UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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

For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2023

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: 000-53029

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (210) 490-3977

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates based upon the closing price of $0.01 per share of common stock as of June 30, 2023 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), was $1,273,202.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: 539,122,586 shares of common stock are issued and outstanding as of March 29, 2024.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC.

FORM 10-K

December 31, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this Report, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management and expected market growth, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,”, “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “seek,” “contemplate,” “project,” “continue,” “potential,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

These statements relate to future events or our future operational or financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report.

Any forward-looking statement in this Report reflects our current view with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our business, results of operations, industry, and future growth. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance. You should read this Report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.

This Report also contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business and the markets for certain glass strengthening solutions, hydrophobic products, and window film mounting solutions, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets and their projected growth rates. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained these industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by third parties, industry, and general publications, government data and similar sources. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which these data are derived.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Report. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect any events or circumstances, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise, after the date hereof.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Report.

As used in this Report and unless otherwise indicated, the terms “C-Bond Systems, Inc.,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to C-Bond Systems, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, C-Bond Systems, LLC, and its 80% owned subsidiary, Patriot Glass Solutions LLC (formerly known as Mobile Tint, LLC), as the context may require.

Overview

We are a nanotechnology company and sole owner and developer of the patented C-Bond technology. We are engaged in the implementation of proprietary nanotechnology applications and processes to enhance properties of strength, functionality, and sustainability of brittle material systems. Our present primary focus is in the multi-billion-dollar glass and window film industry with target markets in the United States and internationally. We operate in two divisions: C-Bond Transportation Solutions (through the date of sale on May 8, 2023) and Patriot Glass Solutions. C-Bond Transportation Solutions sold a windshield strengthening, water repellent solution called C-Bond nanoShield™ and disinfection products. Our Patriot Glass Solutions subsidiary sells multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solutions, including C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant film system, and C-Bond Secure, a forced entry system. We currently own four U.S. patents and one patent license spanning core and strategic nano-technology applications and processes.

On June 30, 2021, we entered into a Share Exchange Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Exchange Agreement”) with (i) Patriot Glass Solutions LLC (formerly Mobile Tint LLC), a Texas limited liability company doing business as A1 Glass Coating (“Patriot Glass”), (ii) the sole member of Patriot Glass (the “Patriot Glass Member”), and (iii) Michael Wanke as the Representative of the Patriot Glass Member. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, we agreed to acquire 80% of Patriot Glass’s member units, representing 80% of Patriot Glass’s issued and outstanding capital stock (the “Patriot Glass Member Units”). On July 22, 2021, we closed the Exchange Agreement and acquired 80% of the Patriot Glass Shares. The Patriot Glass Member Units were exchanged for restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, in an amount equal to $800,000, divided by the average of the closing prices of the Company’s common stock during the 30-day period immediately prior to the closing as defined in the Exchange Agreement. In connection with the Exchange Agreement, we issued 28,021,016 shares of its common stock. Initially, for two years after closing, we had the option to acquire the remaining 20% of Patriot Glass’s issued and outstanding membership interests in exchange for a number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to 300% of Patriot Glass’s average EBIT value, divided by the price of the Company’s common stock as defined in the Exchange Agreement. On September 20, 2023, the Company and the Patriot Glass Shareholder entered into amendment #2 to the Exchange Agreement (the “Amended Exchange Agreement”). Pursuant to the Amended Exchange Agreement, we shall have the option (the “Option”), beginning on July 1, 2025 (the “Option Start Date”) and ending on 5:00 P.M. EST on the date that is thirty calendar days after the Option Start Date (the “Option Period”), to acquire the remaining 20% of Patriot Glass Units (the “Additional Units”), representing 20% of Patriot Glass’s issued and outstanding membership interests. Patriot Glass provides quality window tint solutions for auto, home, and business owners across Texas, specializing in automotive window tinting, residential window film, and commercial window film that stop harmful UV rays from passing through its window films for reduced glare, comfortable temperatures, and lower energy bills. Patriot Glass also carries products that offer forced-entry protection and films that protect glass from scratches, graffiti, other types of vandalism, and even bullets, including our C-Bond BRS and C-Bond Secure products. As part of the transaction, Patriot Glass’s owner-operator, Michael Wanke, joined the Company as President of its Patriot Glass Solutions Group. Patriot Glass has been in business for more than 30 years and produced annual revenue of approximately $2 million in both 2019 and 2020. On October 10, 2023, we filed a Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Texas to change Mobile’s name to Patriot Glass Solutions LLC (“PGS” or “Patriot Glass”).

We expect that our acquisition of PGS will be the springboard to provide glass security solutions across the United States. Patriot Glass Solutions protects personal, school, government and commercial/business property across the United States using C-Bond’s proprietary glass strengthening technology to protect property from looting, rioting, break-ins, and gunfire. Patriot Glass Solutions’ primary products include C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant film system; and C-Bond Secure, a multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solution that deters forced entry.

On May 8, 2023, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “APA”) with Apex Protect GPS, LLC (the “Buyer”), a Texas limited liability company, whereby the Company agreed to sell its C-Bond nanoShield™ product line, including intangible assets, intellectual property, work in process, furniture, fixtures, equipment, inventory and other physical assets of the Company’s C-Bond nanoShield division (the “Assets”) to the Buyer for a purchase price of $4,000,000 in cash (the “Transaction”). The Transaction closed on May 8, 2023. From the proceeds of the sale, the Company repaid over $2 million of debt (both convertible debt and straight loans/debt).

The Assets were sold and transferred to buyer by means of (i) with respect to the physical assets, a bill of sale; and (ii) with respect to intangible assets or intellectual property, a Patent and Trademark Assignment Agreement, a Patent and Know-How License Agreement, and a Patent License-Back Agreement (collectively, the “IP Agreements”).

On June 15, 2023, an Assignment and Agreement to Re-Execute was entered into by and among the Company (“Seller”); Apex Protect GPS, LLC, (“Assignor”) and CB Nanoshield, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Assignee”), whereby the Assignor assigned to the Assignee all its right to the (i) APA; (ii) bill of sale (iii) IP Agreements; and (iv) and any memorandums, schedules and exhibits related to the foregoing to Assignee.

The APA contains customary representations, warranties, and covenants by each party including, among other things, that no bankruptcy or similar insolvency proceeding under state or federal law has been filed, or is currently being contemplated, with respect to the Company; that the Company has provided the Seller a true and accurate list of each of the following items of Intellectual Property which comprises a part of the Assets, including, among other things, patents and trademarks (the “Sold Intellectual Property”); and that the Company has good, valid, and legal title to, and is the sole and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interest in and to, the Sold Intellectual Property, free and clear of all liens.

Under the terms of the APA, the Parties entered into a Patent and Trademark Assignment Agreement, whereby the Company conveyed, transferred, and assigned to Buyer, among other assets, the C-Bond nanoShield trademark (the “Trademark”) and U.S. Patent No. 11,155,491 B2 (the “C-Bond nanoShield Patent”), and the Company agreed to execute and deliver an assignment of the Trademark and C-Bond nanoShield Patent, for recording with governmental authorities including, but not limited to, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Parties also entered into a Patent and Know-How License Agreement whereby the Company granted to the Buyer a non-transferable, non-sub-licensable, exclusive right and license to four patents owned by the Company and licensed know-how to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell and import glass and other products and components used in or in relation to the manufacture and operation of civilian, agricultural or military vehicles and equipment (the “Licensed Product”) in the United States and its legal territories.

Lastly, the Parties entered into a Patent License-Back Agreement whereby the Buyer agreed to grant to the Company a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to the C-Bond nanoShield Patent, for all uses and applications except for any that involve, market to, sell to, do business with, provide related goods or services to, or are consumed by any uses and applications of the patented technology within the civilian or military automotive, vehicle and/or transportation industry. The Patent License-Back Agreement also stipulates that all improvements made by either Party to the technology covered by the C-Bond nanoShield Patent shall be owned by the Buyer. In the event that the Company desires to utilize such improvements to the C-Bond nanoShield Patent made by either Party, the Parties hereby agree that they will negotiate in good faith a separate license agreement having pricing and other terms and conditions that are mutually acceptable to both Parties.

Following the Closing, the Parties completed a transaction wherein the Company assigned to Buyer, and Buyer took assignment from the Company, the lease for the premises located at 6035 South Loop East, Houston, Texas 77033 (the “Lease”) pursuant to a lease assignment and assumption agreement as to be reasonably agreed to by the Parties and the lessor pursuant to the Lease.

On May 8, 2023, in connection with the APA, the Company received net proceeds of $1,989,755, after paying debt and accrued interest of approximately $2,053,000.

Our Business

Product and Service Offerings  

On May 8, 2023, the Company entered into an APA with Apex Protect GPS, LLC (the “Buyer”), a Texas limited liability company, whereby the Company agreed to sell its C-Bond nanoShield™ product line, including intangible assets, intellectual property, work in process, furniture, fixtures, equipment, inventory and other physical assets of the Company’s C-Bond nanoShield division (the “Assets”) to the Buyer for a purchase price of $4,000,000 in cash (the “Transaction”). The Transaction closed on May 8, 2023. Following the sale of our C-Bond nanoShield division on May 8, 2023, through our subsidiary, Patriot Glass Solutions, we sell multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solutions, including C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant film system, and C-Bond Secure, a forced entry system. C-Bond BRS and C-Bond Secure are low-cost technologies that significantly increase the mechanical performance of glass.  

Patriot Glass Solutions

Subsequent to May 8, 2023, we will only have one reportable business segment, the distribution and installation of window film solutions.

PGS offers two main security film products: C-Bond Secure, which includes a liquid glass strengthening primer/window film mounting solution used in conjunction with security film to deter forced entry, and C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant film system that includes patented glass strengthening technology and security film to help stop bullets from penetrating glass. C-Bond’s patented technology and third-party certifications for its C-Bond BRS (ballistic-resistant film system) meet National Institute of Justice Level I, Level IIA, Level II, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 752 ballistic-resistant protection standards. PGS also offers other types of window film for various applications, including solar, decorative, reflective, and more.

