Last week we had a busy Wednesday, first hosting a Skull Session with the management team of Crexendo, Inc. (NASDAQ:CXDO), and a little later in the day invited the CEO of Issuer Direct Corporation (NYSE:ISDR), Brian Balbirnie, to hop on a Twitter Space to talk about the State of the Microcap space.
It was the first time we held an event on Twitter, so we had to familiarize ourselves with the platform. But we think we got it now, and expect to hold some more of these in the near future and are exploring how to structure premium only Space events, if it’s even possible.
In the meantime, this week we are going to focus on some of the things that Jeffrey Korn, CXDO’s new CEO, said on activism in the company’s industry, his role and experience, and some of the main goals that he believes the company has to achieve in order to create shareholder value, one of which is to be laser focused on improving profitability.
Jeff Korn Elaborates On His Background Prior To And Qualifications As CEO of CXDO
Jeff Korn elaborates on his extensive legal expertise and role as the Chief Legal Officer within the organization. With a career spanning 35 years, he has garnered significant experience in advising and serving as a board member for numerous public companies.
Mr. Korn highlights the inherent advantages that be believes his legal background brings to bear within CXDO’s highly regulated industry. He underscores his longstanding affiliation with Crexendo, predating its transition into a telecommunications provider.
Jeff Korn, CEO of CXDO, Talks About the Changing Landscape of the IT Industry
In an effort to gain deeper industry insights, Maj cites rumors of an activist investor’s attempt to encourage mergers between prominent CXDO competitors Ringcentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG) and 8×8 Inc (NASDAQ:EGHT).
Jeff Korn expounds on the notion that activism within the industry signifies a potential new trend as the valuations of cloud communication players have plummeted since 2022. And he proceeds to depict the transformative changes that have swept through the industry. Notably, competitors such as RingCentral and 8×8 experienced exponential growth by leveraging low-interest borrowing to make acquisitions at obscene multiples, while also allocating substantial sums to sales agents.
However, the landscape has now shifted. Several competing companies are facing considerable challenges due to the high interest rates they incurred for acquisitions, resulting in financial strain. In contrast, CXDO has little debt and does not “overpay” its sales agents.
RingCentral and 8×8 have been downsizing since last year and are beginning to pay their sales agents lower commissions. Korn and Gaylor believe that this has resulted in a decline in service quality of its bigger comps. Consequently, CXDO sees this as an opportunity to finally be able to compete with RNG and EGHT on a level playing field. According to management, they are starting to see an increasing number of bigger competitor clients come to CXDO.
Jeff Korn, CEO of CXDO, Discusses His Future Concerns
Jeff Korn addresses his concerns about the company, ones that keep him up at night. Initially, he expressed concern over the stock price, which was at a level approximately 40 cents lower than its present value during CXDO’s last conference call, which in their mind posed a threat that its theoretical takeover price would be substantially below what the stock should be trading at.
However, Mr. Korn emphasizes that his main focus is the unwavering commitment he holds toward the company’s shareholders and the extensive user base. In light of these obligations, he has redirected his attention away from fixating on the stock price and instead concentrated on effectively managing the business as a whole.
“…to add what really keeps me up at night is my and our obligation to our shareholders, my and our team’s obligation to our almost 3.5 million users on our platform that keeps all of us up at night, because we take that very, very seriously. We take generated cash seriously, and we take profitability seriously. And while Doug and I can’t control the stock price, we can control how we operate the business. And that’s what we remain focused on. Yeah, I am concerned about somebody trying to steal us at a low price. But we just have to keep plugging along.”
Jeff Korn, CEO of CXDO, Talks About The Company’s Roadmap to Profitability
Jeff Korn and Doug Gaylor discuss the company’s roadmap to profitability:
- Expense Reductions: The company needs to continue flushing out inefficiencies as it integrates two significant acquisitions. As a result of these synergistic efforts, operating and staffing costs have been cut, allowing the company to operate with less staff and eliminating the need to hire additional employees to grow.
- Contract Review: With careful attention to detail, the company is meticulously reviewing and renegotiating every single contract, and making sure they apply across all subsidiary entities.
- Transitioning to a More Efficient Cloud Communication Platform: Presently, the company operates two distinct call systems—the Crexendo Classic system and its Net Sapiens platform, renowned as the third largest switch in the United States. However, the company is currently executing a comprehensive migration of all users from the Classic system to the Net Sapiens platform. The company anticipates that this strategic move will result in substantial cost savings as the company will no longer incur the expenses associated with maintaining redundant platforms.
- Relocation of Offices: Doug Gaylor elaborates on the company’s relocation from an expensive oceanfront office in La Joya, California, to a more economically viable location, resulting in annual savings of $360,000.
- Sale of Building: Jeff Korn adds that the company is actively engaged in the process of selling its building, a decision that will instantaneously alleviate its entire debt burden, as a significant portion of the debt is tied to the mortgage associated with the building. Subsequently, the company intends to transition to smaller, more efficient spaces, as the reduced need for physical infrastructure corresponds to the migration of clients to the new platform.
