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The simplest explanation is often the best: Liquidmetal is so scared of upsetting the Apple cart that it cannot say anything substantive about its business. Doesn't it seem likely that Apple has put the kibosh on making any information public?
Agreed Rige! I don't remember reading about "euphoric" reactions of attendees before either! This article presents a more bullish tone and gives me optimism.
Hints? You are always so specific!
Yes, absolutely and utterly depressing.
SOLVED! Thanks Rige and Cima!
Sorry, I was referring to paper-fastening staples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staple_(fastener)
My point is that they are so easy to break. A tendon-repair device needs to be very difficult to break.
And to your most recent point: liquidmetal is non-magnetic... so it can go through MRIs and airport scanners! Another great reason to use it in the body!
I just googled "what are staples made of" and learned that they are made of zinc-plated steel wire. It's so easy to bend a staple a couple of times and break it. So, the part needs to be significantly stronger and more elastic than steel - which liquidmetal is - in order to hold together over many years of tendon flexing.
With liquidmetal, I am most excited to see the incredibly innovative ways it is used in situations that no other material could suffice. It's hard to imagine entirely new things, so most people think in terms of "how can this existing thing be made better with liquidmetal?" The real excitement is: "what can now be made due to the existence of liquidmetal?"
I think this tendon repair device is an example of something that couldn't have been made with other materials. And, I think we will see many, many new applications that we can't possibly yet imagine. Have you ever seen a soda container made of wood? Nope... but plastic and aluminum? Yep! People couldn't have imagined plastic and metal soda-holding devices before they first saw them. We are going to see lots of exciting inventions that exist only because liquidmetal exists.
Since you asked, and at the risk of being lambasted for providing an opinion not backed by links... I think the staple IS the liquidmetal part due to the following qualities of liquidmetal:
• strength despite very thin part size (that can slide smoothly through the tendon sheath)
• elasticity that allows the part to flex thousands of time without deformation
• corrosion resistance
• complexity of shape possible without machining
And, to your point, it's not yet FDA-approved, right?
Another way of stating my previous question is: IF Liquidmetal were a private company, and you couldn't point to the share price of $0.08... how would you value the IP portfolio if you were a company who wanted the technology, or if you were a company who didn't want anyone ELSE to buy the technology?
Sparky, does your rule of 30% apply to tech companies who are just nearing the end of their protracted R&D phase getting the product to market? (Please don't hurl golf clubs and pocket knives at me... let's be real that we're just getting the product to a point where the technology can be scaled up across multiple industries in machines capable of pushing out high quantities of perfect parts.) Our share price is heavily influenced by lack of revenue... but we have quite an IP portfolio. Don't start-ups often sell for billions despite near-zero revenues to date when the buying company sees vast potential in the IP portfolio?
Since it seems they allow a very small minority of people with questions to speak on the earnings calls, it would be good for anyone who is allowed the floor to ask: "Many investors have been holding on for years and years of R&D, waiting patiently for the company to bring its product to market in a way that results in a positive revenue stream with potential for profits. So far, this has been a waiting game in which hundreds of millions of diluted shares have flooded the market to fund ongoing operations. Are there plans to ambitiously buy back large quantities of shares once the company gains traction with positive revenue stream and net profits? Investors are growing impatient after many years of waiting for something... anything in the line of net profit."
Help me with the math.
If there are 477,150,000 outstanding shares now, with a value of $0.0757 per share, that's a market capitalization of $36,120,255. If they dilute with 200,000,000 more shares, $37,850,000 market cap divided by 677,150,000 shares equates to $0.0533 per share.
How do you get a price of $0.02/share resulting from further dilution of 200,000,000 more shares outstanding?
A good question on the earnings call would be: "Does the company plan on buying back shares equal in number to the number of stock options exercised in order to prevent dilution of outstanding shares?"
2016: iPhone 7
2017: iPhone 7S
2018: iPhone 8 with OLED display and Liquidmetal casing
2019: iPhone 8S with OLED display and Liquidmetal casing
2020: iPhone 9...
I absolutely agree. My point is to illustrate a difference that, while obvious to you and me, is not so obvious to others on this board who proclaim over and over and over that Apple's use of Liquidmetal in consumer electronics will in no way affect Liquidmetal's fortune. The direct effect will be zero, but the indirect effect of Apple's prominent use of Liquidmetal technology will be overwhelmingly positive for Liquidmetal and for US. People on the board miss the indirect effects in their logic.
