0001584423-20-000006.txt : 20200309 0001584423-20-000006.hdr.sgml : 20200309 20200306180224 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001584423-20-000006 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 10-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 113 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20191231 FILED AS OF DATE: 20200309 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20200306 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: APX Group Holdings, Inc. CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001584423 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: SERVICES-MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS SERVICES [7380] IRS NUMBER: 461304852 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 10-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 333-191132-02 FILM NUMBER: 20696058 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 4931 NORTH 300 WEST CITY: PROVO STATE: UT ZIP: 84604 BUSINESS PHONE: (801) 377-9111 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 4931 NORTH 300 WEST CITY: PROVO STATE: UT ZIP: 84604 10-K 1 a10kdocument2019.htm 10-K Document

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
 
 
FORM 10-K
 
 
 
(Mark One)
ý
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2019
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                      to                     
Commission file number: 333-191132-02

APX Group Holdings, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
Delaware
 
46-1304852
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
 
 
4931 North 300 West
Provo, UT
 
84604
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (801) 377-9111
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Title of each class
 
Trading
Symbol(s)
 
Name of each exchange on which registered
 
 
 
 
 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
 
 
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes      No  ý
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 ý  No  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to
such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes      No  ý

(Note: Since January 1, 2018 the registrant has been a voluntary filer not subject to the filing requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; as a voluntary filer not subject to the filing requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the registrant filed all reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months as if it were subject to such filing requirements.)


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes ý   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.

Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer ý Smaller reporting company Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes      No  ý 

The aggregate market value of voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2019, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was zero.

As of March 6, 2020, there were 100 shares of the registrant’s common stock par value $0.01 per share, issued and outstanding.




TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
 
Page
Item 1
Item 1A
Item 1B
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 7A
Item 8
Item 9
Item 9A
Item 9B
Item 10
Item 11
Item 12
Item 13
Item 14
Item 15
Item 16
 
 




CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This annual report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, our plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning our possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates” or “intends” or similar expressions.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this annual report on Form 10-K are more fully described in the “Risk Factors” section of this annual report on Form 10-K. The risks described in the “Risk Factors” are not exhaustive. Other sections of this annual report on Form 10-K describe additional factors that could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

In addition, statements of belief and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Market, ranking and industry data used throughout this annual report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding subscriber acquisition costs, attrition and subscriber additions, is based on the good faith estimates of the Company’s management, which in turn are based upon the review of internal surveys, independent industry surveys and publications and other third party research and publicly available information. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. While the Company is not aware of any misstatements regarding the industry data presented herein, its estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this annual report on Form 10-K.


WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA DISCLOSURE
We use our website (www.vivint.com), our company blog (blog.vivint.com), corporate Twitter and Instagram accounts (@VivintHome), and our corporate Facebook account (VivintHome) as channels of distribution of company information. The information we post through these channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor these channels, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive e-mail alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your e-mail address by visiting the “Email Alerts” section of our website at www.investors.vivint.com. The contents of our website and social media channels are not, however, a part of this report.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION


As used in this annual report on Form 10-K, unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise requires:

references to “Vivint,” “we,” “us,” “our” and “the Company” are to APX Group Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries;
references to “Legacy Vivint Smart Home” are to Legacy Vivint Smart Home, Inc., our direct parent;

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references to “Vivint Smart Home” are to our indirect parent, Vivint Smart Home, Inc., which was formerly known as Mosaic Acquisition Corp.
references to “2GIG” are to 2GIG Technologies, Inc., our former affiliate;
references to “Acquisition LLC” are to 313 Acquisition LLC, the Company's indirect parent;
references to “AMRU” are to average monthly revenue per user, which consists of Total MR (as defined below) divided by average monthly Total Subscribers (as defined below) during a given period;
references to “APX” are to APX Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company;
references to the “Consumer Financing Program” or “CFP” are to the program, launched in the first quarter of 2017 under the Vivint Flex Pay plan, pursuant to which we offer to qualified customers in the United States an opportunity to finance the purchase of Products (as defined below) and installation fees in connection with the services through a third-party financing provider;
references to “Average Subscriber Lifetime” are to 100% divided by our expected long-term annualized attrition rate multiplied by 12 months;
references to “DTH” are to our direct to home sales channels;
references to “Notes” are to the 8.75% Senior Notes due 2020 (“2020 notes”), 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (“2022 private placement notes”), 7.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (“2022 notes”), 7.625% Senior Notes due 2023 (“2023 notes”), 8.500% Senior Notes due 2024 (“2024 notes”) and 6.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2027 (“2027 notes”). See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Liquidity and Capital Resources”;
references to “NIS” are to our national inside sales channels;
references to “Products” are to our offering of smart home equipment including a proprietary control panel, door and window sensors, door locks, security cameras and smoke alarms;
references to “Revolving Credit Facility” are to the senior secured revolving credit facility. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations- Liquidity and Capital Resources-Revolving Credit Facility”;
references to “RICs” are to retail installment contracts offered under the Vivint Flex Pay plan with respect to the purchase of Products and installation fees to certain of our customers who do not qualify for the CFP but qualify under our historical underwriting criteria;
references to “Services” are to our offering of smart home and security services;
references to “Smart Home as a Service,” or “SHaaS” are to our business model which generates subscription-based, high margin recurring revenue from customers who sign up for our Smart Home Services;
references to “Smart Home Operating System” are to the combination of the software inside our Products and our cloud-based software and mobile apps;
references to “Smart Home Pros” or “SHPs” are to our full-time smart home professionals who service our customers;
references to “Smart Home Services” are to our offering of smart home services combining Products and related installation, Services and our proprietary back-end cloud platform software;
references to “Solar” or “Vivint Solar” are to Vivint Solar, Inc., our affiliate;
references to “Sponsor” are to certain investment funds affiliated with The Blackstone Group Inc.;
references to “Net Subscriber Acquisition Costs per New Subscriber” are to the net cash cost to create new smart home and security subscribers during a given 12 month period divided by New Subscribers for that period. These costs include commissions, Products, installation, marketing, sales support and other allocations (general and administrative and overhead); less upfront payment received from the sale of Products associated with the initial installation, and installation fees. These costs exclude capitalized contract costs and upfront proceeds associated with contract modifications;
references to “Total Bookings” are to the total monthly Service revenue for New Subscribers multiplied by Average Subscriber Lifetime, plus total Product revenue to be recognized over the contract term from New Subscribers.
references to “Total MR” are to the average monthly total revenue recognized during the period;
references to “Total Subscribers” are to the aggregate number of active smart home and security subscribers at the end of a given period, excluding subscribers acquired under pilot programs;
references to “Total Backlog” are to total unrecognized Product revenue plus total Service revenue expected to be recognized over the remaining Subscriber Lifetime for Total Subscribers;
references to “Vivint Assist” are to our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software that uses the data from our devices and partner devices;
references to the “Vivint Flex Pay” or “Flex Pay” plan are to the plan, introduced in January 2017, under which we launched the Consumer Financing Program and began to offer RICs as well as the option to pay in full at the time of purchase; and
references to “Vivint Smart Home App” or “Smart Home App” are to our application available on both Android and iOS which allows users to automate, control and monitor their smart home experience.

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As of December 31, 2019, Acquisition LLC, an entity wholly owned by an investor group comprised of certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone Capital Partners VI L.P. (“Blackstone”), and certain co-investors and management investors (“Investor Group”), controlled Legacy Vivint Smart Home, Inc. As of December 31, 2019, Legacy Vivint Smart Home, Inc. owned 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. Legacy Vivint Smart Home, Inc. and Holdings have no independent operations.


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Unless specified otherwise, amounts in this annual report on Form 10-K are presented in United States (“U.S.”) dollars. Defined terms in the financial statements have the meanings ascribed to them in the financial statements.
PART I
 

ITEM 1.
BUSINESS
Company Overview
We are a smart home technology company. Our mission is to redefine the home experience through intelligently designed cloud-enabled solutions delivered to every home by people who care. Our brand name, Vivint, represents “to live intelligently”, and our solutions help our subscribers do just that.
Creating a true smart home experience requires an end-to-end platform designed to drive broad consumer adoption. Our smart home platform is comprised of the following five pillars: (1) our Smart Home Operating System, (2) our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, (3) our portfolio of proprietary, internally developed smart devices, (4) our curated yet extensible partner-neutral ecosystem, and (5) our people delivering tech-enabled premium services, including consultative selling, professional installation, and support.
Our leading smart home platform currently has over 1.5 million subscribers and manages over 20 million in-home devices, processing over 1.5 billion home activity events each day, as of December 31, 2019. Using our solution, subscribers are able to interact with all aspects of their home with their voice or any mobile device-anytime, anywhere. They can engage with people at their front door; view live and recorded video inside and outside their home; control thermostats, locks, lights, and garage doors; and proactively manage the comings and goings of family, friends, and strangers. Our subscribers engage with our smart home apps approximately seven times per day on average.
The smart home market is an expanding global opportunity and in the very early stages of broad consumer adoption. We believe the smart home market is experiencing rapid evolution, which can be divided into three phases.  The first phase is represented by the proliferation of stand-alone smart devices.  The second phase takes those devices and connects them to the home.  The third and final phase, which we believe is the most pivotal phase in the market's evolution, takes smart home technology and applies it to create a continually learning, automated, seamlessly integrated smart home experience.
The connected home, the second phase, has a multitude of devices and an operating system to coordinate them all within a single unified system. But integrating numerous different devices from different manufacturers that were not designed to work together is difficult, and often results in an experience that is complex, inconsistent, and unreliable. Moreover, DIY solutions put a large burden on homeowners to accurately and correctly install and support so many devices themselves. And while whole-home automation is possible, it requires users to write individual rules for each and every circumstance. Mass adoption of the connected home by those other than technology enthusiasts has been limited. Our software within the devices, in the cloud, and in our app all work together to help mainstream consumers simply and easily manage their homes.
We believe that we are in a critical transition period from the second phase to the third phase where the key challenges related to the connected home offerings are overcome by a smart home experience, which we enable through our end-to-end smart home platform.
In this third phase, a smart home continuously learns and adapts to user behavior and preferences and delivers a more automated, personalized experience, powered by artificial intelligence technology. To achieve broad consumer adoption, we believe that smart home solutions must deliver a truly intelligent experience, not just a remote control of the home. Our cloud-enabled software solution understands the state of the home and its occupants, interacts with users to enable awareness and control, and takes coordinated action with minimal user effort. We believe that Vivint is best positioned to capitalize on the mass market opportunity of the smart home.
Our technology and people are the foundation of our business model. Our trained professionals educate consumers on the value and affordability of a smart home, customize a solution for their homes and needs, teach them how to use our platform and enhance their experience, and provide ongoing tech-enabled services to manage, monitor, and support their smart home. We have developed proprietary technology that enables our people to provide these consultative sales, installation, and support services to our subscribers more effectively and efficiently, delivering a powerful end-to-end smart home experience.

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We have developed and launched over 10 proprietary devices since 2010, all designed to seamlessly integrate into a comprehensive smart home solution. These devices are the critical end points of the smart home experience, and our broad device portfolio enables our subscribers to achieve a comprehensive experience, across the entire home. The software inside these devices, in combination with our cloud-based software and mobile apps, comprises the Smart Home Operating System that knits these elements together to intuitively enable otherwise complex use cases that help address real-world problems. We also allow a select number of third-party stand-alone devices into our ecosystem if doing so enhances the smart home experience for our subscribers. These may be devices that have a large installed base or that have unique capabilities, such as voice assistants. In particular, we will often include competing stand-alone devices in our ecosystem to offer our subscribers with choices. Regardless, we ensure that all partner devices are seamlessly integrated into our Smart Home Operating System, and that we are able to manage and support them as well as our own proprietary devices. Our subscribers trust us to professionally install, monitor, and support our devices. As of December 31, 2019, on average each subscriber had over 14 devices strategically placed in their home. Because our Smart Home Pros install the right devices in the right places in the home, we are able to collect superior data and generate unique insights, to improve the smart home experience for our users. We believe we are able to provide a much more complete picture of home activity than any of our competitors.
Our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, uses the data from our devices and partner devices to enable our subscribers to have a true smart home experience. We believe that we have the broadest, deepest, and purest home activity dataset, which we use to understand the state of the home in real time. This enables us to intelligently manage the residence on the homeowners’ behalf, while still keeping them informed and in full control. Moreover, our software learns from every interaction, enriching our platform and making the smart home experience smarter. We believe that no other company is as well positioned to capitalize on the opportunity to make the true smart home a reality.
The smart home requires an operating system that is always-on, reliable, able to process large streams of incoming data, and protected by enterprise-trade security. Our Smart Home Operating System does all of this, while delivering a seamless and intuitive end-user experience. In addition to dedicated in-home touchscreens and our comprehensive integrations with voice-control devices, we provide apps for Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as a web-based application for access from desktop and laptop computers. Leveraging software running in the home, in the cloud, and on users’ mobile devices, our operating system manages real-time communications across the system, executes rule-based actions and notifications, and provides a means for users to interact with their homes anywhere, anytime, and on any device. We deliver new functionality continually, deploying weekly updates to our software. We also push firmware updates to smart home devices throughout the year to deliver new functionality and improve device performance. We believe that continuously improving the smart home experience both increases the lifetime value of our current subscribers and attracts new subscribers.
Our Smart Home as a Service (“SHaaS”) business model generates subscription-based, high-margin recurring revenue from subscribers who sign up for our smart home services. We continue to focus on technology, service, and business model innovation to provide superior customer experience, from the time of first contact to the day-to-day experience.
In 2017, we made a strategic decision to offer Vivint Flex Pay to consumers as a part of our business model innovation, providing benefits to both our subscribers and our company. Vivint Flex Pay provides greater subscriber accessibility by enabling qualified customers to purchase smart home devices with unsecured financing either through a third party financing partner or through us, in most cases at zero-percent annual percentage rate (“APR”) for qualified customers. The launch of Vivint Flex Pay has enabled us to expand our market opportunity by reducing upfront cash required to acquire new subscribers. Vivint Flex Pay has also improved our unit economics, reduced our balance sheet risk, and improved the capital efficiency of our business. Today, Vivint Flex Pay is an important driver of our subscriber retention strategy. Vivint Flex Pay has also improved our subscriber economics with an Average Subscriber Lifetime of 92 months (approximately 8 years), as of December 31, 2019, based on our expected long-term annualized attrition rate of 13%.
Our go-to-market strategy is based on directly educating consumers about the value and benefits of a smart home experience. We reach consumers through a variety of highly efficient customer acquisition channels, including our direct-to-home, inside sales, and retail partnerships programs. We continue to scale these efforts through our proprietary operations technology, by launching new and innovative products and services, and by building out our consultative sales channels. Our nationwide sales and service footprint covers 98% of U.S. zip codes. We continue to strengthen our relationships with existing subscribers by offering them the ability to use Vivint Flex Pay to finance upgrades of their existing system and to add new devices and features to their smart homes as our portfolio of offerings expands.
As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had over 1.5 million and 1.4 million subscribers, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 7%. In 2019 and 2018, we generated revenue of $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively along with a net loss of $395.8 million and $467.9 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had approximately $3.3 billion and $3.1 billion of total aggregate principal debt outstanding, respectively.

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Our Industry
The smart home market is large and growing rapidly. There were over 150 million households in the United States and Canada in 2019. With over 1.5 million subscribers as of December 31, 2019, our smart home penetration is only 1% of our current total estimated addressable market in the United States and Canada alone. Given the rapid pace of technological development in our industry, we believe it is likely that the total addressable market will continue to expand. The ability to address the cost issue, among other things, can potentially increase smart home penetration in the future.
To date the market has seen some early penetration from stand-alone devices with relatively narrow capabilities. These products have attracted early adopters and technology enthusiasts but have not adequately met the deeper need for a fully integrated smart home experience. These devices generally require do-it-yourself installation, do not integrate well with other devices, and have been designed with a single use case in mind. Generally, each device has its own mobile application, making installation and interoperability difficult for those consumers who do attempt to further their journey and install more devices in their home. As more and more devices have come to market, consumer demand for a central operating system that can better manage and integrate those devices has grown.
The connected home has a multitude of devices and requires an operating system to coordinate them all within a single unified system. But integrating many different devices from different manufacturers that were not designed to work together is difficult, and often results in an experience that is complex, inconsistent, and unreliable. Moreover, DIY solutions put a large burden on homeowners to install and support many devices themselves. And while whole-home automation is possible, it requires users to write individual rules for each and every circumstance. These DIY solutions also often require a high upfront cost, which can be prohibitively expensive for certain customers. For these reasons, mass adoption of the connected home by those other than technology enthusiasts has been limited.
As previously discussed, the next phase of the evolution of the connected home will be the smart home. Just as Apple and iOS enabled entirely new kinds of applications and use cases for the smart phone, we believe that our Smart Home Operating System will be the foundation for the full smart home experience and will enable many new business models that are based on streamlining various experiences in and around the home in innovative ways.
We believe there is a significant opportunity for companies to provide the end-to-end smart home experience. A successful smart home company must be able to provide the following:
An end-to-end solution with a comprehensive integration of technology and people;
A cloud-enabled operating system that provides a seamless and intuitive smart home experience;
A portfolio of compelling use cases orchestrated across multiple devices and leveraging artificial intelligence for adaptive and personalized automation;
A broad suite of smart devices designed to work as part of a comprehensive smart home;
An extensible platform complete with deep partner integrations of popular stand-alone devices;
Local professional services to educate consumers and to install and support devices in every home; and
A trusted relationship with consumers, who expect their sensitive home data to be kept private.
We believe that our fully integrated, end-to-end product, sales and service approach successfully addresses these key points of friction, and positions us to drive broad consumer market adoption.

Our Smart Home Platform
We believe that our integrated, end-to-end approach successfully addresses the above requirements.
End-to-End Platform Built to Drive Broad Market Adoption

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Our purpose-built platform has the components required to deliver on the promise of a true smart home experience. Our technology and people are the foundation of our solution.
Our technology seamlessly integrates in-home devices and cloud-enabled services to deliver an experience that addresses real-world problems. From answering the door remotely to automating the temperature settings in a home environment, our smart home technology meets customers’ needs for convenience and control.
We believe that our purpose-built end-to-end platform best positions Vivint to deliver on the promise of broad market smart home adoption.
Cloud-Enabled Smart Home Operating System
Our cloud-enabled Smart Home Operating System delivers a seamless, easy-to-use, and intuitive smart home experience. Leveraging software running in the home, in the cloud, and on customers’ mobile devices, our operating system securely manages real-time communications across the system, executes rules and notifications triggered by defined home-related events, and provides a means for users to interact with their homes from around the globe. In addition to dedicated in-home touchscreens and our comprehensive integrations with voice-control devices, we provide apps for Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as a web-based application for access from desktop and laptop computers.
Providing a seamless experience covering a multitude of separate devices is of critical importance in moving beyond individual devices to a more comprehensive solution that can help address real-world problems. For instance, when someone comes to the front door, the homeowner may want to let them into the house. This requires a doorbell camera, lighting, locks, the security system, and possibly a garage door controller and interior cameras to all work gracefully together. Our Smart Home Operating System does just this, enabling a multitude of use cases in a simple and intuitive fashion. Moreover, it helps ensure that all of the mundane tasks of device management - security, firmware upgrades, telemetry, diagnostics, and more - are taken care of, so that the system is as reliable as possible.
We began installing comprehensive connected home solutions in 2010, and these quickly became the choice of the majority of our new subscribers and the clear focus of our company. We believe that our experience in this space - understanding consumers and the challenges of making a connected home into something seamless and reliable - sets us apart from our competitors.
Software-Enabled Smart Home Devices
We have developed and launched over 10 proprietary smart home devices since 2010. These devices are the end points of the smart home experience we offer. The software inside these devices, combined with our cloud-based software and mobile apps, enables our Smart Home Operating System to collect and combine end-point data into complex use cases that help consumers to address real-world problems. In particular, our devices are designed to work as part of a comprehensive system, with features and capabilities that only make sense in that context, and which are often not present on devices designed primarily for individual purchase and use.
Using the Smart Hub or the Vivint Smart Home App, our subscribers can connect to and communicate with their in-home devices, either from within the home or on-the-go. The Vivint Element Thermostat makes sure that the home environment is both comfortable and energy efficient, while the Vivint Smart Drive provides users with 24/7 DVR and personalized, local cloud storage. Our range of other devices, including cameras, door and window sensors, motion sensors, tilt sensors, glass break detectors, key fobs, medical pendants, carbon monoxide detectors, flood sensors, and lamp modules extend the smart home experience to every part of the home, connecting users to their environments in new ways.
Our subscribers trust us to professionally install, monitor, and currently support an average of over 14 devices strategically placed in each home. Because our Smart Home Pros install the right devices in the right places, we are able to collect superior data and generate insights, enabling us to provide a much more complete picture of home activity than any of our competitors and to improve the smart home experience for our users.
Our Curated Partner Ecosystem
We allow a limited number of stand-alone devices into our ecosystem if doing so enhances the smart home experience for our subscribers. These may be devices that have a large installed base or that have unique capabilities, such as voice assistants. Using the Google Home and Amazon Alexa integrations for example, subscribers can talk to their Smart Home Operating System, asking the system to play their favorite songs, while making sure that their garage doors are closed, and their locks are

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secured, along with other system functionality. In particular, we will often include competing stand-alone devices in our ecosystem to offer our subscribers choice.
Every device we support in our ecosystem is seamlessly integrated with both our Smart Home Operating System and our tech-enabled services. This curated, partner-neutral ecosystem is designed to provide our subscribers with a worry-free end-to-end experience from sale to installation through a lifetime of use and support.
Because our platform is the hub for an easy-to-use, end-to-end smart home experience, partners have sought us out and have enjoyed continued success through joint selling efforts. Through our ongoing partnership program, both Amazon and Google have been able to sell a large amount of connected smart home devices. We have found that enabling users to add their preferred devices only enhances their connected home experience. Additionally, adding more devices in each home enables our system to gather and learn from even more data points, leading to a better overall experience for users. Our partnerships with Google and Amazon are examples of the neutral approach we take in building our ecosystem. As both companies create competing voice-control platforms for a variety of tasks, we enable our subscribers to use either, or both, as part of their smart home. As the smart home market develops further, we believe that our platform will form the core of the home ecosystem, whereby businesses get new ways to streamline connections with customers in their living environments. In this regard, we will not only own the system powering the smart home, but we will also form strategic partnerships that will deepen the overall smart home experience. We expect these partnerships will help us protect and gain more market share.
AI-Driven Smart Home Automation and Assistance Software
We believe that our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, is a key differentiator that improves the customer experience and engagement by predicting and reacting to users’ needs, we believe which ultimately accelerates consumer adoption.
Our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, uses the data from our devices and our partner devices to enable our subscribers to have a true smart home experience. We have a relatively consistent set of devices installed across our subscribers’ homes and are focused on building high-performing models for Vivint Assist to understand the state of the home and to take or suggest action on the customer’s behalf. This in turn provides us with the opportunity to use feedback from our customers’ response to this interaction to further refine our models.
We believe that we have the broadest, deepest, and purest home activity dataset, which we use to understand the state of the home in real time. That enables us to intelligently manage the residence on the homeowners’ behalf, while still keeping them informed and in full control. Vivint Assist processes home events such as interactions with lights, locks, thermostats, touchscreens, voice-control devices, and door and motion sensors; thermodynamic data such as interior and exterior temperature and heating/cooling duty cycles; location data from mobile devices; and users’ interactions with Vivint Assist itself.
Moreover, our software learns from every interaction, enriching our platform and making the smart home experience smarter. We believe that no other company is as well positioned as Vivint to capitalize on the opportunity to make the true smart home a reality.
Local Tech-Enabled Services to Educate, Manage and Support the Smart Home
Our trained professionals educate consumers on the value and affordability of a smart home, customize a solution for their homes and needs, teach them how to use our platform and enhance their experience, and provide ongoing tech-enabled services to manage, monitor, and support their smart home. We have developed proprietary technology that enables our people to provide these consultative sales, installation, and support services to our subscribers more effectively and efficiently, delivering a powerful end-to-end smart home experience. Our teams bring significant domain expertise when it comes to troubleshooting and fixing issues that may arise within a smart home across devices and platforms. Our direct relationship gives us a real-time view into their smart home needs, which provides us with a distinct competitive advantage that enhances our agility and responsiveness to consumer needs. Our end-to-end platform allows us to be our customers’ trusted support system.

Our People and Culture
We are the company that we are today because of the people that make up our team. We are proud of the culture we have built around innovation and subscriber centricity. Innovation also permeates our subscriber-centric approach.

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When it comes to creating a smart home experience, we believe many individuals want and need the help of professional installation teams to set up the technology and to ensure that it is fully functional, which is why our installation teams are a vital part of Vivint’s service. Whether our tech-enabled Smart Home Pros connect with our customers on the phone or in-person, these individuals do their best to inform consumers on how Vivint can help customize their living environments to meet their unique smart home needs. In contrast to DIY programs, we provide a premium experience complete with ongoing tech-enabled service and support.
Many companies can make a sale, but few are able to provide a continuous, end-to-end experience over time. Providing the best possible smart home experience is what drives us as a company, and that is why we are focused on continually educating and supporting our subscribers-for the long-run. Providing a truly comprehensive and customizable smart home experience requires ongoing tech-enabled support, which we provide through our consultative sales, professional installation and customer support teams. These teams exist because we want to ensure that our subscribers are cared for over the duration of their time with Vivint, which is currently approximately 8 years, on average, as of December 31, 2019.

