2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies) |
3 Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mar. 31, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basis of Presentation |
The accompanying condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 8-03 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP in annual financial statements have been omitted or condensed in accordance with quarterly reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 included in our Registration Statement on Form S-1, declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 25, 2019 (File No. 333-229144).
The condensed interim financial statements of Super League include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair statement of Super League’s financial position as of March 31, 2019, and results of its operations and its cash flows for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire fiscal year.
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| Use of Estimates |
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The Company believes that, of the significant accounting policies described herein, the accounting policies associated with revenue recognition, the valuation of convertible notes and related common stock purchase warrants (hereinafter, “warrants”) discussed at Note 5, stock-based compensation expense, income taxes and valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets, require its most difficult, subjective or complex judgments |
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| Revenue Recognition |
Revenue is recognized when the Company transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. In this regard, revenue is recognized when: (i) the parties to the contract have approved the contract (in writing, orally, or in accordance with other customary business practices) and are committed to perform their respective obligations; (ii) the entity can identify each party’s rights regarding the goods or services to be transferred; (iii) the entity can identify the payment terms for the goods or services to be transferred; (iv) the contract has commercial substance (that is, the risk, timing, or amount of the entity’s future cash flows is expected to change as a result of the contract);and (v) it is probable that the entity will collect substantially all of the consideration to which it will be entitled in exchange for the goods or services that will be transferred to the customer.
Super League generates revenues and related cash flows from (i) brand and media sponsorships, (ii) Platform-As-A-Service arrangements, and (iii) direct to consumer offers including tournament fees for participation in our physical and online multiplayer gaming experiences, digital subscriptions and merchandise sales.
Brand and Media Sponsorships. The Company generates brand and media sponsorship revenues primarily from sales of various forms of sponsorships and promotional campaigns for its online platforms and from sponsorship at its in-person esports experiences. Brand and media sponsorship revenue arrangements may include: exclusive or non-exclusive title sponsorships, marketing benefits, official product status exclusivity, product visibly and additional infrastructure placement, social media rights (including rights to create and post social content and clips), rights to on-screen activations and promotions, display material rights, media rights, hospitality and tickets and merchandising rights. Brand and media sponsorship arrangements typically include contract terms for time periods ranging from several weeks to multi-year arrangements.
For brand and media sponsorship arrangements that include performance obligations satisfied over time, customers typically simultaneously receive and consume the benefits under the agreement as the Company satisfies its performance obligations, over the applicable contract term. As such, revenue is recognized over the contract term based upon estimates of progress toward complete satisfaction of the contract performance obligations (typically utilizing a time, effort or delivery-based method of estimation).
Platform-As-A-Service. The Company generates platform-as-a-service (“PaaS”) revenues pursuant to arrangements with brand and media partners, retail venues, game publishers and broadcasters that allow its partners to run amateur esports experiences, and or capture specifically curated gameplay content that is tailored for its partners’ distribution channels, leveraging and powered by the Super League gaming and content technology platform. PaaS revenue arrangements for one-off branded experiences and/or the development of content tailored specifically for the Company’s partners’ distribution channels typically provide for a contractual delivery or performance date, and as such revenues are recognized when performance is substantially complete and or delivery occurs.
Direct to Consumer Revenue. Direct to consumer revenues include tournament fees, digital subscriptions and merchandise. Direct to consumer revenues have primarily consisted of the sale of season passes to gamers for participation in Super League’s in-person and or online multiplayer gaming experiences. For the periods presented herein, season passes for gaming experiences were primarily comprised of multi-week packages and also include one-time, single experience admissions. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, digital subscription revenues include revenues related to the Company’s Minehut asset acquisition in June 2018, which provides various Minecraft server hosting services on a subscription basis to the Minecraft gaming community.
Revenue from single experiences is recognized when the experience occurs. Revenue from multi-week packages is recognized over time as the multi-week experiences occur based on estimates of the progress toward complete satisfaction of the applicable offer and related performance obligations.
