per share based on 114.9 million weighted
average shares outstanding. Adjusted EBITDA was $(12.5) million for
the quarter.
The company closed the quarter with $182.4 million in cash and
cash equivalents, and marketable securities and is debt-free.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to
“Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a discussion of Adjusted EBITDA
and the financial tables below for reconciliations of Adjusted
EBITDA to GAAP net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP
financial measure.
Conference Call and Webcast
Details AEye management will hold a conference call
today, November 11, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. Pacific time (6:00 p.m.
Eastern time) to discuss these results. AEye’s CEO, Blair LaCorte,
and CFO, Bob Brown, will host the call, followed by a
question-and-answer session.
The webcast and accompanying slides will be accessible via the
company’s website at https://investors.aeye.ai/.
The call is also accessible via telephone through the following
details:
Dial in Information:
- US/CANADA Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (844)
253-4108
- US/CANADA Participant International Dial-In Number: (225)
239-4721 Conference ID: 9789399
About AEye AEye is the
premier provider of intelligent, next generation, adaptive LiDAR
for vehicle autonomy, ADAS, and robotic vision applications. AEye’s
Intelligent Detection and Ranging iDAR™ system and 4Sight™ products
leverage biomimicry and principles from automated targeting
applications used by the military to scan the environment,
intelligently focusing on what matters most, enabling faster, more
accurate, and more reliable perception. iDAR is the only software
configurable LiDAR with integrated deterministic artificial
intelligence, delivering industry-leading performance in range,
resolution, and speed. The company was founded in 2013 and is based
in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The non-GAAP measures provided in this press release should not be
considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial
performance prepared in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States. A reconciliation
between GAAP and non-GAAP financial data is included in the
supplemental financial data attached to this press release.
Non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning
and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled
measures presented by other companies. AEye considers these
non-GAAP financial measures to be important because they provide
additional insight into the Company’s on-going performance. The
Company provides this information to investors for a more
consistent basis of comparison and to help investors evaluate the
results of the Company’s on-going operations, and to help enable
more meaningful period-to-period comparison. Non-GAAP financial
measures are presented only as supplemental information for
purposes of understanding the Company’s operating results. The
non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute
for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.
This presentation includes non-GAAP financial measures,
including Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as GAAP net
loss plus stock-based compensation, plus expenses related to the
registration statement on Form S-1 on behalf of selling
stockholders, plus change in fair value of embedded derivative and
warrant liabilities, plus the gain on our PPP loan forgiveness,
plus amortization and depreciation expense, plus interest expense,
less interest income.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not
historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor
provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes
accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,”
“opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,”
“potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions
that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not
statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections, and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements
are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this
press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for
illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and
must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance,
a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability.
Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to
predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events
and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking
statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i)
the risks that the positive customer and partnership momentum will
not continue or produce the expected results in the timeframe
anticipated; (ii) the risks that the approach to the market of
Company may not yield the results expected or in the timeframe
anticipated; (iii) the risks that the Company’s licensing model for
ADAS and direct sales into the industrial and mobility markets may
not be successful or yield results in the timeframe expected; (iv)
the risks that AEye may not achieve its goal to deliver reliable,
cost-effective, and high-performance products that accelerate the
adoption of LiDAR; (v) the risks that Continental may not be able
to successfully establish a manufacturing line for the AEye-based
long-range LiDAR sensor; (vi) the risks that the Continental
product may not go into large-scale series production in 2024, or
at all; (vii) the risks that AEye will be unable to transition its
manufacturing of its 4Sight M product to Sanmina in the fourth
quarter of 2021, or at all; (viii) the risks that Continental’s
integration of AEye’s LiDAR technology into their full-stack
automotive-grade system will not be successful or achieve market
acceptance; (ix) the risks that lidar adoption occurs slower than
anticipated or fails to occur at all; (x) the risks that competing
technologies will improve overtime to become operationally
equivalent or more cost-effective, or both; (xi) the risks that
competitors may introduce into the market products similar in
capabilities to the integrated solution and such competitive
solution takes some or all of the market share away from the AEye;
(xii) the risks that AEye’s products will not meet the diverse
range of performance and functional requirements of AEye’s target
markets and customers; (xiii) the risks that AEye’s products will
not function as anticipated by AEye or by AEye’s target markets and
customers; (xiv) the risks that the size of the total available
market for the use of LiDAR will be smaller than predicted or take
longer to come to fruition than predicted; (xv) the risk that laws
and regulations are adopted impacting the use of lidar that AEye is
unable to comply with, in whole or in part; (xvi) changes in
competitive and regulated industries in which AEye operates,
variations in operating performance across competitors, and changes
in laws and regulations affecting AEye’s business; (xvii) the risk
that AEye is unable to adequately implement its business plans,
forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize
additional opportunities, (xviii) the potential inability of AEye
to scale its manufacturing capacity or to achieve efficiencies
regarding its manufacturing processes or other costs; and (xix) the
risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly
competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These
risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic,
which has caused significant economic uncertainty. The foregoing
list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider
the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties
described in the “Risk Factors” section of the registration
statement on Form S-4, that includes a definitive proxy
statement/prospectus, that AEye (formerly known as CF Finance
Acquisition Corp. III) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) and other documents filed by AEye or that
will be filed by AEye from time to time with the SEC. These filings
identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual events and results to differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements; AEye assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise. AEye gives no assurance that AEye will achieve any of
its expectations.
