管理層發言
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Brand Engagement Network Inc.'s Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. Before we begin, please note that during this call, our speakers may make forward-looking statements regarding future results and performance. Please refer to the cautionary language included in BEN's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, included in their Form 10-K and 10-Q for additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. I would now like to turn the call over to Tyler Luck, acting CEO and Co-Founder of Brand Engagement Network. Tyler, please go ahead.
Thank you, operator, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. I want to start by discussing the timing of this report. Although our Q2 10-Q filing was delayed, I want to clarify that this was not due to negative financial performance. The delay was a result of intentional choices made to strengthen the company's foundation. We first concentrated on reducing ongoing expenses by negotiating with our existing vendors to enhance our financial discipline. Secondly, we implemented positive management changes, including reconnecting with our trusted outside accounting firm that supported us from 2021 to 2024, while still working with our independent audit firm. While these steps take time, we are committed to building trust in our financial processes. I've been with this company since its inception. I understand our technology, customers, and mission. I can assure you that the entrepreneurial spirit at BEN is vibrant and robust. Capital remains a valuable asset, and we are managing it with the discipline and ingenuity that investors expect. I also want to acknowledge our team in Seoul, Korea. Our Korean Innovation Lab now employs over 30 individuals, and I am extremely proud of their contributions to product innovation and client success. This team reflects the energy, expertise, and dedication that characterizes BEN globally. In addition to these foundational initiatives, I am excited to share significant milestones that highlight our progress in forming partnerships and broadening our AI capabilities. For example, we established a global partnership with Swiss Life, a process that began prior to our merger in March 2024. The announcement in April 2025 was a key milestone, and as acting CEO, I had the chance to attend their global conference in London recently. It was encouraging to hear the positive reactions from attendees worldwide. We are focused on enabling their partners globally to take advantage of the efficiencies provided by our conversational AI. We've also made strategic advancements in emerging markets, including our entry into Mexico with a partner just over a year ago. This move aligns well with markets that emphasize data sovereignty, allowing us to test and improve our products while positioning ourselves for potential expansion of our current pipeline. In the pharmacy sector, our launch at a conference in Boston last year yielded valuable market insights on our AI solutions. We are pleased with the outcomes so far, although as with any innovation in regulated fields, assessments take time as companies understandably proceed cautiously. Nonetheless, these measures lay a strong foundation for future growth. Looking at sectors like automotive, we identify opportunities where AI can enhance trusted consumer engagement, which has been a persistent challenge in the industry. The integrations we have completed to date position us advantageously for upcoming initiatives. Finally, as AI gains importance for many businesses, it is essential to note that brands in regulated industries approach new technologies carefully to mitigate risks associated with inaccurate interactions. This is where BEN's focus on trusted data is significant. By prioritizing brand-specific data sovereignty over broad web data, we facilitate authentic and dependable consumer engagements. These initiatives showcase our commitment to providing solutions that address the needs of enterprises. Looking ahead, we've already set our next earnings call for November 4, 2025, and our Annual Shareholder Meeting for November 26, 2025. We view this as the beginning of a new chapter for BEN, one built on transparency, accountability, and growth. Now, I'll turn the call over to our CFO and CEO, Walid Khiari, who will discuss our financial performance.
Thank you, Tyler, and good afternoon, everyone. Our Q2 results demonstrate significant progress in stabilizing operations as well as strengthening our financial position. By reducing expenses by over 55%, we've gained greater flexibility to execute our strategy and accelerate growth initiatives in regulated industries. Looking ahead, we're shifting our focus towards driving revenue growth, supported by a stronger foundation and the operational capacity to launch new customers more rapidly across our target verticals. As for financial highlights, I'll mention a few. Revenue, we did $5,000 of revenue in Q2 compared to none in Q2 of last year 2024, which reflects early traction in some of our conversation AI solutions. As far as operating expenses go, they've decreased, as I mentioned, by 55.6% to $2.8 million for the quarter, down from $6.3 million in the same quarter of 2024, which was driven by streamlined operations and strategic cost optimization. As for other income, we recorded a gain of $3.7 million, primarily from a gain on debt extinguishment of $4 million, which was partially offset by changes in the fair value of warrants. Net income was about $900,000 in Q2 of this year compared to a net loss of $3 million in Q2 of 2024, and our stockholders' equity increased 126% to $5.9 million from $2.6 million at the year-end 2024, which reflects improved financial health. A detailed summary of BEN's recorded financial results is included in the company's Form 10-Q for the quarter, which ended June 30, 2025, which we have filed with the SEC. And with that, I'll hand it back to the operator to begin our Q&A session.
