BUSINESS | BUSINESS Description of the Business Stem, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries (“Stem,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), maintains one of the world’s largest digitally connected, intelligent renewable energy networks, providing customers (i) with an energy storage system, sourced from leading, global battery original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), that the Company delivers through its partners, including developers, distributors, and engineering, procurement and construction firms, (ii) edge hardware to aid in the collection of site data and the real-time operation and control of the site plus other optional equipment, (iii) ongoing software platform and professional services to operate integrated energy storage, and solar systems, through its Athena® artificial intelligence (“AI”) platform (“Athena”), and (iv) solar asset performance monitoring and control, through Athena’s PowerTrack application. In addition, in all the markets where the Company helps manage its customers’ clean energy assets, the Company has agreements to use the Athena platform to participate in such markets and to share the revenue from such market participation. The Company delivers its battery hardware and software-enabled services through its Athena platform to its customers. The Company’s hardware and recurring software-enabled services mitigate customer energy costs through services such as time-of-use and demand charge management optimization and by aggregating the dispatch of energy through a network of virtual power plants. The resulting network created by the Company’s growing customer base increases grid resilience and reliability through the real-time processing of market-based demand signals, energy prices and other factors in connection with the deployment of renewable energy resources to such customers. Additionally, the Company’s energy storage solutions support renewable energy generation by alleviating grid intermittency issues, thereby reducing customer dependence on traditional, fossil fuel resources. The Company’s Athena PowerTrack application provides a vertically integrated solution that incorporates on-site power monitoring equipment that aggregates and communicates data to enable remote control of solar generation assets. PowerTrack provides direct access to individual site performance to measure and benchmark expected energy production, maximizing asset value for our customers. From time to time, the Company, through an indirect wholly-owned development subsidiary (“DevCo”) formed in January 2022, will enter into strategic joint ventures (each a “DevCo JV”) with qualified third parties for the development of select renewable energy projects (“DevCo Projects”). In this structure, DevCo forms a new DevCo JV entity as the majority owner, with the developer as the minority owner. The purpose of the DevCo JV is to develop and sell DevCo Projects and secure Company hardware and software services for those projects. In DevCo Projects, the Company makes development capital contributions to fund project development, and recovers those capital contributions plus a fee when the developer takes ownership of the project. The Company will in some cases also elect to make cash advances to hardware suppliers to accelerate project construction timelines given long lead times to secure hardware. This business model is intended to allow the Company to advance development capital to key partners in strategic markets and securing hardware upfront, in order to generate higher-margin software and services and other revenue via exclusive long-term services contracts under the DevCo Projects. On February 1, 2022, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Also Energy Holdings, Inc. (“AlsoEnergy”), which has been consolidated since the date of acquisition. Through AlsoEnergy, the Company provides end-to-end turnkey solutions that monitor and manage renewable energy systems through its PowerTrack software. PowerTrack includes data acquisitions and monitoring, performance modeling, agency reporting, internal reports, work order tickets, and supervisory control and data acquisition (“SCADA”) controls. AlsoEnergy has deployed systems at various international locations, but its largest customer bases are in the United States, Germany and Canada. See Note 6 — Business Combinations . The Company operated as Rollins Road Acquisition Company (f/k/a Stem, Inc.) (“Legacy Stem”) prior to the Merger with Star Peak Transition Corp. (“STPK”), an entity that was then listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trade symbol “STPK,” and STPK Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and wholly - owned subsidiary of STPK (“Merger Sub”), providing for, among other things, and subject to the conditions therein, the combination of the Company and STPK pursuant to the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity (the “Merger”). Stem, Inc. was incorporated on March 16, 2009 in the State of Delaware and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Liquidity As of March 31, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $117.9 million, short-term investments of $87.7 million, an accumulated deficit of $676.9 million and net working capital of $235.2 million, with $16.3 million of financing obligations coming due within the next 12 months. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company incurred a net loss of $44.8 million and had negative cash flows from operating activities of $35.8 million. The Company believes that its cash position is sufficient to meet capital and liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months after the date that the financial statements are available to be issued. The Company’s business prospects are subject to risks, expenses, and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of commercial operations. The attainment of profitable operations is dependent upon future events, including securing new customers and maintaining current ones, securing and maintaining adequate supplier relationships, building the Company’s customer base, successfully executing its business and marketing strategy, obtaining adequate financing to complete the Company’s development activities, and hiring and retaining appropriate personnel. Failure to generate sufficient revenues, achieve planned gross margins and operating profitability, control operating costs, or secure additional funding may require the Company to modify, delay or abandon some of its planned future expansion or development, to seek additional equity or debt financing, or to otherwise enact operating cost reductions available to management, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition. Supply Chain Constraints and Risk The Company’s industry continues to face shortages and shipping delays affecting the supply of inverters, enclosures, battery modules and associated component parts for inverters and battery energy storage systems available for purchase. These shortages and delays can be attributed in part to the evolving macroeconomic, geopolitical and business environment, including the effects of increased global inflationary pressures and interest rates, potential import tariffs, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical pressures, including the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, rising tensions between China and Taiwan and unknown effects of current and future trade regulations. If these shortages and delays persist through 2023, they could adversely affect the timing of when battery energy storage systems can be delivered and installed, and when (or if) the Company can begin to generate revenue from those systems. The Company cannot predict the full effects the macroeconomic, geopolitical and business environment will continue to have on our business, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, he COVID-19 pandemic caused, and any new outbreaks or resurgence of COVID-19 and its variants could again cause, a significant reduction in global economic activity, significantly weakening demand for our products and services. |