Because partners in the right places is what will drive REVENUE, which is ultimately how the company will reward its owners, us.
You seem to be attributing comments/quotes/beliefs to me that I've never stated.
I completely agree. Perhaps Engel should be considered the real "smart money" here...
Gorgol, you will be missed! I believe that anyone spending time following the LQMT share price and rumor mill DOES deep down believe in positive possibilities, even the ones who are unable to voice those possibilities.
Here's a spin to consider: no matter how selfish and corrupt the members of a public company's board of directors might be, they have fiduciary responsibilities to do what's best for shareholders. Maybe it's possible that they have insider information that makes them think Steipp DOES deserve the compensation he's getting. Maybe they would rather not be sued (or worse) for failing to look out for their company's shareholder's best interests. Maybe it's a REALLY good sign that the BOD seems to like Steipp.
And, maybe it's possible that there ARE secrets inside the company that are REALLY exciting. Insiders don't want to go to jail over insider trading. So maybe the secrets are keeping them from buying large amounts of shares, but maybe that's okay because of stock options granted as part of compensation. Maybe Apple's gag order is SO SCARY that secrets really aren't leaking out of the company, which is why "smart money" isn't buying shares. The other reason smart money isn't buying shares is that this is a highly risky penny stock, but a sustained run-up on good news timed with a well-executed reverse split could change that situation.
Everyone who has been reading this board for more than a week knows that Liquidmetal will not earn direct revenues from Apple for consumer electronics purposes. BUT, to think that Apple using Liquidmetal technology prominently in future products will not increase Liquidmetal's visibility and market cap as a result of the best FREE marketing opportunity of all time is just not thinking clearly. Once Apple shows off Liquidmetal tech in the most flattering way possible, other non-CE companies will see the possibilities of what THEY can do, and they'll come knocking.
Gorgol, you will be missed. I think you should stick around.
The annual balance sheets show declining debt in 2013 and 2014: https://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=LQMT+Balance+Sheet&annual
You often mention the accumulated losses, but you refer to them as if they are accumulated DEBT. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no significant debt, right? At least there's that, yes?
How hard would it be to get Liquidmetal® on 60 minutes??? Sometimes they run stories on futuristic technologies that could revolutionize the world. I remember watching a segment a few years ago about Bloom Energy's "Bloom Box" and I can see our story being told in a very similarly interesting way. Anyone have any connections to CBS?
Tony quickly responded to my inquiry too by saying it was too close to an earnings release to answer my question.
Honest question:
Is there a way to interpret the 8K positively for us shareholders? Can we view this as a positive because a buyout is preferable to bankruptcy, and since the language indicates Steipp is preparing himself for a buyout, at least our shares won't go to $0.00?
I'm not being a pollyanna... I'm worried sick about this... but I wonder if there's a way to view this positively, if only for debate's sake.
Eager to hear responses.
Possible answers to Jollymon's questions:
1) Why is it going down to a nickel if so many are confident news is just around the corner? Why isn't share price inching up? Because non-believers are using price fluctuations to profit.
2) Why is the largest shareholder, the one who owns equipment and manufactures lm parts, selling his investment in LQMT with news pending? Because he hates the company and its people due to the bitter history between them and wants to cause damage. He is a very wealthy man and does not rely on this lottery ticket stock so he's playing games.
3)Why isn't there any Mutual Funds and Institutional Investors taking a token position here since they see and hear things long before we grunts? Because they have rules against investing in penny microcaps and super-risky investments.
I believe we have two primary problems:
1) Nearly zero revenue... but I think we are poised to change that based on recent events, patents, forums, etc.
2) Penny stock status is crippling because short-term opportunists squash every run up before it has a chance to run. I think we'll need very carefully timed EXCITING PR's (with REVENUE NUMBERS) and a reverse split to get us out of penny stock status.
Then there's one more issue... all of the rumors that the iPhone 7 will be nearly identical to the iPhone 6S bother me. I've stated on the board before that I think Apple will time the switch to Liquidmetal iPhone bodies with the switch to OLED screens... and it looks more and more like that will happen in 2018. I might be completely insane from watching this board day in and day out in another two years' time. Hopefully we can announce some impressive contracts with exciting revenues in the meantime.