C-Bond Secure Strengthening Primer and Window Film Mounting Solution

C-Bond Secure is a patented, non-toxic, water-based nanotechnology solution designed to significantly increase the strength of architectural glass and improve the performance properties of window film-to-glass products. C-Bond Secure improves the performance of window film-to-glass products by reducing glass breakage from impact and stress environments and filling the capillary voids on the glass surface to prevent the trapping of moisture and impurities that impede cure time and adhesion between the glass and any succeeding window film product. This is important because when glass does break, this nanotechnology improves the chances that no large shards/pieces will escape the immediate area of the glass surface and result in serious laceration or personal injury.  C-Bond Secure has been tested against untreated glass by third-party laboratories and shown to outperform untreated glass in this capacity.  C-Bond Secure faces market competition from basic soap and water products (such as baby shampoo and dishwashing soap) as the recognized industry standard window film application solutions, which we believe provide no structural benefits and are designed to wash hair and dishes, respectively. C-Bond Secure increases overall glass strength, improves window film product performance, and can be used in conjunction with any manufacturer’s film product.

C-Bond BRS (Ballistic-Resistant Film System)

C-Bond BRS is a patented, nanotechnology Ballistic-Resistant Film System that increases the structural integrity of glass and provides National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Level I, Level IIA, Level II, and Underwriter Laboratories (UL) 752 ballistic-resistant protection. C-Bond BRS includes a specified glass thickness and glass type, the C-Bond window film mounting solution to improve the glass mechanical strength, and the C-Bond window film product. This product is targeted to police, fire, emergency services, media outlets, schools, airports, and government buildings due to the utility of ballistic-resistant glass protection in their respective fields. The C-Bond BRS system seeks to combine simplicity and affordability with a one-way capability (the ability to shoot-out but prevent shooting in) ballistic protection compared to other costlier ballistic resistant material (polycarbonate and glass laminate) products.

Commercial Market Strategy

Patriot Glass Solutions sells ballistic-resistant glass solutions and forced entry deterrent solutions to private enterprises, schools, government agencies, and general contractors. We take advantage of existing resources and relationships between us and construction contractors to leverage our products and services. On many projects, we rely on construction contractors to hire us as a subcontractor for our multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solutions services, which helps us generate economic growth, support commercialization activities, provide more developed business networks, knowledge of and access to supply and demand channels, and supplement limited financial resources. Additionally, through our sales effort, we market our multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solutions to residential customers and direct to commercial customers.

C-Bond Authorized Dealer Network

Our Authorized Dealer Network focuses on entering into Dealer agreements with window film installation businesses to develop a national distribution network. This program aims to partner with high quality distributors that can grow revenues and margins. For the year ended December 31, 2023, one customer accounted for approximately 11% of total sales. For the year ended December 31, 2023, all sales were in the United States. Almost all sales generated through PGS are performed in Texas. No other geographical area accounted for more than 10% of total sales during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. A reduction in sales from or loss of our customers could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

Suppliers

Currently, we rely on four main suppliers, Madico, Inc., Eastman Performance Films, LLC., and Decorative Films, LLC, for our window film; and one supplier for our C-Bond Secure and C-Bold BRS solution, CB Nanoshield, LLC.  We believe that, if necessary, alternate window film suppliers could be found without material disruption to our business. However, we rely on CB Nanoshield, LLC to supply our C-Bond Secure and C-Bold BRS solutions.

Intellectual Property

We currently own four U.S. patents and one patent license spanning core and strategic nano-technology applications and processes. Our focus remains on maintaining a patent portfolio that protects our core intellectual property and delivers shareholder value.

Pursuant to an agreement dated April 8, 2016, between us and Rice University, Rice University granted a non-exclusive license to us, in nanotube-based surface treatment for strengthening glass and related materials under Rice’s intellectual property rights, to use, make, distribute, offer and sell the licensed products specified in the agreement. In consideration, we had to pay a one-time non-refundable license fee of $10,000 and royalty payments of 5% of net sales of the licensed products during the term of the agreement and a sell-off period of 180 days from termination. In addition, we were required to pay for the maintenance of the patents.  This agreement expired per its terms on December 29, 2023. Due to the advancement of our proprietary technology and awards of our own patents, we did not need to rely upon any of the patents included in the license agreement with Rice University as they were not core to our current product offerings.

The “C-Bond Systems™” name and logo are registered trademarks issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Research and Development

We did not incur any research and development expenses during 2023.

Competition

C-Bond Secure Glass Strengthening Primer and Window Film Mounting Solution

C-Bond Secure faces competition from alternative window film mounting products in the market; however, all these products have similar ingredients to a soap and water mix, which we believe provides no structural benefit.  These solutions are used to provide a window film installer the ability to slip or move the film on the surface to which it is applied.  The industry standard solution most commonly used to apply window film to glass is a mixture containing commonly available baby shampoo or dishwashing soap and water that we believe has the following negative attributes: provides no structural benefits, often bubbles or yellows and scatters light, can only be applied within a limited temperature range, and may require 30 to 120 days of “dry” time to set completely depending on the film thickness.  C-Bond Secure provides the same slip properties while also strengthening the glass and improving film adhesion.

C-Bond BRS

C-Bond BRS faces competition from alternative bulletproof or bullet-resistant glass products in the market. Alternative bulletproof solutions use polycarbonate or glass laminate materials that are expensive, thick, heavy, often require reframing and retrofit of existing structure and revised building codes, and yellow and discolor over time.  These alternative solutions are often cost prohibitive to cost sensitive customers such as educational and municipal facilities.  C-Bond BRS allows for increased safety and security at an affordable cost.  Most importantly, it provides a deterrent to an intruder and valuable time to secure the facility.

Employees

As of December 31, 2023, C-Bond had one full-time employee, and two individuals, including our chief executive officer, who operate as independent contractors of the Company. Additionally, Patriot Glass had 19 full-time employees. We have established an extensive network of external partners, contractors, and consultants to minimize administrative overhead and maximize efficiency.

We believe that a diverse workforce is important to our success. We will continue to focus on the hiring, retention and advancement of women and underrepresented populations, and to cultivate an inclusive and diverse corporate culture. In the future, we intend to continue to evaluate our use of human capital measures or objectives in managing our business such as the factors we employ or seek to employ in the development, attraction and retention of personnel and maintenance of diversity in our workforce.

The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. Accordingly, we are committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees. We provide our employees and their families with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs, including benefits that provide protection and security so they can have peace of mind concerning events that may require time away from work or that impact their financial well-being; that support their physical and mental health by providing tools and resources to help them improve or maintain their health status and encourage engagement in healthy behaviors; and that offer choice where possible so they can customize their benefits to meet their needs and the needs of their families.

We also provide robust compensation and benefits programs to help meet the needs of our employees. We believe that we maintain a satisfactory working relationship with our employees and have not experienced any labor disputes.

General Company Information

C-Bond Systems, Inc., formerly WestMountain Alternative Energy, Inc. (“WestMountain”), was incorporated in the state of Colorado on November 13, 2007. C-Bond Systems, LLC is a Texas-based limited liability company that was formed in 2013 and headquartered in Texas. On April 25, 2018, WestMountain Energy, WestMountain’s wholly owned subsidiary, WETM Acquisition Corp., a corporation formed in the State of Colorado on April 18, 2018, (the “Acquisition Sub”), and C-Bond Systems, LLC, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization (“Merger Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, on April 25, 2018, referred to as the Closing Date, the Acquisition Sub merged with and into C-Bond Systems, LLC, which was the surviving corporation and became a wholly owned subsidiary of WestMountain (the “Merger”). The Merger was effective as of April 26, 2018, upon the filing of a Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Texas. On July 18, 2018, we changed our name to C-Bond Systems, Inc.  Our common stock is currently quoted on the OTC Pink marketplace on a limited basis under the trading symbol “CBNT”. Our principal executive offices are located at 2029 Pat Booker Rd., San Antonio, Texas, 78148. Our website address is http://cbondsystems.com/ and our telephone number is (210) 490-3977. The content of any website of ours is not a part of, or incorporated by reference in, this Report. The Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These reports and any other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on our website. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should not invest in our stock unless you are able to bear the complete loss of your investment. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as other information provided to you in this annual report on Form 10-K, including information in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information” before making an investment decision. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing C-Bond Systems. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected, the value of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

We have incurred substantial losses to date, may continue to incur losses in the future, and we may never achieve or sustain profitability.

As reflected in our accompanying consolidated financial statements, we reflected net income of $1,886,807 for the year ended December 31, 2023. Additionally, as of December 31, 2023, the Company had an accumulated deficit, shareholders’ deficit, and working capital deficit of $60,851,714, $4,324,535 and $1,351,954, respectively. On May 8, 2023, we sold our nanoShield product line for approximately $4,000,000 and for the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded a gain from this sale of the nanoShield product line of $4,051,709. Aside from the 2023 gain recognized from the sale of the nanoShield product line, we have incurred substantial losses since our inception, including a net loss of $5,156,478 (which included stock-based compensation of $1,039,943), for the year ended December 31, 2022. Net cash used in operations was $1,602,218 and $1,584,918 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months from the issuance date of this report. Management cannot provide assurance that the Company will ultimately achieve profitable operations or become cash flow positive or raise additional debt and/or equity capital.

Our ability to continue as a going concern will require us to obtain additional financing to fund our current operations, which may be unavailable on attractive terms, if at all.

As of December 31, 2023, our recurring operating losses (excluding the gain we recognized from the sale of our nanoShield product line), cash used in operations and our current operating plans raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months from the issuance date of this report. Our ability to continue as a going concern will require us to obtain additional financing to fund our current operating plans. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund our current operating plans. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our commercialization efforts.

Unfavorable global economic, business, or political conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets, including conditions that are outside of our control, including the impact of health and safety concerns, such as those relating to global pandemics. The most recent global financial crisis caused extreme volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business, including weakened demand for our products and our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could strain our domestic and international customers, possibly resulting in delays in customer payments. Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

We hold our cash and cash equivalents that we use to meet our working capital and operating expense needs in deposit accounts that could be adversely affected if the financial institution holding such funds fails.