High-Performing Scalable Economic Model
We believe our end-to-end solution, long-term customer relationships, and subscription-based, high-margin recurring revenues drive significant long-term value.
Our business is driven by the acquisition of new subscribers and by managing and retaining our existing subscriber base. The acquisition of new subscribers requires significant upfront investment, which in turn generates predictable, high-margin recurring revenue (with approximately 74% net service margins for the year ended December 31, 2019) from our cloud-enabled smart home solutions. This high-visibility, high-margin revenue comes from selling our solution and accompanying smart home devices to our subscribers. Therefore, we focus our investment decisions on acquiring new subscribers in the most cost-effective manner while striving to maximize existing subscriber retention and lifetime.
We drive long-term subscriber retention through our high-quality subscriber experience, from the time of first contact to day-to-day use. For example, our subscribers engage with our smart home apps on average seven times per day. To provide even greater subscriber accessibility and affordability to the platform and improve our cash flow economics, we launched Vivint Flex Pay in 2017. Vivint Flex Pay enables qualified subscribers to purchase smart home devices with unsecured financing either through a third-party financing partner or through us, in most cases at zero percent APR.
We have made it a primary focus to retain our existing subscribers. Our retention improves as our subscribers enter into longer term contracts. Although there are costs to acquiring new subscribers, because we operate on a recurring revenue-based model, acquiring subscribers results in cumulative value generation that compounds and accrues over time.
We will continue investing in innovative technologies that we believe will make our platform more valuable and engaging for subscribers, and we intend to continue investing in new subscriber acquisition channels to further improve the economics of our business model. We will also continue working to improve the lifetime value of our customers and the unit economics of our business by continually enhancing the smart home experience.

Our Customers
We had over 1.5 million subscribers in North America as of December 31, 2019. Our business is not dependent on any single subscriber or a few subscribers, the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on the respective market or on us as a whole. No individual subscriber accounted for more than 1% of our consolidated 2019 revenue.
Privacy and Security
Our subscribers use our products and services to provide them with peace of mind for the things that matter most to them-their families and homes. This requires our devices to be professionally installed and deployed throughout their homes, and requires our solutions to collect and manage information about our subscribers’ home activity. Much of the information that our technology manages on our subscribers’ behalf, including sensor data, video, and the insights gleaned by our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, is sensitive and private, and we take our responsibility to protect this information seriously. Most importantly, we use this data and the insights we generate from it to improve the smart home experience. Our subscribers trust us to help them manage their homes, which we consider a unique relationship that we strive to strengthen.

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Subscriber Contracts
We seek to ensure that our subscribers understand our smart home experience, along with the key terms of their contracts by conducting two surveys with every subscriber. The first survey is conducted live via a digital interface prior to the execution of the contract and professional installation, and the second survey is conducted after the installation is completed. Each survey is recorded and stored in our subscriber relationship management and billing system software, or CRM software, enabling easy access and review.
Types of Contracts
When signing up for our services, subscribers currently have three options to pay for their products and associated installation: payment-in-full, or consumer financing either through our CFP provided to qualified U.S. subscribers in partnership with our third-party financing providers, or under RICs. For those who choose to pay in full at the time of signing, we receive cash (paid by the customer through various means, including check, automated clearing house debit, or credit or debit card) for the full amount of the purchase of products and related installation. We also receive recurring revenue for Services on a month-to-month basis from these subscribers. In 2019, 69% of new subscribers opted to sign up under the CFP. When a subscriber signs up under this program, we receive cash from the third-party financing provider for the subscriber’s purchase of products and the related installation costs. For certain third-party provider loans, we pay a monthly fee based on either the average daily outstanding balance of the loans or the number of outstanding loans, depending on the third-party financing provider. Additionally, we share in liabilities for credit losses depending on the credit quality of the customer. For other third-party loans, we receive net proceeds (net of fees and expected losses) for which we have no further obligation to the third-party. We believe that the CFP helps to make the smart home experience more affordable and approachable for qualified customers, and it also helps to preserve the health of our balance sheet. Our last financing option is a RIC, which is available to U.S. subscribers who do not qualify for the CFP based on their credit profile, and all Canadian subscribers. When a customer signs up for a RIC, we record a note receivable from the customer for the purchase of products and related installation, minus risk-adjusted imputed interest, and this revenue is deferred and recognized over the life of the contract. We are planning to add additional financing partners in order to maximize the number of subscribers who are able to obtain financing through third-party partners and to move this risk off our balance sheet.
Term and Termination
Historically, we have generally offered contracts to subscribers that range in length from 36 to 60 months, subject to automatic monthly renewal after the expiration of the initial term. Since the beginning of 2013, a majority of new subscribers have entered into 60-month contracts. As a result, the average initial contract length has increased over time, reaching an average of 51 months as of December 31, 2019. Subscribers have a right of rescission period prescribed by applicable law during which such subscriber may cancel the contract without penalty or obligation. Generally, these rescission periods range from 3 to 15 days, depending on the jurisdiction in which a subscriber resides. As a company policy we provide new subscribers 70 years of age and older a 30-day right of rescission. If the subscriber rescinds during the applicable rescission period under the terms of the contract, the subscriber is required to return the applicable equipment. Once the applicable rescission period expires, the subscriber is responsible for the monthly services fees under the contract.
Other Terms
We provide our subscribers with maintenance free of charge for the first 120 days. After 120 days, we will repair or replace defective smart home devices without charge, but we typically bill the subscriber a charge for each service visit. If a utility or governmental agency requires a change to our platform or tech-enabled service after installation of the system, the subscriber may be charged for the equipment and labor associated with the required change. We also charge certain subscribers a monthly fee related to the cost of maintaining our cellular communication network.
We do not provide insurance or warrant that the system will prevent a burglary, fire, hold-up or any such other event. Our contracts limit our liability to a maximum of $2,000 per event and, where permissible, provide a one-year statute of limitations to file an action against us. We may cease or suspend tech-enabled monitoring and repair service due to, among other things, work stoppages, weather, phone service interruption, government requirements, subscriber bankruptcy or non-payment by subscribers after we have given notice that their service is being canceled due to such non-payment.
Sales and Marketing
We acquire subscribers primarily through our DTH and NIS channels. We are currently testing out multiple retail partnerships to determine the optimal format for this channel. Regardless of channel, our tech-enabled sales professionals

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always take a consultative approach to the sales process, educate potential subscribers on the benefits of smart home technology, and tailor a solution that serves each subscriber’s needs. This consultative sales process has enabled us to achieve a high adoption rate of our smart home solutions. We are continually evaluating ways to improve subscriber acquisition efficiency across all of our sales channels. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we acquired over 300,000 new subscribers. Of these new subscribers, 57% joined through our DTH, and 43% were brought on through NIS.
Marketing Strategy
We leverage the Vivint brand across all our channels. We invest in certain marketing strategies which amplify the brand and awareness of our solutions, including through general paid media outlets. Vivint also has exclusive brand naming rights for the Vivint Smart Home Arena, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
Direct to Home Sales
Our direct to home tech-enabled sales team is comprised of up to 4,500 representatives at our peak selling season working across select markets throughout North America. DTH representatives visit consumers in their homes, providing interested individuals with an in-depth description of our offerings. They benefit from our recruiting and training programs designed to promote sales productivity. Markets are selected each year based on a number of factors, including demographics, population density and our past experience selling in these markets. Because expenses associated with our direct to home sales channels are directly correlated with new subscriber acquisition, the majority of the costs associated with this channel are variable and can scale with customer acquisition. We also have a program whereby a number of direct-to-home sales representatives reside in certain select markets and sell in those markets on a year round basis. We expect the number of new subscriber contracts generated through this program to continue to increase over time.
National Inside Sales
Our NIS channel provides a consultative experience for consumers who contact us. Driven by increasing brand awareness and marketing effectiveness, the number of new subscribers acquired through this channel in 2019 increased 3% compared to 2018.
The NIS team utilizes leads generated through multiple sources, both digital and traditional, including paid, organic and local search and display advertising. We believe that we will continue to experience growth in this channel as Vivint’s brand awareness improves and customers’ understanding of the smart home increases. Customers originated through our NIS channel has grown as a percentage of our total originations from approximately 10% in 2009 to approximately 43% for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Retail
We are currently running multiple retail partnerships pilot programs, with the goal of adding an additional subscriber acquisition channel that will allow us to offer a consultative sales experience while preserving our unit economics. Our retail partnership pilots are built primarily on a variable-cost model. Through these pilots, we hope to reach additional consumers that have not yet considered purchasing Products and Services, those that have already purchased other smart home products that have not met their expectations, and those that want to experience and buy smart home solutions in a traditional retail setting. Given the success of our existing DTH and NIS efforts, our retail pilots are built to provide interested subscribers with a strong understanding of the technology and service components of our smart home experience, in a retail setting, on a scalable, variable-cost basis.

Operations
Our end-to-end solution includes a dedication to providing a smart home experience, complete with tech-enabled service and support. We have structured our organization and our operations in a way that allows us to maximize efficiency and prioritize the subscriber experience, which is why we have built a successful brand and generated high subscriber satisfaction ratings over time.
In-Home Service
We deploy full-time in-home tech-enabled service professionals (“Smart Home Pros”) throughout North America to provide prompt tech-enabled service to our subscribers, on an as-needed basis. Our in-home service professionals are highly

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trained to address maintenance and service issues. Using our proprietary, in-house sales and service technologies - TechGenie - they are able to schedule service and installation appointments in real-time, thus maximizing subscriber satisfaction and minimizing friction in the subscriber relationship. This dimension of our offering personalized in-home support is key to our end-to-end solution, and we believe that providing personalized smart home service will be an integral part of meeting the needs of the broader consumer market.
Customer Service and Monitoring
Our tech-enabled customer service centers operate around the clock, year-round, without exception. All employees who work in customer service undergo training on billing and service-related questions. Customer service representatives are required to pass background checks and, depending upon their job function, may require licensing.
Our two central monitoring facilities are located in Utah and Minnesota and are fully able to be primary backups for each other and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round-including on holidays. All professionals who work in our monitoring facilities undergo comprehensive training and are required to pass background checks and, in certain cases, licensing tests or other checks to obtain the required licensing.
Billing and Collections
Our billing and collections representatives are located in our Utah offices. We cross-train these representatives to also handle general customer service inquiries with the goal of improving the customer experience and to increase personnel flexibility. Billing and collections representatives are also required to pass background checks and, depending upon their job function, may also require licensing by the state of Utah. A majority of our subscribers pay electronically either via ACH, credit or debit card. A subscriber who pays electronically is generally placed on a billing cycle based on their contract origination date and, in certain instances, the subscriber may choose their billing date. Our subscribers billed via direct invoice can be billed on any day of the month, with payment due 15 days subsequent to the invoice date. Subscribers are billed in advance for their monthly services based on their billing cycle and not calendar month. In those jurisdictions where we are entitled to do so by law, we charge late fees to subscribers whose accounts are more than 10 days past due.
Key Systems
We utilize an integrated subscriber relationship management and billing system software, based on a well-established enterprise-scale cloud solution (“CRM software”). This CRM software allows us to scale our business, providing the flexibility to accommodate the multiple customer support and billing models resulting from the continued expansion in our product and service offerings over time. The CRM software enables one-call resolution and allows for operational efficiency by not requiring the entry of data multiple times, thus improving data accuracy. Additionally, the data is replicated to both a reporting and a business intelligence server to reduce processing time, as well as to an offsite server used for disaster recovery purposes.
We also utilize an enterprise resource planning software (“ERP”), primarily to manage financial accounting, inventory and supply chain functions of our business. Similar to the CRM software, the ERP allows us to scale our operations to accommodate the continued expansion of our business models and product and service offerings. The ERP also provides improved security and automated system controls.
Suppliers
We provide our services through a panel installed in our subscribers’ homes. Since early 2014, nearly all new subscribers are using the Vivint SkyControl panel. From 2010 through 2014, 2GIG Go!Control was our primary panel. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 88% of our subscriber base use SkyControl panels and 12% use 2GIG Go!Control panels.
In 2013, we completed the sale of 2GIG Technologies, Inc., or 2GIG. In connection with the 2GIG sale, 2GIG assigned to us their intellectual property rights in the SkyControl Panel and certain peripheral equipment. This proprietary equipment is a critical component of our current smart home and security offerings, and we expect it to remain a critical component of our future offerings as well. In addition, at the time of the 2GIG sale we entered into a five-year supply agreement with 2GIG, pursuant to which they would be the exclusive provider of our control panel requirements and certain peripheral equipment, subject to certain exceptions, during the term. This agreement was completed in April 2018.
We license certain communications infrastructure, software and services from Alarm.com to support subscribers with the Go!Control panel. These Go!Control panels are connected to Alarm.com’s hosted platform. Alarm.com also provides an

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interface to enable these subscribers to access their systems remotely. We also license certain intellectual property from Alarm.com for our subscribers using the SkyControl panel.
Generally, our hardware device suppliers maintain a stock of devices and key components to cover any minor supply chain disruptions. Where possible we also utilize dual sourcing methods to minimize the risk of a disruption from a single supplier. However, we also rely on a number of sole source and limited source suppliers for critical components of our solution. Replacing any sole source or limited source suppliers could require the expenditure of significant resources and time to redesign and resource these products.
Research and Development
Our innovation center headquartered in Lehi, Utah and our research and development office in Boston, Massachusetts, focus on the research and development of new Products and Services, both within and beyond our existing offerings. Our professionals are trained in our proprietary innovation management process, from subscriber needs assessment to Product and Service launch. Our innovation center includes people with expertise in all aspects of the development process, including hardware development, software development, design, and quality assurance.
By focusing on innovation, and continually enhancing our Product and Service offerings, we believe we can increase new subscriber originations, subscriber usage and subscriber satisfaction, thereby potentially increasing revenue per subscriber and lowering subscriber attrition.
We expect to continue introducing new, innovative devices and software features. We design these new Products and, where appropriate, leverage partnerships for their manufacture.
By vertically integrating the development and design of our Products and Services with our existing sales and customer service activities, we believe we are able to more quickly respond to market needs, and better understand our subscribers’ interactions and engagement with our Products and Services. This provides critical data enabling us to improve the power, usability and intelligence of these Products and Services.
Intellectual Property
Patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other proprietary rights are important to our business and we continuously refine our intellectual property strategy to maintain and improve our competitive position. We seek to protect new intellectual property to safeguard our ongoing technological innovations and strengthen our brand, and we believe we take appropriate action against infringements or misappropriations of our intellectual property rights by others. We review third-party intellectual property rights to help avoid infringement, and to identify strategic opportunities. We typically enter into confidentiality agreements to further protect our intellectual property.
Our portfolio of U.S. and foreign patents consist of over 150 issued patents and over 400 pending patent applications that relate to a variety of smart home, security and other technologies utilized in our business. We also own a portfolio of trademarks, including domestic and foreign registrations for Vivint, and are a licensee of various patents, from our third-party suppliers and technology partners.
Because of the importance that subscribers place on reputation and trust when making a decision on a smart home provider, our brand is critical to our business. Patents related to individual products or technologies extend for varying periods dependent on the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term for patents in the various countries where we have sought patent protection. Trademark rights may potentially extend for longer periods of time and are dependent upon national laws and use of the marks.

Competition
The smart home industry is highly competitive and fragmented. Our major competitors range from large-cap technology companies, which predominantly offer DIY devices to expand their core market opportunity, to companies that are focused on singular smart home experiences (e.g., security focused), to industrial and telecommunications companies that are offering connected home experiences. Historically, the vast majority of companies have not offered comprehensive smart home solutions that meet the growing requirements of households. In many cases, companies have launched DIY or standalone devices to enhance their existing offerings, leading to partial or incomplete smart home experiences. Certain features of our platform compete with companies that fall into the following categories:

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Large technology companies: Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft
Security-based offerings: ADT, Alarm.com, Brinks Home Security, FrontPoint, Johnson Controls International plc., SimpliSafe, and STANLEY Convergent Security Solutions
Industrial and smart hardware companies: Arlo, Control4, Honeywell, Resideo and Samsung
Telecommunications Companies: Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications, Rogers Communications, and Time Warner Cable
We believe we compete effectively with each of our competitors listed above. However, we expect competition to intensify in the future. We face increasing competition from competitors that are building their own smart home platforms, such as Amazon, Apple and Google, as well as from companies that offer single-point connected devices. Having installed more than 2.5 million smart home and security systems, we believe we are well positioned to compete with them because we benefit from more than 20 years of experience; our efficient direct-to-home and inside sales channels; integrated smart home platform; innovative products; and our award-winning customer service.
In addition, several of our competitors have greater name recognition, much longer operating histories, more and better-established subscriber relationships, larger sales forces, larger marketing and software development budgets, and significantly greater resources than we do. Therefore, it is possible that we may not compete favorably with respect to certain of the foregoing factors.
We also compete with numerous smaller regional and local providers. We also face, or may in the future face, competition from other providers of information and communication products and services, a number of which have significantly greater capital and other resources than we do.
Companies in our industry compete primarily on the basis of price in relation to the quality of the devices and tech-enabled services they provide. The company’s brand and reputation, market visibility, service and product capabilities, quality, price, efficient direct-to-home sales channel, and the ability to identify and sell to prospective subscribers, are all factors that contribute to competitive success in the smart home industry. We emphasize the quality of the service we provide, rather than focusing primarily on price competition. We believe we compete effectively against other national, regional and local companies offering smart home and security alarm monitoring services by offering our subscribers an integrated smart home, along with an attractive value proposition, and our proven, award-winning customer service.
Government Regulations
United States
We are subject to a variety of laws, regulations and licensing requirements of federal, state and local authorities.
We are also required to obtain various licenses and permits from state and local authorities in connection with the operation of our businesses. The majority of states regulate in some manner the sale, installation, servicing, monitoring or maintenance of smart home and electronic security systems. In the states that do regulate such activity, our company and our employees are typically required to obtain and maintain licenses, certifications or similar permits from the state as a condition to engaging in the smart home and security services business.
In addition, a number of local governmental authorities have adopted ordinances regulating the activities of security service companies, typically in an effort to reduce the number of false alarms in their jurisdictions. These ordinances attempt to reduce false alarms by, among other things, requiring permits for individual electronic security systems, imposing fines (on either the subscriber or the company) for false alarms, discontinuing police response to notification of an alarm activation after a subscriber has had a certain number of false alarms, and requiring various types of verification prior to dispatching authorities.
Our sales and marketing practices are regulated by the federal, state and local agencies. These laws and regulations typically place restrictions on the manner in which products and services can be advertised and sold, and to provide residential purchasers with certain rescission rights. In certain circumstances, consumer protection laws also require the disclosure of certain information in the contract with our subscriber and, in addition, may prohibit the inclusion of certain terms or conditions of sale in such contracts. Many local governments regulate direct-to-home sales activities and contract terms and require that salespeople and the company on whose behalf the salesperson is selling obtain licenses to carry on business in that

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municipality.
In addition, the CFP and RICs are subject to federal and state laws. These laws primarily require that consumer financing contracts include or be accompanied by certain prescribed disclosures, but these laws also may place limitations on particular fees and charges, and require licensing or registration of the party extending consumer credit. Citizens and any other financing partners providing third-party consumer financing under Vivint Flex Pay are responsible for compliance with such laws applicable to Vivint Flex Pay, and we are responsible for compliance with such federal and state laws regulating RICs.
Canada
Companies operating in the smart home and electronic security service industry in Canada are subject to provincial regulation of their business activities, including the regulation of direct-to-home sales activities and contract terms and the sale, installation and maintenance of smart home and electronic security systems. Most provinces in Canada regulate direct-to-home sales activities and contract terms and require that salespeople and the company on whose behalf the salesperson is selling obtain licenses to carry on business in that province. Consumer protection laws in Canada also require that certain terms and conditions be included in the contract between the service provider and the subscriber.
A number of Canadian municipalities require subscribers to obtain licenses to use electronic security alarms within their jurisdiction. Municipalities also commonly require entities engaged in direct-to-home sales within their municipality to obtain business licenses.

Seasonality
Our DTH sales are seasonal in nature with a substantial majority of our new customer originations occurring during a sales season from April through August. We make investments in the recruitment of our DTH sales force and the inventory prior to each sales season. We experience increases in net subscriber acquisition costs during these time periods.
The management of our sales channels has historically resulted in a consistent sales pattern that enables us to more accurately forecast customer originations.

Employees
As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately 5,750 full-time employees, excluding our seasonal direct to home installation technicians, sales representatives and certain other support professionals. As of December 31, 2019, a very small minority of our employees were represented by a labor union. We believe that we generally have good relationships with our employees. The majority of our full-time employees are located in cities within Utah, with additional locations in Boston, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; Tampa, Florida; and South Eagan, Minnesota. Employees located outside of these areas are comprised primarily of our full-time Smart Home Pros, who service our customers and are located in all states in the United States (except New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont), as well as the majority of Canadian provinces.
Where You Can Find More Information
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our SEC filings are available to the public over the internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, we maintain a website at http://www.vivint.com. We are providing the address to our website solely for the information of investors. The information on our website is not a part of, nor is it incorporated by reference into this report.

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ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all other information contained in this annual report on Form 10-K. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or those we currently deem immaterial, also may become important factors that affect us. The following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Risks Relating To Our Business and Industry
Our industry is highly competitive.
We operate in a highly competitive industry. We face, and may in the future face, competition from other providers of information and communication products and services, including cable and telecommunications companies, Internet service providers, large technology companies singular experience companies, industrial and smart hardware companies, and others that may have greater capital and resources than we do. We also face competition from large residential security companies that have or may have greater capital and other resources than us. Competitors that are larger in scale and have greater resources may benefit from greater economies of scale and other lower costs that permit them to offer more favorable terms to consumers (including lower service costs) than we offer, causing such consumers to choose to enter into contracts with such competitors. For instance, cable and telecommunications companies are expanding into the smart home and security industries and are bundling their existing offerings with automation and monitored security services. In some instances, it appears that certain components of such bundled offerings are significantly underpriced and, in effect, subsidized by the rates charged for the other product or services offered by these companies. These bundled pricing alternatives may influence subscribers’ desire to subscribe to our services at rates and fees we consider appropriate. These competitors may also benefit from greater name recognition and superior advertising, marketing, promotional and other resources. To the extent that such competitors utilize any competitive advantages in markets where our business is more highly concentrated, the negative impact on our business may increase over time. In addition to potentially reducing the number of new subscribers we are able to originate, increased competition could also result in increased subscriber acquisition costs and higher attrition rates that would negatively impact us over time. The benefit offered to larger competitors from economies of scale and other lower costs may be magnified by an economic downturn in which subscribers put a greater emphasis on lower cost products or services. In addition, we face competition from regional competitors that concentrate their capital and other resources in targeting local markets.
We also face potential competition from do-it-yourself, or DIY, systems, which enable consumers to install their own systems and monitor and control their home over the Internet without the need for a subscription agreement with a service provider. Improvements in these systems may result in more subscribers choosing to take on the responsibility for installation, maintenance, and management of connected home systems themselves. In addition, consumers may prefer individual device solutions that provide more narrowly targeted functionality instead of a more comprehensive integrated smart home solution. Pricing pressure or improvements in technology and shifts in consumer preferences towards DIY and/or individual solutions could adversely impact our subscriber base or pricing structure and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Cable and telecommunications companies actively targeting the smart home market and expanding into the monitored security space, and large technology companies expanding into the smart home market could result in pricing pressure, a shift in subscriber preferences towards the services of these companies and a reduction in our market share. Continued pricing pressure from these competitors or failure to achieve pricing based on the competitive advantages previously identified above could prevent us from maintaining competitive price points for our products and services resulting in lost subscribers or in our inability to attract new subscribers and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We rely on long-term retention of subscribers and subscriber attrition can have a material adverse effect on our results.
We incur significant upfront costs to originate new subscribers. Accordingly, our long-term performance is dependent on our subscribers remaining with us for several years after the initial term of their contracts. One reason for attrition occurs when subscribers move and do not reconnect. Subscriber moves are impacted by changes in the housing market. See “-Our business is subject to macroeconomic, microeconomic and demographic factors that may negatively impact our results of operations.” Some other factors that can increase subscriber attrition include problems experienced with the quality of our Products or Services, unfavorable general economic conditions, adverse publicity and the preference for lower pricing of competitors’ products and services. In addition, we generally experience an increased level of subscriber cancellations in the months

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surrounding the expiration of such subscribers’ initial contract term. If we fail to retain our subscribers for a sufficient period of time, our profitability, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Our inability to retain subscribers for a long term could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