These cost cutting measures, as Korn explains, should go to the bottom line, which would enable CXDO to invest more money back into the company, so it can improve its services.
To view the entire conversation, please go here.
–
GeoInvesting Weekly Premium Email And Call To Action Updates (June 19 – June 30)
Morning Email Highlights
- CXDO, CODA, ISDR Lined Up For Live Events
- KTEL – Approved for Pennsylvania Lifeline Distribution
- TAYD – New design approval will help bolster sales
- TTLTF – Seasoned investor added to board of directors
- MMMB – Prices secondary offering from selling shareholders
- CODA – Interview notes and cliff notes
- CXDO Management Morning Briefing Skull Session
- ISDR Twitter Spaces – Expert Insights Skull Session
- BWLKF – Q4 2023 results.
- MMMB – Acquires remaining interest in Chef Inspirational Foods
- VIRC – Podclip discussing new presentation and long term opportunity
- CODA – Geo publishes elevator pitch/Reasons For Tracking (RFT); Accompanying PodClip discussing a big short-term caveat
- ATGN – Introduces what it calls “the first and only chatbot with a brain.”
Notable Updates
- NMYSF – Circling back as recurring revenue continues to grow
—
Premium Emails Sent During The Week
CODA Interview Notes, Provided by MS Microcaps
Stocks : CODA
As a precursor to additional info/research that we will be following up with on Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CODA), we are making available interview notes provided to us by GeoInvesting Research Contributor MS Microcaps. Look for more information tomorrow, and thanks for reading! Purpose of technology Underwater visualization hardware and software Going from point a to b…see more.
–
06/27/2023
MS Microcaps Provides CliffsNotes on Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (CODA)
Stocks : CODA
Coinciding with the email sent yesterday, the MS Microcaps Team has contributed CliffsNotes on the stock. Recall that I touched upon Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CODA) in June’s Monthly Forum when speaking about wanting to set up a live chat with the company, which I am still working on. Original MSM CliffsNotes on CODA at $5.72, as of 10/3/2023: CliffsNotes Research Tasks SEC filing commentary CliffsNotes Underwater visualization hardware…see more.
–
06/28/2023
Skull Session Today: CXDO Morning Briefing, ISDR Twitter Space; BWLKF Reports Q4 2023 results
Stocks : BWLKF
Highlights CXDO Management Morning Briefing Skull Session Today. ISDR Twitter Spaces – Expert Insights Skull Session Today. BWLKF – Q4 2023 results. — FINAL Live Event Notification: Management Morning Briefing With CXDO Join us today, Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 11 AM EST for a Management Morning Briefing with Crexendo, Inc., new CEO Jeffrey Korn and Doug Gaylor the COO and President. We are…see more.
–
06/29/2023
MMMB Acquisition News; VIRC & CODA PodClips; RFT On CODA; ATGN AI Chatbot
Stocks : MMMB, CODA, VIRC, ATGN
Highlights MMMB – Acquires remaining interest in Chef Inspirational Foods VIRC – Podclip discussing new presentation and long term opportunity CODA – Geo publishes elevator pitch/Reasons For Tracking (RFT); Accompanying PodClip discussing a big short-term caveat ATGN – Introduces what it calls “the first and only chatbot with a brain.” – Mamamancini’s Hldgs Inc (OOTC:MMMB) ($3….see more.
ICYMI
06/21/2023
Event Calendar Filling up; KTEL Approved for Lifeline in PA
Stocks : CXDO, CODA, ISDR, KTEL
Highlights CXDO, CODA, ISDR Lined Up For Live Events Hosting podcasts with private investors/Entrepreneurs KTEL – Approved for Pennsylvania Lifeline Distribution Gearing Up For A Busy Skull Session Event Calendar We are excited to announce a whole new batch of GeoInvesting Skull Session Events to take place over the next few weeks. We have scheduled a combination of Management Morning Briefings, Fireside Chats and Investor Podcasts….see more.
–
06/22/2023
TAYD New Design Approval Will Help Boost Sales; TTLTF Adds New Board Member
Highlights TAYD – New design approval will help bolster sales TTLTF – Seasoned investor added to board of directors MMMB – Prices secondary offering from selling shareholders — Taylor Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAYD) ($21.7; $76.1M market cap), a company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices for use in machinery, equipment,…see more.
—
More Notable Updates
Stocks Partially discussed or not highlighted during the week
Namsys Inc (TSXV:CTZ.V) (OTC:NMYSF) provides software solutions for currency management and processing for the banking and merchant industries principally in North America. In late 2019, Andrew Vermeer contributed an article discussing the SaaS companies recurring revenue and high margin business. You can see the original article here.
While the company has delivered slow but consistent growth, we are closely monitoring to see if the company will be able to accelerate its growth trend as its recurring revenue builds.