We hold our cash and cash equivalents that we use to meet our working capital and operating expense needs in deposit accounts. At times, the balance held in these accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, standard deposit insurance limit of $250,000. If the financial institution in which we hold such funds fails or is subject to significant adverse conditions in the financial or credit markets, we could be subject to a risk of loss of all or a portion of such uninsured funds or be subject to a delay in accessing all or a portion of such uninsured funds. Any such loss or lack of access to these funds could adversely impact our short-term liquidity and ability to meet our operating expense obligations, including payroll obligations.

For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, and Signature Bank, were closed by state regulators and the FDIC was appointed receiver for each bank. The FDIC created successor bridge banks and all deposits of SVB and Signature Bank were transferred to the bridge banks under a systemic risk exception approved by the United States Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. If the financial institution in which we hold funds for working capital and operating expenses were to fail, we cannot provide any assurances that such governmental agencies would take action to protect our uninsured deposits or investments in a similar manner.

Our future revenues are very difficult to predict with any accuracy.

Predicting the timing or the amount of revenues that we will receive from the sale of our products is very difficult. Any delay in the development and acceptance of one or more of our products, could result in significant delays in the realization of revenues, the need to raise additional capital through the issuance of additional equity or debt securities sooner than we intend, and may allow competitors to reach certain of such markets with products before we do. In view of the emerging nature of the technology involved in certain of these markets, and the attendant uncertainty as to whether our products will achieve meaningful commercial acceptance, if at all, there can be no assurance that we will realize revenues sufficient to achieve profitability.

Our intellectual property is subject to patents that may expire.

We rely on U.S. patents to protect our propriety products that form the core of our revenue potential. These patents are subject to standard patent expiration terms. Upon expiration of our patents, we will no longer be able to prevent our competitors from developing similar products to ours.

If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, our competitive position and results of operations may be adversely impacted.

Protecting our intellectual property is critical to our innovation efforts. We own patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and/or other intellectual property rights related to many of our products, and also have a non-exclusive license right under intellectual property owned by others. Our intellectual property rights may be challenged or infringed upon by third parties, particularly in countries where property rights are not highly developed or protected, or we may be unable to maintain, renew or enter into new license agreements with third-party owners of intellectual property on reasonable terms. Unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights or inability to preserve existing intellectual property rights could adversely impact our competitive position and results of operations.

We are dependent on key personnel, and our ability to grow and compete in our industry will be harmed if we do not retain the continued services of our key personnel, or we fail to identify, hire, and retain additional qualified personnel.

Our success depends on the efforts of our senior management team and other key personnel. The loss of services of members of our senior management team could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, if we expect to grow our operations, it will be necessary for us to attract and retain additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to attract or retain qualified personnel as needed, the growth of our operations could be slowed or hampered.

Potential adverse outcomes in legal proceedings may adversely affect results.

Our business exposes us to product liability claims that are inherent in the design, manufacture and sale of our products and the products of suppliers. We may not be able to obtain insurance on acceptable terms or our insurance may not provide adequate protection against actual losses. In addition, we are subject to the risk that one or more of our insurers may become insolvent and become unable to pay claims that may be made in the future. Even if we maintain adequate insurance, claims could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations and on our ability to obtain suitable, adequate or cost-effective insurance in the future.

If we are unable to successfully introduce new products, our future growth may be adversely affected.

Our ability or failure to develop new products based on innovation can affect our competitive position and requires the investment of significant time and resources. Difficulties or delays in research, development, production or commercialization of new products and services may reduce future revenues and adversely affect our competitive position. If we are unable to create sustainable product differentiation, our organic growth may be adversely affected.

Research and development for continued growth of our IP portfolio and product offerings is expensive, and we may not have sufficient funds to continue research and develop activities and may not be able to acquire additional funding.

Our ability to continue our research and development activities to improve and expand our products and service offerings requires extensive amounts of funding. We may not be able to obtain the necessary funding on attractive terms and on a timely basis to continue our research and development activities, which could cause our research and development activities to be delayed, reduced or terminated. Delaying, reducing or terminating our research activities could impede our estimated growth and results of operations.

We rely heavily on collaborative partners such as distributors, manufacturers and vendors and our relationships with such parties may restrict or limit our business operations.

We are currently working with several third-party entities with respect to the validation, optimization, and distribution of our products. Our current and future collaborations and joint ventures are important as they allow greater access to funds, to research, development and testing resources, validation, and to manufacturing, sales and distribution resources that we would otherwise not have. We intend to continue to significantly rely on such collaborative and joint venture arrangements. Some of the risks and uncertainties related to the reliance on such collaborations and joint ventures include the fact that such relationships could actually serve to limit or restrict us, while our partners are free to pursue other products either on their own or with others. Further, our partners may terminate a collaborative technology relationship and such termination may require us to seek other partners or expend substantial resources to pursue these activities independently.

We rely somewhat on a third-party distribution model for our products and the number and quality of distributors can vary and may impact our revenues.

We rely somewhat on numerous third-party distributors for the distribution of our products. While we believe that alternative distributors could be located if required, our product sales could be affected if any of these distributors do not continue to distribute our products in required quantities or at all, or with the required levels of quality. In addition, difficulties encountered by these distributors, such as fire, accident, natural disasters, or political unrest, could halt or disrupt distributions, resulting in delay or cancellation of orders. Any of these events could result in delayed deliveries by us of our products, causing reduced sales and harm to our reputation and brand name.

We only have one manufacturing facility for our propriety products.

Our proprietary products are manufactured for us by CB Nanoshield, the Buyer of the nanoShield product, in their Houston, Texas facility. In the event of a fire, flood, tornado, hurricane or other form of a catastrophic event, we may be unable to fulfill any then-existing demand for our products, possibly for a prolonged period, depending upon the severity of the event. As a result, should a catastrophic event occur, our financial condition and results of operation would be materially adversely affected.

Our Contract Manufacturing Agreement with CB Nanoshield expires on May 8, 2024 (the “Anniversary Date”). For each year thereafter automatic one-year extensions to the agreement automatically trigger on the Anniversary Date unless terminated or revised. If a party elects to terminate the agreement, they must provide written notification to the other party no less than sixty (60) days prior to the Anniversary Date. If we are not able to renew or extend our manufacturing agreement, we may have to move our corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility. Doing so could cause us to incur significant expenses and could delay or reduce our ability to manufacture our products for some time. Our financial condition and results of operation could be materially adversely affected by any such move.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention, and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified members of the board of directors.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the OTC and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations requires significant legal and financial compliance costs, makes some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increases demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future to comply with these regulatory requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.

We also expect that being a public company with these rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members for our board of directors, particularly to serve any committees, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.

We may not reach sufficient size to justify our public reporting status. If we are forced to become a private company, then our stockholders may lose their ability to sell their shares.

We may not be able to fulfill our obligation to develop and maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting.

We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting annually. This assessment needs to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. Management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 was not effective, see “We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which could, if not remediated, result in a material misstatement in our financial statement.” In the future, we may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. Failure to comply, or any adverse results from such evaluation, could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports and have an adverse effect on the trading price of our equity securities. Achieving continued compliance with Section 404 may require us to incur significant costs and expend significant time and management resources. We cannot assure you that we will be able to fully comply with Section 404 or that we will be able to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective.

Risks Related to the Glass Strengthening and Water Repellent Industries

We face competition from companies that have substantially greater capital resources, research and development, manufacturing, and marketing resources.

While we believe that we have significant competitive benefits offered by our proprietary products, there are competitors with much longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases and significantly greater financial, technical, and marketing resources than we have. As we grow and become successful with our products, we expect these competitors to increase the resources they dedicate to our market. Such competition could materially adversely affect our business, operating results, or financial condition.

We may face increased pricing pressures from current and future competitors and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that competitive pressures will not require us to reduce our prices.

It is likely that we will experience significant competitive pressure over time. Accordingly, the use and pricing of our products may decline as the market becomes more competitive. Any material reduction in the price of our products will negatively affect our gross margin and results of operations.

We may have difficulty developing brand awareness for our products.

We believe that a developed market for glass strengthening products currently does not exist. Generation of the brand and market communications are essential to the Company’s long-term success. Funding constraints will limit the Company’s ability to build product awareness through marketing and advertising. Without clear market communication the risk of having the product confused with other applications such as a stand-alone hydrophobic product is possible. If we are unable to develop such a market or create demand for our products, it would adversely impact our business and operating results.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our common stock is quoted on the OTC Pink, which may limit the liquidity and price of our common stock more than if our common stock were listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market or another national exchange.

Our securities are currently quoted on the OTC Markets, specifically the OTC Pink (the “OTC Pink”), an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities. Quotation of our securities on the OTC Pink may limit the liquidity and price of our securities more than if our securities were listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market or another national exchange. As an OTC Pink company, we do not attract the extensive analyst coverage that accompanies companies listed on national securities exchanges. Further, institutional and other investors may have investment guidelines that restrict or prohibit investing in securities traded on the OTC Pink. These factors may have an adverse impact on the trading and price of our common stock.

The trading price of our common stock may decrease due to factors beyond our control.

The stock market from time to time has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, which have particularly affected the market prices for smaller reporting companies, and which often have been unrelated to the operating performance of the companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. If our shareholders sell substantial amounts of their common stock in the public market, the price of our common stock could fall. These sales also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity, or equity-related securities, in the future at a price we deem appropriate.

The market price of our common stock may also fluctuate significantly in response to the following factors, most of which are beyond our control:

Any such fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. As a result, stockholders may be unable to sell their shares, or may be forced to sell them at a loss.

The market price for our common shares is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively unknown company with a small and thinly traded public float, limited operating history and lack of profits which could lead to wide fluctuations in our share price. You may be unable to sell your common shares at or above your purchase price, which may result in substantial losses to you.

The market for our common shares is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to seasoned issuers, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than a seasoned issuer for the indefinite future. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our common shares are sporadically and thinly traded. As a consequence of this lack of liquidity, the trading of relatively small quantities of shares by our shareholders may disproportionately influence the price of those shares in either direction. The price for our shares could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of our common shares are sold on the market without commensurate demand, as compared to a seasoned issuer which could better absorb those sales without adverse impact on its share price. Secondly, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our limited operating history and lack of profits to date. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a seasoned issuer. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common shares, regardless of our operating performance. We cannot make any predictions or projections as to what the prevailing market price for our common shares will be at any time, including as to whether our common shares will sustain their current market prices, or as to what effect that the sale of shares or the availability of common shares for sale at any time will have on the prevailing market price.