AEYE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share
data)
September 30, 2021
December 31, 2020
ASSETS
(Unaudited)
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
52,468
$
15,275
Marketable securities
129,910
—
Accounts receivable, net
147
156
Inventories, net
4,852
2,655
Prepaid and other current assets
6,701
1,396
Total current assets
194,078
19,482
Property and equipment, net
4,835
4,865
Restricted cash
2,150
1,222
Other noncurrent assets
169
316
Total assets
$
201,232
$
25,885
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(DEFICIT)
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable
4,039
1,807
Accrued expenses and other current
liabilities
4,077
3,356
Deferred revenue (including $200 from
related parties)
245
660
Convertible notes
—
29,079
Borrowings, net of issuance costs, current
portion
—
2,693
Total current liabilities
8,361
37,595
Deferred rent, noncurrent
3,185
3,631
Private Placement Warrant liability
156
—
Borrowings, net of issuance costs,
noncurrent
—
2,884
Total liabilities
$
11,702
$
44,110
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT):
Preferred stock—$0.0001 par value per
share: 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and
outstanding
—
—
Common stock—$0.0001 par value per share:
300,000,000 shares authorized; 154,565,671 and 101,286,645 shares
issued and outstanding at September 30, 2021 and December 31,
2020
15
10
Additional paid-in capital
316,318
68,549
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(42
)
—
Accumulated deficit
(126,761
)
(86,784
)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)
189,530
(18,225
)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
(deficit)
$
201,232
$
25,885
AEYE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(In thousands, except share and per share
data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2021
2020
2021
2020
REVENUE:
Prototype sales (including $0 and $161
from related parties for the three and nine months ended September
30, 2021, respectively)
$
127
$
87
$
588
$
150
Development contracts (including $0 and
$500 from related parties for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2021)
—
1,050
615
1,150
Total revenues
127
1,137
1,203
1,300
Cost of revenue
466
317
1,537
464
Gross (loss) profit
(339
)
820
(334
)
836
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Research and development (1)
7,468
3,247
19,030
11,207
Sales and marketing (1)
2,991
672
6,489
2,610
General and administrative (1)
6,086
1,650
13,846
4,862
Total operating expenses
16,545
5,569
39,365
18,679
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS
(16,884
)
(4,749
)
(39,699
)
(17,843
)
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Change in fair value of embedded
derivative liability and warrant liability
341
1,366
222
1,284
Gain on PPP loan forgiveness
—
—
2,297
—
Interest income and other
69
6
74
19
Interest expense and other
(919
)
(401
)
(2,871
)
(955
)
Total other income (expense), net
(509
)
971
(278
)
348
Provision for income tax expense
—
—
—
—
Net loss
$
(17,393
)
$
(3,778
)
$
(39,977
)
$
(17,495
)
Net unrealized loss on available-for-sale
securities
(42
)
—
(42
)
—
Comprehensive loss
$
(17,435
)
$
(3,778
)
$
(40,019
)
$
(17,495
)
PER SHARE DATA
Net loss per common share (basic and
diluted)
$
(0.15
)
$
(0.04
)
$
(0.39
)
$
(0.17
)
Weighted average common shares outstanding
(basic and diluted)
114,891,595
103,155,756
102,953,263
103,054,374
(1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows (in
thousands):
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2021
2020
2021
2020
Research and development expense
$
665
$
93
$
2,062
$
341
Sales and marketing
398
35
1,171
116
General and administrative
1,229
144
3,289
358
Total stock-based compensation
$
2,292
$
272
$
6,522
$
815
AEYE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH
FLOWS
(In thousands, except share and per share
data)
(Unaudited)
Nine months ended September
30,
2021
2020
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING
ACTIVITIES:
Net loss
$
(39,977
)
$
(17,495
