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DATE

Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President and Chief Executive Officer - Dave Holmes
• Chief Financial Officer - Lynn Zhao

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue -- $3 million, representing a decline from $3.9 million in the second quarter of 2025 and $3.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 due to weakness in the retail scanning business.
• Gross Margin -- 46.4%, compared to 49.9% in the prior year's quarter and 51.3% in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the underutilization of manufacturing capacity at current production levels.
• Operating Expenses -- $2.6 million, down from $2.7 million in both the prior year's quarter and the previous quarter, following selective headcount reductions and cost-cutting measures.
• Operating Loss -- $1.2 million, increasing from a loss of $687,000 in the second quarter of 2025 and $767,000 in the first quarter of 2026.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- loss of approximately $745,000, compared to a loss of $100,000 in the prior year's quarter and a loss of $298,000 in the first quarter of 2026.
• Loss per Share -- $0.16, compared to $0.10 in the second quarter of 2025 and $0.11 in the first quarter of 2026.
• Cash Balance -- $1.6 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with $1.7 million at the end of the previous quarter on March 31, 2026.
• Inventory -- $3.8 million net of reserves, down from $3.9 million at the end of the previous quarter to align stock levels with current demand.
• Industrial Scanning Revenue -- 10% of total second quarter revenue, as the company enters the industrial market through direct sales to enterprise customers.
• Fixed Manufacturing Costs -- higher as a percentage of revenue due to production levels falling below capacity, which contributed to the gross margin decline.
• AI Implementation -- focused on engineering and organizational efficiency, with plans to expand deployment across the entire company in the third quarter of 2026.
• Product Culling -- management plans to eliminate non-revenue producing products to simplify the decision process for customers.
• Shopify Relationship -- maintained preferred supplier status, though revenue from this channel has declined over the last several quarters.
• Cost-Reduction Timeline -- measures including headcount reductions are slated to remain in effect for the remainder of 2026.
• Liquidity Sources -- an untapped bank line of credit remains available for working capital if needed, in addition to managing cash through operations.

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RISKS

• Holmes stated, "The environment we are operating in remains difficult," noting that top-line results reflect challenges in the retail scanning business.
• Zhao stated, "The decline primarily reflects the underutilization of our manufacturing capacity at current production and the revenue levels, resulting in higher fixed manufacturing cost as a percentage of the revenue."

SUMMARY

**Socket Mobile, Inc.** (SCKT -6.36%) reported a decline in second quarter revenue and margins, primarily attributed to weakness in its core retail scanning segment and resulting manufacturing underutilization. Management is responding with cost-reduction initiatives, including headcount cuts and the implementation of artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency. The company is also shifting its strategic focus toward the industrial scanning market, which now contributes a tenth of total revenue, and is simplifying its product portfolio to streamline customer decision-making.

• Management confirmed the company remains a preferred supplier for Shopify, though revenue from this partnership has declined over the last few quarters.
• The engineering department began a systematic rollout of artificial intelligence over several months, with plans to expand deployment across the entire organization in the third quarter of 2026.
• President and CEO Holmes described the industrial scanning business model as a hedge against retail dependency, stating, "we're selling directly to the enterprise customers, and that business has started to pick up."
• The industrial segment is currently focused on Apple platforms and iOS-based devices, which Holmes noted are "gaining a lot of traction in the industrial space because of the familiarity of the UI."
• CFO Zhao indicated that no "going concern" issues were raised by auditors and that the company aims to fund working capital through operations.
• The company plans to eliminate products that do not produce revenue to make its offerings "easier to understand" for customers.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• CaptureSDK: A software developer kit that enables application providers to modify captured data and control feedback to users.
• DuraSled: A protective barcode sled scanner designed for mobile devices.
• XtremeScan: A series of rugged scanning cases and grips for iPhones designed for industrial environments.
• NFC: Near Field Communication, a set of communication protocols for communication between two electronic devices over short distances.
• Adjusted EBITDA: A non-GAAP financial metric that represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, often adjusted for one-time or non-cash items.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Lynn Zhao: Okay. Welcome everyone to Socket Mobile, Inc. Q2 2026 earnings call. My name is Lynn Zhao, CFO at Socket Mobile. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding mobile data collection and mobile data collection products, including details on timing, distribution, and the market acceptance of products, and the statements predicting trends, sales, and the market conditions and opportunities in the market in which Socket Mobile sells its products.