Penny stock regulations may impose certain restrictions on marketability of our securities.

Our common stock is subject to penny stock rules, which may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock or affect their ability to sell our securities. As a result, purchasers and current holders of our securities could find it more difficult to sell their securities. Trading volume of OTC Pink stocks have been historically lower and more volatile than stocks traded on an exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market. In addition, we may be subject to rules of the SEC that impose additional requirements on broker-dealers when selling penny stocks to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. In general, an accredited investor is a person with net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 individually, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse. The relevant SEC regulations generally define penny stocks to include any equity security not traded on an exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market with a market price (as defined in the regulations) of less than $5 per share. Under the penny stock regulations, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination as to the purchaser and must have the purchaser’s prior written consent to the transaction. Prior to any transaction in a penny stock covered by these rules, a broker-dealer must deliver a disclosure schedule about the penny stock market prepared by the SEC. Broker-dealers must also make disclosure concerning commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and any registered representative and provide current quotations for the securities. Finally, broker-dealers are required to send monthly statements disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in an account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

You may find it difficult to sell our common stock.

As mentioned above, there has been a limited trading market in our common stock. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our common stock will develop or be sustained. Regardless of whether an active and liquid public market exists, negative fluctuations in our actual or anticipated operating results will likely cause the market price of our common stock to fall, making it more difficult for you to sell our common stock at a favorable price, or at all.

We intend to issue additional equity and stock options to employees and consultants as compensation in the future, which will result in dilution to existing and new investors.

We provide and intend to continue to provide additional equity-based compensation to our employees, officers, directors, consultants, and independent contractors through an equity incentive plan. Our equity incentive plan permits the award of options to purchase shares of common stock and the issuance of restricted shares of our common stock. Because stock options granted under the plan will generally only be exercised when the exercise price for such option is below the then market value of the common stock, the exercise of such options or the issuance of shares will cause dilution to the book value per share of our common stock and to existing and new investors.

Holders of convertible debt issued by the Company may convert their promissory notes and exercise warrants into shares of our common stock, which will result in significant dilution to existing and new investors.

We closed various financing transactions with investors whereby the respective investor purchased convertible promissory notes and warrants from the Company. If the investors convert their notes and exercise their warrants, the Company will issue shares of the Company’s common stock to the investor, which may cause substantial dilution to the book value per share of our common stock and to existing and new investors.

Holders of Series B Preferred Shares or Series C Preferred Shares issued by the Company may, as of December 31, 2023, convert such shares into approximately 335,772,000 and 438,151,000 shares of our common stock, respectively, which could result in significant dilution to existing and new investors. 

As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,144 Series B and 15,150 Series C shares of Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. If a holder of Series B Preferred shares or Series C Preferred shares issued by the Company elects to convert such shares into approximately 335,772,000 and 438,151,000 shares of our common stock, respectively, it would result in significant dilution to existing and new investors.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market by our existing stockholders could cause our stock price to fall.

We have not entered into lock-up agreements with any of our existing stockholders. As a result, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.

Our stock price is likely to be volatile.

There is generally significant volatility in the market prices and limited liquidity of securities of companies at our stage. Contributing to this volatility are various events that can affect our stock price in a positive or negative manner. These events include, but are not limited to: governmental regulations or actions; market acceptance and sales growth of our products; litigation involving our industry; developments or disputes concerning our patents or other proprietary rights; departure of key personnel; future sales of our securities; fluctuations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us; investors’ general perception of us; announcements by us of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments, and general economic, industry and market conditions. If any of these events occur, it could cause our stock price to fall.

The price of our common stock may be adversely affected by the future issuance and sale of shares of our common stock or other equity securities.

We cannot predict the size of future issuances or sales of our common stock or other equity securities future acquisitions or capital raising activities, or the effect, if any, that such issuances or sales may have on the market price of our common stock. The issuance and sale of substantial amounts of common stock or other equity securities or announcement that such issuances and sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Any decline in the price of our common stock may encourage short sales, which could place further downward pressure on the price of our common stock and may impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities.

Our reduced stock price may adversely affect our liquidity.

Our common stock has limited trading history. Many market makers are reluctant to make a market in stock with a trading price of less than $5.00 per share, as well as shares quoted on the OTC Pink. To the extent that we have fewer market makers for our common stock, our volume and liquidity will likely decline, which could further depress our stock price.

We have never paid dividends on our common stock and cannot guarantee that we will pay dividends to our stockholders in the future.

We have never paid dividends on our common stock. For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to reinvest in the development and growth of our business and, therefore, do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock. However, in the future, our board of directors may declare dividends on our common stock. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. Accordingly, investors may need to sell their shares of our common stock to realize a return on their investment, and they may not be able to sell such shares at or above the price paid for them. We cannot guarantee that we will pay dividends to our stockholders in the future. 

Colorado law and our Articles of Incorporation protect our directors from certain types of lawsuits, which could make it difficult for us to recover damages from them in the event of a lawsuit.

Colorado law provides that our directors will not be liable to our company or to our stockholders for monetary damages for all but certain types of conduct as directors. Our Articles of Incorporation require us to indemnify our directors and officers against all damages incurred in connection with our business to the fullest extent provided or allowed by law. The exculpation provisions may have the effect of preventing stockholders from recovering damages against our directors caused by their negligence, poor judgment, or other circumstances. The indemnification provisions may require our company to use our assets to defend our directors and officers against claims, including claims arising out of their negligence, poor judgment, or other circumstances.

Additional risks may exist since we became public through a “reverse merger.”

Because our business became public by means of a “reverse merger,” we may not be able to attract the attention of major brokerage firms. Securities analysts of major brokerage firms may not provide coverage of us since there is little incentive to brokerage firms to recommend the purchase of our common stock. We cannot assure you that brokerage firms will want to conduct any secondary offerings on our behalf in the future.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which could, if not remediated, result in a material misstatement in our financial statements.

We are subject to the reporting and other obligations under the Exchange Act, including the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which require annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. As reported in Item 9A hereof, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023 because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. The ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was due to the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting: (1) the lack of multiple levels of management review on complex business, accounting, and financial reporting issues and (2) a lack of adequate segregation of duties as a result of our limited financial resources to support hiring of personnel. Until such time as we expand our staff to include additional accounting and executive personnel, it is likely we will continue to report material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. 

While management has undertaken and will continue to undertake steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting to address and remediate the material weaknesses, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully remediate the identified material weaknesses, or that we will not identify additional control deficiencies or material weaknesses in the future. If we are unable to successfully remediate our existing or any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities laws regarding the timely filing of periodic reports, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and the price of our ordinary shares may decline.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

Risk Management and Strategy

We recognize the critical importance of developing, implementing, and maintaining robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data. The Company’s information security program is managed by its CEO and CFO, and Vice President of Operations, who are responsible for leading Company-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture, and processes.

At this time, we have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Risk Factors”.

Governance

The Company’s Board of Directors oversees management’s cybersecurity strategy. Management provides a full briefing on various cybersecurity risk matters including risk assessments, mitigation strategies, areas of emerging risk and other areas of importance at least annually. In the event of a cybersecurity incident determined to be significant, management will notify the Board.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility was located in an 8,385 square foot facility in Houston, Texas at 6035 South Loop East. The lease on the Houston facility was to expire on May 31, 2025. On June 15, 2023, in connection with the sale of the Company’s nanoShield product line, the purchaser assumed the operating lease and we vacated the premises. 

In connection with the Exchange Agreement with PGS, the Company was named as guarantor of a Commercial Lease Agreement dated July 21, 2021, by and between landlord MDW Management, LLC, a company owned by Michael Wanke and his wife and tenant PGS. The term of this lease is 60 months, at a minimum monthly rent of $5,600 (not including tax), with two five-year options for the tenant to renew. The Company’s obligation as guarantor of the Lease will terminate upon the occurrence of earlier of the following: (i) the date of the Company’s acquisition of 100% of the ownership interests of PGS; (ii) the date that the Company beneficially owns less than an 80% ownership interest in PGS; or (iii) two (2) years from and after the effective date of the guaranty. This guarantee expired in July 2023. Our PGS production and warehouse facility is located in an approximate 4,000 square foot facility in San Antonio, Texas at 2029 Pat Booker Rd., which is now our corporate headquarters.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm business.

Except as set forth below, the Company is not involved in any pending or threatened legal proceedings that it believes could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

On January 20, 2022, we received an order from the SEC (the “Formal Order”). The Formal Order authorizes that an examination be made to determine whether a stop order should be issued under Section 8(d) of the Securities Act with respect to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, and any supplements and amendments thereto. The Formal Order indicates that the Form S-1 may be deficient in that it may contain untrue statements of material fact or omit to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading concerning, among other things, the Company’s revenue and financial condition. On April 15, 2022, the Company filed an amendment to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. The restatement had the cumulative effect of decreasing the Company’s reported revenue for fiscal year 2020 by $102,569 and decreasing the Company’s bad debt expense for the same period by $102,569. There was no effect on the Company’s reported net loss for fiscal year 2020 or on the financial condition of the Company on December 31, 2020. The Company received a subpoena from the SEC on April 25, 2022, requesting all documents and communications concerning the review of C-Bond’s revenue recognition practices for fiscal year 2020. In response, the Company has provided the requested information and its Chief Executive Officer provided his testimony regarding this Formal Order in October 2022. The Company also filed a request to withdraw its Registration Statement on Form S-1 (“S-1”) (File No. 333-261472) (the “Registration Statement”), filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 3, 2021. The S-1 related to shares of common stock underlying certain convertible promissory notes held by selling securityholders. The S-1 was not declared effective and no securities were sold in reliance thereon. The Company and its Chief Executive Officer have submitted an offer to settle and close the pending SEC investigation. The Company and its Chief Executive Officer are awaiting a formal response to such offer of settlement.