Litigation, complaints or adverse publicity or unauthorized use of our brand name could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we engage in the defense of, and may in the future be subject to, certain investigations, claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of our business. For example, we have been named as defendants in putative class actions alleging violations of wage and hour laws, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, common law privacy and consumer protection laws. From time to time our subscribers have communicated and may in the future communicate complaints to organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, regulators, law enforcement or the media. Any resulting actions or negative subscriber sentiment or publicity could reduce the volume of our new subscriber originations or increase attrition of existing subscribers. Any of the foregoing may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Given our relationship with Vivint Solar and the fact that Vivint Solar uses our registered trademark, “Vivint”, in its name pursuant to a licensing agreement, our subscribers and potential subscribers may associate us with any problems experienced with Vivint Solar or adverse publicity related to Vivint Solar’s business. We may not be able to take remedial action to cure any issues Vivint Solar has with its subscribers, and our trademark, brand and reputation may be adversely affected.
Unauthorized use of our brand name by third parties may also adversely affect our business and reputation, including the perceived quality and reliability of our Products and Services. We rely on trademark law, internal policies and agreements with our employees, subscribers, business partners and others to protect the value of our brand name. Despite our precautions, we cannot provide assurance that those procedures are sufficiently effective to protect against unauthorized third-party use of our brand name. We may not be successful in investigating, preventing or prosecuting all unauthorized third-party use of our brand name. Future litigation with respect to such unauthorized use could also result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. These factors could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are highly dependent on our ability to attract, train and retain an effective sales force and other key personnel.
Our business is highly dependent on our ability to attract, train and retain an effective sales force, especially for our peak April through August sales season. In addition, because sales representatives become more productive as they gain experience, retaining those individuals is very important for our success. If we are unable to attract, train and retain an effective sales force, our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, our business is dependent on our ability to attract and retain other key personnel in other critical areas of our business. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel in our business, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.
Our operations depend upon third-party providers of telecommunication technologies and services.
Our operations depend upon third-party cellular and other telecommunications providers to communicate signals to and from our subscribers in a timely, cost-efficient and consistent manner. The failure of one or more of these providers to transmit and communicate signals in a timely manner could affect our ability to provide services to our subscribers. There can be no assurance that third-party telecommunications providers and signal-processing centers will continue to transmit and communicate signals to or from our third-party providers and the monitoring stations without disruption. Any such disruption, particularly one of a prolonged duration, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, failure to renew contracts with existing providers or to contract with other providers on commercially acceptable terms or at all may adversely impact our business.
Certain elements of our operating model have historically relied on our subscribers’ continued selection and use of traditional landline telecommunications to transmit signals to and from our subscribers. There is a growing trend for consumers to switch to the exclusive use of cellular, satellite or internet communication technology in their homes, and telecommunication providers may discontinue their landline services in the future. In addition, many of our subscribers who use cellular communication technology for their systems use products that rely on older 2G and 3G technologies, and certain

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telecommunication providers have discontinued 2G services in certain markets, and these and other telecommunication providers are expected to discontinue 2G and 3G services in other markets in the future. The discontinuation of landline, 2G, 3G and any other services by telecommunications providers in the future would require our subscriber’s system to be upgraded to alternative, and potentially more expensive, technologies. This could increase our subscriber attrition rates and slow our new subscriber originations. To maintain our subscriber base that uses components that are or could become obsolete, we may be required to upgrade or implement new technologies, including by offering to subsidize the replacement of subscribers’ outdated systems at our expense. Any such upgrades or implementations could require significant capital expenditures and also divert management’s attention and other important resources away from our customer service and new subscriber origination efforts.
We depend on third-party providers of internet access services that may impair, degrade or otherwise block our services that could lead to additional expenses or loss of users.
Our interactive services are accessed through the internet and our security monitoring services are increasingly delivered using internet-based technologies. In addition, our distributed cloud storage solution, including the Vivint Smart Drive, is dependent upon internet services for shared storage. Some providers of broadband access may take measures that affect their subscribers’ ability to use these products and services, such as degrading the quality of the data packets we transmit over their lines, giving those packets low priority, giving other packets higher priority than ours, blocking our packets entirely or attempting to charge their subscribers more for using our services or terminating the subscriber’s contract.
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released an order that became effective on June 11, 2018, that repeals most of the rules that the agency previously had in place that prevented providers of broadband internet access services from impairing, degrading or blocking services provided by third parties to us. The prior rules prohibiting impairment, degradation and blocking, are commonly referred to as “network neutrality” rules. Numerous parties have appealed the FCC order which is before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. We cannot predict whether the FCC order will be upheld, reversed or remanded, nor the timing of the appellate court’s resolution of the appeal.
Following the adoption of the FCC’s order reversing the network neutrality rules, a number of states have passed network neutrality laws. The laws vary by state both in substance and in scope. There is legal uncertainty as to whether states have authority to pass laws that would conflict with the recent FCC order due to the interstate nature of internet communications and for other reasons. We cannot predict whether state laws that are interpreted to conflict with the FCC’s order will survive judicial scrutiny if challenged.
The largest providers of broadband internet access services have publicly stated that network neutrality rules are not required as they would not engage in some of the practices that the rules prohibit. While it is difficult to predict what would occur in the absence of such rules, it is possible that as a result of the lack of network neutrality rules, we could incur greater operating expenses which could harm our results of operations. While we think it is unlikely and that other laws may be implicated should broadband internet access providers affirmatively interfere with the delivery of our services that rely on broadband internet connections, interference with our services by broadband internet access service providers for using our products and services could cause us to lose existing subscribers, impair our ability to attract new subscribers and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Changes in laws or regulations that impact our underlying providers of telecommunications services could adversely impact our business
Telecommunications service providers are subject to extensive regulation in the markets where we operate or may expand in the future. Changes in the applicable laws or regulations affecting telecommunication services could require us to change the way we operate, which could increase costs or otherwise disrupt our operations, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We must successfully upgrade and maintain our information technology systems.
We rely on various information technology systems to manage our operations. As necessary, we implement modifications and upgrades to these systems, and replace certain of our legacy systems with successor systems with new functionality.
There are inherent costs and risks associated with modifying or changing these systems and implementing new systems, including potential disruption of our internal control structure, substantial capital expenditures, additional administration and operating expenses, retention of sufficiently skilled personnel to implement and operate the new systems, demands on management time and other risks and costs of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems or of integrating new systems into our current systems. For example, we encountered issues associated with the implementation of our integrated

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customer resource management, or CRM, system in 2014, which resulted in an immaterial error in our financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. This error was corrected during the quarter ended September 30, 2014. As a result of the issues encountered associated with the CRM implementation, we also issued a significant number of billing-related subscriber credits during the year ended December 31, 2014, which reduced our revenue. While management seeks to identify and remediate issues, we can provide no assurance that our identification and remediation efforts will be successful or that we will not encounter additional issues as we complete the implementation of these and other systems. In addition, our information technology system implementations may not result in productivity improvements at a level that outweighs the costs of implementation, or at all. The implementation of new information technology systems may also cause disruptions in our business operations and have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows and operations.
Privacy and data protection concerns, laws, and regulations relating to privacy, and data protection and information security could have a material adverse effect on our business.
In the course of our operations, we gather, process, transmit and store subscriber information, including personal, payment, credit and other confidential and private information. We may use this information for operational and marketing purposes in the course of operating our business.
Our collection, retention, transfer and use of this information are governed by U.S. and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and information security, industry standards and protocols, or it may be asserted that such industry standards or protocols apply to us. The regulatory framework for privacy and information security issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. In North America, federal and various state and provincial governmental bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations limiting, or laws and regulations regarding the collection, distribution, use, disclosure, storage, and security of certain categories of information. Some of these requirements include obligations of companies to notify individuals of security breaches involving particular personal information, which could result from exploitation of a vulnerability in our systems or services or breaches experienced by our service providers and/or partners. For example, the State of California recently enacted the California Consumer Privacy ACT (“CCPA”), became effective on January 1, 2020. The CCPA expands the scope of what is considered “personal information” and creates new data access and opt-out rights for consumers, which creates new requirements for us and other companies that operate in California. We are also subject to state and federal laws and regulations regarding telemarketing and other telephonic communications and state and federal laws regarding unsolicited commercial emails, as well as regulations relating to automated telemarketing calls, texts or SMS messages.
Many jurisdictions have established their own data security and privacy legal and regulatory frameworks with which we or our vendors or partners must comply to the extent our operations expand into these geographies or the laws and regulations in these frameworks otherwise may be interpreted to apply to us. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and security of data that identifies or may be used to identify or locate an individual, such as names, email addresses and, in some jurisdictions, internet protocol addresses. We are also bound by contractual requirements relating to privacy, data protection and information security, and may agree to additional contractual requirements addressing these matters from time to time.
Our compliance with these various requirements increases our operating costs, and additional laws, regulations, standards or protocols (or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations, standards or protocols) in these areas may further increase our operating costs and adversely affect our ability to effectively market our Products and Services. In view of new or modified legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection or information security, or any changes in their interpretation, we may find it necessary or desirable to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or to expend significant resources to modify our products and services and otherwise adapt to these changes. We may be unable to make such changes and modifications in a commercially reasonable manner or at all, and our ability to develop new services and features could be limited.
Further, our failure or perceived failure to comply with any of these laws, regulations, standards, protocols or other obligations could result in a loss of subscriber data, fines, sanctions and other liabilities and additional restrictions on our collection, transfer or use of subscriber data. In addition, our failure to comply with any of these laws, regulations, standards, protocols or other obligations could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, subscriber attrition, new subscriber origination, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

If our security controls are breached or unauthorized or inadvertent access to subscriber information or other data or to control or view systems are otherwise obtained, our services may be perceived as insecure, we may lose existing subscribers or fail to attract new subscribers, our business may be harmed, and we may incur significant liabilities.

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Use of our solutions involves the storage, transmission and processing of personal, payment, credit and other confidential and private information of our subscribers, and may in certain cases permit access to our subscribers’ homes or property or help secure them. We also maintain and process other confidential and proprietary information in our business, including our employees’ and contractors’ personal information and confidential business information. We rely on proprietary and commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to protect against unauthorized use or access of the information we process and maintain. Our services and the networks and information systems we utilize in our business are at risk for breaches as a result of third-party action, employee, vendor or partner error, malfeasance, or other factors. For example, we have experienced instances of our employees, contractors and other third parties improperly accessing our and/or our subscribers’ systems and information in violation of our internal policies and procedures.
Criminals and other nefarious actors are using increasingly sophisticated methods, including cyberattacks, phishing, social engineering and other illicit acts to capture, access or alter various types of information, to engage in illegal activities such as fraud and identity theft, and to expose and exploit potential security and privacy vulnerabilities in corporate systems and websites. Unauthorized intrusion into the portions of our systems and networks and data storage devices that process and store subscriber confidential and private information, the loss of such information or the deployment of malware or other harmful code to our services or our networks or systems may result in negative consequences, including the actual or alleged malfunction of our products or services. In addition, third parties, including our partners and vendors, could also be sources of security risks to us in the event of a failure of their own security systems and infrastructure. The threats we and our partners and vendors face continue to evolve and are difficult to predict due to advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography and new and sophisticated methods used by criminals. There can be no assurances that our defensive measures will prevent cyber-attacks or that we will discover network or system intrusions or other breaches on a timely basis or at all. We cannot be certain that we will not suffer a compromise or breach of the technology protecting the systems or networks that house or access our Products and Services or on which we or our partners or vendors process or store personal information or other sensitive information or data, or that any such incident will not be believed or reported to have occurred. Any such actual or perceived compromises or breaches to systems, or unauthorized access to our subscribers’ data, Products or systems, or acquisition or loss of, data, whether suffered by us, our partners or vendors or other third parties, whether as a result of employee error or malfeasance or otherwise, could harm our business. They could, for example, cause interruptions in operations, loss of data, loss of confidence in our services and products and damage to our reputation, and could limit the adoption of our services and products. They could also subject us to costs, regulatory investigations and orders, litigation, contract damages, indemnity demands and other liabilities and materially and adversely affect our subscriber base, sales, revenues and profits. Any of these could, in turn, have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Further, if a high profile security breach occurs with respect to another provider of smart home solutions, our subscribers and potential subscribers may lose trust in the security of our services or in the smart home space generally, which could adversely impact our ability to retain existing subscribers or attract new ones. Even in the absence of any security breach, subscriber concerns about security, privacy or data protection may deter them from using our service. Our insurance policies covering errors and omissions and certain security and privacy damages and claim expenses may not be sufficient to compensate for all potential liability. Although we maintain cyber liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
Our Vivint Flex Pay plan is a new business model that may subject us to additional risks.
In 2017, we introduced Vivint Flex Pay, which allowed subscribers to finance the purchase of their Products and related installation through our Vivint Flex Pay plan. Under Vivint Flex Pay we offer to our qualified subscribers an opportunity to finance through a third party the purchase of Products and related installation used in connection with our Smart Home Services. We offer certain of our subscribers who do not qualify for third-party financing and all Canadian subscribers the opportunity to finance their purchase of Products and related installation under a RIC, which is financed by us. Under Vivint Flex Pay, subscribers pay separately for the Products and our Smart Home Services. As an alternative to the financing offered under these programs, subscribers are able to purchase the Products by check, ACH, credit or debit card, and pay in full at the time of installation.
There can be no assurance that the Vivint Flex Pay plan will be successful. If this plan is not favorably received by subscribers or is otherwise not performing as intended by us, it could have an adverse effect on our business, subscriber growth rate, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, reductions in consumer lending and/or the availability of consumer credit under the Vivint Flex Pay plan could limit the number of subscribers with the financial means to purchase the Products and thus limit the number of subscribers who are able to subscribe to our Smart Home Services. There is no assurance that our current providers of consumer financing, or any other companies that may in the future offer financing to our

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subscribers will continue to provide subscribers with access to credit or that credit limits under such arrangements will be sufficient. In addition, a severe disruption in the global financial markets could impact the providers of installment loans under the Vivint Flex Pay plan and such instability could also affect the ability of subscribers to access financing under the Vivint Flex Pay plan or otherwise. Such restrictions or limitations on the availability of consumer credit or unfavorable reception of the Vivint Flex Pay plan by potential subscribers could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In addition, the Vivint Flex Pay plan subjects us to additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. In particular, the Vivint Flex Pay plan may require that we be licensed as a lender in certain jurisdictions in which we operate. We face the risk of increased consumer complaints, potential supervision, examinations or enforcement actions by federal and state licensing and regulatory agencies and/or penalties for violation of financial services, consumer protections and other applicable laws and regulations. For example, in 2019, the Company received a subpoena in connection with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) concerning potential violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”). The Company also has received a civil investigative demand from the staff of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) concerning potential violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and the “Red Flags Rule” thereunder, and the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”). The Company has cooperated, and intends to continue to cooperate, with any government requests or inquiries. The outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted at this time. If any proceedings or investigations were to be determined adversely against us or resulted in legal actions, claims, regulatory proceedings, enforcement actions, or judgments, fines, or settlements involving a payment of material amounts, or if injunctive relief were issued against us, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We currently offer RICs in all of the jurisdictions in which we operate and therefore are subject to regulation by state and local authorities for the use of RICs. We provide intensive training to our employees regarding sales practices and the content of our RICs and strive to comply in all material respects with these laws; however, we cannot be certain that our employees will abide by our policies and applicable laws, which violations could have a material and adverse impact on our business. We also offer RICs to our Canadian subscribers, and as a result are subject to additional regulatory requirements in Canada. In the future, we may elect to offer installment loans and other financial services products similar to the Consumer Financing Program directly to qualified subscribers. If we elect to offer such financial services directly, this may further expand our regulatory and compliance obligations. In addition, as Vivint Flex Pay evolves, we may become subject to additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations.
We are subject to payment related risks.
We accept payments using a variety of methods, including check, credit card, debit card, direct debit from a subscriber’s bank account and consumer invoicing. For existing and future payment options that we offer to our subscribers, we may become subject to additional regulations, compliance requirements and fraud. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower profitability. We rely on third parties to provide payment-processing services, including the processing of credit cards, debit cards and electronic checks, and it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, or if our data security systems are breached or compromised, we may be liable for card issuing banks’ costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees, and lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our subscribers, process electronic funds transfers, or facilitate other types of online payments, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected. See “- Privacy and data protection concerns, and laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and information security, could have a material adverse effect on our business” and “- If our security controls are breached or unauthorized or inadvertent access to subscriber information or other data is otherwise obtained, our services may be perceived as insecure, we may lose existing subscribers or fail to attract new subscribers, our business may be harmed, and we may incur significant liabilities.”
We may fail to obtain or maintain necessary licenses or otherwise fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Our business focuses on contracts and transactions with residential subscribers and therefore is subject to a variety of laws, regulations and licensing requirements that govern our interactions with residential consumers, including those pertaining to privacy and data security, consumer financial and credit transactions, home improvements, warranties and door-to-door solicitation. We are a licensed service provider in each market where such licensure is required and we are responsible for every subscriber installation. Our business may become subject to additional such requirements in the future. In certain jurisdictions, we are also required to obtain licenses or permits to comply with standards governing marketing and sales efforts, installation of equipment or servicing of subscribers, monitoring station employee selection and training and to meet certain standards in

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the conduct of our business. These laws and regulations are dynamic and subject to potentially differing interpretations, and various legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current laws or regulations, or enact new laws and regulations, regarding these matters. We strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to our interactions with residential subscribers. It is possible, however, that these requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Our non-compliance with any such law or regulations could also expose us to claims, proceedings, litigation and investigations by private parties and regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant expenses to comply with such laws and regulations, and increased regulation of matters relating to our interactions with residential consumers could require us to modify our operations and incur significant additional expenses, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we expand the scope of our products or services, or our operations in new markets, we may be required to obtain additional licenses and otherwise maintain compliance with additional laws, regulations or licensing requirements.
Changes in these laws or regulations or their interpretation, as well as new laws, regulations or licensing requirements which may be enacted, could dramatically affect how we do business, acquire subscribers, and manage and use information we collect from and about current and prospective subscribers and the costs associated therewith. For example, certain U.S. municipalities have adopted, or are considering adopting, laws, regulations or policies aimed at reducing the number of false alarms, including: (1) subjecting companies to fines or penalties for transmitting false alarms, (2) imposing fines on subscribers for false alarms or (3) imposing limitations on law enforcement response. These measures could adversely affect our future operations and business by increasing our costs, reducing subscriber satisfaction or affecting the public perception of the effectiveness of our products and services. In addition, federal, state and local governmental authorities have considered, and may in the future consider, implementing consumer protection rules and regulations, which could impose significant constraints on our sales channels.
Regulations have been issued by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”), and Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (the “CRTC”) that place restrictions on direct-to-home marketing, telemarketing, email marketing and general sales practices. These restrictions include, but are not limited to, limitations on methods of communication, requirements to maintain a “do not call” list, cancellation rights and required training for personnel to comply with these restrictions.
The FTC regulates both general sales practices and telemarketing specifically and has broad authority to prohibit a variety of advertising or marketing practices that may constitute “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” The CRTC has enforcement authority under the Canadian Anti-Spam Law, or CASL, which prohibits the sending of commercial emails without prior consent of the recipient or an existing business relationship and sets forth rules governing the sending of commercial emails. CASL allows for a private right of action for the recovery of damages or provides for enforcement by CRTC permitting the recovery of significant civil penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees in the event that regulations are violated. Similarly, most of the statutes and regulations in the United States allow a private right of action for the recovery of damages or provide for enforcement by the FTC, state attorneys general or state agencies permitting the recovery of significant civil or criminal penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees in the event that regulations are violated. Any new or changed laws, regulations or licensing requirements, or the interpretation of such laws, regulations or licensing requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. We strive to comply with all such applicable regulations, but cannot assure you that we or third parties that we may rely on for telemarketing, email marketing and other lead generation activities will be in compliance with all applicable regulations at all times. Although our contractual arrangements with such third parties expressly require them to comply with all such regulations and to indemnify us for their failure to do so, we cannot assure you that the FTC, FCC, CRTC, private litigants or others will not attempt to hold us responsible for any unlawful acts conducted by such third parties or that we could successfully enforce or collect upon such indemnities. Additionally, certain FCC rulings and/or FTC enforcement actions may support the legal position that we may be held vicariously liable for the actions of third parties, including any telemarketing violations by our independent, third party authorized dealers that are performed without our authorization or that are otherwise prohibited by our policies. Both the FCC and the FTC have relied on certain actions to support the notion of vicarious liability, including but not limited to, the use of the company brand or trademark, the authorization or approval of telemarketing scripts or the sharing of consumer prospect lists. Changes in such regulations or the interpretation thereof that further restricts such activities could result in a material reduction in the number of leads for our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may fail to comply with import and export, bribery and money laundering laws, regulations and controls.
We conduct our business in the U.S. and Canada and source our Products in Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and the United States. We are subject to regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies,

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including, but not limited to, agencies and regulatory bodies or authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing product safety and consumer protection laws, data privacy and security laws and regulations, employment and labor laws, workplace safety laws and regulations, environmental laws and regulations, antitrust laws, federal securities laws and tax laws and regulations. 
We are subject to the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. Travel Act, and possibly other anti-bribery laws, including those that comply with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and other international conventions. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit our company from authorizing, offering, or providing directly or indirectly improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private-sector. Certain laws could also prohibit us from soliciting or accepting bribes or kickbacks. We can be held liable for the corrupt activities of our employees, representatives, contractors, partners and agents, even if we did not explicitly authorize such activity. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with anti-corruption laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, representatives, contractors, partners, and agents will comply with these laws and policies.
 Our operations require us to import from Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and export to Canada, which geographically stretches our compliance obligations. We are also subject to anti-money laundering laws such as the USA PATRIOT Act and may be subject to similar laws in other jurisdictions. Our Products are subject to export control and import laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations, and various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls. We may also be subject to import/export laws and regulations in other jurisdictions in which we conduct business or source our Products. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we and certain of our employees could be subject to substantial civil or criminal penalties, including the possible loss of export or import privileges; fines, which may be imposed on us and responsible employees or managers; and, in extreme cases, the incarceration of responsible employees or managers.
Changes in laws that apply to us could result in increased regulatory requirements and compliance costs which could harm our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. In certain jurisdictions, regulatory requirements may be more stringent than in the United States. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to whistleblower complaints, investigations, sanctions, settlements, mandatory product recalls, enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, fines, damages, civil and criminal penalties or injunctions, suspension or debarment from contracting with certain governments or other customers, the loss of export privileges, multi-jurisdictional liability, reputational harm, and other collateral consequences. If any governmental or other sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations could be materially harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and an increase in defense costs and other professional fees.
The policies of the U.S. Government may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Certain changes in U.S. social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment could adversely affect our business. General trade tensions between the U.S. and China escalated in 2018, with three rounds of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods taking effect in July, August, and September 2018, each followed by a round of retaliatory Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods. If duties on existing tariffs are raised or if additional tariffs are announced, many of our inbound products to the United States would be subject to tariffs assessed in the cost of goods as imported. If these duties are imposed on such products, we may be required to raise our prices, which may result in the loss of subscribers and harm our operating performance. Alternatively, we may seek to shift production outside of China, resulting in additional costs and disruption to our operations. Additionally, the current administration continues to signal that it may alter trade agreements and terms between China and the United States, including limiting trade with China, and may impose additional tariffs on imports from China.
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. President signed into law the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “Act”). Among other changes, the Act imposes limitations on the deductibility of interest. Moreover, the effects of the Act are not yet entirely clear and will depend on, among other things, additional regulatory and administrative guidance, as well as any statutory technical corrections that are subsequently enacted, which could have an adverse effect on the U.S. federal income taxation of us and our subsidiaries’ operations.
While there is currently a substantial lack of clarity and uncertainty around the likelihood, timing and details of any such policies and reforms, such policies and reforms may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and the value of our securities.

