SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP and are consistent in all material respects with those applied in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 4, 2023. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited and have been prepared by the Company following the rules and regulations of the SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted as permitted by such rules and regulations; however, the Company believes the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The interim financial information is unaudited, but reflects all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to fairly present the information set forth herein. The interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results for a full year. The preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and judgements that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, and intangible asset impairments, share-based compensation expense, valuation allowance for deferred income taxes and amortization of intangible assets. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. On a regular basis, the Company evaluates the assumptions, judgements and estimates. Actual results may differ from these estimates. There have been no material changes in the Company’s significant accounting policies as compared to the significant accounting policies described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Principles of Consolidation The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of FaZe Holdings Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Use of Estimates The preparation of the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates are based on information available as of the date of the consolidated financial statements. The inputs into certain of these estimates and assumptions include the consideration of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant estimates include revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, warrant liabilities, valuation of the Company’s common stock before the Business Combination, stock-based compensation expense, and income taxes. These estimates generally involve complex issues and require management to make judgments, involve analysis of historical and future trends, can require extended periods of time to resolve, and are subject to change from period to period. In all cases, actual results could differ materially from management’s estimates. Content Asset, net The Company produces programming content which it plans to broadcast on online video and streaming platforms. Costs of produced content consist of development and production costs. These costs are capitalized as “Content Asset, net” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Each title is predominantly monetized on its own. At the specific title level, the Company tests the content asset for impairment when events and circumstances indicate that its fair value may be less than its unamortized cost. If the carrying value of a content asset exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment charge will be recorded in the amount of the difference. The Company’s policy is to amortize the content asset once the content airs. Given that the content was fully written off prior to airing, no Exploitation costs such as marketing, advertising, publicity, promotion, and other distribution expenses directly connected with the distribution of the content asset are expensed as incurred. Fixed Assets Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes expenditures for furniture, computer equipment, vehicles, leasehold improvements, and other assets. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. When assets are sold, retired, or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations. The costs of fixed assets are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives or lease life of the related assets. Employee Retention Tax Credit The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act") provided an employee retention credit which was a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (the "Appropriations Act") extended and expanded the availability of the employee retention credit through December 31, 2021. The Appropriations Act amended the employee retention credit to be equal to 70% of qualified wages paid to employees during the 2021 fiscal year. The Company qualified for the employee retention credit beginning in June 2020 for qualified wages through September 2021 and filed a cash refund claim during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. As of September 30, 2023, the tax credit receivable of $1.7 million has been included in the Employee retention tax credit line on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Revenue Recognition and Contract Balances Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to the Company’s customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company’s payment terms and conditions vary by customer and contract type. In instances where the timing of revenue recognition differs from the timing of invoicing, the Company does not adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component when the Company expects, at contract inception, that the period between the Company’s transfer of a promised product or service to the Company’s customer and payment for that product or service will be one year or less. The Company generally records a receivable related to revenue when the Company has an unconditional right to invoice and receive payment. Contract assets arise from contracts when revenue is recognized over time and the amount of revenue recognized, including management’s estimate of variable consideration that has been included in the transaction price exceeds the amount billed to the customer. These amounts are included in contract assets until the right to payment is no longer conditional on events other than the passage of time. These contract assets are reclassified to receivables when the right to consideration becomes unconditional. For the three and nine months ending September 30, 2023, and 2022, no The Company’s allowances for doubtful accounts are typically immaterial and, if required, are based on management’s best estimate of expected credit losses inherent in the Company’s accounts receivable balance. Contract liabilities are recorded in the event that the Company bills for services in advance of the time the services are performed, or when cash payments are received or due in advance of satisfying the Company’s performance obligations, even if amounts are refundable. Contract liabilities recorded at September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, represent the Company’s accounting for the timing difference between when the customer is billed or funds are received and when the performance obligation is satisfied. During the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized $3.5 million and $6.1 million as revenue that was relating to contract liability, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023 recognized $10.6 million and $26.5 million as revenue that was relating to the contract liability, respectively. The following table disaggregates the Company’s revenue by major type for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and 2022: (In thousands) (In thousands) Three months ended Nine months ended 2023 2022 2023 2022 Brand sponsorships $ 4,225 $ 7,072 $ 14,616 $ 28,054 Content 3,316 4,098 9,658 10,641 Consumer products 439 