Such a statement involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including but not limited to, the risk of manufacture of Socket's products may be delayed or not rolled out as predicted due to technological, market, or financial factors, including the availability of product components and the necessary working capital. The risk that market acceptance and the sales opportunities may not happen as anticipated, the risk that Socket's application partners and the current distribution channels may choose not to distribute the products or may not be successful in doing so.

The risk that acceptance of Socket's products in vertical application markets may not happen as anticipated, as well as other risks described in Socket's most recent Form 10-K and the 10-Q reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Socket does not undertake any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. On the call with me today is Dave Holmes, President and Chief Executive Officer. I will now turn the call over to Dave. Dave, you may begin.

Dave Holmes: Thanks, Lynn. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our results for the second quarter of 2026. The environment we are operating in remains difficult. Our top-line results reflects the continued challenge we are seeing with our retail scanning business. Our second quarter revenue of $3.0 million fell short of expectations. Gross margin was 46.4% versus 49.9% in the prior year's quarter, and operating expenses came in at $2.6 million, versus $2.7 million in the prior year's quarter. We are not at all satisfied with that outcome. We have implemented several plans to help bolster sales. We have also cut our costs further and have implemented several cost-cutting measures, including selective headcount reductions.

These measures will remain in effect for the remainder of 2026. Along with our intense focus on cost control and cost elimination, we are aggressively implementing AI to make our resources more effective and more efficient. Our engineering team has systematically rolled this out over the last several months and will continue deploying with a similar comprehensive approach to the rest of the organization in Q3. This will allow us to deliver key revenue-producing projects and efficiencies with our streamlined staff. We will also sharpen our focus on what we are selling. We have great products. We will simplify the decision process for our customers and cull products that are not producing revenue to make our offering easier to understand.

We continue to focus on supporting our customers, executing our strategic priorities, and managing our business with financial discipline. Management believes these actions position the company to respond effectively as customer demand improves. With that, I'll turn the call back to Lynn for more details on our financial results. Lynn?

Lynn Zhao: Thank you, Dave. Revenue for Q2 was at $3 million, compared to $3.9 million in the same quarter last year and the $3.7 million in Q1 2026. Gross margin for the quarter was 46.4%, compared with the 49.9% in Q2 2025 and the 51.3% in Q1 2026. The decline primarily reflects the underutilization of our manufacturing capacity at current production and the revenue levels, resulting in higher fixed manufacturing cost as a percentage of the revenue. Operating expenses for Q2 were $2.6 million, down from $2.7 million in the same prior year quarter and in Q1 2026, reflecting our continued focus on managing operating expenses.

As a result, we reported an operating loss of $1.2 million, compared with $687,000 loss in Q2 2025 and the $767,000 in Q1 2026. Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 was a loss of approximately $745,000, compared with a loss of $100,000 in the prior quarter and the $298,000 in Q1 2026. Loss per share was at $0.16, compared with the $0.10 in Q2 2025 and the $0.11 in Q1 2026. Turning to the balance sheet, cash totaled $1.6 million as of June 30th, 2026, compared with the $1.7 million at March 31st, 2026. During the quarter, we continued to manage working capital and to maintain a disciplined approach to operating expenses.

Inventory, net of reserves, was at $3.8 million as of June 30th, 2026, down from $3.9 million at March 31st, 2026, reflecting our continued efforts to align inventory levels with current demand. This concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the call for questions. To ask a question, please click raise hand or press nine on your telephone keypad. I will recognize you and unmute your line. Before asking your question, please state your full name and the company you represent. Are there any questions?

Dave Holmes: I see we have a question.

Lynn Zhao: Are there Oh, yeah. Hold on. Let me unmute. Steve.

Dave Holmes: Steve.

Lynn Zhao: Hi, Steve.

Speaker 2: Good afternoon. Couple of questions. Are we still a preferred supplier to Shopify, or is our financial situation deteriorated enough that they are not on board with us anymore?