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Police departments could refuse to respond to calls from monitored security service companies.
Police departments in certain U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions do not respond to calls from monitored security service companies unless certain conditions are met, such as video or other verification or eyewitness accounts of suspicious activities, either as a matter of policy or by local ordinance. In most cases this is accomplished through contracts with private guard companies, which increases the overall cost of monitoring. If more police departments were to refuse to respond or be prohibited from responding to calls from monitored security service companies unless certain conditions are met, such as video or other verification or eyewitness accounts of suspicious activities, our ability to attract and retain customers could be negatively impacted and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Increased adoption of laws purporting to characterize certain charges in our subscriber contracts as unlawful, may adversely affect our operations.
If a subscriber cancels prior to the end of the initial term of the contract, other than in accordance with the contract, we may, under the terms of the subscriber contract, charge the subscriber the amount that would have been paid over the remaining term of the contract. Several states have adopted, or are considering adopting, laws restricting the charges that can be imposed upon contract cancellation prior to the end of the initial contract term. Such initiatives could negatively impact our business and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Adverse rulings regarding these matters could increase legal exposure to subscribers against whom such charges have been imposed and increase the risk that certain subscribers may seek to recover such charges from us through litigation or otherwise. In addition, the costs of defending such litigation and enforcement actions could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our new Products and Services may not be successful.
We launched our first smart home Products and Services beginning in 2010. Since that time we have launched a number of other offerings. We anticipate launching additional Products and Services in the future. These Products and Services and the new Products and Services we may launch in the future may not be well-received by our subscribers, may not help us to generate new subscribers, may adversely affect the attrition rate of existing subscribers, may increase our subscriber acquisition costs and may increase the costs to service our subscribers. For example, during the year ended December 31, 2015 we recorded restructuring and asset impairment charges for our wireless internet business totaling $59.2 million, which resulted in $52.5 million of asset impairment charges related to write downs of our network assets, subscriber acquisition costs, certain intellectual property and goodwill and $5.1 million in net restructuring charges related to employee severance and termination benefits as well as write offs of certain vendor contracts. Any profits we may generate from these or other new Products or Services may be lower than profits generated from our other Products and Services and may not be sufficient for us to recoup our development or subscriber acquisition costs incurred. New Products and Services may also have lower gross margins, particularly to the extent that they do not fully utilize our existing infrastructure. In addition, new Products and Services may require increased operational expenses or subscriber acquisition costs and present new and difficult technological and intellectual property challenges that may subject us to claims or complaints if subscribers experience service disruptions or failures or other quality issues. To the extent our new Products and Services are not successful, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our new retail strategy may subject us to additional risks.
Historically, we have primarily originated subscribers through our direct-to-home and inside sales channels. However, in 2017 we developed a new strategy to enter into the retail channel in order to expand our reach to the broad consumer market. For example, on May 4, 2017, we announced an agreement with Best Buy, pursuant to which the parties had agreed to jointly market and sell smart home products and services. In July 2018, as part of certain cost reduction initiatives, the goal of which was to reduce certain of our general and administrative, subscriber service, and sales support fixed costs, we agreed in principle to end the co-branded Best Buy Smart Home by Vivint arrangement and in December 2018 we formally terminated our relationship with Best Buy. We continue to explore other retail strategy opportunities and may devote significant management attention, substantial capital and other resources in connection with such efforts. However, despite these efforts and expenses, we may not be able to establish retail distribution channels for our products and services.
The technology we employ may become obsolete, which could require significant capital expenditures.
Our industry is subject to continual technological innovation. Our Products and Services interact with the hardware and software technology of systems and devices located at our subscribers’ property. We may be required to implement new

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technologies or adapt existing technologies in response to changing market conditions, subscriber preferences, industry standards or inability to secure necessary intellectual property licenses, which could require significant capital expenditures. It is also possible that one or more of our competitors could develop a significant technological advantage that allows them to provide additional or superior products or services, or to lower their price for similar products or services, that could put us at a competitive disadvantage. Our inability to adapt to changing technologies, market conditions or subscriber preferences in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our future operating and financial results are uncertain.
Prior growth rates in revenues and other operating and financial results should not be considered indicative of our future performance. Our future performance and operating results depend on, among other things: (1) our ability to renew and/or upgrade contracts with existing subscribers and maintain subscriber satisfaction with existing subscribers, (2) our ability to generate new subscribers, including our ability to scale the number of new subscribers generated through inside sales and other channels, (3) our ability to increase the density of our subscriber base for existing service locations or continue to expand into new geographic markets, (4) our ability to successfully develop and market new and innovative Products and Services, (5) the level of product, service and price competition, (6) the degree of saturation in, and our ability to further penetrate, existing markets, (7) our ability to manage growth, revenues, origination or acquisition costs of new subscribers and attrition rates, the cost of servicing our existing subscribers and general and administrative costs and (8) our ability to attract, train and retain qualified employees. If our future operating and financial results suffer as a result of any of the other reasons mentioned above, or any other reasons, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability or positive cash flow from operations.
Our ability to generate future positive operating results and cash flows depends, in part, on our ability to generate new subscribers in a cost effective manner, while minimizing attrition of existing subscribers. New subscriber acquisitions play a particularly important role in our financial model as they not only increase our future operating cash flows, but also help to replace the cash flows lost as a result of subscriber attrition. If we are unable to cost-effectively generate new subscribers or retain our existing subscribers, our business, operating results and financial condition would be materially adversely affected. In addition, to drive our growth, we have made significant upfront investments in subscriber acquisition costs, as well as technology and infrastructure to support our growing subscriber base. As a result of these investments, we have incurred losses and used significant amounts of cash to fund operations. As our business scales we expect recurring revenue to increase due to growth in our total subscribers. If such increase occurs, a greater percentage of our net acquisition costs for new subscribers may be funded through revenues generated by our existing subscriber base. We also expect the number of new subscribers to decrease as a percentage of our total subscribers as our business scales, which we believe, along with the expected growth in recurring revenue, will improve operating results and operating cash flows over time. Our ability to improve our operating results and cash flows, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and there can be no assurance that we will achieve such improvements. To the extent the number of new subscribers does not decrease as a percentage of our total subscribers or we do not reduce the percentage of our revenue used to support new investments, we will continue to incur losses and require a significant amount of cash to fund our operations, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flows, operating results and financial condition.
Our business is subject to economic and demographic factors that may negatively impact our results of operations.
Our business is generally dependent on national, regional and local economic conditions.
Historically, both the U.S. and worldwide economies have experienced cyclical economic downturns, some of which have been prolonged and severe. These economic downturns have generally coincided with, and contributed to, increased energy costs, concerns about inflation, slower economic activity, decreased consumer confidence and spending, reduced corporate profits and capital spending, adverse business conditions and liquidity concerns. These conditions and concerns result in a decline in business and consumer confidence and increased unemployment.
Where disposable income available for discretionary spending is reduced (due to, for example, higher housing, energy, interest or other costs or where the perceived wealth of subscribers has decreased) and disruptions in the financial markets adversely impact the availability and cost of credit, our business may experience increased attrition rates, a reduced ability to originate new subscribers and reduced consumer demand.
For instance, recoveries in the housing market increase the occurrence of relocations, which may lead to subscribers disconnecting service and not contracting with us in their new homes. We cannot predict the timing or duration of any

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economic slowdown or the timing or strength of a subsequent economic recovery, worldwide or in the specific markets where our subscribers are located.
Furthermore, any deterioration in new construction and sales of existing single-family homes could reduce opportunities to originate new subscribers and increase attrition among our existing subscribers. Such downturns in the economy in general, and the housing market in particular may negatively affect our business.
In addition, unfavorable shifts in population and other demographic factors may cause us to lose subscribers as people migrate to markets where we have little or no presence, or if the general population shifts into a less desirable age, geographic or other demographic group from our business perspective.
Our inside sales and retail channels depend on third parties and other sources that we do not control to generate leads that we then convert into subscribers. If our third-party partners and lead generators are not successful in generating leads for our inside sales and retail sales channels, if the quality of those leads deteriorates, or if we are unable to generate leads through other sources that are cost effective and can be successfully converted into subscribers, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Also, our subscribers consist largely of homeowners, who are subject to economic, credit, financial and other risks, as applicable. These risks could materially and adversely affect a subscriber’s ability to make required payments to us on a timely basis. Any such decrease or delay in subscriber payments may have a material adverse effect on us. As a result of financial distress, subscribers may apply for relief under bankruptcy and other laws relating to creditors’ rights. In addition, subscribers may be subject to involuntary application of such bankruptcy and other laws relating to creditors’ rights. The bankruptcy of a subscriber could adversely affect our ability to collect payments, to protect our rights and otherwise realize the value of our contract with the subscriber. This may occur as a result of, among other things, application of the automatic stay, delays and uncertainty in the bankruptcy process and potential rejection of such subscriber contracts. Our subscribers’ inability to pay, whether as a result of economic or credit issues, bankruptcy or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers to provide our Products and Services. Our product suppliers, in turn, rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide significant components and materials used in our products. A change in our existing preferred supply arrangements or a material interruption in supply of products or third party services could increase our costs or prevent or limit our ability to accept and fill orders for our products and services.
We obtain important components of our systems from several suppliers. Should such suppliers cease to manufacture the products we purchase from them or become unable to timely deliver these products in accordance with our requirements, or should such other suppliers choose not to do business with us, we may be required to locate alternative suppliers. We also rely on a number of sole or limited source suppliers for critical components of our solution. Replacing sole source suppliers or our limited source suppliers could require the expenditure of significant resources and time to redesign and resource these products. In addition, any financial or other difficulties our suppliers face may have negative effects on our business. We may be unable to locate alternate suppliers on a timely basis or to negotiate the purchase of control panels or other equipment on favorable terms, if at all. In addition, our equipment suppliers, in turn, depend upon a limited number of outside unaffiliated suppliers for key components and materials used in our control panels and other equipment. If any of these suppliers cease to or are unable to provide components and materials in sufficient quantity and of the requisite quality, especially during our summer selling season when a large percentage of our new subscriber originations occur, and if there are not adequate alternative sources of supply, we could experience significant delays in the supply of equipment. Any such delay in the supply of equipment of the requisite quality could adversely affect our ability to originate subscribers and cause our subscribers not to continue, renew or upgrade their contracts or to choose not to purchase such Products or Services from us. This would result in delays in or loss of future revenues and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Also, if previously installed components and materials were found to be defective, we might not be able to recover the costs associated with the recall, repair or replacement of such products, across our installed subscriber base, and the diversion of personnel and other resources to address such issues could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

Currency fluctuations could materially and adversely affect us and we have not hedged this risk.
Historically, a small portion of our revenue has been denominated in Canadian Dollars. For the year ended December 31, 2019, before intercompany eliminations, approximately $72.2 million of our revenues were denominated in Canadian Dollars. As of December 31, 2019, $290.5 million of our total assets and $259.9 million of our total liabilities were denominated in

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Canadian Dollars. In the future, we expect to continue generating revenue denominated in Canadian Dollars and other foreign currencies. Accordingly, we may be materially and adversely affected by currency fluctuations in the U.S. Dollar versus these currencies. Weaker foreign currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar may result in lower levels of reported revenues with respect to foreign currency-denominated subscriber contracts, net income, assets, liabilities and accumulated other comprehensive income on our U.S. Dollar-denominated financial statements. We have not historically hedged against this exposure. Foreign exchange rates are influenced by many factors outside of our control, including but not limited to: changing supply and demand for a particular currency, monetary policies of governments (including exchange-control programs, restrictions on local exchanges or markets and limitations on foreign investment in a country or on an investment by residents of a country in other countries), changes in balances of payments and trade, trade restrictions and currency devaluations and revaluations. Also, governments may from time to time intervene in the currency markets, directly and by regulation, to influence prices directly. As such, these events and actions are unpredictable. The resulting volatility in the exchange rates for the other currencies could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on certain third-party providers of licensed software and services integral to the operations of our business.
Certain aspects of the operation of our business depend on third-party software and service providers. We rely on certain software technology that we license from third parties and use in our products and services to perform key functions and provide critical functionality. For example, our subscribers with Go!Control panels utilize technology hosted by Alarm.com to access their systems remotely through a smart phone application or through a web interface. With regard to licensed software technology, we are, to a certain extent, dependent upon the ability of third parties to maintain, enhance or develop their software and services on a timely and cost-effective basis, to meet industry technological standards and innovations to deliver software and services that are free of defects or security vulnerabilities, and to ensure their software and services are free from disruptions or interruptions. Further, these third-party services and software licenses may not always be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
If our agreements with third-party software or services vendors are not renewed or the third-party software or services become obsolete, fail to function properly, are incompatible with future versions of our products or services, are defective or otherwise fail to address our needs, there is no assurance that we would be able to replace the functionality provided by the third-party software or services with software or services from alternative providers. Furthermore, even if we obtain licenses to alternative software or services that provide the functionality we need, we may be required to replace hardware installed at our monitoring stations and at our subscribers’ homes, including security system control panels and peripherals, to affect our integration of or migration to alternative software products. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We are highly dependent on the proper and efficient functioning of our computer, data backup, information technology, telecom and processing systems, platform and our redundant monitoring stations.
Our ability to keep our business operating is highly dependent on the proper and efficient operation of our computer systems, information technology systems, telecom systems, data- processing systems and subscriber software platform. Although we have redundant central monitoring facilities, backup computer and power systems and disaster recovery tests, if there is a catastrophic event, natural disaster, security breach, negligent or intentional act by an employee or other extraordinary event, we may be unable to provide our subscribers with uninterrupted services.
Furthermore, because computer and data backup and processing systems are susceptible to malfunctions and interruptions, we cannot guarantee that we will not experience service failures in the future. A significant or large-scale malfunction or interruption of any computer or data backup and processing system could adversely affect our ability to keep our operations running efficiently and respond to alarm system signals. We do not have a backup system for our subscriber software platform. If a malfunction results in a wider or sustained disruption, it could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We are subject to unionization and labor and employment laws and regulations, which could increase our costs and restrict our operations in the future.
Currently, a very small minority of our employees are represented by a union. As we continue to grow, and enter different regions, unions may make further attempts to organize all or part of our employee base. If more or all of our workforce were to become unionized, and the terms of the collective bargaining agreement were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could increase our costs and adversely impact our profitability. Additionally, responding to such organization attempts distracts our management and results in increased legal and other professional fees; and, labor union contracts could put us at increased risk of labor strikes and disruption of our operations.

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Our business is subject to a variety of employment laws and regulations and may become subject to additional such requirements in the future. Although we believe we are in material compliance with applicable employment laws and regulations, in the event of a change in requirements, we may be required to modify our operations or to utilize resources to maintain compliance with such laws and regulations. Moreover, we may be subject to various employment-related claims, such as individual or class actions or government enforcement actions relating to alleged employment discrimination, employee classification and related withholding, wage-hour disputes, labor standards or healthcare and benefit issues. Our failure to comply with applicable employment laws and regulations and related legal actions against us, may affect our ability to compete or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
The loss of our senior management could disrupt our business.
The success of our business depends upon the skills, experience and efforts of our key executive personnel and employees. Our founder and Chief Executive Officer Todd Pedersen and other members of our senior management have been and will continue to be integral to the continuing evolution of our business. There is significant competition for executive personnel with experience in the smart home and security industry and our sales channels. As a result of this need and the competition for a limited pool of industry-based executive experience, we may not be able to retain our existing senior management. For example, in 2019, our then Chief Financial Officer left the Company to pursue another opportunity. In addition, we may not be able to fill new positions or vacancies created by expansion or turnover. We do not and do not currently expect to have in the future “key person” insurance on the lives of any member of our senior management. The loss of any member of our senior management team without retaining a suitable replacement could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
If we are unable to acquire necessary intellectual property or adequately protect our intellectual property, we could be competitively disadvantaged.
Our intellectual property, including our patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights, constitutes a significant part of our value. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology, brands and other intellectual property against dilution, infringement, misappropriation and competitive pressure by defending our intellectual property rights. To protect our intellectual property rights, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws of the United States, Canada and other countries and a combination of confidentiality procedures, contractual provisions and other methods, all of which offer only limited protection. In addition, we make efforts to acquire rights to intellectual property necessary for our operations. However, there can be no assurance that these measures will be successful in any given case, particularly in those countries where the laws do not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States.
We own a portfolio of issued U.S. patents and pending U.S. and foreign patent applications that relate to a variety of smart home, security and wireless Internet technologies utilized in our business. We may file additional patent applications in the future in the United States and internationally. The process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner all the way through to the successful issuance of a patent. We may choose not to seek patent protection for certain innovations and may choose not to pursue patent protection in certain jurisdictions. In addition, issuance of a patent does not guarantee that we have an absolute right to practice the patented invention.
If we fail to acquire the necessary intellectual property rights or adequately protect or assert our intellectual property rights, competitors may dilute our brands or manufacture and market similar products and services or convert our subscribers, which could adversely affect our market share and results of operations. We may not receive patents or trademarks for all our pending patent and trademark applications, and existing or future patents or licenses may not provide competitive advantages for our products and services. Furthermore, it is possible that our patent applications may not issue as granted patents, that the scope of our issued patents will be insufficient or not have the coverage originally sought, or that our issued patents will not provide us with any competitive advantages. Our competitors may challenge, invalidate or avoid the application of our existing or future intellectual property rights that we obtain or license. In addition, patent rights may not prevent our competitors from developing, using or selling products or services that are similar to or address the same market as our products and services. The loss of protection for our intellectual property rights could reduce the market value of our brands and our products and services, reduce new subscriber originations or upgrade sales to existing subscribers, lower our profits, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our policy is to require our employees that were hired to develop material intellectual property included in our products to execute written agreements in which they assign to us their rights in potential inventions and other intellectual property created within the scope of their employment (or, with respect to consultants and service providers, their engagement to

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develop such intellectual property), but we cannot assure you that we have adequately protected our rights in every such agreement or that we have executed an agreement with every such party. Finally, in order to benefit from the protection of patents and other intellectual property rights, we must monitor and detect infringement, misappropriation or other violations of our intellectual property rights and pursue infringement, misappropriation or other claims in certain circumstances in relevant jurisdictions, all of which are costly and time-consuming. As a result, we may not be able to obtain adequate protection or to effectively enforce our issued patents or other intellectual property rights.
In addition to patents and registered trademarks, we rely on trade secret rights, copyrights and other rights to protect our unpatented proprietary intellectual property and technology. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary technologies and our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties, including our employees, consultants, service providers or subscribers, may attempt to copy aspects of our products or obtain and use our trade secrets or other confidential information. We generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties that have access to our material confidential information, and generally limits access to and distribution of our proprietary information and proprietary technology through certain procedural safeguards. These agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our intellectual property or technology, could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and know-how related to the design, manufacture or operation of our products and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. We cannot assure you that the steps taken by us will prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property or technology or infringement of our intellectual property rights. Competitors may independently develop technologies or products that are substantially equivalent or superior to our solutions or that inappropriately incorporate our proprietary technology into their products or they may hire our former employees who may misappropriate our proprietary technology or misuse our confidential information. In addition, if we expand the geography of our service offerings, the laws of some foreign countries where we may do business in the future do not protect intellectual property rights and technology to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and these countries may not enforce these laws as diligently as government agencies and private parties in the United States.
From time to time, legal action by us may be necessary to enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the intellectual property rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement, misappropriation or invalidity. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and technology, we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage to others who need not incur the additional expense, time and effort required to create the innovative products that have enabled us to be successful to date.

From time to time, we are subject to claims for infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others, and will be subject to such claims in the future, which could have an adverse effect on our business and operations.
We cannot be certain that our products and services or those of third parties that we incorporate into our offerings do not and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Many of our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than we have. From time to time, we are subject to claims based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of the intellectual property rights of others, including litigation brought by special purpose or so-called “non-practicing” entities that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing intellectual property rights and against whom our patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. Regardless of their merits, intellectual property claims divert the attention of our personnel and are often time-consuming and expensive. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages (including, for example, treble damages if we are found to have willfully infringed patents and increased statutory damages if we are found to have willfully infringed copyrights) or discontinue or modify certain products or services that are found to infringe another party’s rights or enter into licensing agreements with costly royalty payments. Defending against claims of infringement, misappropriation or other violations or being deemed to be infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others could impair our ability to innovate, develop, distribute and sell our current and planned products and services. We have in the past and will continue in the future to seek one or more licenses to continue offering certain products or services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. For example, we are one of several respondents in a patent matter pending before the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking an injunction against the continued importation of certain of our hardware. We have also been named as a defendant in related U.S. District Court cases alleging patent infringement and in which the plaintiff seeks unspecified money damages. We believe that the allegations in each of these matters are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against the claims; however, there can be no assurance regarding the ultimate outcome of these matters.
In some cases, we indemnify our channel partners against claims that our products infringe, misappropriate or otherwise

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violate the intellectual property rights of third parties. Such claims could arise out of our indemnification obligation with our channel partners and end-subscribers, whom we typically indemnify against such claims. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by the discovery process. Although claims of this kind have not materially affected our business to date, there can be no assurance material claims will not arise in the future.
Although third parties may offer a license to their technology or other intellectual property, the terms of any offered license may not be acceptable, and the failure to obtain a license or the costs associated with any license could cause our business, financial condition and results of operations to be materially and adversely affected. In addition, some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. If a third party does not offer us a license to its technology or other intellectual property on reasonable terms, or at all, we could be enjoined from continued use of such intellectual property. As a result, we may be required to develop alternative, non-infringing technology, which could require significant time (during which we could be unable to continue to offer our affected products, subscriptions or services), effort, and expense and may ultimately not be successful. Furthermore, a successful claimant could secure a judgment or we may agree to a settlement that prevents us from distributing certain products, providing certain subscriptions or performing certain services or that requires us to pay substantial damages, royalties or other fees. Any of these events could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our solutions contain third-party open-source software components, and failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open-source software licenses could restrict our ability to sell our products and subscriptions.
Certain of our solutions contain software modules licensed to us by third-party authors under “open-source” licenses. The use and distribution of open-source software may entail greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software, as open-source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code.
Some open-source licenses contain requirements that we make available the source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the type of open-source software we use. If we combine our proprietary software with open-source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain open-source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar products with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of sales for us.
Although we monitor our use of open-source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open-source agreement, the terms of many open-source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in ways that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize solutions incorporating such software. Moreover, we cannot assure you that our processes for controlling our use of open-source software in our solutions will be effective. From time to time, we may face claims from third parties asserting ownership of, or demanding release of, the open-source software or derivative works that we developed using such software (which could include our proprietary source code), or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open-source license. These claims could result in litigation. If we are held to have breached the terms of an open-source software license, we could be required to seek licenses from third parties to continue offering our products on terms that are not economically feasible, to re-engineer our products, to discontinue the sale of our products if re- engineering could not be accomplished on a timely or cost-effective basis, or to make generally available, in source code form, our proprietary code, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor confidence in our business and the trading prices of our securities.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If material weaknesses in our internal controls are discovered, they may adversely affect our ability to record, process, summarize and accurately report timely financial information and, as a result, our financial statements may contain material misstatements or omissions.
In addition, it is possible that control deficiencies could be identified by our management or by our independent registered public accounting firm in the future or may occur without being identified. Such a failure could result in regulatory

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scrutiny, and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial condition, lead to a default under our indebtedness and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations.
Product or service defects or shortfalls in subscriber service could have an adverse effect on us.
Our inability to provide Products, Services or subscriber service in a timely manner or defects with our Products or Services, including products and services of third parties that we incorporate into our offerings, could adversely affect our reputation and subject us to claims or litigation. In addition, our inability to meet subscribers’ expectations with respect to our Products, Services or subscriber service could increase attrition rates or affect our ability to generate new subscribers and thereby have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations.
We are exposed to greater risk of liability for employee acts or omissions or system failure, than may be inherent in other businesses.
The nature of the Products and Services we provide potentially exposes us greater risks of liability for employee acts or omissions or system failures than may be inherent in other businesses. If subscribers believe that they incurred losses as a result of our action or inaction, the subscribers (or their insurers) have and could in the future bring claims against us. Although our service contracts contain provisions limiting our liability for such claims, no assurance can be given that these limitations will be enforced, and the costs of such litigation or the related settlements or judgments could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, there can be no assurance that we are adequately insured for these risks. Certain of our insurance policies and the laws of some states may limit or prohibit insurance coverage for punitive or certain other types of damages or liability arising from gross negligence. If significant uninsured damages are assessed against us, the resulting liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Future transactions could pose risks.
We frequently evaluate strategic opportunities both within and outside our existing lines of business. We expect from time to time to pursue additional business opportunities and may decide to eliminate or acquire certain businesses, products or services or expand into new channels or industries. Such acquisitions or dispositions could be material. For example, in August 2014, we acquired Space Monkey, a distributed cloud storage technology solution company; in 2019 we completed a spin-off of our wireless internet business and in 2020 our parent company consummated a merger with Mosaic Acquisition Corp. There are various risks and uncertainties associated with potential acquisitions and divestitures, including: (1) availability of financing; (2) difficulties related to integrating previously separate businesses into a single unit, including product and service offerings, distribution and operational capabilities and business cultures; (3) general business disruption; (4) managing the integration process; (5) diversion of management’s attention from day-to-day operations; (6) assumption of costs and liabilities of an acquired business, including unforeseen or contingent liabilities or liabilities in excess of the amounts estimated; (7) failure to realize anticipated benefits and synergies, such as cost savings and revenue enhancements; (8) potentially substantial costs and expenses associated with acquisitions and dispositions; (9) potential increases in compliance costs; (10) failure to retain and motivate key employees and (11) difficulties in applying our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures to an acquired business. Any or all of these risks and uncertainties, individually or collectively, could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations. We can offer no assurance that any such strategic opportunities will prove to be successful. Among other negative effects, our pursuit of such opportunities could cause our cost of investment in new subscribers to grow at a faster rate than our recurring revenue and fees collected at the time of installation. Additionally, any new product or service offerings could require developmental investments or have higher cost structures than our current arrangements, which could reduce operating margins and require more working capital. Moreover, expansion into any new industry or channel could result in higher compliance costs as we may become subject to laws and regulations to which we are not currently subject.

Goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets represent a significant portion of our total assets, and we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets.
As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $1.0 billion of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. Goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets are recorded at fair value on the date of acquisition. In addition, as of December 31, 2019, we had $1.2 billion of capitalized contract costs, net. We review such assets for impairment at least annually. Impairment may result from, among other things, deterioration in performance, adverse market conditions, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, including changes that restrict the activities of or affect the Products and Services we offer, challenges to the validity of certain intellectual property, reduced sales of certain products or services incorporating intellectual property, increased attrition and a variety of other factors. The amount of any quantified impairment must be expensed immediately as a

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charge to results of operations. Depending on future circumstances, it is possible that we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets. Any future determination of impairment of goodwill or other identifiable intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

Insurance policies may not cover all of our operating risks and a casualty loss beyond the limits of our coverage could negatively impact our business.
We are subject to all of the operating hazards and risks normally incidental to the provision of our products and services and business operations. In addition to contractual provisions limiting our liability to subscribers and third parties, we maintain insurance policies in such amounts and with such coverage and deductibles as required by law and that we believe are reasonable and prudent. See “-We are exposed to greater risk of liability for employee acts or omissions or system failure, than may be inherent in other businesses.” Nevertheless, such insurance may not be adequate to protect us from all the liabilities and expenses that may arise from claims for personal injury, death or property damage arising in the ordinary course of our business and current levels of insurance may not be able to be maintained or available at economical prices. If a significant liability claim is brought against us that is not covered by insurance, then we may have to pay the claim with our own funds, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our business is concentrated in certain markets.
Our business is concentrated in certain markets. As of December 31, 2019, subscribers in Texas and California represented approximately 19% and 9%, respectively, of our total subscriber base. Accordingly, our business and results of operations are particularly susceptible to adverse economic, weather and other conditions in such markets and in other markets that may become similarly concentrated.

Catastrophic events may disrupt our business.
Unforeseen events, or the prospect of such events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues including health epidemics or pandemics and natural disasters such as fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados or other adverse weather and climate conditions, whether occurring in the United States, Canada or elsewhere, could disrupt our operations, disrupt the operations of suppliers or subscribers or result in political or economic instability. For example, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in China has impacted and could further impact shipments in and out of China and the availability of critical components as a result of the restrictions being imposed by China and other countries, including on business operations and travel, in an effort to halt the spread of the virus. These events could reduce demand for our products and services, make it difficult or impossible to receive equipment from suppliers or impair our ability to market out products and services and/or deliver products and services to subscribers on a timely basis. Any such disruption could damage our reputation and cause subscriber attrition. We could also be subject to claims or litigation with respect to losses caused by such disruptions. Our property and business interruption insurance may not cover a particular event at all or be sufficient to fully cover our losses.