471 852 2,328 Esports 4,482 2,322 11,537 7,285 Other 48 49 86 313 Total revenue $ 12,510 $ 14,012 $ 36,749 $ 48,621 The section below describes the Company’s revenue recognition policies and significant judgments in further detail for each major revenue source of the Company. Brand Sponsorships The Company offers advertisers a full range of promotional vehicles, including but not limited to online advertising, livestream announcements, event content generation, social media posts, logo placement on the Company’s official merchandise, and special appearances of members of the Company’s talent roster. The Company’s brand sponsorship agreements may include multiple services that are capable of being individually distinct; however the intended benefit is an association with the Company’s brand, and the services are not distinct within the context of the contracts. Revenues from brand sponsorship agreements are recognized ratably over the contract term. Payment terms and conditions vary, but payments are generally due periodically throughout the term of the contract. In instances where the timing of revenue recognition differs from the timing of billing, management has determined the brand sponsorship agreements generally do not include a significant financing component. Content The Company and its talent roster generate and produce original content which the Company monetizes through Google’s AdSense service. Revenue is variable and is earned when the visitor views or “clicks through” on the advertisement. The amount of revenue earned is reported to the Company monthly and is recognized upon receipt of the report of viewership activity. Payment terms and conditions vary, but payments are generally due within 30 to 45 days after the end of each month. The Company grants exclusive licenses to customers for certain content produced by the Company’s talent. The Company grants the customer a license to the intellectual property, which is the content and its use in generating advertising revenues, for a pre-determined period, for an amount paid by the customer, in most instances, upon execution of the contract. The Company’s only performance obligation is to license the content for use in generating advertising revenues, and the Company recognizes the full contract amount at the point at which the Company provides the customer access to the content, which is at the execution of the contract. The Company has no further performance obligations under these types of contracts and does not anticipate generating any additional revenue from these arrangements apart from the contract amount. Principal Versus Agent Considerations A significant amount of the Company’s brand sponsorship and content revenues are generated from the Company’s talent, who are under exclusive, multi-year contracts. The Company’s talent consists of independent contractors, whose compensation is tied to the revenue that they generate. Management has evaluated the terms of the Company’s brand sponsorship and content agreements and has concluded the Company is the principal. Brand sponsorship and content revenues are reported on a gross basis, while revenue-sharing and other fees paid to the Company’s talent are recorded as cost of revenues. The Company owns the brand and intellectual property, takes primary responsibility for delivery of services, and exercises control over content generation and monetization. The Company contracts directly with Google on its Company operated channels, and the talent contracts directly with Google on their own channels. As part of the Company’s contracts with its talent, the Company agrees to serve as the talent’s exclusive management company as it relates to any and all type of work the talent may perform, including content creation and advertising revenue generated from the content. While the talent owns the content they create while they are under contract with the Company, the talent grants the Company an exclusive perpetual license to the content, and the Company grants limited usage rights of that content back to the talent, conditional upon them complying with their contract. Furthermore, all income earned from services provided by the talent related to gaming, Esports, content creation, or the business of the Company, which includes revenue from advertising via talent content, is subject to the talent agreement and is payable to the Company. In addition, the Company’s contracts with its talent specify rules and restrictions on the content the talent can create and post. As such, through its contracts with talent, the Company is the principal because the Company is the entity exercising primary control over the content generated in the YouTube channels being monetized. Consumer Products The Company earns consumer products revenue from sales of the Company’s consumer products on the Company’s website or at live or virtual events. Revenues are recognized at a point in time, as control is transferred to the customer upon shipment. The Company offers customer returns and discounts through a third-party distributor and accounts for this as a reduction to revenue. The Company does not offer loyalty programs or other sales incentive programs that are material to revenue recognition. Payment is due at the time of sale. The Company has outsourced the design, manufacturing, fulfillment, distribution, and sale of the Company’s consumer products to a third party in exchange for royalties based on the amount of revenue generated. Management evaluated the terms of the agreement to determine whether the Company’s consumer products revenues should be reported gross or net of royalties paid. Key indicators that management evaluated in determining whether the Company is the principal in the sale (gross reporting) or an agent (net reporting) include, but are not limited to: ● the Company is the party that is primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the specified good or service, ● the Company has inventory risk before the good is transferred to the customer, and ● the Company is the party that has discretion in establishing pricing for the specified good or service. Based on management’s evaluation of the above indicators, the Company reports consumer products revenues on a gross basis. Esports League Participation Player Transfer Fees: Licensing of Intellectual Property: Transaction Price Allocated to the Remaining Performance Obligations For the estimated revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of September 30, 2023, the Company applies the allowable practical expedient and does not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that have original expected durations of one year or less. Revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that have original expected durations greater than one year that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of September 30, 2023 were not material. Warrants The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. Warrants that meet the definition of a derivative financial instrument and the equity scope exception in ASC 815-10-15-74(a) are classified as equity, and are not subject to remeasurement provided that the Company continues to meet the criteria for equity classification. Warrants that are accounted for as equity-classified are further discussed in Note 7, Equity. Warrants that are classified as liabilities are accounted for at fair value and remeasured at each reporting date until exercise, expiration, or modification that results in equity