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net
cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
769
679
Change in fair value of embedded
derivative liability and warrant liability
(222
)
(1,284
)
Noncash gain on PPP loan forgiveness
(2,297
)
—
Stock-based compensation
6,522
815
Amortization of issuance costs
725
45
Amortization of debt discount
752
509
Amortization of premiums on marketable
securities
47
—
Other
286
116
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
9
(91
)
Inventories, net
(2,197
)
(414
)
Prepaid and other current assets
(5,305
)
3,832
Other noncurrent assets
(142
)
108
Accounts payable
840
(230
)
Accrued expenses and other current
liabilities
1,417
44
Deferred rent
(400
)
(391
)
Deferred revenue
(415
)
(201
)
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(39,588
)
$
(13,958
)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES:
Purchase of property and equipment
(713
)
(4,017
)
Purchase of available-for-sale
securities
(129,999
)
—
Net cash used in investing activities
$
(130,712
)
$
(4,017
)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from the exercise of stock
options
$
100
$
128
Proceeds from business combination and
PIPE financing
256,811
—
Transaction costs related to business
combination and PIPE financing
(47,775
)
—
Proceeds from the issuance of convertible
notes
8,045
12,596
Proceeds from bank loans
10,000
2,270
Principal payments on bank loans
(13,333
)
(444
)
Payments of deferred financing costs
(3,210
)
—
Payments of debt issuance costs
(717
)
(122
)
Repurchase of stock options
(1,500
)
—
Net cash provided by financing
activities
$
208,421
$
14,428
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH, CASH
EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH
38,121
(3,547
)
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED
CASH—Beginning of period
16,497
8,205
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED
CASH—Ending
$
54,618
$
4,658
AEYE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP
FINANCIAL MEASURES
ADJUSTED EBITDA
(In thousands, except share and per share
data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2021
2020
2021
2020
GAAP net loss
$
(17,393
)
$
(3,778
)
$
(39,977
)
$
(17,495
)
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation
2,292
272
6,522
815
Expenses related to registration statement
on Form S-1 on behalf of selling stockholders
1,773
—
2,198
—
Change in fair value of embedded
derivative and warrant liabilities
(341
)
(1,366
)
(222
)
(1,284
)
Gain on PPP loan forgiveness
—
—
(2,297
)
—
Non-GAAP net loss
$
(13,669
)
$
(4,872
)
$
(33,776
)
$
(17,964
)
Depreciation and amortization expense
271
259
769
679
Interest income and other
(69
)
(6
)
(74
)
(19
)
Interest expense and other
919
401
2,871
955
Adjusted EBITDA
(12,548
)
(4,218
)
(30,210
)
(16,349
)
AEYE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP
FINANCIAL MEASURES
EARNINGS LOSS PER SHARE
(In thousands, except share and per share
data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2021
2020
2021
2020
GAAP net loss
$
(17,393
)
$
(3,778
)
$
(39,977
)
$
(17,495
)
Non-GAAP net loss
$
(13,669
)
$
(4,872
)
$
(33,776
)
$
(17,964
)
GAAP net loss per share attributable to
common stockholders::
Basic and diluted
$
(0.15
)
$
(0.04
)
$
(0.39
)
$
(0.17
)
Non-GAAP net loss per share attributable
to common stockholders:
Basic and diluted
$
(0.12
)
$
(0.05
)
$
(0.33
)
$
(0.17
)
Shares used in computing GAAP net loss per
share attributable to common stockholders:
Basic and diluted
114,891,595
103,155,756
102,953,263
103,054,374
Shares used in computing Non-GAAP net loss
per share attributable to common stockholders:
Basic and diluted
114,891,595
103,155,756
102,953,263
103,054,374
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211111005690/en/
Media Contact: AEye, Inc. Jennifer Deitsch
jennifer@aeye.ai 925-400-4366 Investors: Financial Profiles,
Inc. Matt Keating AEye@finprofiles.com 310-622-8230 John Brownell
AEye@finprofiles.com 310-622-8489
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