Dave Holmes: Yes, we are still a preferred supplier to Shopify. Nothing has changed there. Our revenue is down in retail and was down specific to the Shopify business over the last few quarters. We're still a recommended supplier for Shopify.

Speaker 2: Okay. Our cash burn rate, are there any going concern issues? Has your auditor.

Lynn Zhao: We are.

Speaker 2: Has your auditor opined on a going concern issue or not?

Lynn Zhao: No. No going concern issue was raised.

Speaker 2: Our burn rate, looks like we took down some inventory to give us some cash, and we were $100,000 less, I think you said, than we were the prior quarter. Our burn rate, how's our burn rate looking? Are we good for another year worth of cash flow burn, or what's your horizon for that?

Lynn Zhao: No, we try to fund our working capital with the operations, but we still have the bank line we could tap in that we haven't. Yeah, hopefully, with the management of the expenses and the growth of revenue, we can continue to support the operations.

Speaker 2: Okay. I guess the last question I would have is, I've always liked this business model because you guys just supplied the hardware, and the designers out there provided the software and designed it and sold it to customers. That's great when the business is moving ahead and growing, but what do you guys do now that's fallen off? We're kind of waiting on them to sell their product, which would then include our hardware in that sale. How can management impact our business if we're waiting on our customers to sell a service to a third-party customer that would then buy our hardware to deliver the solution? I'm struggling a little bit with that.

Dave Holmes: That's a great question, and I think traditionally, our business has worked exactly as you suggest, and it is a great model when things are chugging away. The downside of that business model is things are a little bit out of your control, and we anticipated this, and over the last couple of years, we've been working real hard to enter new markets, and we've started to do that. We've talked about it in the past couple of meetings, our entree into the industrial scanning market. That's a completely different business model, really. It's entering and selling directly to enterprise customers, so not necessarily going to the software vendors first.

We do go to software vendors first at times, but a lot of times, we're selling directly to the enterprise customers, and that business has started to pick up. We had our, I believe it was about 10% of our revenue in Q2, and we expect that number to grow over the next few quarters. Those are much bigger deals that we're working on, so when they hit, they have an immediate impact, and that's going to be one of the major hedges, not only for hedging for retail and our dependency on retail, but also in the model that you suggest, Steve.

Speaker 2: Okay. Have we had any successes with that? I know you had a few companies that were, I don't know, I'll call it beta testing, or they were trying out your equipment in the process to see if they liked it. Have we gotten any Hard purchase orders yet, or are we still more in the testing process and that's more of a 2027 kind of a thing?

Dave Holmes: No, we've definitely had some purchases. I mentioned it was, I believe it was 10% of our revenue in Q2. It's not just a couple of people testing here and there anymore. They're really rolling these things out and, in some cases, we're in phase two of roll-outs. What we have deployed out there has been working really well. It's all based on iOS and Apple platforms, which is gaining a lot of traction in the industrial space because of the familiarity of the UI. People are just used to using Apple devices at home, and they like to use them at work as well, so that's really working in our favor.

Yeah, we have seen some success, and we expect more of it in the second half of the year.

Speaker 2: Okay, one final question. Lynn, We've done several convertible loans. Are we going to need to do any more of those to our Chairman, or are we just going to try to live off the bank loans going forward?

Lynn Zhao: We try to live off operating-generated cash. Yes, like you mentioned, we had convertible note financing in the past. Our board approved the financing, we're not going to comment anything before the information is released to public.

Speaker 2: Okay. You haven't tapped into that yet, but that's a lever there that if you want to pull it, management can decide to do so. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate the feedback today. I'll get off the call.

Dave Holmes: Thanks, Steve.

Lynn Zhao: Thank you, Steve. Are there any other questions? You can click or raise hand or press nine on your telephone keypad. I don't see any. Okay. Dave, I don't see other questions.

Dave Holmes: I think we can go ahead and close it.

Lynn Zhao: Okay. All right. Yeah. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for attending.

Dave Holmes: Thanks, everyone.

Lynn Zhao: Bye now.

Operator: Host ended the conference. Goodbye.