On March 8, 2021, the former President and Acting CFO of the Company resigned. The Company and the former officer alleged certain claims against each other, including with respect to certain compensation claims. Neither party has initiated litigation. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself against any possible claims and assert any relevant claims against the former executive and believes it will prevail. As a result of the evidence disclosed and discovered during the aforementioned SEC investigation, the Company has concluded that the actions of the former President and Acting CFO of the Company may be viewed as potentially dishonest and fraudulent. As a result, the Board of Directors of the Company have resolved and taken action to cause the forfeiture of equity and deferred compensation owed/outstanding by said officer and forwarded a formal demand letter to said officer and his wife, the former Controller of the Company. 

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

Our common stock is quoted on the OTC Pink operated by the OTC Markets Group, under the symbol “CBNT.” Trading in OTC Pink stocks can be volatile, sporadic and risky, as thinly traded stocks tend to move more rapidly in price than more liquid securities. Such trading may also depress the market price of our common stock and make it difficult for our stockholders to resell their common stock. Our common stock does not have an established public trading market.

The following table reflects the high and low closing price for our common stock for the period indicated. The bid information was obtained from the OTC Markets Group, Inc. and reflects inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, markdown or commission, and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

On March 29, 2024, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on OTC Pink was $0.0048.

Holders of Common Stock

As of March 29, 2024, there were approximately 213 record holders of our common stock. The number of record holders does not include beneficial owners of common stock whose shares are held in the names of banks, brokers, nominees, or other fiduciaries.

Dividends

Historically, we have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock. It is our present intention not to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future, but rather to reinvest earnings, if any, in our business operations. However, in the future, our board of directors may declare dividends on our common stock. Payment of future dividends on our common stock, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements and surplus, financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. We cannot guarantee that we will pay dividends to our stockholders in the future.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

See “Part III. Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” for information concerning our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2023.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included in this Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as described under the heading “Cautionary Note Regarding Our Forward-Looking Statements” elsewhere in this Report. You should review the disclosure under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Report for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.

Overview

We are a nanotechnology company and marketer of the patented C-Bond technology. We are engaged in the implementation of proprietary nanotechnology applications and processes to enhance properties of strength, functionality, and sustainability of brittle material systems. Our present primary focus is in the multi-billion-dollar glass and window film industry with target markets in the United States. Our PGS subsidiary sells two main security products: C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant window film solution and C-Bond Secure, a forced entry deterrent solution, to private enterprises, schools, government agencies, and general contractors. PGS also sells offers other types of window film for various applications, including solar, decorative, reflective, and more.

On May 8, 2023, we entered into an APA with Apex Protect GPS, LLC (the “Buyer”), a Texas limited liability company, whereby we agreed to sell its C-Bond nanoShield™ product line, including intangible assets, intellectual property, work in process, furniture, fixtures, equipment, inventory and other physical assets of our C-Bond nanoShield product line (the “Assets”) to the Buyer for a purchase price of $4,000,000 in cash (the “Transaction”). The Transaction closed on May 8, 2023.

The Assets were sold and transferred to buyer by means of (i) with respect to the physical assets, a bill of sale; and (ii) with respect to intangible assets or intellectual property, a Patent and Trademark Assignment Agreement, a Patent and Know-How License Agreement, and a Patent License-Back Agreement.

On June 15, 2023, an Assignment and Agreement to Re-Execute was entered into by and among the Company (“Seller”); Apex Protect GPS, LLC, (“Assignor”) and CB Nanoshield, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Assignee”), whereby the Assignor assigned to the Assignee all its right to the (i) APA; (ii) Bill of Sale (iii) IP Agreements; and (iv) and any memorandums, schedules and exhibits related to the foregoing to Assignee.

The APA contains customary representations, warranties, and covenants by each party including, among other things, that no bankruptcy or similar insolvency proceeding under state or federal law has been filed, or is currently being contemplated, with respect to the Company; that the Company has provided the Seller a true and accurate list of each of the following items of Intellectual Property which comprises a part of the Assets, including, among other things, patents and trademarks (the “Sold Intellectual Property”); and that the Company has good, valid, and legal title to, and is the sole and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interest in and to, the Sold Intellectual Property, free and clear of all liens.

Under the terms of the APA, the Parties entered into a Patent and Trademark Assignment Agreement, whereby the Company conveyed, transferred, and assigned to Buyer, among other assets, the C-Bond nanoShield trademark (the “Trademark”) and U.S. Patent No. 11,155,491 B2 (the “C-Bond nanoShield Patent”), and the Company agreed to execute and deliver an assignment of the Trademark and C-Bond nanoShield Patent, for recording with governmental authorities including, but not limited to, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Parties also entered into a Patent and Know-How License Agreement whereby the Company granted to the Buyer a non-transferable, non-sub-licensable, exclusive right and license to four patents owned by the Company and licensed know-how to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell and import glass and other products and components used in or in relation to the manufacture and operation of civilian, agricultural or military vehicles and equipment (the “Licensed Product”) in the United States and its legal territories.

Lastly, the Parties entered into a Patent License-Back Agreement whereby the Buyer agreed to grant to the Company a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to the C-Bond nanoShield Patent, for all uses and applications except for any that involve, market to, sell to, do business with, provide related goods or services to, or are consumed by any uses and applications of the patented technology within the civilian or military automotive, vehicle and/or transportation industry. The Patent License-Back Agreement also stipulates that all improvements made by either Party to the technology covered by the C-Bond nanoShield Patent shall be owned by the Buyer. In the event that the Company desires to utilize such improvements to the C-Bond nanoShield Patent made by either Party, the Parties hereby agree that they will negotiate in good faith a separate license agreement having pricing and other terms and conditions that are mutually acceptable to both Parties.

Following the Closing, the Parties completed a transaction wherein the Company assigned to Buyer, and Buyer took assignment from the Company, the lease for the premises located at 6035 South Loop East, Houston, Texas 77033 (the “Lease”) pursuant to a lease assignment and assumption agreement as to be reasonably agreed to by the Parties and the lessor pursuant to the Lease.

On May 8, 2023, in connection with the APA, the Company received net proceeds of $1,989,755, after paying debt and accrued interest of approximately $2,053,000.

On December 31, 2023, we had cash of $736,461. 

The following discussion highlights our results of operations and the principal factors that have affected our financial condition as well as our liquidity and capital resources for the periods described and provides information that management believes is relevant for an assessment and understanding of the statements of financial condition and results of operations presented herein. The following discussion and analysis are based on our consolidated financial statements contained in this Report, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). You should read the discussion and analysis together with such financial statements and the related notes thereto. 

Going Concern

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. As reflected in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, the Company had net income of $1,886,807 for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net cash used in operations was $1,602,218 for the year ended December 31, 2023. Additionally, as of December 31, 2023, the Company had an accumulated deficit, shareholders’ deficit, and working capital deficit of $60,851,714, $4,324,535 and $1,351,954, respectively. On May 8, 2023, the Company sold its nanoShield product line and received proceeds of $4,042,631. The proceeds were used to repay convertible notes payable, notes payable and related accrued interest. On December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of $736,461. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months from the issuance date of this report. Management cannot provide assurance that the Company will ultimately achieve profitable operations or become cash flow positive or raise additional debt and/or equity capital. The Company is seeking to raise capital through additional debt and/or equity financings to fund its operations in the future. Although the Company has historically raised capital from sales of common shares and preferred shares, and from the issuance of promissory notes and convertible promissory notes, there is no assurance that it will be able to continue to do so. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital or secure additional lending in the near future, management expects that the Company will need to curtail its operations. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The following discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and consolidated results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management continually evaluates such estimates, including those related to critical estimates for estimates used in the calculation of percentage of completion on uncompleted jobs, assumptions used in assessing impairment of long-term assets, and the fair value of non-cash equity transactions. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Any future changes to these estimates and assumptions could cause a material change to our reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Management believes the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue recognition

We follow the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (the “FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). This standard establishes a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most of the existing revenue recognition guidance. ASC 606 requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services and requires certain additional disclosures.  

We sell our products, which include standard warranties primarily to distributors and authorized dealers. Product sales are recognized at a point in time when the product is shipped to the customer and title is transferred and are recorded net of any discounts or allowances. The warranty does not represent a separate performance obligation.

Revenues from contracts for the distribution and installation of window film solutions are recognized over time on the basis of the Company’s estimates of the progress towards completion of contracts using various output or input methods depending on the type of contract terms including (1) the ratio of number of labor hours spent compared to the number of estimated labor hours to complete a job, (2) using the milestone method, or (3) using a units completed method. These methods are used because management considers these to be the best available measure of progress on these contracts. We use the same method for similar types of contracts. The asset, “contract assets” represents revenues recognized in excess of amounts billed. The liability, “contract liabilities,” represents billings in excess of revenues recognized.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation is accounted for based on the requirements of ASC 718 – “Compensation –Stock Compensation”, which requires recognition in the financial statements of the cost of employee, director, and non-employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments over the period the employee, director, or non-employee is required to perform the services in exchange for the award (presumptively, the vesting period). The ASC also requires measurement of the cost of employee, director, and non-employee services received in exchange for an award based on the grant-date fair value of the award. The Company has elected to recognize forfeitures as they occur as permitted under Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-09 Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment. 

See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for a summary of significant accounting policies and recent accounting pronouncements.

Results of Operations

The following comparative analysis on results of operations was based primarily on the comparative consolidated financial statements, footnotes and related information for the periods identified below and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. The results discussed below are for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Sales 

For the year ended December 31, 2023, sales amounted to $2,488,493 as compared to $2,232,646 for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $255,847, or 11.5%. This increase was attributable to an increase in sales of window tint installation and sales of C-Bond Secure multi-purpose and BRS ballistic resistant glass protection systems of $510,211 to school districts in Texas. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) mandated that each school district and open-enrollment charter school install either entry-resistant film or fencing on ground-floor windows that would allow access, glass doors, and windows adjacent to glass doors. This increase was offset by a decrease in sales of our recently sold C-Bond nanoShield solutions product line of approximately $254,364 due to its sale in May 2023.

Cost of Goods Sold

In connection with our C-Bond Solutions segment, cost of goods sold is comprised primarily of the cost of raw materials and finished inventory sold, packaging costs, and warranty costs. In connection with our Patriot Glass segment, cost of goods sold is comprised primarily of cost of raw materials such as film, labor, subcontractor costs, equipment rental, and supplies. 

For the year ended December 31, 2023, cost of sales amounted to $1,180,979 as compared to $954,402 for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $226,577, or 23.7%.