If the insurance industry changes its practice of providing incentives to homeowners for the use of residential electronic security services, we may experience a reduction in new subscriber growth or an increase in our subscriber attrition rate.
Some insurers provide a reduction in premium rates for insurance policies written on homes that have monitored electronic security systems. There can be no assurance that insurance companies will continue to offer these rate reductions. If these incentives were reduced or eliminated, homeowners who otherwise may not feel the need for our products or services would be removed from our potential subscriber pool, which could hinder the growth of our business, and existing subscribers may choose to cancel or not renew their contracts, which could increase our attrition rates. In either case, our results of operations and growth prospects could be adversely affected.
We have recorded net losses in the past and we may experience net losses in the future.
We have recorded consolidated net losses of $395.8 million, $467.9 million, and $410.2 million in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. We may likely continue to record net losses in future periods.
The nature of our business requires the application of complex revenue and expense recognition rules and the current

35


legislative and regulatory environment affecting generally accepted accounting principles is uncertain. Significant changes in current principles could affect our financial statements going forward and changes in financial accounting standards or practices may cause adverse, unexpected financial reporting fluctuations and harm our operating results.
The accounting rules and regulations that we must comply with are complex and subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), the SEC and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. Recent actions and public comments from the FASB and the SEC have focused on the integrity of financial reporting and internal controls. In addition, many companies’ accounting policies are being subject to heightened scrutiny by regulators and the public. Further, the accounting rules and regulations are continually changing in ways that could materially impact our financial statements. For example, in May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), as amended, which superseded nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance. We adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2018 utilizing a modified retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially applying the new standard recognized at the date of initial application and providing certain additional disclosures. See Note 2 of our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information.

Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness
Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.
We have substantial indebtedness. Net cash interest paid for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 related to our indebtedness (excluding finance leases) totaled $250.4 million and $236.7 million, respectively. Our net cash from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, before these interest payments, was an inflow of $28.8 million and an inflow of $16.2 million, respectively. Accordingly, our net cash from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was insufficient to cover these interest payments.
As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $3.3 billion aggregate principal amount of total debt outstanding, all of which was issued or borrowed by APX and guaranteed by APX Group Holdings, Inc. and by substantially all of APX’s domestic subsidiaries, $2.4 billion of which was secured debt, which requires significant interest and principal payments. Subject to the limits contained in the agreements governing our existing indebtedness, we may be able to incur substantial additional debt from time to time to finance working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions, or for other purposes. If we do so, the risks related to our high level of debt could increase. Specifically, our high level of debt could have important consequences, including the following:
making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt;
limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements;
requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows and future borrowings available for working capital, capital expenditures (including subscriber acquisition costs), acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest;
limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;
placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; and
increasing our cost of borrowing.
We may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future.
Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may be able to incur substantially more debt and enter into other transactions, which could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition described above. As of December 31, 2019, we

36


had $32.1 million of availability under the revolving credit facility (after giving effect to $11.1 million of letters of credit outstanding and $245.0 million of borrowings). We are still permitted to add, in addition to the revolving credit facility, incremental facilities of up to $225 million, subject to certain conditions being satisfied. Under both the Term Loan Agreement and revolving credit facility, up to $60 million may be incurred on the same “superpriority” basis as the revolving credit facility. Moreover, although the debt agreements governing our existing indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and entering into certain types of other transactions, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions. Additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also do not prevent us from incurring obligations, such as trade payables, that do not constitute indebtedness as defined under our debt instruments. To the extent new debt is added to our current debt levels, the substantial leverage risks described in the previous risk factor would increase. In addition, the exceptions to the restrictive covenants permit us to enter into certain other transactions.
Accordingly, subject to market conditions, we opportunistically seek to access the credit and capital markets from time to time, whether to refinance or retire our existing indebtedness, for the investment in and operation of our business, or for other general corporate purposes. Such transactions may take the form of new or amended senior secured credit facilities, including term or revolving loans, secured or unsecured notes and/or other instruments or indebtedness. These transactions may result in an increase in our total indebtedness, secured indebtedness and/or debt service costs.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our indebtedness service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under our revolving credit facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, would correspondingly decrease.
We may be unable to service our indebtedness.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on and to refinance our indebtedness depends on and is subject to our financial and operating performance, which in turn is affected by general and regional economic, financial, competitive, business and other factors beyond our control, including the availability of financing in the international banking and capital markets. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our debt, to refinance our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs (including funding subscriber acquisition costs).
If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations or to fund our other liquidity needs, we will need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, which could cause us to default on our debt obligations and impair our liquidity. Any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants that could further restrict our business operations.
Moreover, in the event of a default, the holders of our indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. The lenders under our revolving credit facility could also elect to terminate their commitments thereunder, cease making further loans, and institute foreclosure proceedings against their collateral, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we breach our covenants under our revolving credit facility, we would be in default under our revolving credit facility. The lenders could exercise their rights, as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

The debt agreements governing our existing indebtedness impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our subsidiaries, which may prevent us from capitalizing on business opportunities.
The debt agreements governing our existing indebtedness impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions limit our ability to, among other things:
incur or guarantee additional debt or issue disqualified stock or preferred stock;
pay dividends and make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock;

37


make certain investments;
incur certain liens;
enter into transactions with affiliates;
merge or consolidate;
materially change the nature of our business;
amend, prepay, redeem or purchase certain subordinated debt;
enter into agreements that restrict the ability of certain subsidiaries to make dividends or other payments to us; and
transfer or sell assets.
In addition, our revolving credit facility requires that we maintain a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio of not more than 5.35 to 1.0 on the last day of each applicable test period.
As a result of these restrictions, we are limited as to how we conduct our business and we may be unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities. The terms of any future indebtedness we may incur could include more restrictive covenants. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain compliance with these covenants in the future and, if we fail to do so, that we will be able to obtain waivers from the lenders and/or amend the covenants.
Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants described above as well as other terms of our existing indebtedness and/or the terms of any future indebtedness from time to time could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in our being required to repay these borrowings before their due date. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Our failure to comply with the agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness, including as a result of events beyond our control, could result in an event of default that could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and our financial condition.
If there were an event of default under any of the agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness, the holders of the defaulted debt could cause all amounts outstanding with respect to that debt to be due and payable immediately. We cannot assure you that our assets or cash flows would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments if accelerated upon an event of default. Further, if we are unable to repay, refinance or restructure our indebtedness under our secured debt, the holders of such debt could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness. In addition, any event of default or declaration of acceleration under one debt instrument could also result in an event of default under one or more of our other debt instruments.

ITEM 1B.
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.
 
ITEM 2.
PROPERTIES

Our headquarters, and one of our two monitoring facilities, are located in Provo, Utah. These premises are under leases expiring between December 2024 and June 2028. Additionally, we lease the premises for a separate monitoring station located in Eagan, Minnesota. We also have facility leases in Lehi, Utah; Logan, Utah; Santa Clara, California, Boston, Massachusetts and various other locations throughout the United States and Canada for research and development, call center, warehousing, recruiting, and training purposes. We believe that these facilities are adequate for our current needs and that suitable additional or substitute space will be available as needed to accommodate any expansion of our operations.

38




ITEM 3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are engaged in the defense of certain claims and lawsuits arising out of the ordinary course and conduct of our business and have certain unresolved claims pending, the outcomes of which are not determinable at this time. Our subscriber contracts include exculpatory provisions as described under “Business—Subscriber Contracts—Other Terms” and other liability limitations. We also have insurance policies covering certain potential losses where such coverage is available and cost effective. In our opinion, any liability that might be incurred by us upon the resolution of any claims or lawsuits will not, in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. See Note 13 of our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information.
 
ITEM 4.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
 
ITEM 5.
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Legacy Vivint Smart Home, Inc., which in turn is wholly owned by Vivint Smart Home, Inc. Presently, there is no public trading market for our common stock.
 
ITEM 6.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected historical consolidated financial information and other data set forth below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our historical consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto contained elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K.
The selected historical consolidated financial information and other data presented below for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. The selected historical consolidated financial information and other data presented below for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements which are not included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

39


 
December 31, 2019 (1)
 
December 31, 2018 (1)
 
December 31, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
 
December 31, 2015
 
(in thousands)
Statement of Operations Data (for the year ended):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
$
1,155,981

 
$
1,050,441

 
$
881,983

 
$
757,907

 
$
653,721

Total costs and expenses
1,298,098

 
1,292,500

 
1,037,476

 
829,009

 
762,396

Loss from operations
(142,117
)
 
(242,059
)
 
(155,493
)
 
(71,102
)
 
(108,675
)
Other expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest expense
(260,014
)
 
(245,214
)
 
(225,772
)
 
(197,965
)
 
(161,339
)
Interest income
23

 
425

 
130

 
432

 
90

Other income (expenses)
7,665

 
17,323

 
(27,986
)
 
(7,255
)
 
(8,832
)
Loss from operations before income taxes
(394,443
)
 
(469,525
)
 
(409,121
)
 
(275,890
)
 
(278,756
)
Income tax expense (benefit)
1,313

 
(1,611
)
 
1,078

 
67

 
351

Net loss
$
(395,756
)
 
$
(467,914
)
 
$
(410,199
)
 
$
(275,957
)
 
$
(279,107
)
Balance Sheet Data:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash
$
4,549

 
$
12,773

 
$
3,872

 
$
43,520

 
$
2,559

Working capital deficit
(864,479
)
 
(340,038
)
 
(162,406
)
 
(80,170
)
 
(120,952
)
Adjusted working capital deficit (excluding cash, operating and finance lease obligation)
(849,680
)
 
(345,068
)
 
(155,664
)
 
(113,893
)
 
(115,895
)
Total assets
2,598,238

 
2,524,491

 
2,868,847

 
2,547,662

 
2,303,644

Total debt
3,281,713

 
3,045,195

 
2,820,297

 
2,486,700

 
2,138,112

Total stockholders’ deficit
(1,789,322
)
 
(1,396,601
)
 
(653,526
)
 
(245,182
)
 
(76,993
)
 
 
 
(1)
Includes the impact of adopting Topic 606. See Note 3 "Revenue and Capitalized Contract Costs" in the accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of our updated policies related to revenue recognition and accounting for costs to obtain and fulfill a customer contract.

40



ITEM 7.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis provides information which management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read in conjunction with the “Selected Financial Data” and the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in this annual report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of this annual report on Form 10-K. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
Business Overview
We are a smart home technology company. Our purpose-built platform has all the components required to deliver on the promise of a true smart home experience. Our smart home platform is comprised of the following five pillars: (1) our Smart Home Operating System, (2) our AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software, Vivint Assist, (3) our portfolio of proprietary, internally developed smart devices, (4) our curated yet extensible partner-neutral ecosystem, and (5) our people delivering tech-enabled premium services, including consultative selling, professional installation, and support.
We were founded by our CEO Todd Pedersen in 1999 and have grown to become one of the largest smart home solutions providers in North America with over 1.5 million subscribers as of December 31, 2019, managing over 20 million devices and processing over 1.5 billion home-related events on a daily basis. Our nationwide sales and service footprint covers 98% of U.S. zip codes.
Our culture and our history are characterized by a spirit of continuous innovation, resulting in the development of cutting-edge proprietary smart home devices and tech-enabled services for the smart home. Consistent with our Vivint brand name, which represents ‘to live intelligently’, our solution allows subscribers to live intelligently and to enjoy the benefits of a smart home. Our approach has focused on putting the subscriber experience first, which we do by presenting our subscribers with the right combination of technology and support, delivered by people who care.
Our go-to-market strategy is based on directly educating consumers about the value and benefits of a smart home experience. We reach consumers through a variety of efficient customer acquisition channels, including our direct-to-home, national inside sales, and retail partnership programs. We continue to scale these efforts through our proprietary operations technology, by launching new and innovative Products and Services, and by building out our consultative sales channels. We continue to strengthen our relationships with existing subscribers by offering them the ability to use Vivint Flex Pay to finance an upgrade of their existing system and to add new devices and features to their smart homes as our portfolio of offerings expands.
As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we have over 1.5 million and 1.4 million subscribers, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 7%. In 2019 and 2018, we generated revenue of $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively along with a net loss of $395.8 million and $467.9 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had approximately $3.3 billion and $3.0 billion of total debt outstanding, respectively.
Recent Developments
Transaction between Legacy Vivint Smart Home and Vivint Smart Home
On January 17, 2020 (the “Closing Date”), Vivint Smart Home and Legacy Vivint Smart Home, consummated a merger pursuant to a certain agreement and plan of merger, dated September 15, 2019 (the “Agreement and Plan of Merger”), by and among Vivint Smart Home, Maiden Merger Sub, Inc., a subsidiary of Vivint Smart Home (“Merger Sub”), and Legacy Vivint Smart Home, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Amendment” and as amended, the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of December 18, 2019, by and among Vivint Smart Home, Merger Sub and Legacy Vivint Smart Home.
Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, a business combination between Vivint Smart Home and Legacy Vivint Smart Home was effected through the merger of Merger Sub with and into Legacy Vivint Smart Home, with Legacy Vivint Smart Home surviving as the surviving company (the “Merger”). At the effective time of the Merger, each stockholder of Legacy Vivint Smart Home received 84.5320916792 shares of Vivint Smart Home’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for each share of Legacy Vivint Smart Home common stock, par value $0.01 per share, that

41


such stockholder owned. Pursuant in each case to a Subscription Agreement entered into in connection with the Merger Agreement, certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”) and certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone purchased, respectively, 12,500,000 and 10,000,000 newly-issued shares of Common Stock concurrently with the completion of the Merger (the “Closing”) on the Closing Date for an aggregate purchase price of $125.0 million and $100.0 million, respectively.
In connection with the Closing, Mosaic Acquisition Corp. changed its name to Vivint Smart Home, Inc.
Refinancing Transactions
On February 14, 2020, APX completed its offering of $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.75% senior secured notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”) in a private placement.
Concurrently with the 2027 Notes offering, APX amended and restated the credit agreements governing our existing revolving credit facility and existing term loan credit facility (the “Concurrent Refinancing Transactions”). In connection therewith, APX, among other things, (i) extended the maturity date with respect to certain commitments under the revolving credit facility and increased the aggregate commitments in respect of the revolving credit facility to $350.0 million and (ii) extended the maturity date with respect to the loans outstanding under the term loan facility and increased the aggregate principal amount of term loans outstanding under the term loan credit facility to $950.0 million.
APX used the net proceeds from the 2027 Notes offering and Concurrent Refinancing Transactions, together with the proceeds from the Merger, to (i) redeem all of APX’s outstanding 8.750% Senior Notes due 2020 (the “2020 Notes Redemption”), (ii) redeem all of APX’s outstanding 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (the “2022 Private Placement Notes Redemption”), (iii) refinance in full the existing borrowings under APX’s existing term loan facility and existing revolving credit facility, (iv) redeem $223.0 million aggregate principal amount of APX’s outstanding 7.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (the “Existing 7.875% Notes Redemption” and, together with the 2020 Notes Redemption and the 2022 Private Placement Notes Redemption, the “Redemptions”) and (v) pay the related accrued interest, fees and expenses related thereto. APX irrevocably deposited funds with the applicable trustee and/or paying agent to effect the Redemptions and to satisfy and discharge all of APX’s remaining obligations under the indenture governing APX’s 8.750% Senior Notes due 2020 and the note purchase agreement governing APX’s 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022. Vivint intends to use any remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of additional indebtedness.
2024 Notes Offering
On May 10, 2019, APX issued $225 million aggregate principal amount of 8.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2024 (“2024 notes”) in a private placement. APX used the net proceeds from the 2024 notes offering to redeem $225 million aggregate principal amount of its 2020 notes, and to pay the related accrued interest and to pay all fees and expenses related thereto. The indenture governing the 2024 notes contains covenants similar to those applicable to the 2022 notes.
Wireless Internet Business
On July 31, 2019, in an effort to deliver additional cost savings and cash-flow improvements, we completed a spin-off of our wireless internet business. In connection with the spin-off, the equity interests of Vivint Wireless, Inc. were distributed to the stockholders of Legacy Vivint Smart Home pro rata based on their respective holdings.
Our Business Model
Our business is driven by the acquisition of new subscribers and by servicing and growing sales from our existing subscriber base. The acquisition of new subscribers requires significant upfront investment, which in turn generates high-margin recurring revenue from our cloud-enabled smart home solutions. We generate this revenue from selling our solution and accompanying smart home devices to our subscribers. Therefore, we focus our investment decisions on acquiring new subscribers in the most cost-effective manner, while striving to maximize existing subscriber retention and lifetime value.
We have experienced significant historical subscriber growth. For example, our Total Subscribers increased by 95% from December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2019. To drive this growth, we have made significant upfront investments in our various sales channels, as well as technology and infrastructure to support our growing subscriber base. As a result of these investments, we have incurred losses and used significant amounts of cash to fund operations.
As we scale our business a greater percentage of our net acquisition costs for New Subscribers may be funded through revenues generated by our existing subscriber base. Although we anticipate the absolute number of new subscribers to grow

42


over time, we expect the number of new subscribers to decrease as a percentage of our Total Subscribers. We believe this decrease in new subscribers as a percentage of the total, along with the expected growth in revenue, will improve our operating results and operating cash flows over time. Our ability to improve our operating results and cash flows, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described in greater detail elsewhere in this filing and there can be no assurance that we will achieve such improvements. To the extent that we do not scale our business efficiently, we will continue to incur losses and require a significant amount of cash to fund our operations, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flows, operating results and financial condition.
We seek to increase our average monthly revenue per user, or AMRU, by continually innovating and offering new smart home solutions that further leverage the investments made to date in our existing platform and sales channels. Since 2010, we have successfully expanded our smart home platform, which has allowed us to charge higher recurring subscription fees and generate higher smart home device revenue from new subscribers for these additional offerings. For example, the introduction of our proprietary Vivint Smart Hub, Vivint SkyControl Panel, Vivint Glance Display, Vivint Smart Drive, Vivint Doorbell Camera, Vivint Ping Camera, Vivint Outdoor Camera, Vivint Element Thermostat, Vivint Smart Sensor and Vivint Motion Sensor has expanded our smart home platform. Due to the high rate of adoption of additional smart home devices and tech-enabled services, our AMRU has increased from $56.14 in 2013 to $64.44 for the year ended December 31, 2019, an increase of 15%.
Our SHaaS business model generates subscription-based, high-margin recurring revenue from subscribers who contract for our Smart Home Services. We continue to focus on technology, service, and business model innovation to provide superior subscriber experience, from the time of first contact to the day-to-day experience.
In 2017, we made a strategic decision to offer Vivint Flex Pay to the market as a part of our business model innovation, providing benefits to both our subscribers and our company. Vivint Flex Pay provides greater subscriber accessibility and affordability by enabling qualified subscribers to purchase our Products and related installation through unsecured financing provided either by a third party financing partner or by us, in most cases at zero-percent APR. Under the Consumer Financing Program (the “CFP”), qualified subscribers are eligible for installment loans of up to $4,000 for either 42 or 60 months. These installment loans are between the subscriber and Citizens Bank, N.A., or Citizens, as the exclusive third party provider of the installment loans under Vivint Flex Pay. Customers not eligible for the CFP, but who qualify under the Company’s underwriting criteria, may enter into a RIC directly with Vivint. Because we directly fund Product purchases financed through RICs, the mix of financing methods between CFP and RICs affects the amount of cash we receive at the time of subscriber origination to offset this upfront investment.
Pursuant to the agreement between Citizens (the “CFP Agreement”) and us, we pay a monthly fee to Citizens based on the average daily outstanding balance of the loans provided by Citizens to our subscribers, and we share with Citizens the liability for credit losses, with our company being responsible for between 5% to 100% of lost principal balances, depending on factors specified in the CFP Agreement. Additionally, we are responsible for reimbursing Citizens for the credit card transaction fees associated with these loans. The present value of the estimated total fees owed by us to Citizens, based on current loans outstanding, are recorded as a derivative liability on our consolidated balance sheet. The initial term of the CFP Agreement is five years, subject to automatic, one-year renewals unless terminated by either party in accordance with its terms. Because the Vivint Flex Pay plan separates payments for our smart home devices from payments for our Smart Home Services, under the plan agreements, following the expiration of the term of subscribers' initial contract term, annual revenues will primarily be limited to fees from our Services. Thus, our revenues and margins are expected to be lower over the life of the subscriber than under our historical service contracts.
The launch of Vivint Flex Pay has enabled us to accelerate the acquisition of new subscribers and expanded our market opportunity by reducing upfront cash requirements associated with new subscriber acquisitions. Vivint Flex Pay has also improved our unit economics, increased contract length, reduced our balance sheet risk, and increased the capital efficiency of our business. Today, Vivint Flex Pay is the significant driver of our subscriber retention strategy. Our retention improves as our subscribers enter into longer term contracts. Vivint Flex Pay has also improved our subscriber economics with an Average Subscriber Lifetime of 92 months (approximately 8 years) as of December 31, 2019. If our expected long-term annualized attrition rate increased by 1% to 14%, Average Subscriber Lifetime would decrease to approximately 85 months. Conversely, if our expected attrition decreased by 1% to 12%, our Average Subscriber Lifetime would increase to approximately 98 months. Although there are costs to acquiring new subscribers, because we operate on a recurring revenue-based model, acquiring subscribers results in cumulative value generation that compounds and accrues over time.
We expect to continue investing in innovative technologies that will make our platform more valuable and engaging for subscribers, and we expect to continue investing in our subscriber acquisition channels to further improve the economics of our business model.
Recurring services for our subscriber contracts are billed directly to the subscriber in advance, generally monthly, pursuant to the terms of subscriber contracts and recognized ratably over the service period. Because we view the sale of our

43


subscription and the accompanying devices as a single, combined performance obligation, we recognize these revenues together, ratably, generally over the course of the contract. We operate in a single, reportable segment.
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
Our future operating results and cash flows are dependent upon a number of opportunities, challenges and other factors, including our ability to efficiently grow our subscriber base, expand our Product and Service offerings to generate increased revenue per user, provide high quality Products and subscriber service to maximize subscriber lifetime value and improve the leverage of our business model.
Key factors affecting our operating results include the following:
Subscriber Lifetime
Our ability to retain subscribers has a significant impact on our financial results, including revenues, operating income, and operating cash flows. Because we operate a business built on recurring revenues, subscriber lifetime is a key determinant of our operating success. Our Average Subscriber Lifetime is 92 months (approximately 8 years) as of December 31, 2019. If our expected long-term annualized attrition rate increased by 1% to 14%, Average Subscriber Lifetime would decrease to approximately 86 months. Conversely, if our expected attrition decreased by 1% to 12%, our Average Subscriber Lifetime would increase to approximately 100 months. A portion of the subscriber base can be expected to cancel its service every year. Subscribers may choose not to renew or may terminate their contracts for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, relocation, cost, switching to a competitor’s service or service issues. We analyze our retention by tracking the number of subscribers who remain as a percentage of the monthly average number of subscribers at the end of each 12 month period. We caution investors that not all companies, investors and analysts in our industry define retention in this manner.
The table below presents our subscriber data for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Beginning balance of subscribers
1,444,822

 
1,292,698

 
1,146,746

New subscribers
316,403

 
322,574

 
279,735

Attrition
(208,684
)
 
(170,450
)
 
(133,783
)
Ending balance of subscribers
1,552,541

 
1,444,822

 
1,292,698

Monthly average subscribers
1,502,310

 
1,380,741

 
1,214,696

Attrition rate
13.9
%
 
12.3
%
 
11.0
%

Historically, we have experienced an increased level of subscriber cancellations in the months surrounding the expiration of such subscribers’ initial contract term. Attrition in any twelve month period may be impacted by the number of subscriber contracts reaching the end of their initial term in such period. Attrition in the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, reflects the effect of the 2014 60-month, 2015 42-month and 2016 42-month contracts reaching the end of their initial contract term. Attrition in the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 reflects the effect of the 2013 60-month, 2014 60-month and 2015 42-month contracts reaching the end of their initial contract term. We believe this trend in cancellations at the end of the initial contract term is comparable to other companies within our industry.
Our subscribers are the foundation of our recurring revenue-based model. Our operating results are affected by the level of our net acquisition costs to generate those subscribers and the value of Products and Services purchased by them. A reduction in net subscriber acquisition costs or an increase in the total value of Products or Services purchased by a new subscriber increases the life-time value of that subscriber, which in turn, improves our operating results and cash flows over time.
The net upfront cost of adding incremental subscribers is a key factor impacting our ability to scale. Vivint Flex Pay has made it more affordable to accelerate the growth in New Subscribers. Prior to Vivint Flex Pay, we recovered the cost of equipment installed in subscribers’ homes over time through their monthly service billings. From the introduction of Vivint Flex Pay in early 2017 through December 31, 2019, 14% of subscribers have financed their equipment purchases through RICs, which we fund through our balance sheet. We expect the percentage of subscriber contracts financed through RICs to continue decreasing over time. In addition, since the introduction of Vivint Flex Pay in 2017, 100% of new subscribers have either opted to use this program to finance their equipment costs or paid for their equipment themselves at the time of contract origination. This has greatly reduced our net cost per acquisition, as well as the balance sheet impact of acquiring subscribers. Moving forward, we will continue to explore ways to grow our subscriber base in a cost-effective manner through our existing sales and