分析師問答
Your first question comes from the line of Jack Vander Aarde with Maxim Group.
So, Tyler, welcome to your role as CEO. I don't think we've had a chance to speak last quarter, so I would love to hear your thoughts on your focus moving forward and if there are any changes we should anticipate. Please share about your management style and priorities.
Jack, nice to meet you. We haven't met before. So I think it's an exciting time to be leading BEN. And I would say my focus is really on three core priorities: the first being execution and discipline, making sure we're delivering against the commitments we've made to our customers and partners and certainly our shareholders. I believe we have built a strong foundation, and now it's about consistent reliable delivery. The second priority is commercial acceleration, translating the momentum we're seeing into scalable revenue. That's super important. That means really tightening our go-to-market motion, deepening customer relationships, and expanding our footprint in the verticals where we're already winning. And third, being the Chief Product Officer, I think it's super important to maintain our focus on product leadership. So we intend to continue pushing the boundaries of responsible, reliable AI engagement and BEN's technology has the potential to redefine how people really interact with brands. And we intend to lead that shift. So in short, it's about clarity, focus, and forward motion, ensuring that BEN not only grows but grows with purpose.
Okay. Great. I appreciate that. And maybe just a follow-up, something that was a major ongoing development was the pending acquisition of Cataneo, obviously. I know that, that was terminated. But can you just touch on what happened there? Or are you still working with them on other opportunities, maybe not M&A related, but just other business verticals and opportunities? And then can you just touch on the media space and how that fits into your focus going forward in terms of verticals?
Jack, this is Walid. Good to hear from you. To answer your question, yes, we're continuing to work with the team at Cataneo. We still think that our partnership is strong. In effect, we've been working in the field together for quite some time now and have built good momentum among our customers as well as potential customers. So we see that continuing. I had mentioned in past calls that the advertising side of the business, which is related to media, is a very important pillar of this business going forward alongside automotive, health care, and financials. We see that continuing. The media space evolves probably the fastest. I think Tyler alluded to earlier, the fact that some of the regulated industries move much slower, and rightfully so. This is one that moves very, very fast. Being nimble through a combination of buy, build, and partner approach is going to be critical. There will be M&A, but there will always be both partnership opportunities in that space on an ad-hoc basis as well as aligning with our general strategy to keep rejuvenating the technical stack dedicated to the advertising space around AI. Under Tyler's leadership, we will continue on the build side of the strategy by continuing to build a product with a common foundation, but find different use cases across industry verticals.
Excellent. Okay. I appreciate that, Walid. Maybe a follow-up too for you. The $5,000 revenue that came in the quarter, I'm curious to know if this was a pilot program, and was it a series of customers? Just walk me through that. What do you expect going forward in terms of more revenue pickups like this one? Or is this a one-time development?
Tyler, do you want to take that one?
Yes. So the $5,000 relates to a pilot program for a client we are working with in Armenia in the hospitality sector, specifically customer service in the hotel sector. We expect this to be recurring.
Excellent. Okay. Great. I appreciate that. And then just maybe a follow-up too. All of the pilot programs you guys have had in the past over the last few years sound pretty promising, and they've been ongoing. Can you just give a quick update on anything in the pharmaceutical and healthcare space? Are these past pilot programs and collaborations still ongoing? When do you determine if you're moving forward and what to focus on? I'm not sure how you're tackling it anymore. So just an update on any of the prior pilots, just so we have a sense of where we're headed.
Yes. So I would say all of our pilots are moving forward. Initially, when we started, we were more focused on generative AI. As businesses began to inquire about the ROI on this, we naturally started to move more into the Agentic AI or at least a combination. Every AI pilot that we build and deploy needs to have measurable impact. So the next phase, which most, if not all, of the pilots are progressing into, is about converting these pilots into scalable recurring relationships. We are moving in that direction with momentum, and we expect to share more detailed results as those programs formalize into commercial agreements in the near future ideally.
That concludes the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back over to Tyler Luck for closing remarks.
Thanks, operator. To close, I want to emphasize once again that BEN is really regaining its entrepreneurial momentum. We are disciplined, focused, and committed to creating value for our shareholders through strategic partnerships, market expansions, and innovative AI solutions. We look forward to updating you again on our upcoming November 4 earnings call for Q3 results, and we invite you to join us at our Annual Shareholders Meeting scheduled for November 26, 2025. Thank you, everyone, for your time and continued support.
Thank you. That wraps up today's call. Transcripts of this call will be posted on BEN's Investor Relations website. We appreciate your interest in the Brand Engagement Network, Inc.