Gross Profit

For the year ended December 31, 2023, gross profit amounted to $1,307,514, or 52.5% of sales, as compared to $1,278,244, or 57.3% of sales, for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $29,270, or 2.3%. Generally, we recognized a higher gross profit percentage on the sale of C-Bond nanoShield and C-Bond ballistic resistant glass protections systems than we do on the sale of disinfection products and from Patriot Glass installations and services.

Operating Expenses

For the year ended December 31, 2023, operating expenses amounted to $3,303,818 as compared to $4,470,738 for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $1,166,920, or 26.1%. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, operating expenses consisted of the following:

Compensation and related benefits

For the year ended December 31, 2023, compensation and related benefits decreased by $808,269, or 28.4%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in stock-based compensation of $997,760, offset by a net increase in compensation and related benefits of $189,491 primarily attributable to an increase in executive bonuses of approximately $320,000 and an overall decrease in compensation and related benefits of $130,509 due to a decrease in the number of employees.

On January 6, 2022, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to satisfy $278,654 of accrued compensation owed to its executive officers (collectively, the “Management”) as of December 31, 2021. Management agreed to accept 278 shares of the Company’s Series B convertible preferred stock in settlement of this accrued compensation. The conversion feature of the Series B Preferred Stock at the time of issuance was determined to be beneficial on the commitment date. Because the Series B Preferred Stock was perpetual with no stated maturity date, and the conversions could occur any time from the date of issuance, the Company immediately recorded non-cash stock-based compensation of $957,556 related to the beneficial conversion feature arising from the issuance of Series B Preferred Stock.

Professional fees

For the year ended December 31, 2023, professional fees decreased by $214,328, or 26.3%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease was primarily related to a decrease in consulting fees of $160,127 and a decrease in accounting fees of $74,883, offset by a net increase in other professional fees of $20,682.

General and administrative

For the year ended December 31, 2023, general and administrative expenses decreased by $144,323, or 17.8%, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. These decreases are primarily attributable to a decrease in sales and marketing expenses, and other cost-cutting measures, including the reduction of rent of $66,374 and other costs associated with our recently sold C-Bond Nanoshield product line.

Other Operating Income

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we reported a gain on sale of our nanoShield product line of $4,051,709. We did not record other operating income during the 2022 period.

Income (Loss) from Operations

For the year ended December 31, 2023, income (loss) from operations amounted to $2,055,405 and $(3,192,494), respectively, a positive change of $5,247,899, or 164.4%.

Other Income (Expenses), net

For the year ended December 31, 2023, other income (expenses), net amounted to $(168,598) as compared to $(1,963,984) for the year ended December 31, 2022, a positive change of $1,795,386, or 91.4%. This change was primarily due to a decrease in interest expense of $1,144,659 related to a decrease in the amortization of debt discount and a decrease in interest-bearing debt, an increase in gain on debt extinguishment of $825,727 related to the payoff and settlement of debt using proceeds from the sale of nanoShield product line and related technologies the payoff and settlement of accrued compensation, and an increase in settlement expense of $175,000.

Net Income (Loss)

Due to factors discussed above, for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, net income (loss) amounted to $1,886,807 and $(5,156,478), respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023, net income attributable to common shareholders, which included dividends accrued on Series B and C preferred stock of $54,195 and the deduction of net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests of $8,858, amounted to $1,841,470, or $0.00 per common share (basic) and $0.00 per common share (diluted). For the year ended December 31, 2022, net loss attributable to common shareholders, which included dividends accrued on Series B and C preferred stock of $60,090 and the deduction of net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests of $38,513, amounted to $(5,178,055), or $(0.02) per basic and diluted common share.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity is the ability of an enterprise to generate adequate amounts of cash to meet its needs for cash requirements. We had cash of $736,461 and $97,091 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Our primary uses of cash have been for compensation and related benefits, fees paid to third parties for professional services, and general and administrative expenses. We have received funds from the sales of products, from various financing activities such as from the sale of our common shares, from the sale of preferred shares and from debt financings. Additionally, we received net proceeds from the sale of our nanoShield product line and related technologies of $1,989,755, after the repayment and settlement of notes payable and convertible notes payable. The following trends are reasonably likely to result in changes in our liquidity over the near to long term:

Since inception, we have raised proceeds from the sale of common shares and preferred shares, and from debt to fund our operations and research and development initiatives.

As discussed elsewhere, on May 8, 2023, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “APA”) with Apex Protect GPS, LLC (the “Buyer”), a Texas limited liability company, whereby the Company agreed to sell its C-Bond nanoShield™ product line, including intangible assets, intellectual property, work in process, furniture, fixtures, equipment, inventory and other physical assets of the Company’s C-Bond nanoShield division (the “Assets”) to the Buyer for a purchase price of $4,000,000 in cash (the “Transaction”). The Transaction closed on May 8, 2023.

In connection with the APA, we received net proceeds of $1,989,755, after the repayment and settlement of notes payable and convertible notes payable as follows:

Additional cash liquidity is generated from product sales. However, to date, we are not profitable, and we cannot provide any assurances that we will be profitable. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund our current operating plans.

Cash Flows

For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities:

Net cash flow used in operating activities was $1,602,218 for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to net cash flow used in operating activities of $1,584,918 for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $17,300.

Net cash flow used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily reflected net income of $1,886,807, which was then adjusted for the add-back (deduction) of non-cash items primarily consisting of depreciation and amortization of $88,859, stock-based compensation expense of $42,183, stock-based professional fees of $121,950, amortization of debt discount of $96,258, non-cash interest expense for put premiums of $29,212, non-cash gain on debt extinguishment and inducement expense of $481,832, bad debt expense of $21,296, a gain from the sale of property and equipment of $9,000, and a gain from sale of nanoShield product line of $4,051,709, and changes in operating assets and liabilities consisting primarily of an increase in accounts receivable of $175,945, an increase in inventory of $113,712, a decrease in accounts payable of $69,543, an increase in contract liabilities of $478,083, an increase in accrued compensation of $357,822, an increase in accrued expenses of $183,647, and a decrease in accrued interest – related party of $10,027.

Net cash flow used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily reflected a net loss of $5,156,478, which was then adjusted for the add-back (deduction) of non-cash items primarily consisting of depreciation and amortization of $89,219, stock-based compensation expense of $1,039,943, stock-based professional fees of $298,571, amortization of debt discount of $1,059,752, non-cash interest expense for default penalty and put premiums of $296,981, bad debt expense of $7,716, gain on sale of property and equipment of $(5,500), and a non-cash loss on debt extinguishment of $343,895, and changes in operating assets and liabilities consisting primarily of an increase in accounts receivable of $100,160, a decrease in inventory of $5,485, an increase in prepaid expenses of $746, a decrease in contract assets of $82,526, a decrease in accounts payable of $49,709, an increase in accrued expenses of $299,660, an increase in contract liabilities of $12,211, an increase in accrued compensation of $180,609, and an increase in accrued interest – related party of $10,027.

.

Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities:

Net cash provided by investing activities was $3,936,861 for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to $5,500 for the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we received net proceeds of $4,042,631 from the sale of our nanoShield product line and related technologies and $9,000 from the sale of property and equipment. Additionally, we purchased property and equipment for $114,770. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received proceeds of $5,500 from the sale of property and equipment.

Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities:

Net cash used in financing activities was $(1,695,273) for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $1,156,611 for the year ended December 31, 2022.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we received net proceeds from the sale of our common stock to our chief executive officer of $275,000, we received net proceeds from convertible notes payable of $50,000, and we received proceeds from notes payable of $291,621. These proceeds were offset by the repayment of notes payable of $1,824,144, the repayment of note payable – related party of $250,000, and the repayment of convertible notes payable of $237,750.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received net proceeds from notes payable of $903,760, received proceeds from a related party note payable of $250,000, and received net proceeds from convertible notes payable of $160,000. These proceeds were offset by the repayment of notes payable of $157,149.

Funding Requirements

We expect the primary use of capital to continue to be salaries, legal, accounting and regulatory expenses and general overhead costs including sales and marketing. Additional uses of capital will include additional headcount, tools and equipment, capacity expansion and operational control software. We believe current cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to meet anticipated cash requirements. Additional capital will be required to further research new product verticals and enhancements to current product offerings based on customer requirements.

As of December 31, 2023, we determined that there was substantial doubt about our ability to maintain operations as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Management cannot provide assurance that we will ultimately achieve profitable operations or become cash flow positive or raise additional debt and/or equity capital. We will seek to raise capital through additional debt and/or equity financings to fund operations in the future. Although we have historically raised capital from sales of common and preferred shares, from the issuance of notes payable, and from the issuance of convertible promissory notes, there is no assurance that it will be able to continue to do so. If we are unable to raise additional capital or secure additional lending in the near future, management expects that the Company will need to curtail its operations. Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the company be unable to continue as a going concern.

On March 1, 2024, we executed a Promissory Note (“Note”) in favor of 1800 Diagonal Lending LLC (the “Investor”) in the aggregate principal amount of $157,000 (the “Principal”), and an accompanying Securities Purchase Agreement (“SPA”). Only in the event of a default, as discussed below, is the Note convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock. The Note was funded on March 4, 2023, in the amount of $125,000, which is net of an original issue discount of $13,000 and a one-time interest charge of $19,000. A one-time interest charge of twelve percent (12%) (the “Interest Rate”) was applied on the issuance date to the Principal. Under the terms of the Note, the Company is required to make monthly payments as outlined in the Note, beginning on August 30, 2024 and the Note matures on December 30, 2024. Any amount of principal or interest on this Note which is not paid when due shall bear interest at the rate of 22% per annum from the due date thereof until the same is paid (“Default Interest”).