All just my opinions. Wishing everyone on the board nothing but health, wealth, and happiness.
No offense taken! I've been holding this bag seemingly forever too and it disgusts me to watch the perpetually dwindling share price. However I do maintain hope that once Apple debuts Liquidmetal in a big way in a groundbreaking product, that it WILL propel public awareness and lead to lots of future revenue. I also like to think the technology hasn't been ready until very, very recently for worldwide use, and I like to think that without the Apple relationship, the technology never would have made it through the necessary R&D period (which has been almost unbearably prolonged for us bag holders, but that's how it is for truly groundbreaking technology... it's not easy to get it to market, but once it gets to market, amazing things can happen).
I've written off my entire investment (over half a million shares) as an expensive lottery ticket, albeit one that is far more likely to give me exciting returns than PowerBall. And, for that matter, I suppose it is a form of entertainment to watch it obsessively over the course of years. What else would I be doing with all that time?
Good luck to all of us poor old bag holders!
I think anyone who has followed this board for more than a minute agrees that Liquidmetal will receive zero DIRECT revenue from Apple if it's used in an upcoming iPhone (or other CE device)... but publicity is a great thing, and INDIRECT revenue will follow. Do you argue that the share price won't spike if the iPhone 7 casing is made entirely from Liquidmetal even though Apple doesn't have to pay a dime for that usage?
Right... I think you technically say that bulk metallic glasses are not "metal"... all of the "compound materials" in upcoming Apple device speculation makes me feel very bullish on LQMT.
You remembered! That was me back in December, post 80860:
Jony Ive said back in mid-2014: "I've worked for the last 15 or 20 years on the most challenging, creative parts of what we do. I would love to talk about future stuff -- they're materials we haven't worked in before. I've been working on this stuff for a few years now. Tim is fundamentally involved in pushing into these new areas and into these materials."
This gives me great hope!
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/16/jony-ive-new-materials/
It beats me, but I bet the smarties at Apple have long since figured it out. Perhaps they create a front and back piece with liquidemtal, affix the internal components to them, then sandwich them together and seal the seam with a final application of liquidmetal. I'd be willing to bet that the battery will not be replaceable! :)
I completely agree. This PR said "The initial parts delivery ... will be followed by a full production shipment". That's the most definitive language I can recall in relation to full production orders. Now, whether or not it happens "early next year" as it is "currently scheduled" remains to be seen!
Related to this waterproof iPhone patent... I've had a theory since 2014: The promotional imagery surrounding iOS 8 (released in Fall 2014: http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-8-features/) was underwater imagery. Apple does nothing without intention. It is my belief that they were "this close" to launching a Liquidmetal/Sapphire waterproof iPhone 6 but that it all fell apart after the iOS 8 promo imagery was released. There is zero reason to have underwater imagery associated with a version of iOS that is impossible to use under water. People who follow Apple closely will know this to be true.
The above theory combined with walkie-talkie's patent filing give me more than a glimmer of hope that iPhone 7 WILL be comprised mainly of Liquidmetal. Many will point to the size limitations of 80 grams... but that was stated quite a while back. I think it's highly possible that number has increased enough (with the ultrasonic waves technology, etc) to be viable.
Fingers crossed with more than a glimmer of hope.
You just scripted the next promotional video on their YouTube channel!!!!!
Agreed, but when there IS news (ISO certification), and management is silent... MAYBE they are holding out to announce multiple big deals all at the same time. And THAT might finally catalyze the share price.
All the talk about management taking advantage of the shareholders... I've got to ponder out loud that it's really easy to create a shell of a company that does absolutely nothing and get stupid people to invest in it. This technology is worth Apple pouring millions (billions?) into it, so is this really a situation of a stingy board of directors milking us for everything we'll give them? I just don't think so.
I'm down over $50K too, but keep the faith that 2016 is the year that makes it worth all the grey hairs!
Completely agree. It's not that they HAVE TO legally PR this news... it's that WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THEY NOT WANT TO compared to the content of past PRs?
The PR should have been written MONTHS ago and sent immediately upon confirmation of certification. What in the world are they doing that's more important than an update like this one?
Phones would not be made from sheets. The whole point of using Liquidmetal in phones is to avoid the machining required to create current phones from blocks of aluminum. To create phones from sheets of Liquidmetal would require complex machining. Liquidmetal phones will be injection molded.