44


marketing channels, through the growth of our financing programs, as well as through strategic partnerships and new channels, as these opportunities arise.
We believe the Vivint Flex Pay program will result in higher retention, more revenue per user, and thus greater subscriber lifetime values. Existing subscribers are also able to use Vivint Flex Pay to upgrade their systems or to add new products and services, which we believe further increases subscriber lifetime value. This positively impacts our operating performance, and we anticipate that adding additional financing partners to the Vivint Flex Pay program, both in the United States and Canada, will generate additional revenue growth and a subsequent increase in subscriber lifetime value.
Sales and Marketing Efficiency
Our continued ability to attract and sign new subscribers in a cost-effective manner across the United States and Canada will be a key determinant of our future operating performance. Because our direct-to-home and national inside sales channels are currently our primary means of subscriber acquisition, we have invested heavily in scaling these teams. There is a lag in the productivity of new hires, which we anticipate will improve over the course of their tenure, impacting our subscriber acquisition rates and overall operating success. These Smart Home Pros are instrumental to subscriber growth in the regions we cover, and their continued productivity is vital to our future success.
Generating subscriber growth through these investments in our sales teams depends, in part, on our ability to launch cost-effective marketing campaigns, both online and offline. This is particularly true for our NIS channel, because NIS fields inbound requests from subscribers who find us using online search and submitting our on-site contact form. Our marketing campaigns attract potential subscribers and successfully build awareness of our brand across all our sales channels. We also believe that building brand awareness is important to countering the competition we face from other companies in the geographies we serve, particularly in those markets where our direct-to-home sales representatives are present. We expect to scale our retail channel through several pilot programs. Similar to the delay between the hiring of a Smart Home Pro and the resulting revenue generation, we anticipate that our retail efforts will take time to reach capacity. Once they do, we hope to accelerate subscriber acquisition and revenue growth by scaling this channel, while maintaining our unit economics.
Expansion of Platform Monetization
As smart home technology develops, we will continue expanding the breadth and depth of our offerings to reflect the growing needs of our subscriber base and focus on expanding our platform through the addition of new smart home experiences and use cases. As a result of our investments to date, our smart home platform is active in over 1.5 million households. We will continue to develop our Smart Home Operating System to include new complex automation capabilities, use case scenarios, and comprehensive device integrations. Our platform supports over 20 million connected devices, as of December 31, 2019.
With each new Product, Service, or feature we add to our platform, we create an opportunity to generate revenue, either through sales to our existing subscribers or through the acquisition of new subscribers. As a result, we anticipate that offering a broader range of smart home experiences will allow us to grow revenue, because it improves our ability to offer tailored service packages to subscribers with different needs. This is the rationale behind our addition of Carguard, a service that expands our smart home experience beyond the four walls of the home. We believe this expansion of our Product and Service offerings will allow us to build our subscriber base, while maintaining or improving margins.
Whether we upsell existing subscribers or acquire new ones, expansion of our platform and corresponding monetization strategies directly impacts our revenue growth and our average revenue per user, and therefore, our operating results.
Subscribers who contract for a smart home are signing up for our combined proprietary smart home devices and tech-enabled service offerings. At the time of signing, subscribers choose the subscription-based service that matches their smart home needs. Because our revenue and operating margins are determined by which package a subscriber signs up for, ensuring that new subscribers choose the appropriate service offering is a major determinant of our operating success. Additionally, because we cover 98% of US zip codes, our service costs greatly impact our operating margins. Over time, as our organization grows, we achieve economies of scale on our service costs. While we anticipate that our service costs per subscriber will decline over time, an unanticipated increase in service costs could negatively impact our profitability moving forward.
Investment in Future Projects
To date, we have made significant investments in the development of our organization, and expect to leverage these investments to continue expanding our Product and Service offerings over time, including integration with third party products to drive future revenue. Our ability to expand our smart home platform and to monetize the platform as it develops will significantly impact our operating performance and profitability in the future.
We believe that the smart home of the future will be an ecosystem in which businesses will seek to deliver products and services to subscribers in a way that addresses the individual subscriber’s lifestyle and needs. As the smart home becomes the

45


setting for the delivery of a wide range of these products and services, including healthcare, entertainment, home maintenance, elder care, beauty, and consumer goods, we hope to become the hub of this ecosystem and the strategic partner of choice for the businesses delivering these products and services.
Our success in connecting with business partners who integrate with our Smart Home Operating System in order to reach and interact with our subscriber base will be a key determinant of our continued operating success. We expect that additional partnerships will generate incremental revenue, because we will share in the revenue generated by each partner-provided product or service sale that occurs as a result of integration with our smart home platform. If we are able to continue expanding our curated set of partnerships with influential companies, as we already have with Google, Amazon, and Philips, we believe that this will help us to increase our revenue and resulting profitability.
Our ability to introduce a full suite of high-quality innovative new offerings that further expands our existing smart home platform will affect our ability to retain, grow and further monetize our subscriber base. Furthermore, we believe that by vertically integrating the development and design of our Products and Services with our existing sales and subscriber service activities allows us to more quickly respond to market needs, and better understand our subscribers’ interactions and engagement with our Products and Services. This provides critical data that we expect to enable us to continue improving the power, usability and intelligence of these Products and Services. We expect to continue investing in technologies that will make our platform more valuable and engaging for subscribers.
Key Performance Measures
In evaluating our results, we review several key performance measures discussed below. We believe that the presentation of such metrics is useful to our investors and lenders because they are used to measure the value of companies such as ours with recurring revenue streams. Management uses these metrics to analyze its continuing operations and to monitor, assess, and identify meaningful trends in the operating and financial performance of the company.
Total Subscribers
Total subscribers is the aggregate number of active smart home and security subscribers at the end of a given period.
Total Monthly Revenue
Total monthly revenue, or Total MR, is the average monthly total revenue recognized during the period.
Average Monthly Revenue per User
Average monthly revenue per user, or AMRU, is Total MR divided by average monthly Total Subscribers during a given period.
Total Monthly Service Revenue
Total monthly service revenue, or MSR, is the contracted recurring monthly service billings to our smart home and security subscribers, based on the Total Subscribers number as of the end of a given period.
Average Monthly Service Revenue per User
Average monthly service revenue per user, or AMSRU, is Total MSR divided by Total Subscribers at the end of a given period.
Attrition Rate
Attrition rate is the aggregate number of canceled smart home and security subscribers during the prior 12 month period divided by the monthly weighted average number of Total Subscribers based on the Total Subscribers at the beginning and end of each month of a given period. Subscribers are considered canceled when they terminate in accordance with the terms of their contract, are terminated by us or if payment from such subscribers is deemed uncollectible (when at least four monthly billings become past due). If a sale of a service contract to third parties occurs, or a subscriber relocates but continues their service, we do not consider this as a cancellation. If a subscriber transfers their service contract to a new subscriber, we do not consider this as a cancellation.
Average Subscriber Lifetime
Average subscriber lifetime, in number of months, is 100% divided by our expected long-term annualized attrition rate (which is currently estimated at 13%) multiplied by 12 months.
Net Service Cost per Subscriber

46


Net service cost per subscriber is the average monthly service costs incurred during the period (both period and capitalized service costs), including monitoring, customer service, field service and other service support costs, less total non-recurring Smart Home Services billings for the period divided by average monthly Total Subscribers for the same period.
Net Service Margin
Net service margin is the monthly average MSR for the period, less total average net service costs for the period divided by the monthly average MSR for the period.
New Subscribers
New subscribers is the aggregate number of net new smart home and security subscribers originated during a given period. This metric excludes new subscribers acquired by the transfer of a service contract from one subscriber to another.
Net Subscriber Acquisition Costs per New Subscriber
Net subscriber acquisition costs per New Subscriber is the net cash cost to create new smart home and security subscribers during a given 12 month period divided by New Subscribers for that period. These costs include commissions, Products, installation, marketing, sales support and other allocations (general and administrative and overhead); less upfront payment received from the sale of Products associated with the initial installation, and installation fees. These costs exclude capitalized contract costs and upfront proceeds associated with contract modifications.
Total Monthly Service Revenue for New Subscribers
Total Monthly Service Revenue for New Subscribers is the contracted recurring monthly service billings to our New Subscribers during the prior 12 month period.
Total Bookings
Total bookings is Total Monthly Service Revenue for New Subscribers multiplied by Average Subscriber Lifetime, plus total Product revenue to be recognized over the contract term from New Subscribers during the prior 12 month period.
Total Backlog
Total backlog is total unrecognized Product revenue plus total Service revenue expected to be recognized over the remaining subscriber lifetime for Total Subscribers.
Components of Results of Operations

Total Revenues
Recurring and Other Revenue
Our revenues are generated through the sale and installation of our Smart Home Services contracted for by our subscribers. Recurring Smart Home Services for our subscriber contracts are billed directly to the subscriber in advance, generally monthly, pursuant to the terms of subscriber contracts and recognized ratably over the service period. Revenues from Products are deferred and generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the customer contract term, the amount of which is dependent on the total sales price of Products sold. Imputed interest associated with RIC receivables is recognized over the initial term of the RIC. The amount of revenue from Services is dependent upon which of our service offerings is included in the subscriber contracts. Our smart home and video offerings generally provide higher service revenue than our base smart home service offering. Historically, we have generally offered contracts to subscribers that range in length from 36 to 60 months that are subject to automatic monthly renewal after the expiration of the initial term. In addition, to a lesser extent, we have contracts that are offered as month-to-month at the time of origination. At the end of each monthly period, the portion of recurring fees related to services not yet provided are deferred and recognized as these services are provided.

Total Costs and Expenses
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consists of labor associated with monitoring and servicing subscribers and labor and expenses associated with Products used in service repairs. We also incur equipment costs associated with excess and obsolete inventory and rework costs related to Products removed from subscribers' homes. In addition, a portion of general and administrative expenses, comprised of certain human resources, facilities and information technology costs are allocated to operating expenses. This allocation is primarily based on employee headcount and facility square footage occupied. Because

47


our full-time smart home professionals (“Smart Home Pros”) perform most subscriber installations related to customer moves, customer upgrades or those generated through our national inside sales channels, the costs incurred within field service associated with these installations are allocated to capitalized contract costs. We generally expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars as the total number of subscribers we service continues to grow, but to remain relatively constant in the near to intermediate term as a percentage of our revenue.
Selling Expenses
Selling expenses are primarily comprised of costs associated with housing for our direct-to-home sales representatives, advertising and lead generation, marketing and recruiting, certain portions of sales commissions (residuals), overhead (including allocation of certain general and administrative expenses) and other costs not directly tied to a specific subscriber origination. These costs are expensed as incurred. We generally expect our selling expenses to increase in absolute dollars as the total number of subscriber originations continues to grow, but to remain relatively constant in the near to intermediate term as a percentage of our revenue.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist largely of finance, legal, research and development, or R&D, human resources, information technology and executive management expenses, including stock-based compensation expense. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded within various components of our costs and expenses. General and administrative expenses also include the provision for doubtful accounts. We allocate approximately one-third of our gross general and administrative expenses, excluding the provision for doubtful accounts, into operating and selling expenses in order to reflect the overall costs of those components of the business. We generally expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars to support the overall growth in our business, but to decrease in the near to intermediate term as a percentage of our revenue.

Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization consists of depreciation from property, plant and equipment, amortization of equipment leased under finance leases, capitalized contract costs and intangible assets. We generally expect our depreciation and amortization expenses to increase in absolute dollars as we grow our business and increase the number of new subscribers originated on an annual basis, but to remain relatively constant in the near to intermediate term as a percentage of our revenue.
Restructuring Expenses
Restructuring expenses are comprised of costs incurred in relation to activities to exit or dispose of portions of our business that do not qualify as discontinued operations. Expenses for related termination benefits are recognized at the date we notify the employee, unless the employee must provide future service, in which case the benefits are expensed ratably over the future service period. Liabilities related to termination of a contract are measured and recognized at fair value when the contract does not have any future economic benefit to the entity and the fair value of the liability is determined based on the present value of the remaining obligation.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we make assumptions, judgments and estimates that can have a significant impact on our revenue, loss from operations and net loss, as well as on the value of certain assets and liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. We base our assumptions, judgments and estimates on historical experience and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. At least quarterly, we evaluate our assumptions, judgments and estimates and make changes accordingly. Historically, our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to our critical accounting estimates have not differed materially from actual results. We believe that the assumptions, judgments and estimates involved in the accounting for revenue recognition, deferred revenue, capitalized contract costs, derivatives, retail installment contract receivables, allowance for doubtful accounts, loss contingencies, valuation of intangible assets, impairment of long-lived assets, fair value and income taxes have the greatest potential impact on our consolidated financial statements; therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting estimates. For information on our significant accounting policies, see Note 2 to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition

48


We offer our customers smart home services combining Products, including a proprietary control panel, door and window sensors, door locks, security cameras and smoke alarms; installation; and a proprietary back-end cloud platform software and Services. These together create an integrated system that allows our customers to monitor, control and protect their home. Our customers are buying this integrated system that provides them with these Smart Home Services. The number and type of Products purchased by a customer depends on their desired functionality. Because the Products and Services included in the customer’s contract are integrated and highly interdependent, and because they must work together to deliver the Smart Home Services, we have concluded that installed Products, related installation and Services contracted for by the customer are generally not distinct within the context of the contract and, therefore, constitute a single, combined performance obligation. Revenues for this single, combined performance obligation are recognized on a straight-line basis over the customer’s contract term, which is the period in which the parties to the contract have enforceable rights and obligations. We have determined that certain contracts that do not require a long-term commitment for monitoring services by the customer contain a material right to renew the contract, because the customer does not have to purchase Products upon renewal. Proceeds allocated to the material right are recognized over the period of benefit, which is generally three years.
The majority of our subscription contracts are between three and five years in length and are non-cancelable. These contracts with customers generally convert into month-to-month agreements at the end of the initial term, and some customer contracts are month-to-month from inception. Payment for recurring monitoring and other Smart Home Services is generally due in advance on a monthly basis.
Sales of Products and other one-time fees such as service fees or installation fees are invoiced to the customer at the time of sale. Revenues for wireless internet service that were provided by Vivint Wireless Inc. and any Products or Services that are considered separate performance obligations are recognized when those Products or Services are delivered. Taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are not included in revenue. Payments received or amounts billed in advance of revenue recognition are reported as deferred revenue.
We consider Products, related installation, and our proprietary back-end cloud platform software and services an integrated system that allows our customers to monitor, control and protect their homes. These Smart Home Services are accounted for as a single performance obligation that is recognized over the customer’s contract term, which is generally three to five years.
Deferred Revenue
Our deferred revenues primarily consist of amounts for sales (including upfront proceeds) of Smart Home Services. Deferred revenues are recognized over the term of the related performance obligation, which is generally three to five years.
Capitalized Contract Costs
Capitalized contract costs represent the costs directly related and incremental to the origination of new contracts, modification of existing contracts or to the fulfillment of the related subscriber contracts. These include commissions, other compensation and related costs incurred directly for the origination and installation of new or upgraded customer contracts, as well as the cost of Products installed in the subscriber's home at the commencement or modification of the contract. We calculate amortization by accumulating all deferred contract costs into separate portfolios based on the initial month of service and amortize those deferred contract costs on a straight-line basis over the expected period of benefit that we have determined to be five years, consistent with the pattern in which we provide services to our customers. We believe this pattern of amortization appropriately reduces the carrying value of the capitalized contract costs over time to reflect the decline in the value of the assets as the remaining period of benefit for each monthly portfolio of contracts decreases. The period of benefit of five years is longer than a typical contract term because of anticipated contract renewals. We apply this period of benefit to our entire portfolio of contracts. We update our estimate of the period of benefit periodically and whenever events or circumstances indicate that the period of benefit could change significantly. Such changes, if any, are accounted for prospectively as a change in estimate. Amortization of capitalized contract costs is included in “Depreciation and Amortization” on the consolidated statements of operations.
The carrying amount of the capitalized contract costs is periodically reviewed for impairment. In performing this review, we consider whether the carrying amount of the capitalized contract costs will be recovered. In estimating the amount of consideration we expect to receive in the future related to capitalized contract costs, we consider factors such as attrition rates, economic factors, and industry developments, among other factors. If we determine that capitalized contract costs are impaired, we recognize an impairment loss for the amount by which the carrying amount of the capitalized contract costs and the anticipated costs that relate directly to providing the future services exceed the consideration that we have received and that we expect to receive in the future.
Contract costs not directly related and incremental to the origination of new contracts, modification of existing contracts or to the fulfillment of the related subscriber contracts are expensed as incurred. These costs include those associated with

49


housing, marketing and recruiting, non-direct lead generation costs, certain portions of sales commissions and residuals, overhead and other costs considered not directly and specifically tied to the origination of a particular subscriber.
On the accompanying consolidated statement of cash flows, capitalized contract costs are classified as operating activities and reported as “Capitalized contract costs – deferred contract costs” as these assets represent deferred costs associated with subscriber contracts.
Consumer Financing Program
Vivint Flex Pay became our primary sales model beginning in March 2017. Under Vivint Flex Pay, customers pay separately for Products and Services. The customer has the following three ways to pay for the Products: (1) qualified customers in the United States may finance the purchase of Products through a third-party financing provider (“Consumer Financing Program”), (2) we offer to some customers not eligible for the Consumer Financing Program, but who qualify under our underwriting criteria, the option to enter into a retail installment contract (“RIC”) directly with us, or (3) customers may purchase the Products at the outset of the service contract by check, automatic clearing house payments (“ACH”), credit or debit card.
Under the Consumer Financing Program, qualified customers are eligible for loans provided by third-party financing providers up to $4,000. The annual percentage rates on these loans range between 0% and 9.99%, based on the customer's credit quality, and are either installment loans or revolving loans with a 42 or 60 month term.
For certain third-party provider loans, we pay a monthly fee based on either the average daily outstanding balance of the loans or the number of outstanding loans, depending on the third-party financing provider and we share liability for credit losses, with the Company being responsible for between 5% and 100% of lost principal balances. Additionally, we are responsible for reimbursing certain third-party financing providers for the credit card transaction fees associated with the loans. Because of the nature of these provisions, we record a derivative liability at its fair value when the third-party financing provider originates loans to customers, which reduces the amount of estimated revenue recognized on the provision of the services. The derivative liability represents the estimated remaining amounts to be paid to the third-party provider by us related to outstanding loans, including the monthly fees based on either the outstanding loan balances or the number of outstanding loans, shared liabilities for credit losses and customer payment processing fees. The derivative liability is reduced as payments are made by us to the third-party financing provider. Subsequent changes to the fair value of the derivative liability are realized through other expenses (income), net in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.
For other third-party loans, we receive net proceeds (net of fees and expected losses) for which we have no further obligation to the third-party. We record these net proceeds to deferred revenue.

Retail Installment Contract Receivables
For subscribers that enter into a RIC to finance the purchase of Products and related installation, we record a receivable for the amount financed. Gross RIC receivables are reduced for (i) expected write-offs of uncollectible balances over the term of the RIC and (ii) a present value discount of the expected cash flows using a risk adjusted market interest rate (together, the “RIC Discount”). Therefore, the RIC receivables equal the present value of the expected cash flows to be received by us over the term of the RIC. At the time of installation, we record a long-term note receivable within long-term notes receivables and other assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets for the present value of the receivables that are expected to be collected beyond 12 months of the reporting date. The unbilled receivable amounts that are expected to be collected within 12 months of the reporting date are included as a short-term notes receivable within accounts and notes receivable, net on the consolidated balance sheets. The billed amounts of notes receivable are included in accounts receivable within accounts and notes receivable, net on the consolidated balance sheets.
We impute the interest on the RIC receivable using a risk adjusted market interest rate and record it as an adjustment to deferred revenue and as an adjustment to the face amount of the related receivable. The risk adjusted interest rate considers a number of factors, including credit quality of the subscriber base and other qualitative considerations such as macro-economic factors. The imputed interest income is recognized over the term of the RIC contract as recurring and other revenue on the consolidated statements of operations.
When we determine that there are RIC receivables that have become uncollectible, we record an adjustment to the RIC Discount and reduce the related note receivable balance. On a regular basis, we also assess the level of the RIC Discount balance based on historical RIC write-off trends and adjust the balance, if necessary. Account balances are written-off if collection efforts are unsuccessful and future collection is unlikely based on the length of time from the day accounts become past due.
Accounts Receivable

50


Accounts receivable consists primarily of amounts due from subscribers for recurring monthly monitoring Services and the billed portion of RIC receivables. The accounts receivable are recorded at invoiced amounts and are non-interest bearing and are included within accounts and notes receivable, net on the consolidated balance sheets. We estimate this allowance based on historical collection experience and subscriber attrition rates. When we determine that there are accounts receivable that are uncollectible, they are charged off against the allowance for doubtful accounts. The provision for doubtful accounts is included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Loss Contingencies
We record accruals for various contingencies including legal proceedings and other claims that arise in the normal course of business. The accruals are based on judgment, the probability of losses and, where applicable, the consideration of opinions of legal counsel. We record an accrual when a loss is deemed probable to occur and is reasonably estimable. Factors that we consider in the determination of the likelihood of a loss and the estimate of the range of that loss in respect of legal matters include the merits of a particular matter, the nature of the litigation, the length of time the matter has been pending, the procedural posture of the matter, whether we intend to defend the matter, the likelihood of settling for an insignificant amount and the likelihood of the plaintiff accepting an amount in this range. However, the outcome of such legal matters is inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Purchase accounting requires that all assets and liabilities acquired in a transaction be recorded at fair value on the acquisition date, including identifiable intangible assets separate from goodwill. For significant acquisitions, we obtain independent appraisals and valuations of the intangible (and certain tangible) assets acquired and certain assumed obligations as well as equity. Identifiable intangible assets include customer relationships and other purchased and internally developed technology. Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired.
The estimated fair values and useful lives of identified intangible assets are based on many factors, including estimates and assumptions of future operating performance and cash flows of the acquired business, estimates of cost avoidance, the nature of the business acquired, the specific characteristics of the identified intangible assets and our historical experience and that of the acquired business. The estimates and assumptions used to determine the fair values and useful lives of identified intangible assets could change due to numerous factors, including product demand, market conditions, regulations affecting the business model of our operations, technological developments, economic conditions and competition.
We conduct a goodwill impairment analysis annually in the fourth fiscal quarter, as of October 1, and as necessary if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that the fair value of our reporting units may be less than their carrying amounts. When indicators of impairment do not exist and certain accounting criteria are met, we are able to evaluate goodwill impairment using a qualitative approach. When necessary, our quantitative goodwill impairment test consists of two steps. The first step requires that we compare the estimated fair value of our reporting units to the carrying value of the reporting unit’s net assets, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than the carrying value of its net assets, goodwill is not considered to be impaired and no further testing is required. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value of its net assets, we would be required to complete the second step of the test by analyzing the fair value of its goodwill. If the carrying value of the goodwill exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge is recorded. Our reporting units are determined based on our current reporting structure, which as of December 31, 2019 consisted of one reporting unit. As of December 31, 2019, there were no changes in facts and circumstances since the most recent annual impairment analysis to indicate impairment existed.

Property, Plant and Equipment and Long-lived Assets
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease term for assets under finance leases, whichever is shorter. Intangible assets with definite lives are amortized over the remaining estimated economic life of the underlying technology or relationships, which ranges from two to ten years. Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the asset or in a pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible asset are consumed. Amortization expense associated with leased assets is included with depreciation expense. Routine repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred.
We review long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, capitalized contract costs, and definite-lived intangibles for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. We consider whether or not indicators of impairment exist on a regular basis and as part of each quarterly and annual financial statement close process. Factors we consider in determining whether or not indicators of impairment exist include market factors and patterns of customer attrition. If indicators of impairment are identified, we estimate the fair value of the assets. An

51


impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value.
We conduct an indefinite-lived intangible impairment analysis annually as of October 1, and as necessary if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangibles may be less than the carrying amount. When indicators of impairment do not exist and certain accounting criteria are met, we are able to evaluate indefinite-lived intangible impairment using a qualitative approach. When necessary, our quantitative impairment test consists of two steps. The first step requires that we compare the estimated fair value of our indefinite-lived intangibles to the carrying value. If the fair value is greater than the carrying value, the intangibles are not considered to be impaired and no further testing is required. If the fair value is less than the carrying value, an impairment loss in an amount equal to the difference is recorded.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes based on the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets when it is determined that it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.
We recognize the effect of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return at the largest amount that is more likely than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. Our policy for recording interest and penalties is to record such items as a component of the provision for income taxes.
Changes in tax laws and rates could also affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities in the future. We record the effect of a tax rate or law change on our deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period of enactment. Future tax rate or law changes could have a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 to our accompanying audited Consolidated Financial Statements.

Basis of Presentation
We conduct business through one operating segment, Vivint and primarily operate in two geographic regions: the United States and Canada. See Note 16 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for more information about our geographic segments.
 