Monthly payment shall be as follows:

Among other things, an event of default (“Event of Default”) shall occur if the Company fails to pay the principal or interest when due on the Note, whether at maturity, upon acceleration or otherwise. Upon the occurrence of any Event of Default, the Note shall become immediately due and payable and the Company shall pay to the Investor, in full satisfaction of its obligations hereunder, an amount equal to 220% times the sum of the then outstanding principal amount of this Note plus accrued and unpaid interest on the unpaid principal amount of this Note to the date of payment plus Default Interest, if any. At any time following an Event of Default, the Holder shall have the right to convert all or any part of the outstanding and unpaid amount of this Note into fully paid and non-assessable shares of the Company’s Common Stock. The conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) shall be the greater of $0.0025 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”) or 65% multiplied by the lowest closing bid price during the 10 trading days prior to the conversion date (representing a discount rate of 35%) (the “Variable Conversion Price”). At no time may the Note be converted into shares of our common stock if such conversion would result in the Investor and its affiliates owning an aggregate of in excess of 4.99% of the then outstanding shares of our common stock.

Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially because of a number of factors. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong and could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our capital requirements are difficult to forecast. Please see the section titled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional risks associated with our capital requirements.

Until such time as we generate substantial product revenue to offset operational expenses, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of public and private equity offerings and debt financings. We may be unable to raise capital or enter into such other arrangements when needed or on favorable terms or at all. Our failure to raise capital or enter into such other arrangements as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition. 

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Contractual Obligations

We have certain fixed contractual obligations and commitments that include future estimated payments. Changes in our business needs, cancellation provisions, changing interest rates, and other factors may result in actual payments differing from the estimates. We cannot provide certainty regarding the timing and amounts of payments. We have presented below a summary of the most significant assumptions used in our determination of amounts presented in the tables, to assist in the review of this information within the context of our consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

The following tables summarize our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023, and the effect these obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods.

As disclosed elsewhere, in connection with net proceeds received from the sale of our C-Bond nanoShield product line, we repaid or settled substantially all our notes payable and a portion of our convertible notes payable. We enter into agreements in the normal course of business with contracted research and testing organization, product distribution and material vendors which are payable or cancelable at any time with 30-day prior written approval.

Off-balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements during the period presented as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Our consolidated financial statements, together with the related notes and report of independent registered public accounting firm, are set forth on the pages indicated in Item 15, Part IV of this Report.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure controls and procedures

We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e), promulgated by the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Disclosure controls and procedures include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our company’s reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated our company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this annual report on Form 10-K. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that as of December 31, 2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. The ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was due to material weaknesses, which we identified, in our report on internal control over financial reporting.

Internal control over financial reporting

Management’s annual report on internal control over financial reporting

Our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. Our management’s evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting was based on the 2013 framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that as of December 31, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective.

The ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was due to the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting: (1) the lack of multiples levels of management review on complex business, accounting and financial reporting issues, and (2) a lack of adequate segregation of duties as a result of our limited financial resources to support hiring of personnel.

Until such time as we expand our staff to include additional accounting and executive personnel, it is likely we will continue to report material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.

A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of control deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls

Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of its inherent limitations. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. Internal control over financial reporting can also be circumvented by collusion or improper management override. Because of such limitations, there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process. Therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.

Changes in internal control over financial reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

Not applicable.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our current directors and executive officers:

Scott R. Silverman has been the Chairman of the Board and a director of the Company since June 1, 2018. Mr. Silverman has served as Chief Executive Officer of C-Bond Systems, LLC since December 2017 and Interim Chief Financial Officer since March 8, 2021.  From 2003 to 2011, Mr. Silverman served as Executive Chairman of VeriChip Corporation which completed an initial public offering on the NASDAQ in 2007 raising more than $30 million. VeriChip Corporation subsequently sold to Stanley Works in 2008.  From 2011 to 2016, Mr. Silverman founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Veriteq Corporation, a leader in RFID technology for medical devices which went public in 2013 and was subsequently sold to a leading breast implant manufacturer. Mr. Silverman is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University School of Law. We believe that Mr. Silverman’s knowledge of our company, industry and business makes him well-suited to serve on the board of directors.

Allison Tomek has served as Vice President of Corporate Communications and Corporate Secretary since April 2018, and as President and Director since March 8, 2021. She was previously Senior Vice President Investor Relations at PositiveID Corporation from 2007 to 2018, as well as Vice President of Investor Relations at Veriteq Corporation from 2011 to 2015. She served as the director of investor relations and corporate communications at Andrx Corporation at the time of its acquisition by Watson Pharmaceuticals in 2006 for $1.9 billion. She is a former two-time President of the National Investor Relations Institute, South Florida chapter. She holds a B.S. in News/Editorial from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder. We believe that Ms. Tomek’s knowledge of our company, regulations, and business makes her well-suited to serve on the board of directors.

Barry M. Edelstein has been a director on the Board of the Company since June 1, 2018. Since June 2008, Mr. Edelstein has served as a Managing Partner of Structured Growth Capital, Inc., which provides monetization financing to non-investment grade entities.  Since January 2002, Mr. Edelstein has also served as President and CEO of ScentSational Technologies, LLC, a leader in developing, patenting and licensing Olfaction Packaging technologies to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. Mr. Edelstein has a JD from the Widener University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.  Mr. Edelstein brings a wealth of operational and financial experience to our board as well as a deep knowledge of the packaging industry.

Terms of Office

All directors will hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders or until their successors have been elected and qualified or appointed, unless sooner displaced.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships between or among any of our directors or executive officers.

Director Independence

The Company’s securities are not listed on a national securities exchange, or an inter-dealer quotation system which has requirements that a majority of the board of directors be independent. No member of the Board of Directors other than Mr. Edelstein is independent, as that term is defined in the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market. 

Board Meetings; Annual Meeting Attendance

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Board held one board meeting in person and via teleconference, and acted via unanimous written consent on 8 occasions. The Company did not hold an annual meeting.

Holders of our securities can send communications to the Board via mail or telephone to the Secretary at the Company’s principal executive offices. The Company has not yet established a policy with respect to our directors’ attendance at the annual meetings. A stockholder who wishes to communicate with the Board may do so by directing a written request addressed to our Corporate Secretary at the address appearing on the cover page of this Annual Report.

Committees of the Board of Directors

As our Common Stock is not presently listed for trading on a national securities exchange, we are not required to have board committees. However, the Company has an audit committee which is comprised of Mr. Edelstein, an independent director.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

On March 12, 2019, we adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions in that our officers and directors serve in these capacities. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available, without charge, on our website at http://cbondsystems.com/. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirements of Form 8-K regarding any amendment to, or a waiver from, any provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such amendment or waiver on our website.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Currently, the Board is comprised of three directors: Scott Silverman, Allison Tomek and Barry Edelstein, with Scott Silverman serving as our Chairman. Scott Silverman is also our Chief Executive Officer.

The Board recognizes that the leadership structure and combination or separation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman roles is driven by the needs of the Company at any point in time. We have no policy requiring combination or separation of these leadership roles and our governing documents do not mandate a particular structure. This has allowed the Board the flexibility to establish the most appropriate structure for the Company at any given time.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The following summarizes the compensation earned by our executive officers named in the “Summary Compensation Table” below (referred to herein as our “named executive officers”) in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

This section also discusses the material elements of our executive compensation policies and decisions and important factors relevant to an analysis of these policies and decisions. It provides qualitative information regarding the manner and context in which compensation is awarded to and earned by our named executive officers and is intended to place in perspective the information presented in the following tables and the corresponding narrative.

Overview

Our named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, are as follows:

2023 Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to each of the named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table

Except as otherwise described below, there are no compensatory plans or arrangements, including payments to be received from the Company with respect to any named executive officer, that would result in payments to such person because of his or her resignation, retirement or other termination of employment with the Company, or our subsidiaries, any change in control, or a change in the person’s responsibilities following a change in control of the Company.

Employment Agreement with Executive Officer

Employment Agreement with Scott R. Silverman

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Silverman on October 18, 2017, pursuant to which he serves as our Chief Executive Officer for an initial term of three years that extends for successive one-year renewal terms unless either party gives 30-days’ advance notice of non-renewal. As consideration for these services, the employment agreement provides Mr. Silverman with the following compensation and benefits:

Mr. Silverman’s employment agreement provides that, in the event that his employment is terminated by the Company without “cause” (as defined in his employment agreement), or if Mr. Silverman resigned for “good reasons” (as defined in his employment agreement), subject to a complete release of claims, he will be entitled to (i) retain all stock options previously granted; and (ii) receive any benefits then owed or accrued along with one year of base salary and any unreimbursed expenses incurred by him. All amounts shall be paid on the termination date. In the event that Mr. Silverman’s employment is terminated by the Company for “cause” (as defined in his employment agreement), or if Mr. Silverman resigned without “good reasons” (as defined in his employment agreement), subject to a complete release of claims, he will be entitled to receive any unpaid base salary and benefits then owed or accrued and any unreimbursed expenses incurred by him. Additionally, if a change of control (as defined in his employment agreement) occurs during the term of this agreement, all unvested stock options will vest in full, and Mr. Silverman shall be paid a bonus equal to three times his current minimum base salary and minimum target bonus. 

Pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Silverman is subject to a confidentiality covenant, a two-year post-termination non-competition covenant and a two-year post-termination non-solicitation covenant. On June 30, 2020, the Company amended the employment agreement of Mr. Silverman to provide for successive one-year extensions until either the executive or the Board of Directors of the Company gives notice to terminate the employment agreement per its terms. This employment agreement amendment also included an allowance of up to $10,000 per year to cover uncovered medical/dental expenses for Mr. Silverman and his family.

Elements of Executive Compensation

Base Salaries. Base salaries for the named executive officers during 2023 and 2022 were determined, subject in each case to their employment agreements, on the scope of each officer’s responsibilities along with his or her respective experience and contributions during the prior year. When reviewing base salaries, our board of directors took factors into account such as each officer’s experience and individual performance, company performance as a whole, and general industry conditions, but did not assign any specific weighting to any factor.

Equity Awards. Equity awards granted by the board of directors to the named executive officers during 2023 and 2022 were determined based on their employment agreements, on the scope of each officer’s responsibilities along with his or her respective experience and contributions during the prior year. When reviewing equity awards, our board of directors took factors into account such as each officer’s experience and individual performance, company performance as a whole, and general industry conditions, but did not assign any specific weighting to any factor. 

Capital Raise Success Bonus. Pursuant to Mr. Silverman’s employment agreement, he receives a capital raise success bonus of 5% of all equity capital raised from investors/lenders introduced by him to the Company. Mr. Silverman agreed to share this capital raise bonus with other executives.