classification. Any change in the fair value of the warrants is recognized as change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The classification of warrants, including whether warrants should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period. The fair value of liability-classified warrants is determined using the Black-Scholes options pricing model (“Black-Scholes model”) which includes Level 3 inputs as further discussed in Note 6, Private Placement Warrants and Recurring Fair Value Measurements. The value of the warrant is de minimis and as such the company did not revalue the warrants as of September 30, 2023. Stock-Based Compensation The Company accounts for its stock-based awards in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation, which requires fair value measurement on the grant date and recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards. Legacy FaZe issued stock options before there was an active market for the Company’s common stock. The Board of Directors (the “Board”) was required to estimate the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the time of each award. The Board considered numerous objective and subjective factors in determining the value of the Company’s common stock at each grant date, including the following: (1) the per-share price of issuances of the Company’s preferred stock, which the Company sold to outside investors in arm’s-length transactions, and the rights, preferences, and privileges of the Company’s preferred stock and common stock; (2) valuations performed by an independent valuation specialist; (3) the Company’s stage of development and revenue growth; (4) the fact that the awards involved illiquid securities in a private company; and (5) the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the shares of common stock underlying the awards, such as an initial public offering or sale of the Company, given prevailing market conditions. The Company believed this to have been a reasonable methodology based on certain arm’s-length transactions involving the Company’s preferred stock, supported by the results produced by this valuation methodology. Since the Business Combination, the Company’s common stock is now actively traded, so the fair value of the common stock is readily available. For stock options, the Company estimates the fair value using the Black-Scholes model. The fair value is expensed over the requisite service periods of the awards (usually one to four years), in the period of grant for awards that vest immediately and have no future service condition, or in the period the awards vest immediately after meeting a performance condition becomes probable (i.e., the occurrence of a change in control event). As there was no public market for its common stock at the time of the stock option grant, the Company determined the volatility for options granted based on an analysis of reported data for a peer group of companies. The expected volatility of options granted has been estimated based on an average of the historical volatility measures of this peer group of companies. The expected life of options has been estimated utilizing the “simplified method” due to the lack of available or sufficient historical exercise data for the Company for the applicable options terms. The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant. The risk-free interest rate is based on a treasury instrument whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options. The Company has not paid, and does not anticipate paying, cash dividends on its common stock; therefore, the expected dividend yield is assumed to be zero. As the Company’s stock is now publicly traded after the Business Combination, the fair value of the Company’s stock and the volatility is readily available. The Black-Scholes model requires the input of certain assumptions that require the Company’s judgment, including the fair value of common shares before the Business Combination, expected term, and the expected price volatility of the underlying stock. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based compensation represent the Company’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of judgment. As a result, if factors change resulting in the use of different assumptions, stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future. The Company accounts for forfeitures of stock-based awards as they occur. Fair Value Measurement The fair value hierarchy requires the Company to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s classification within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fair value hierarchy consists of the following three levels: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities Level 2: Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs other than quoted prices which are observable for the assets or liabilities Level 3: Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity The carrying amount of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, and accounts payable, approximate fair value due to their short-term nature. The Company’s private placement warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 6, Private Placement Warrants and Recurring Fair Value Measurements, for additional information on the Company’s liabilities measured at fair value. Earnings (Loss) Per Share Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net earnings (loss) attributable to the Company by the number of weighted average shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net earnings (loss) attributable to the Company by the number of weighted-average shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding during the period after adjusting for the impact of securities that would have a dilutive effect on earnings (loss) per share. As the Company has incurred losses in all periods presented, all potentially dilutive securities are antidilutive. See Note 11, Loss Per Share, for additional information on dilutive securities. Segment Reporting Operating segments are defined as components of an entity for which separate financial information is available and is regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to allocate resources to an individual segment and in assessing performance. The Company has determined that its Chief Executive Officer is the CODM. The Company operates and reports financial information in one segment, as the CODM reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, at the Company level, for the purposes of making operating decisions, allocation of resources, and evaluating financial performance. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company did not have material assets located outside of the United States. For the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company had international Esports revenue of $0.9 million and $1.2 million, respectively, earned outside of the United States. For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company had international Esports revenue of $4.4 million and $4.7 million, respectively, earned outside of the United States. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In September 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This guidance requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This guidance also requires enhanced disclosures regarding significant estimates and judgements used in estimating credit losses. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements and related disclosures. |