Revenue collected in advance is recorded as deferred revenue until the event occurs. For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, 71% and 29% of revenues were recognized at a point in time, and 29% and 71% of revenues were recognized over time, respectively. |
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| Advertising |
Gaming experience and Super League brand related advertising costs include the cost of ad production, social media, print media, marketing, promotions, and merchandising. The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were $147,000 and $125,000, respectively, and are included in selling, marketing and advertising expenses in the condensed statements of operations. |
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| Technology Platform Development Costs |
Technology platform development costs include (i) allocated personnel costs, including salaries, taxes and benefits related to our internal software developers and engineers employed by Super League engaged in developing and enhancing our proprietary gaming and content technology platform, (ii) the amortization of capitalized internal use software costs primarily comprised of capitalized costs for third-party contract software development and engineering resources engaged in developing and enhancing our proprietary gaming and content technology platform, and (iii) costs incurred in connection with the testing of our technology platform. |
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| Deferred Financing Costs |
Specific incremental costs directly attributable to a proposed or actual offering of securities or debt are deferred and charged against the gross proceeds of the financing. In the event that the proposed or actual financing is not completed, or is deemed not likely to be completed, such costs are expensed in the period that such determination is made. Deferred costs related to proposed offerings of securities totaled $0 and $154,354 at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. Deferred financing costs, if any, are included in other current assets in the condensed balance sheet. Deferred financing costs charged against gross proceeds in connection with the close of the Company’s IPO totaled $517,000. |
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| Property and Equipment |
Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Major additions and improvements that materially extend useful lives of property and equipment are capitalized. Maintenance and repairs are charged against the results of operations as incurred. When these assets are sold or otherwise disposed of, the asset and related depreciation are relieved, and any gain or loss is included in the statements of operations for the period of sale or disposal. Depreciation and amortization are computed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, typically over a three- to five-year period.
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| Intangible Assets |
Intangible assets primarily consist of (i) software development costs, (ii) domain name, copyright and patent registration costs and (iii) other intangible assets, which are recorded at cost and amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to ten years.
Software development costs incurred to develop internal-use software during the application development stage are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over the software’s estimated useful life, which is generally three years. Software development costs incurred during the preliminary stages of development are charged to expense as incurred. Maintenance and training costs are charged to expense as incurred. Upgrades or enhancements to existing internal-use software that result in additional functionality are capitalized. |
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| Impairment of Long-Lived Assets |
The Company assesses the recoverability of long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. If the cost basis of a long-lived asset is greater than the projected future undiscounted net cash flows from such asset, an impairment loss is recognized. Impairment losses are calculated as the difference between the cost basis of an asset and its estimated fair value. Management believes that there was no impairment of long-lived assets for the periods presented herein. There can be no assurance, however, that market conditions or demand for the Company’s products or services will not change, which could result in long-lived asset impairment charges in the future. |
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| Stock-Based Compensation |
Compensation expense for stock-based awards is measured at the grant date, based on the estimated fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense, typically on a straight-line basis over the employee’s requisite service period (generally the vesting period of the equity award) which is generally two to four years. Compensation expense for awards with performance conditions that affect vesting is recorded only for those awards expected to vest or when the performance criteria are met. The fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards is determined by the product of the number of shares or units granted and the grant date market price of the underlying common stock. The fair value of stock option and common stock purchase warrant awards is estimated on the date of grant utilizing the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model. The Company accounts for forfeitures of awards as they occur.
Grants of equity-based awards (including warrants) to non-employees in exchange for consulting or other services are accounted for using the fair value of the consideration received (i.e., the value of the goods or services) or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable.
Noncash Stock-based compensation expense for the periods presented was comprised of the following:
Noncash stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 included compensation expense resulting from the vesting of certain performance options and warrants previously granted to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer which vested upon completion of the IPO, pursuant to an October 2018 amended employee agreement and related vesting provisions of the underlying equity grant agreements. Upon closing of the IPO, 83,333 options and 125,000 warrants vested, with an average grant date fair value of $8.50, resulting in noncash stock compensation expense of $1,770,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2019. The fair value of these equity awards was estimated on October 31, 2018, their original grant date, using the Black Scholes-Merton option pricing model and the following weighted-average assumptions: (i) volatility of 93%, (ii) risk-free interest rate of 3.0%, and (iii) expected term of 6.5 years. |
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| Risks and Uncertainties |
Concentrations. The Company had certain customers whose revenue individually represented 10% or more of the Company’s total revenue, or whose accounts receivable balances individually represented 10% or more of the Company’s total accounts receivable, or whose accounts payable balances individually represented 10% or more of the Company’s total accounts payable, as follows:
For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, three customers accounted for 95% and one customer accounted for 70% of revenues, respectively. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, three customers accounted for 94% and 96% of accounts receivable. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, three vendors accounted for 40% and 43% of accounts payable, respectively. |
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| Segment Information |
The Company operates in one segment.