Bonus. In December 2023, the board of directors approved a bonus to Mr. Silverman and Ms. Tomek of $300,000 and $180,000, respectively. In December 2022, the board of directors approved a bonus to Mr. Silverman and Ms. Tomek of $100,000 and $60,000, respectively.

Other Benefits. On June 30, 2020, we amended the employment agreement of Mr. Silverman to include an allowance of up to $10,000 per year to cover uncovered medical/dental expenses for Mr. Silverman and his family. Currently, we do not offer any additional benefit packages to other employees.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following are the outstanding equity awards for the named executive officers as of December 31, 2023:

C-Bond Systems, Inc. 2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan

On June 7, 2018, our Board of Directors and our stockholders approved the C-Bond Systems, Inc. 2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”), which became effective on August 2, 2018. The purposes of the 2018 Plan is to advance the interests of the Company, its affiliates and its stockholders and promote the long-term growth of the Company by providing employees, non-employee Directors and third-party service providers with incentives to maximize stockholder value and to otherwise contribute to the success of the Company and its affiliates, thereby aligning the interests of such individuals with the interests of the Company’s stockholders and providing them additional incentives to continue in their employment or affiliation with the Company.

Summary of the Plan

Administration

The 2018 Plan will be administered by a committee designated by the Board of Directors (the “Committee”) or, in the absence of the Committee or in the case of awards issued to non-employee Directors, the 2018 Plan will be administered by the Board of Directors (as applicable, the “Administrator”). The Administrator also has full and exclusive power and authority to administer the 2018 Plan.  In administering awards under our 2018 Plan, the Administrator, has the power, subject to the terms of the 2018 Plan, to determine the terms of the awards granted under our 2018 Plan, including any applicable exercise or grant price, the number of shares subject to each award and the exercisability of the awards.  The Administrator also has full power to determine the persons to whom and the time or times at which awards will be made and to make all other determinations and take all other actions advisable for the administration of the 2018 Plan.

On a calendar year basis, the Board of Directors may, by resolution, delegate to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company the limited authority to grant awards under the 2018 Plan during such calendar year to designated classes of employees, who are not officers of the Company or any affiliate and subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and to service providers.

Types of Awards

Under our 2018 Plan, the Administrator may grant:

An award granted under the 2018 Plan must include a minimum vesting period of at least one year, provided, however, that an award may provide that the award will vest before the completion of such one-year period upon the death or qualifying disability of the grantee of the award or a change of control of the Company and awards covering, in the aggregate, 25,000,000 shares of our Common Stock may be issued without any minimum vesting period.

Shares Authorized for Issuance

The aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the 2018 Plan and number of shares of our Common Stock that may be subject to incentive stock options granted under the 2018 Plan is 50,000,000 shares.

Term

The Board may alter, amend, or terminate our 2018 Plan and the Administrator may alter, amend, or terminate any award agreement in whole or in part; however, no termination, amendment, or modification shall adversely affect in any material way any award previously granted, without the written consent of the holder. Our 2018 Plan was adopted on June 7, 2018, became effective on August 2, 2018, and will continue indefinitely until it is terminated by the Board as provided in the 2018 Plan. However, as required by the Internal Revenue Code, no incentive stock option awards may be granted under our 2018 Plan on or after the tenth anniversary of the date the plan was adopted by the Board, unless our 2018 Plan is subsequently amended, with the approval of stockholders, to extend the period for granting such awards.

Disclosure of Equity Awards Based on Material Nonpublic Information: None

Pay Versus Performance (PVP)

In accordance with the SEC’s disclosure requirements regarding pay versus performance, or PVP, this section presents the SEC-defined “Compensation Actually Paid,” or CAP of our PEO and NEOs for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, and our financial performance. Also as required by the SEC, this section compares CAP to various measures used to gauge performance at the Company for each such fiscal year. Also as required by the SEC, this section compares CAP to various measures used to gauge performance at the Company.

Pay versus Performance Table - Compensation Definitions

Salary, Bonus, Stock Awards, and All Other Compensation are each calculated in the same manner for purposes of both CAP and Summary Compensation Table, or SCT values. The primary difference between the calculation of CAP and SCT total compensation is the calculation of the value of “Stock Awards,” with the table below describing the differences in how these awards are valued for purposes of SCT total and CAP:

Pay Versus Performance Table

In accordance with the SEC’s PVP rules, the following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our NEOs for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, and our financial performance for each such fiscal year:

Director Compensation

Our non-executive board member receives $5,000 in cash compensation each quarter plus $2,500 per quarter for serving as committee chair.

The following table sets forth compensation paid, earned or awarded during 2023 to each of our directors, other than Scott Silverman and Allison Tomek, whose compensation is described in “Summary Compensation Table”.

2023 Director Compensation

Directors are also entitled to the protection provided by the indemnification provisions in our articles of incorporation, as amended, and our amended and restated bylaws.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The following table sets forth certain information relating to the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 29, 2024, by:

The number of shares beneficially owned by each entity, person, director or executive officer is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under such rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares over which the individual has sole or shared voting power or dispositive power as well as any shares that the individual has the right to acquire within 60 days of March 29, 2024 through the exercise of any stock option, warrants or other rights. Except as otherwise indicated, and subject to applicable community property laws, the persons named in the table have sole voting and dispositive power with respect to all shares of common stock held by that person. 

The percentage of shares beneficially owned is computed on the basis of 539,122,586 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 29, 2024, the implied conversion of 1,386 shares of our Series B Preferred Stock and related accrued dividends as of March 29, 2024 into 463,697,291 shares of common stock, and the implied conversion of 15,150 shares of our Series C Preferred Stock and related accrued dividends as of March 29, 2024 into 438,151,351 shares of common stock for total shares outstanding of 1,396,643,140. Shares of common stock that a person has the right to acquire within 60 days of March 29, 2024, are deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of the person holding such rights, but are not deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person, except with respect to the percentage ownership of all directors and executive officers as a group. As a result of the Company’s issuance of 1,386 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, which carries majority voting rights of 50 votes of Common Stock to every 1 share of Series B Preferred Stock, to named executive officers and directors, they have the rights to 21,050,712,091 votes through their Series B holdings, of a total of 21,589,834,677 votes. The percentage of voting rights in the table below assumes that all Series B shares held by directors and named officers are voted in any instance requiring shareholder vote. Unless otherwise noted below, the address of the persons listed on the table is c/o C-Bond Systems, Inc., 2029 Pat Booker Rd., San Antonio, TX 78148. 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table sets forth as of December 31, 2023 information regarding our common stock that may be issued under the Company’s equity compensation plans:

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

In December 2021, the Company advanced $3,750 to a company partially owned by officers of the Company. The advance was non-interest bearing, payable on demand, and as of December 31, 2021 was reflected as due from related party on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. In June 2022, this advance was deemed uncollectible and the balance was written off to bad debt expense.

 For information regarding the number of restricted shares of stock, preferred stock, or options held by the Company’s executive officers, and directors, or an affiliate or immediate family member thereof, see “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Executive Compensation.”

Our board of directors intends to adopt a written related person transaction policy, to set forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of related person transactions. This policy will cover, with certain exceptions set forth in Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Exchange Act, any transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we were or are to be a participant, where the amount involved exceeds or will exceed the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets as of the end of the last two completed fiscal years and a related person had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest, including purchases of goods or services by or from the related person or entities in which the related person has a material interest, indebtedness, guarantees of indebtedness and employment by us of a related person.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

The following table sets forth the fees billed by our principal independent accountants, Salberg & Company, P.A., for each of our last two fiscal years for the categories of services indicated.

Audit fees.  Consists of fees billed for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements included in our Form 10-K, review of our interim financial statements included in our Form 10-Q and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with year-end statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

Audit-related fees. Consists of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our consolidated financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees”, review of our Forms 8-K filings and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with non-year-end statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

Tax fees.  Consists of professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

Other fees. The services provided by our accountants within this category consisted of advice and other services not related to the above categories.

In June 2018, we established an audit committee, which consists of Barry Edelstein (audit committee chairman). The audit committee’s charter requires that the audit committee pre-approve all audit and non-audit services that our independent auditors provide to the Company, provided that pre-approval of non-audit services is not required if (i) the fees for all such services do not aggregate to more than 5% of total fees paid to the independent auditors in that fiscal year; (ii) such services were not recognized as non-audit services at that time of engagement; and (iii) such services are promptly brought to the attention of the audit committee and approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit. Prior to the formation of the audit committee, our board of directors would evaluate the scope and cost of the engagement of an auditor before the auditor renders audit and audit-related services. All of the audit and audit related fees described above for fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were pre-approved by the audit committee.

PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBIT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

The following exhibits are filed herewith or are incorporated by reference to exhibits previously filed with the SEC.

ITEM 16. 10-K SUMMARY

As permitted, the registrant has elected not to supply a summary of information required by Form 10-K.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby appoints Scott R. Silverman as attorney-in-fact with full power of substitution, severally, to execute in the name and on behalf of the registrant and each such person, individually and in each capacity stated below, one or more amendments to the annual report on Form 10-K, which amendments may make such changes in the report as the attorney-in-fact acting deems appropriate and to file any such amendment to the annual report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2023 and 2022

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2023 and 2022

CONTENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of:

C-Bond Systems, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of C-Bond Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit, and cash flows, for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, 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 consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has cash used in operations of $1,602,218, in 2023 and a working capital deficit, shareholders’ deficit and accumulated deficit of $1,351,954, $4,324,535 and $60,851,714 respectively, at December 31, 2023. These matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s Plan in regard to these matters is also described in Note 2. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated 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 in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated 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 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 consolidated 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 consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.

/s/ Salberg & Company, P.A.

SALBERG & COMPANY, P.A.

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2017.

Boca Raton, Florida

April 1, 2024

2295 NW Corporate Blvd., Suite 240 ● Boca Raton, FL 33431

Phone: (561) 995-8270 ● Toll Free: (866) CPA-8500 ● Fax: (561) 995-1920

www.salbergco.com ● info@salbergco.com

Member National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts ● Registered with the PCAOB

Member CPAConnect with Affiliated Offices Worldwide ● Member Center for Public Company Audit Firms

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements. 

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.

C-BOND SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND 2022