Results of operations
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
 
(in thousands)
Total revenues
$
1,155,981

 
$
1,050,441

 
$
881,983

Total costs and expenses
1,298,098

 
1,292,500

 
1,037,476

Loss from operations
(142,117
)
 
(242,059
)
 
(155,493
)
Other expenses
252,326

 
227,466

 
253,628

Loss before taxes
(394,443
)
 
(469,525
)
 
(409,121
)
Income tax expense (benefit)
1,313

 
(1,611
)
 
1,078

Net loss
$
(395,756
)
 
$
(467,914
)
 
$
(410,199
)

Key performance measures


52


 
Year ended December 31,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Total Subscribers (in thousands)
1,552.5

 
1,444.8

 
1,292.7

Total MSR (in thousands)
$
79,858

 
$
76,103

 
$
70,992

AMSRU
$
51.44

 
$
52.67

 
$
54.92

Net subscriber acquisition costs per new subscriber
$
1,018

 
$
1,189

 
$
1,594

Net service cost per subscriber
$
13.73

 
$
16.27

 
$
15.69

Net service margin
74
%
 
69
%
 
72
%
Average subscriber lifetime (months)
92

 
91

 
90

Total bookings (in millions)
$
1,753

 
$
1,676

 
$
1,524

Total backlog (in millions)
$
5,813

 
$
5,163

 
$
4,758

 
Year ended December 31,
 
2019
2018
 
2017
 
As Reported
 
As Adjusted (1)
 
As Reported
 
As Adjusted (1)
 
 
Total MR (in thousands)
$
97,093

 
$
92,787

 
$
87,537

 
$
83,879

 
$
73,499

AMRU
$
64.44

 
$
61.58

 
$
63.11

 
$
60.47

 
$
60.21


 
 
(1)
As adjusted excludes the impact of adopting Topic 606 associated with total revenues recognized. See Note 3 "Revenue and Capitalized Contract Costs" in the accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of our updated policies related to revenue recognition and accounting for costs to obtain and fulfill a customer contract.
Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2018
Revenues
The following table provides our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Recurring and other revenue
$
1,155,981

 
$
1,050,441

 
10
%
Recurring and other revenue increased $105.5 million, or 10% for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. An increase in Total Subscribers of approximately 7.5% led to an increase of approximately $91.6 million in recurring and other revenue and an increase in AMRU resulted in an increase of approximately $28.9 million in recurring and other revenue. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded an adjustment to reduce recurring and other revenue of $9.1 million associated with a change in accounting estimate related to RIC receivables associated with subscribers originated in 2017 and 2018 (see Note 4 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements). The spin-off of our wireless internet business in July 2019 resulted in a $4.1 million decrease in recurring and other revenue (see Note 10 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information on the Wireless spin-off). When compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, currency translation negatively affected recurring and other revenue by $1.7 million, as computed on a constant foreign currency basis.
Costs and Expenses
The following table provides the significant components of our costs and expenses for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:
 

53


 
2019
 
2018
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Operating expenses
$
369,285

 
$
355,813

 
4
 %
Selling expenses
193,359

 
213,386

 
(9
)%
General and administrative
192,014

 
204,536

 
(6
)%
Depreciation and amortization
543,440

 
514,082

 
6
 %
Restructuring and asset impairment charges

 
4,683

 
NM

Total costs and expenses
$
1,298,098

 
$
1,292,500

 
 %
 
 
(1)
Not Meaningful (“NM”)

     Operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased $13.5 million, or 4%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. This increase was primarily due to increases of $7.4 million in personnel and related costs; facility and rent expense of $5.5 million; information technology expenses of $4.2 million; contracted services of $3.2 million; and $2.6 million of payment processing and bank fees. These increases were offset by decreases of $5.5 million in costs associated with our retail and other sales pilots and a decrease of $2.8 million associated with the spin-off of our wireless internet business in July 2019.
Selling expenses, excluding capitalized contract costs, decreased $20.0 million, or 9%, for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily due to decreases of $12.2 million in personnel and related costs; expenses associated with our retail and other sales pilots of $9.5 million; and housing and related costs of $6.9 million. These decreases were offset by an increase in marketing costs of $10.2 million primarily associated with lead generation.
General and administrative expenses decreased $12.5 million, or 6%, for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily due to a decrease of $10.0 million associated with the spin-off of our wireless internet business; personnel and related costs of $6.3 million; information technology costs of $3.5 million; and research and development costs of $1.9 million. These decreases were offset by an increase of $5.7 million in bad debt expense and an increase of $1.7 million in facility related costs.
Depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased $29.4 million, or 6%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 primarily due to increased amortization of capitalized contract costs related to new subscribers.
Restructuring expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 related to employee severance and termination benefits expenses (See Note 11 to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information).
Other Expenses, net
The following table provides the significant components of our other expenses, net, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Interest expense
$
260,014

 
$
245,214

 
6
%
Interest income
(23
)
 
(425
)
 
NM

Other income, net
(7,665
)
 
(17,323
)
 
NM

Total other expenses, net
$
252,326

 
$
227,466

 
11
%
Interest expense increased $14.8 million, or 6%, for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared with the year ended December 31, 2018, due to a higher principal balance on our debt. See Note 5 to our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on our long-term debt.

54


Other income, net represented $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $17.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The other income during the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily due a gain on our derivative instrument of $5.1 million and a foreign currency exchange gain of $3.4 million, offset by a loss on debt modification and extinguishment of $0.8 million. The other income during the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the $50.4 million gain associated with the sale of our Spectrum intangible assets (see Note 8 to our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information), offset by a loss on debt modification and extinguishment of $14.6 million, a loss on our derivative instrument of $12.6 million and a foreign currency exchange loss of $7.1 million.

See Note 5 to our accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information on our long-term debt related to other expenses, net.
Income Taxes
The following table provides the significant components of our income tax expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Income tax expense (benefit)
$
1,313

 
$
(1,611
)
 
NM
Income tax expense was $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to an income tax benefit of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Our tax expense and benefit for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, resulted primarily from the income and loss in our Canadian subsidiary, U.S. minimum state taxes, and the partial release of the domestic valuation allowance in 2019 associated with certain acquisitions.
Year Ended December 31, 2018 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2017
Revenues
The following table provides the significant components of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:
 
 
2018
 
2017
 
% Change
 
As Reported
 
Topic 606 Adjustments
 
As Adjusted (1)
 
 
As Reported
 
As Adjusted
 
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
Recurring and other revenue
$
1,050,441

 
$
(99,780
)
 
$
950,661

 
$
843,420

 
25
%
 
13
 %
Service and other sales revenue

 
46,177

 
$
46,177

 
26,988

 
NM

 
71
 %
Activation fees

 
9,705

 
$
9,705

 
11,575

 
NM

 
(16
)%
Total revenues
$
1,050,441

 
$
(43,898
)
 
$
1,006,543

 
$
881,983

 
19
%
 
14
 %
 
 
(1)
As adjusted excludes the impact of adopting Topic 606. See Note 3 "Revenue and Capitalized Contract Costs" in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of our updated policies related to revenue recognition and accounting for costs to obtain and fulfill a customer contract.
Total revenues increased $168.5 million, or 19%, for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, of which $43.9 million was associated with the adoption of Topic 606 related to the timing of revenue recognition. The impact of Topic 606 primarily related to the change in timing of revenue recognition associated with customer payments related to Products.
Recurring and other revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $207.0 million, or 25%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, of which $99.8 million related to the adoption of Topic 606 associated with the timing of revenue recognition and classification of revenue components. The as adjusted recurring and other revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 totaled $950.7 million, an increase of $107.2 million, or 13%. Approximately $110.1 million of this

55


increase in recurring and other revenue was due to an increase in Total Subscribers. Recognized deferred revenue increased $46.0 million and recognized RIC imputed interest increased $7.6 million, due to the increased subscriber base, increases in sales of Products and the company's transition to Vivint Flex Pay in 2017. When compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, currency translation had an immaterial impact, as computed on a constant currency basis. The increase in recurring and other revenue was partially offset by $53.7 million from a decrease in the AMSRU of approximately $3.00 attributable to the Company's transition to Vivint Flex Pay in early 2017 and a decrease of $2.7 million related to wireless.
Total service and other sales revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 totaled $27.0 million. The as adjusted service and other sales revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 totaled $46.2 million, which represented an increase of $19.2 million, or 71%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to upgrade Product sales and increased service-related billings.
Revenues recognized related to activation fees for the year ended December 31, 2017 totaled $11.6 million. The as adjusted revenues recognized related to activation fees for the year ended December 31, 2018 totaled $9.7 million, which represented a decrease of $1.9 million, or 16% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. This change was primarily due to activation fees no longer being billed separately to subscribers at the time of installation under Vivint Flex Pay.
Costs and Expenses
The following table provides the significant components of our costs and expenses for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:
 
 
2018
 
2017
 
% Change
 
As Reported
 
Topic 606 Adjustments
 
As Adjusted (1)
 
 
As Reported
 
As Adjusted
 
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
Operating expenses
$
355,813

 
$
29,859

 
$
385,672

 
$
321,476

 
11
%
 
20
%
Selling expenses
213,386

 

 
213,386

 
198,348

 
8
%
 
8
%
General and administrative
204,536

 

 
204,536

 
188,397

 
9
%
 
9
%
Depreciation and amortization
514,082

 
(146,203
)
 
367,879

 
329,255

 
56
%
 
12
%
Restructuring and asset impairment charges
4,683

 

 
4,683

 

 
NM

 
NM

Total costs and expenses
$
1,292,500

 
$
(116,344
)
 
$
1,176,156

 
$
1,037,476

 
25
%
 
13
%
 
 
(1)
As adjusted excludes the impact of adopting Topic 606. See Note 3 "Revenue and Capitalized Contract Costs" in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of our updated policies related to revenue recognition and accounting for costs to obtain and fulfill a customer contract.
Operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $34.3 million, or 11%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, which excluded $29.9 million related to certain contract costs previously expensed, but are now included in capitalized contract costs after the adoption of Topic 606. As adjusted operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $64.2 million, or 20% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. This increase was primarily due to increases of $62.9 million in personnel and related costs for field service and customer care, an increase of $11.1 million in non-capitalized equipment and shipping costs, and an increase of $2.7 million of payment processing and bank fees associated with the increase in Total Subscribers and the Company's transition to Vivint Flex Pay. These increases were offset by decreases of $6.8 million in costs associated with our retail and other sales pilots, contracted services of $5.0 million primarily associated with third-party field services and information technology operating expenses of $2.1 million.
Selling expenses, excluding capitalized contract costs (formerly subscriber acquisition costs), increased by $15.0 million, or 8%, for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to increases of $14.1 million in personnel and related costs, sales-related information technology costs of $7.9 million, housing and related costs of $6.0 million and marketing costs of $4.7 million primarily associated with lead generation. These increases were offset by a decrease of $18.8 million in costs associated with our retail and other sales pilots.

56


General and administrative expenses increased $16.1 million, or 9%, for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily due to increases in personnel and related costs of $25.4 million, including $6.0 million associated with us offering a 401(k) match beginning in 2018, research and development costs of $5.3 million, information technology costs of $4.3 million and an increase in contracted services costs of $2.3 million. These costs were offset by a decrease of $10.4 million in costs associated with our retail and other sales pilots and a decrease of $9.1 million in legal and litigation matters.
Depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $184.8 million, or 56%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017, of which $146.2 million was associated with the adoption of Topic 606, relating to the timing of amortization of capitalized contract costs. As adjusted depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $38.6 million, or 12%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 primarily due to increased amortization of capitalized contract costs (formerly subscriber acquisition costs) related to new subscribers.
Restructuring expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 related to employee severance and termination benefits expenses (See Note 10 to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information).

Other Expenses, net
The following table provides the significant components of our other expenses, net, for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
 
2018
 
2017
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Interest expense
$
245,214

 
$
225,772

 
9
 %
Interest income
(425
)
 
(130
)
 
NM

Other loss (income), net
(17,323
)
 
27,986

 
NM

Total other expenses, net
$
227,466

 
$
253,628

 
(10
)%
Interest expense increased $19.4 million, or 9%, for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared with the year ended December 31, 2017, due to a higher principal balance on our debt. See Note 5 to our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on our long-term debt.
Other (income) loss, net, represented income of $17.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to a loss of $28.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The other income during the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the $50.4 million gain associated with the sale of our Spectrum intangible assets (see Note 8 to our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information), offset by a loss on debt modification and extinguishment of $14.6 million, a loss on our derivative instrument of $12.6 million and a foreign currency exchange loss of $7.1 million. The other loss during the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily due to a loss of $23.0 million resulting from our debt modification and extinguishment and a loss on our derivative instrument of $9.6 million, offset by a foreign currency exchange gain of $4.9 million.
See Note 5 to our accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information on our long-term debt related to other expenses, net.
Income Taxes
The following table provides the significant components of our income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
 
2018
 
2017
 
% Change
 
(in thousands)
 
 
Income tax expense
$
(1,611
)
 
$
1,078

 
NM

57


Income tax benefit was $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to an income tax expense of $1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Our tax benefit and expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, resulted primarily from the loss and earnings in our Canadian subsidiary, as well as U.S. minimum state taxes.
Unaudited Quarterly Results of Operations
The following tables present our unaudited quarterly consolidated results of operations for the four quarters ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. This unaudited quarterly consolidated information has been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, the statement of operations data includes all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the results of operations for these periods. You should read these tables in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes located elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for a full year or any future periods.
 
 
Three Months Ended
 
December 31, 2019
 
September 30, 2019
 
June 30, 2019
 
March 31, 2019
 
(in thousands)
Statement of operations data
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revenue
$
307,835

 
$
290,844

 
$
281,053

 
$
276,249

Loss from operations
(20,818
)
 
(42,492
)
 
(50,829
)
 
(27,978
)
Net loss
(88,412
)
 
(102,292
)
 
(115,896
)
 
(89,156
)
 
Three Months Ended
 
December 31, 2018
 
September 30, 2018
 
June 30, 2018
 
March 31, 2018
 
(in thousands)
Statement of operations data
 
 
 
Revenue
$
276,542

 
$
272,335

 
$
254,967

 
$
246,597

Loss from operations
(46,137
)
 
(44,058
)
 
(80,233
)
 
(71,631
)
Net loss
(118,586
)
 
(120,226
)
 
(144,385
)
 
(84,717
)

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary source of liquidity has historically been cash from operations, proceeds from issuances of debt securities, borrowings under our credit facilities and, to a lesser extent, capital contributions. As of December 31, 2019, we had $4.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $32.1 million of availability under our revolving credit facility (after giving effect to $11.1 million of letters of credit outstanding and $245.0 million of borrowings). Subsequent to December 31, 2019 the Company used the net proceeds from the 2027 Notes offering and Concurrent Refinancing Transactions, together with the proceeds from the Merger, to (i) redeem all of the 2020 Notes, (ii) redeem all of the 2022 Private Placement Notes , (iii) refinance in full the existing borrowings under the existing term loan facility and existing revolving credit facility, (iv) redeem $223.0 million aggregate principal amount of the 2022 Notes and (v) pay the related accrued interest, fees and expenses related thereto.
As market conditions warrant, we and our equity holders, including the Sponsor, its affiliates and members of our management, may from time to time, seek to purchase our outstanding debt securities or loans, in privately negotiated or open market transactions, by tender offer or otherwise. Subject to any applicable limitations contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness, any purchases made by us may be funded by the use of cash on our balance sheet or the incurrence of new secured or unsecured debt, including additional borrowings under our revolving credit facility. The amounts involved in any such purchase transactions, individually or in the aggregate, may be material. Any such purchases may be with respect to a substantial amount of a particular class or series of debt, with the attendant reduction in the trading liquidity of such class or series. In addition, any such purchases made at prices below the “adjusted issue price” (as defined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) may result in taxable cancellation of indebtedness income to us, which amounts may be material, and in related adverse tax consequences to us. Depending on conditions in the credit and capital markets and other factors, we will, from time to time, consider various financing transactions, the proceeds of which could be used to refinance our indebtedness or for other purposes. As examples, we recently entered into the following financing transactions:

58


In September 2018, we borrowed $810 million under the 2024 Term Loan B (the “2024 Term Loan B”). We used a portion of the net proceeds from the borrowings under the 2024 Term Loan B to redeem in full the entire $269.5 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of the existing 2019 notes and pay the related accrued interest and redemption premium, to repurchase approximately $250.7 million aggregate principal amount of the 2020 notes, and to pay fees and expenses related to the Term Loan Agreement, and
In May 2019, we issued $225 million aggregate principal amount of 2024 notes. We used the net proceeds from the 2024 notes offering to redeem $225 million aggregate principal amount of our 2020 notes, and to pay the related accrued interest and to pay all fees and expenses related thereto.
Capital Contribution
In each of July 2019 and September 2018, Parent contributed $4.7 million to us as equity contributions.
Cash Flow and Liquidity Analysis
Our cash flows provided by operating activities include recurring monthly billings, cash received from the sale of Products to our customers that either pay-in-full at the time of installation or finance their purchase of Products under the Consumer Financing Program and other fees received from the customers we service. Cash used in operating activities includes the cash costs to monitor and service our subscribers, a portion of subscriber acquisition costs, interest associated with our debt and general and administrative costs. Historically, we financed subscriber acquisition costs through our operating cash flows, the issuance of debt and, to a lesser extent, through the issuance of equity and sale of contracts to third parties. Currently, the upfront proceeds under Vivint Flex Pay, and those that are paid-in-full at the time of the sale of Products, offset a portion of the upfront investment associated with subscriber acquisition costs.
Sales from our direct-to-home channel are seasonal in nature. We make investments in the recruitment of our direct-to-home sales representatives, inventory and other support costs for the April through August sales period prior to each sales season. We experience increases in capitalized contract costs, as well as costs to support the sales force throughout North America, prior to and during this time period. The incremental inventory purchased to support the direct-to-home sales season is generally consumed prior to the end of the calendar year in which it is purchased.

The following table provides a summary of cash flow data (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Net cash used in operating activities
 
$
(221,592
)
 
$
(220,499
)
 
$
(309,332
)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
 
(5,612
)
 
32,922

 
(21,661
)
Net cash provided by financing activities
 
218,914

 
196,407

 
291,213

Cash Flows from Operating Activities
We generally reinvest the cash flows from our recurring monthly billings and cash received from the sale of Products associated with the initial installation into our business, primarily to (1) maintain and grow our subscriber base, (2) expand our infrastructure to support this growth, (3) enhance our existing Smart Home Service offerings, (4) develop new Smart Home Service offerings and (5) expand into new sales channels. These investments are focused on generating new subscribers, increasing the revenue from our existing subscriber base, enhancing the overall quality of service provided to our subscribers, and increasing the productivity and efficiency of our workforce and back-office functions necessary to scale our business.
For the year ended December 31, 2019, net cash used in operating activities was $221.6 million. This cash used was primarily from a net loss of $395.8 million, adjusted for:
$552.4 million in non-cash amortization, depreciation, and stock-based compensation,
a $25.0 million provision for doubtful accounts, and
a $1.1 million net gain on sale of disposal of assets,
a $2.3 million realized gain on equity securities, and
a $0.8 million loss on early extinguishment of debt.

59


Cash used in operating activities also resulted from changes in operating assets and liabilities, including:
a $533.5 million increase in capitalized contract costs,
$34.5 million increase in accounts receivable driven primarily by the increase in billed RIC receivables,
$8.1 million decrease in right-of-use operating lease liabilities,
a $14.0 million increase in inventories on hand, and
a $0.8 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.
These uses of operating cash were partially offset by:
a $128.6 million increase in deferred revenue due to the increased subscriber base and the increase of deferred revenues associated with Product sales under Vivint Flex Pay,
a $21.0 million decrease in other assets primarily due to decreases in notes receivables associated with RICs,
a $24.9 million increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities due primarily from increases in accrued interest on our long term debt and accrued payroll related costs,
$7.3 million decrease in right-of-use operating assets and
a $5.6 million increase in accounts payable due primarily to non-direct third-party services.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash used in operating activities was $220.5 million. This cash used was primarily from a net loss of $467.9 million, adjusted for:
$521.7 million in non-cash amortization, depreciation, and stock-based compensation,
a $49.8 million net gain on sale of disposal of assets primarily associated with the sale of our spectrum intangible assets,
a $14.6 million loss on early extinguishment of debt,
a $19.4 million provision for doubtful accounts, and
a $0.5 million unrealized gain on equity securities.
Cash used in operating activities also resulted from changes in operating assets and liabilities, including:
a $499.3 million increase in capitalized contract costs,
$34.0 million increase in accounts receivable driven primarily by the increase in billed RIC receivables,
a $29.1 million increase in other assets primarily due to increases in notes receivables associated with RICs, and
a $27.0 million decrease in accounts payable due primarily to decreases in inventory purchases.
These uses of operating cash were partially offset by:
a $172.9 million increase in deferred revenue due to the increased subscriber base and the increase of deferred revenues associated with Product sales under Vivint Flex Pay,
a $91.5 million increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities due primarily from increases in accrued interest on our long term debt,
a $64.4 million decrease in inventories primarily associated with the decrease in inventory on hand associated with our retail sales channel, and
a $4.7 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets.
For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash used in operating activities was $309.3 million. This cash used was primarily from a net loss of $410.2 million, adjusted for:
$337.4 million in non-cash amortization, depreciation, and stock-based compensation,
a $23.1 million loss on early extinguishment of debt, and
a $22.5 million provision for doubtful accounts.
Cash used in operating activities also resulted from changes in operating assets and liabilities, including:
a $457.7 million increase in subscriber acquisition costs,

60


a $75.6 million increase in inventories to support our Best Buy relationship and the anticipated sales generated by our national inside sales channel,
a $74.8 million increase in other assets primarily due to increases in notes receivables associated with RICs,
a $49.6 million increase in accounts receivable driven primarily by the recognition of billed RIC receivables, and
a $6.0 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.
These uses of operating cash were partially offset by:
a $247.5 million increase in deferred revenue due to the increased subscriber base and the generation of deferred revenues associated with Product sales under Vivint Flex Pay,
a $70.5 million increase in accounts payable due primarily to increases in inventory purchases, and
a $62.2 million increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities due primarily from increases in accrued interest on our long term debt.
Our outstanding debt as of December 31, 2019 was approximately $3.3 billion. Net cash interest paid for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 related to our indebtedness (excluding finance leases) totaled $250.4 million, $236.7 million and $203.4 million, respectively. Our net cash from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, before these interest payments, was an inflow of $28.8 million, an inflow of $16.2 million and an outflow of $105.9 million, respectively. Accordingly, our net cash from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was insufficient to cover these interest payments. For additional information regarding our outstanding indebtedness see “—Long-Term Debt” below.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Historically, our investing activities have primarily consisted of capital expenditures, business combinations and technology acquisitions. Capital expenditures primarily consist of periodic additions to property and equipment to support the growth in our business.
For the year ended December 31, 2019, net cash used in investing activities was $5.6 million. This cash used primarily consisted of capital expenditures of $10.1 million and acquisition of intangible assets of $1.8 million. These cash uses were offset by $5.4 million in equity security sales.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash provided by investing activities was $32.9 million. This cash provided primarily consisted of net proceeds of $53.7 million primarily from the sale of our spectrum intangible assets, offset by capital expenditures of $19.4 million and acquisition of intangible assets of $1.5 million.
For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash used in investing activities was $21.7 million. This cash used primarily consisted of capital expenditures of $20.4 million and acquisition of intangible assets of $1.8 million.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Historically, our cash flows provided by financing activities primarily related to the issuance of debt, all to fund the portion of upfront costs associated with generating new subscribers that are not covered through our operating cash flows or through our Vivint Flex Pay program. Uses of cash for financing activities are generally associated with the return of capital to our stockholders, the repayment of debt and the payment of financing costs associated with the issuance of debt.
For the year ended December 31, 2019, net cash provided by financing activities was $218.9 million, consisting primarily of $225.0 million in borrowings on notes, $342.5 million in borrowings on the revolving credit facility and $4.7 million from a capital contribution. This was offset with $233.1 million of repayments on notes, $97.5 million of repayments on the revolving credit facility, $4.9 million in financing costs, $9.8 million of repayments under our finance lease obligations and $8.0 million in returns of capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash provided by financing activities was $196.4 million, consisting primarily of $810.0 million in borrowings on notes, $201.0 million in borrowings on the revolving credit facility and $4.7 million from a capital contribution. This was offset with $522.2 million of repayments on notes, $261.0 million of repayments on the revolving credit facility, $20.6 million in financing costs, $12.4 million of repayments under our capital lease obligations and $3.1 million in returns of capital.