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| Earnings (Loss) Per Share |
Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing the income or loss by the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock for the applicable period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing the income or loss by the weighted-average number of outstanding shares of common stock for the applicable period, including the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents. Potentially dilutive common stock equivalents primarily consist of employee stock options, warrants issued to employees and non-employees in exchange for services and warrants issued in connection with financings. All outstanding stock options, and warrants for the periods presented have been excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share because the effect of inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. |
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| Income Taxes |
Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or income tax returns. A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets if all, or some portion, of such assets will more than likely not be realized, or if it is determined that there is uncertainty regarding future realization of such assets.
The provision for income taxes for interim periods is determined using an estimate of Super League’s annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, that are considered in the relevant period. Each quarter, the Company updates the estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if the estimated tax rate changes, a cumulative adjustment is recorded.
On December 22, 2017, new U.S. federal tax legislation was enacted that significantly changed the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. corporations, including by reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, revising the rules governing net operating losses and foreign tax credits, and introducing new anti-base erosion provisions. Many of the changes were effective immediately, without any transition periods or grandfathering for existing transactions. The legislation is unclear in many respects and could be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections, as well as interpretations and implementing regulations by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), any of which could decrease or increase certain adverse impacts of the legislation. In addition, it is unclear how these U.S. federal income tax changes will affect state and local taxation, which often uses federal taxable income as a starting point for computing state and local tax liabilities.
The new legislation reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. As a result, all deferred income tax assets and liabilities, including NOL’s, have been measured using the new rate under and are reflected in the valuation of these assets as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. As a result, as of December 31, 2017, the value of our deferred tax assets was reduced by $4,278,626 and the related valuation allowance was reduced by the same amount.Given the full valuation allowance provided for net deferred tax assets for the periods presented herein, the change in tax law did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements provided herein. There may be additional tax impacts identified in subsequent periods throughout the Company’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2019 in accordance with subsequent interpretive guidance issued by the SEC or the IRS. Further, there may be other material adverse effects resulting from the legislation that we have not yet identified. No estimated tax provision has been recorded for tax attributes that are incomplete or subject to change. |
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| Recent Accounting Guidance |
Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Recently Adopted.
In May 2014, the FASB issued a new accounting standards update (“ASU”) addressing revenue from contracts with customers, which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue. Under the standard, a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. In doing so, the Company is required to use more judgment and make more estimates in connection with the accounting for revenue contracts with customers than under previous guidance. Such areas may include (i) identifying performance obligations in the contract, (ii) estimating the timing of satisfaction of performance obligations, (iii) determining whether a promised good or service is distinct from other promised goods or services, including whether the customer can benefit from the good or service on its own and whether the promise to transfer a good or service is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract, (iv) evaluating whether performance obligations are satisfied at a point in time or over time, (v) allocating the transaction price to separate performance obligations, and (6) determining whether contracts contain a significant financing component.
The Company used the modified retrospective method of adoption, which would require the cumulative effect of initially applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings on January 1, 2019. Comparative prior year periods would not be adjusted. The new accounting standard was applied to all contracts at the date of initial application. There was no cumulative effect of applying the new revenue standard to contracts executed in prior periods. As such, the adoption of the new accounting standard had no impact of on the balance sheet and statement of operations in the current or prior periods.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements – Not Yet Adopted.
In February 2016, the FASB issued an ASU that requires lessees to present right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet. The new guidance is to be applied using a modified retrospective approach at the beginning of the earliest comparative periods in the financial statements and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its financial position, results of operations and financial statement disclosures.
In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance on the measurement and recognition of credit losses on most financial assets. For trade receivables, loans, and held-to-maturity debt securities, the current probable loss recognition methodology is being replaced by an expected credit loss model. For available-for-sale debt securities, the recognition model on credit losses is generally unchanged, except the losses will be presented as an adjustable allowance. The guidance will be applied retrospectively with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of adoption. The guidance will become effective at the beginning of the Company’s first quarter of fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 but can be adopted as early as the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal -year ending December 31, 2020. The Company is currently assessing the impact that adopting this new accounting guidance will have on its financial statements and footnote disclosures. |
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