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For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash provided by financing activities was $291.2 million, consisting primarily of $724.8 million in borrowings on notes and $196.9 million in borrowings on the revolving credit facility. This was offset with $450.0 million of repayments on notes, $136.9 million of repayments on the revolving credit facility, $29.4 million in financing costs, $10.0 million of repayments under our capital lease obligations, $3.0 million in repayments under spectrum lease obligations and $1.2 million in returns of capital.
Long-Term Debt
We are a highly leveraged company with significant debt service requirements. As of December 31, 2019, we had $3,294.2 million of aggregate principal total debt outstanding, consisting of $454.3 million of outstanding 2020 notes, $270 million of outstanding 2022 private placement notes, $900.0 million of outstanding 2022 notes, $400.0 million of outstanding 2023 notes, $225.0 million of outstanding 2024 notes and $799.9 million of outstanding 2024 Term Loan B with $32.1 million of availability under our revolving credit facility (after giving effect to $11.1 million of outstanding letters of credit and $245.0 million of borrowings).
Revolving Credit Facility
On November 16, 2012, we entered into a $200.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility, with a five year maturity. In addition, we may request one or more term loan facilities, increased commitments under the revolving credit facility or new revolving credit commitments, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $225.0 million.
On June 28, 2013, we amended and restated the credit agreement to provide for a new repriced tranche of revolving credit commitments with a lower interest rate. Nearly all of the existing tranches of revolving credit commitments were terminated and converted into the repriced tranche, with the unterminated portion of the existing tranche continuing to accrue interest at the original higher rate.
On March 6, 2015, we amended and restated the credit agreement to provide for, among other things, (1) an increase in the aggregate commitments previously available to us from $200.0 million to $289.4 million and (2) the extension of the maturity date with respect to certain of the previously available commitments.
On August 10, 2017, we amended and restated the credit agreement to provide for, among other things, (1) an increase in the aggregate commitments previously available to us from $289.4 million to $324.3 million and (2) the extension of the maturity date with respect to certain of the previously available commitments.
On February 14, 2020, we amended and restated the credit agreement (the “Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”) to provide for, among other things, (1) an increase in the aggregate commitments previously available to us from $288.2 million to $350.0 million and (2) the extension of the maturity date with respect to certain of the previously available commitments.
As of December 31, 2019, the aggregate commitments available under the credit agreement, as amended and restated on August 10, 2017, prior to APX entering into the Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, was $288.2 million. As of December 31, 2019 there was $245.0 million outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility. Borrowings under the Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement bear interest at a rate per annum equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (1) the base rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) the Federal Funds rate plus 0.50%, (b) the prime rate of Bank of America, N.A. and (c) the LIBOR rate determined by reference to the costs of funds for U.S. dollar deposits for an interest period of one month, plus 1.00% or (2) the LIBOR rate determined by reference to the London interbank offered rate for dollars for the interest period relevant to such borrowing. The applicable margin for base rate-based borrowings (1)(a) under the Series A Revolving Commitments of approximately $10.9 million and the Series C Revolving Commitments of approximately $330.8 million is currently 2.0% and (b) under the Series B Revolving Commitments of approximately $8.3 million is currently 3.0% and (2) the applicable margin for LIBOR rate-based borrowings (a) under the Series A Revolving Commitments and the Series C Revolving Commitments is currently 3.0% per annum and (b) under the Series B Revolving Commitments is currently 4.0%. The applicable margin for borrowings under the revolving credit facility is subject to one step-down of 25 basis points based on our meeting a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio test at the end of each fiscal quarter.
In addition to paying interest on outstanding principal under the revolving credit facility, APX is required to pay a quarterly commitment fee (which will be subject to one interest rate step-down of 12.5 basis points, based on APX meeting a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio test) to the lenders under the revolving credit facility in respect of the unutilized commitments thereunder. APX also pays a customary letter of credit and agency fees.

APX is not required to make any scheduled amortization payments under the revolving credit facility. The Series D Revolving Commitments expired on March 31, 2019 and the principal amount outstanding under the revolving credit facility

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will be due and payable in full on March 31, 2021 with respect to the commitments under the Series A Revolving Credit Facility and Series B Revolving Credit Facility and on February 14, 2025 (or the applicable springing maturity date if the Revolving Springing Maturity Condition applies) with respect to the $330.8 million of Series C Revolving Credit Commitments. The “Revolver Springing Maturity Condition” applies if (i) on the 2022 Springing Maturity Date, an aggregate principal amount of the Borrower’s 7.875% Senior Secured Notes Due 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) in excess of $350.0 million are either outstanding or have not been repaid or redeemed with certain qualifying proceeds specified in the Revolving Credit Agreement, (ii) on the 2023 Springing Maturity Date, an aggregate principal amount of the 2023 Notes in excess of $125.0 million are either outstanding or have not been repaid or redeemed with certain qualifying proceeds specified in the Revolving Credit Agreement or (iii) on the 2024 Springing Maturity Date, an aggregate principal amount of the Borrower’s 8.500% Senior Secured Notes Due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”) in excess of $125.0 million are either outstanding or have not been repaid or redeemed with certain qualifying proceeds specified in the Revolving Credit Agreement. The “2022 Springing Maturity Date” means the date that is 91 days before the maturity date with respect to the 2022 Notes, the "2023 Springing Maturity Date" means the date that is 91 days before the maturity date with respect to the 2023 Notes and the “2024 Springing Maturity Date” means the date that is 91 days before the maturity date with respect to the 2024 Notes.
2020 Notes
As of December 31, 2019, APX had $454.3 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2020 notes. Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2019, APX used the net proceeds from the 2027 Notes offering and Concurrent Refinancing Transactions, together with the proceeds from the Merger, to redeem all of the outstanding principal amount of the 2020 notes. Interest on the 2020 notes was payable semi-annually in arrears on each June 1 and December 1. The 2020 notes were to mature on December 1, 2020.
We were permitted to redeem at any time and from time to time some or all of the 2020 notes at par plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.
2022 Private Placement Notes
As of December 31, 2019, APX had $270 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2022 private placement notes. Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2019, APX used the net proceeds from the 2027 Notes offering and Concurrent Refinancing Transactions, together with the proceeds from the Merger, to redeem all of the outstanding principal amount of the 2022 private placement notes. Interest on the 2022 private placement notes was payable semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year.
We were permitted to, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time some or all of the 2022 private placement notes at 104.5%, declining to par from and after December 1, 2019, in each case, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.
The 2022 private placement notes were to mature on December 1, 2022 unless on September 1, 2020 (i.e. the 91st day prior to the maturity of the 2020 notes) more than an aggregate principal amount of $190 million of the 2020 notes remained outstanding or had not been refinanced as permitted under the terms of the 2022 private placement notes, in which case the private placement notes were to mature on September 1, 2020.
2022 Notes
As of December 31, 2019, APX had $900.0 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2022 notes. Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2019, APX used the net proceeds from the 2027 Notes offering and Concurrent Refinancing Transactions, together with the proceeds from the Merger, to redeem $223.0 million of the outstanding principal amount of the 2022 notes. Interest on the 2022 notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year.
We may, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time some or all of the 2022 notes at 103.938%, declining to par from and after December 1, 2020, in each case, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.
The 2022 notes mature on December 1, 2022, or on such earlier date when any outstanding pari passu lien indebtedness matures as a result of the operation of any springing maturity provisions set forth in the agreements governing such pari passu lien indebtedness.
2023 Notes

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As of December 31, 2019, APX had $400.0 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2023 notes. Interest on the 2023 notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on September 1 and March 1 of each year. The 2023 notes mature on September 1, 2023.
From and after September 1, 2019, we may, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time some or all of the 2023 notes at 105.719%, declining to par from and after September 1, 2022, in each case, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.
2024 Notes
As of December 31, 2019, APX had $225.0 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2024 notes. Interest on the 2024 notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year.
We may, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time prior to May 1, 2021, some or all of the 2024 notes at 100% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date plus the applicable “make-whole premium.” From and after May 1, 2021, we may, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time some or all of the 2024 notes at 104.25%, declining to par from and after May 1, 2023, in each case, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption. In addition, on or prior to May 1, 2021, we may, at our option, redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2024 notes with the proceeds from certain equity offerings at 108.50%, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption. In addition, on or prior to May 1, 2021, during any 12 month period, we also may, at our option, redeem at any time and from time to time up to 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2024 notes at a price equal to 103% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, to but excluding the redemption date.
The 2024 notes mature on November 1, 2024, unless, under “Springing Maturity” provisions, (1) on September 1, 2020 (the 91st day prior to the maturity of the 2020 notes) more than an aggregate principal amount of $275.0 million of such 2020 notes remain outstanding or have not been refinanced as permitted under the note purchase agreement for the 2020 notes, in which case the 2024 notes will mature on September 1, 2020 or (2) on June 1, 2023 (the 91st day prior to the maturity of the 2023 notes) more than an aggregate principal amount of $125.0 million of such 2023 notes remain outstanding or have not been refinanced as permitted under the note purchase agreement for the 2023 notes, in which case the 2024 Notes will mature on June 1, 2023.
2025 Term Loan B
On September 6, 2018, our subsidiary, APX Group incurred $810 million of 2024 Term Loan B. As of December 31, 2019, APX had $799.9 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 2024 Term Loan B. On February 14, 2020 APX Group incurred $950 million of term loans (the “2025 Term Loan B”), the proceeds of which were used, in part, to refinance the 2024 Term Loan B.
Pursuant to the terms of the 2025 Term Loan B, quarterly amortization payments are due in an amount equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2025 Term Loan B outstanding on the closing date. The remaining principal amount outstanding under the 2025 Term Loan B will be due and payable in full on (x) if the Term Springing Maturity Condition (as defined below) does not apply, December 31, 2025 and (y) if the Term Springing Maturity Condition does apply, the 2023 Springing Maturity Date (which date is the date that is 91 days before the maturity date with respect to the 2023 Notes).
The “Term Springing Maturity Condition” applies if on the 2023 Springing Maturity Date (which date is the date that is 91 days before the maturity date with respect to the 2023 Notes), an aggregate principal amount of the 2023 Notes in excess of $125.0 million are either outstanding or have not been repaid or redeemed.
Guarantees and Security (Revolving Credit Facility, 2025 Term Loan B and Notes)
All of the obligations under the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the Notes are guaranteed by APX Group Holdings, Inc. and each of APX Group, Inc.'s existing and future material wholly-owned U.S. restricted subsidiaries (subject to customary exclusions and qualifications). However, such subsidiaries shall only be required to guarantee the obligations under the debt agreements governing the Notes for so long as such entities guarantee the obligations under the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B or our other indebtedness. See Note 18 of our accompanying consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report for additional financial information regarding guarantors and non-guarantors.

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The obligations under the revolving credit facility, 2025 Term Loan B and the 2022 private placement notes, 2022 notes and 2024 notes (collectively with the 2022 private placement notes and the 2022 notes, the “existing senior secured notes”) are secured by a security interest in (1) substantially all of the present and future tangible and intangible assets of APX Group, Inc., and the guarantors, including without limitation equipment, subscriber contracts and communication paths, intellectual property, fee-owned real property, general intangibles, investment property, material intercompany notes and proceeds of the foregoing, subject to permitted liens and other customary exceptions, (2) substantially all personal property of APX Group, Inc. and the guarantors consisting of accounts receivable arising from the sale of inventory and other goods and services (including related contracts and contract rights, inventory, cash, deposit accounts, other bank accounts and securities accounts), inventory and intangible assets to the extent attached to the foregoing books and records of APX Group, Inc. and the guarantors, and the proceeds thereof, subject to permitted liens and other customary exceptions, in each case held by APX Group, Inc. and the guarantors and (3) a pledge of all of the capital stock of APX Group, Inc., each of its subsidiary guarantors and each restricted subsidiary of APX Group, Inc. and its subsidiary guarantors, in each case other than excluded assets and subject to the limitations and exclusions provided in the applicable collateral documents.
Under the terms of the applicable security documents and intercreditor agreement, the proceeds of any collection or other realization of collateral received in connection with the exercise of remedies will be applied first to repay amounts due under the revolving credit facility, and up to an additional $60.0 million of “superpriority” obligations that APX Group, Inc. may incur in the future, before the holders of the existing senior secured notes or 2025 Term Loan B receive any such proceeds.

Debt Covenants
The credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the Notes contain a number of covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, APX Group, Inc. and its restricted subsidiaries’ ability to:
 
incur or guarantee additional debt or issue disqualified stock or preferred stock;
pay dividends and make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock;
make certain investments;
incur certain liens;
enter into transactions with affiliates;
merge or consolidate;
materially change the nature of their business;
enter into agreements that restrict the ability of restricted subsidiaries to make dividends or other payments to APX Group, Inc.;
designate restricted subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries
amend, prepay, redeem or purchase certain subordinated debt; and
transfer or sell certain assets.
The credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the Notes contain change of control provisions and certain customary affirmative covenants and events of default. As of December 31, 2019, APX Group, Inc. was in compliance with all covenants related to its long-term obligations.
Subject to certain exceptions, the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the Notes permit APX Group, Inc. and its restricted subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness, including secured indebtedness.
Our future liquidity requirements will be significant, primarily due to debt service requirements. The actual amounts of borrowings under the revolving credit facility will fluctuate from time to time.
Our liquidity and our ability to fund our capital requirements is dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial and other factors that are beyond our control and many of which are described under “Item 1A—Risk Factors” in this report. If those factors significantly change or other unexpected factors adversely affect us, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or we may not be able to obtain future financings to meet our liquidity needs. We anticipate that to the extent additional liquidity is necessary to fund our operations, it would be funded through borrowings under the revolving credit facility, incurring other indebtedness, additional equity or other financings or a combination of these potential sources of liquidity. We may not be able to obtain this additional liquidity on terms acceptable to us or at all.

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Covenant Compliance
Under the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the existing notes, our subsidiary, APX Group's ability to engage in activities such as incurring additional indebtedness, making investments, refinancing certain indebtedness, paying dividends and entering into certain merger transactions is governed, in part, by our ability to satisfy tests based on Covenant Adjusted EBITDA (which measure is defined as “Consolidated EBITDA” in the credit agreements governing the revolving credit facility and 2025 Term Loan B and “EBITDA” in the debt agreements governing the existing notes) for the applicable four-quarter period. Such tests include an incurrence-based maximum consolidated secured debt ratio and consolidated total debt ratio of 4.00 to 1.0, an incurrence-based minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 2.00 to 1.0, and, solely in the case of the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, a maintenance-based maximum consolidated first lien secured debt ratio of 5.95 to 1.0, each as determined in accordance with the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the Notes, as applicable. Non-compliance with these covenants could restrict our ability to undertake certain activities or result in a default under the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the debt agreements governing the existing notes. As of December 31, 2019, our consolidated first lien secured debt ratio was 3.81 to 1.0, our consolidated total debt ratio was 5.14 to 1.0 and our fixed charge coverage ratio was 2.56 to 1.0, in each case based on Covenant Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2019 and as calculated in accordance with the applicable debt agreements.
We refer to “Covenant Adjusted EBITDA” as meaning net income (loss) before interest expense (net of interest income), income and franchise taxes and depreciation and amortization (including amortization of capitalized subscriber acquisition costs), further adjusted to exclude the effects of certain contract sales to third parties, non-capitalized subscriber acquisition costs, stock based compensation and certain unusual, non-cash, non-recurring and other items permitted in certain covenant calculations under the agreements governing our notes, the credit agreement governing the 2025 Term Loan B and the credit agreement governing our revolving credit facility.
We believe that the presentation of Covenant Adjusted EBITDA is appropriate to provide additional information to investors about the calculation of, and compliance with, certain financial covenants contained in the agreements governing the notes, the credit agreements governing the revolving credit facility and the 2025 Term Loan B. We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definition of Covenant Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other issuers, because not all issuers and analysts calculate Covenant Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner.
Covenant Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net loss to Covenant Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Net loss
 
$
(395,756
)
 
$
(467,914
)
 
$
(410,199
)
Interest expense, net
 
259,991

 
244,789

 
225,642

Non-capitalized subscriber acquisition costs (1)
 
273,835

 
276,437

 
255,456

Amortization of capitalized subscriber acquisition costs
 
437,285

 
398,174

 
206,153

Depreciation and amortization (2)
 
106,155

 
115,908

 
123,102

Gain on sale of spectrum (3)
 

 
(50,389
)
 

Other (income) expense
 
(7,665
)
 
33,066

 
27,986

Non-cash compensation (4)
 
3,737

 
2,217

 
1,377

Restructuring and asset impairment charge (5)
 

 
4,683

 

Income tax (benefit) expense
 
1,313

 
(1,611
)
 
1,078

Other adjustments (6)
 
53,215

 
59,519

 
59,733

Adjustment for a change in accounting principle (Topic 606) (7)
 
(88,875
)
 
(77,173
)
 

Covenant Adjusted EBITDA
 
$
643,235

 
$
537,706

 
$
490,328

 
 

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(1)
Reflects subscriber acquisition costs that are expensed as incurred because they are not directly related to the acquisition of specific subscribers. Certain other industry participants purchase subscribers through subscriber contract purchases, and as a result, may capitalize the full cost to purchase these subscriber contracts, as compared to our organic generation of new subscribers, which requires us to expense a portion of our subscriber acquisition costs under GAAP.
(2)
Excludes loan amortization costs that are included in interest expense.
(3)
Gain on sale of spectrum intangible assets in 2018. (See Note 8 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements).
(4)
Reflects non-cash compensation costs related to employee and director stock and stock option plans. Excludes non-cash compensation costs included in non-capitalized subscriber acquisition costs.
(5)
Restructuring employee severance and termination benefits expenses. (See Note 10 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements).
(6)
Other adjustments represent primarily the following items (in thousands):
 
 
Year ended December 31,
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Product development (a)
 
$
18,772

 
$
22,253

 
$
26,767

Consumer financing fees (b)
 
11,901

 
6,661

 
1,682

Litigation settlement (c)
 

 

 
10,012

Certain legal and professional fees (d)
 
7,869

 
8,965

 
4,986

Monitoring fee (e)
 
5,605

 
4,068

 
3,506

Start-up of new strategic initiatives (f)
 

 

 
3,486

Purchase accounting deferred revenue fair value adjustment (g)
 

 
1,336

 
3,280

Information technology implementation (h)
 

 

 
3,188

Hiring and termination payments (i)
 
7,870

 
9,373

 
386

Projected run-rate restructuring cost savings (j)
 

 
5,756

 

All other adjustments (k)
 
1,198

 
1,107

 
2,440

Total other adjustments
 
$
53,215

 
$
59,519

 
$
59,733

 
 
(a)
Costs related to the development of control panels, including associated software, peripheral devices and Wireless Internet Technology.
(b)
Monthly financing fees paid under the Consumer Financing Program.
(c)
ADT litigation settlement.
(d)
Legal and professional fees associated with strategic initiatives and financing transactions.
(e)
Blackstone Management Partners L.L.C. monitoring fee (See Note 15 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements).
(f)
Costs related to the start-up of potential new service offerings and sales channels.
(g)
Add back revenue reduction directly related to purchase accounting deferred revenue adjustments.
(h)
Costs related to the implementation of new information technologies.
(i)
Expenses associated with retention bonus, relocation and severance payments to management.
(j)
Projected run-rate savings related to June 2018 reduction-in-force.
(k)
Other adjustments primarily reflect adjustments to eliminate the impact of changes in other accounting principles, costs associated with payments to third parties related to various strategic and financing activities and costs to implement Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404.

(7)
The adjustments to eliminate the impact of the Company's adoption of Topic 606, are as follows (in thousands):

 
Year ended December 31,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Net loss
$
62,008

 
$
66,613

 
$

Amortization of capitalized contract costs
(437,285
)
 
(398,174
)
 

Amortization of subscriber acquisition costs
284,574

 
251,971

 

Income tax (benefit) expense
1,828

 
2,417

 

Topic 606 adjustments
$
(88,875
)
 
$
(77,173
)
 
$


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See Note 3 "Revenue and Capitalized Contract Costs" in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of our updated policies related to revenue recognition and accounting for costs to obtain and fulfill a customer contract.

Other Factors Affecting Liquidity and Capital Resources
Vivint Flex Pay. Vivint Flex Pay became our primary sales model beginning in March 2017. Under the Consumer Financing Program, qualified customers are eligible for loans provided by third-party financing providers up to $4,000. The annual percentage rates on these loans range between 0% and 9.99%, based on the customer's credit quality, and are either installment loans or revolving loans with a 42 or 60 month term.
For certain third-party provider loans, we pay a monthly fee based on either the average daily outstanding balance of the loans or the number of outstanding loans, depending on the third-party financing provider. Additionally, we share in the liability for credit losses depending on the credit quality of the customer, with our Company being responsible for between 5% to 100% of lost principal balances, depending on factors specified in the agreement with such provider. Because of the nature of these provisions, we record a derivative liability at its fair value when the third-party financing provider originates loans to customers, which reduces the amount of estimated revenue recognized on the provision of the services. The derivative liability represents the estimated remaining amounts to be paid to the third-party provider by us related to outstanding loans, including the monthly fees based on either the outstanding loan balances or the number of outstanding loans, shared liabilities for credit losses and customer payment processing fees. The derivative liability is reduced as payments are made by us to the third-party financing provider. Subsequent changes to the fair value of the derivative liability are realized through other expenses (income), net in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the fair value of this derivative liability was $136.9 million and $117.6 million, respectively. As we continue to use Vivint Flex Pay as our primary sales model, we expect our liability to third-party providers to continue to increase substantially and the rate of such increases may accelerate.
For other third-party provider loans, we receive net proceeds (net of fees and expected losses) for which we have no further obligation to the third-party. We record these net proceeds to deferred revenue.
Vehicle Leases. Since 2010, we have leased, and expect to continue leasing, vehicles primarily for use by our Smart Home Pros. For the most part, these leases have 36 to 48 month durations and we account for them as finance leases. At the end of the lease term for each vehicle we have the option to either (i) purchase it for the estimated end-of-lease fair market value established at the beginning of the lease term; or (ii) return the vehicle to the lessor to be sold by them and in the event the sale price is less than the estimated end-of-lease fair market value we are responsible for such deficiency. As of December 31, 2019, our total finance lease obligations were $13.2 million, of which $7.7 million is due within the next 12 months.
Aircraft Lease. In December 2012, we entered into an aircraft lease agreement for the use of a corporate aircraft, which is accounted for as an operating lease. Upon execution of the lease, we paid a $5.9 million security deposit which is refundable at the end of the lease term. Beginning January 2013, we are required to make 156 monthly rental payments of approximately $83,000 each. In January 2015, an amendment to the agreement was made which, among other changes, increased the required monthly rental payments to approximately $87,000 each. We also have the option to extend the lease for an additional 36 months upon expiration of the initial term. The lease agreement also provides us the option to purchase the aircraft on certain specified dates for a stated dollar amount, which represents the current estimated fair value as of the purchase date.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Currently we do not engage in off-balance sheet financing arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.

Contractual Obligations
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2019, without giving effect to the Merger or the Concurrent Refinancing Transactions. Certain contractual obligations are reflected on our consolidated balance sheet, while others are disclosed as future obligations under GAAP.


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Payments Due by Period
 
 
Total
 
2020
 
2021 - 2022
 
2023 - 2024
 
After 2024
 
 
(dollars in thousands)
Long-term debt obligations (1)
 
$
3,294,174

 
$
462,399

 
$
1,431,200

 
$
1,400,575

 
$

Interest on long-term debt (2)
 
825,685

 
263,509

 
418,318

 
143,858

 

Finance lease obligations
 
13,643

 
8,202

 
5,438

 
3

 

Operating lease obligations
 
94,848

 
17,044

 
31,005

 
29,055

 
17,744

Purchase obligations (3)
 
48,563

 
14,721

 
14,261

 
14,113

 
5,468

Other long-term obligations
 
38,644

 
8,867

 
9,589

 
7,193

 
12,995

Total contractual obligations
 
$
4,315,557

 
$
774,742

 
$
1,909,811

 
$
1,594,797

 
$
36,207

 
(1)
As of December 31, 2019, we had $245.0 million of borrowings under our revolving credit facility. The principal amount outstanding under the revolving credit facility will be due and payable in full on March 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2019, there was approximately $32.1 million of availability under our revolving credit facility (after giving effect to $11.1 million of outstanding letters of credit and $245.0 million of borrowings).
(2)
Represents aggregate interest payments on aggregate principal amounts of $454.3 million of outstanding 2020 notes, $270.0 million of the outstanding 2022 private placement notes, $900.0 million of the outstanding 2022 notes, $400.0 million of the outstanding 2023 notes, $225.0 million of outstanding 2024 notes, and $799.9 million of the 2024 Term Loan B as well as letter of credit and commitment fees for the unused portion of our revolving credit facility. Does not reflect interest payments on future borrowings under our revolving credit facility.
(3)
Purchase obligations consist of commitments for purchases of goods and services that are not already included in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. We have contingent liabilities related to legal proceedings and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Although it is reasonably possible we may incur losses upon conclusion of such matters, an estimate of any loss or range of loss cannot be made at this time. In the opinion of management, it is expected that amounts, if any, which may be required to satisfy such contingencies will not be material in relation to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 7A.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Our operations include activities in the United States and Canada. These operations expose us to a variety of market risks, including the effects of changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. We monitor and manage these financial exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program.
Interest Rate Risk
Our revolving credit facility and our term loan facility bear interest at a floating rate. As a result, we may be exposed to fluctuations in interest rates to the extent of our borrowings under these credit facilities. To help manage borrowing costs, we may from time to time enter into interest rate swap transactions with financial institutions acting as principal counterparties. We consider changes in the 30-day LIBOR rate to be most indicative of our interest rate exposure as it is a function of the base rate for our credit facilities and is reasonably correlated to changes in our earnings rate on our cash investments. Assuming the borrowing of all amounts available under our revolving credit facility, if the 30-day LIBOR rate increases by 1% due to normal market conditions, our interest expense will increase by approximately $10.9 million per annum. We had $245.0 million borrowings under the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2019.
Foreign Currency Risk
We have exposure to the effects of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on the results of our Canadian operations. Our Canadian operations use the Canadian dollar to conduct business but our results are reported in U.S. dollars. We are exposed periodically to the foreign currency rate fluctuations that affect transactions not denominated in the functional currency of our U.S. and Canadian operations. Based on our results of our Canadian operations for the year ended December 31, 2019, if foreign currency exchange rates had decreased 10% throughout the year, our revenues would have decreased by approximately $7.2 million, our total assets would have decreased by $29.1 million and our total liabilities would have decreased by $26.0 million. We do not currently use derivative financial instruments to hedge investments in foreign subsidiaries. For the year ended December 31, 2019, before intercompany eliminations, approximately $72.2 million of our revenues, $290.5 million of our total assets and $259.9 million of our total liabilities were denominated in Canadian Dollars.

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ITEM 8.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 


71


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of APX Group Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of APX Group Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09
As discussed in Note 2 and Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January 1, 2018 the Company changed its method for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers and its accounting for contract acquisition costs due to the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), as amended.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. We conducted our audit for the year ended December 31, 2017 in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2011.
Salt Lake City, Utah
March 6, 2020

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APX Group Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share and per-share amounts)
 
 
December 31,
 
2019