Executive Summary

Q1 2024: Revenue $0.05M, Net loss $6.88M, Diluted EPS $(0.27); cash and equivalents rose to $3.30M post business combination and financing .
Large operating cost load driven by transaction fees tied to the March 14 reverse recapitalization, professional fees, and public company costs; management flags substantial doubt about going concern without additional capital .
Strategic updates: closed business combination and began trading on Nasdaq as BNAI; launched BENAuto with AFG and a MedAdvisor pilot; hosted the Q1 call on May 14 at 5:00 pm ET .
No formal quantitative guidance provided; consensus estimates via S&P Global were unavailable for Q1 2024; prior two quarters’ earnings are not publicly comparable given BEN’s pre-merger private status .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Closed the business combination with DHC Acquisition Corp.; shares and warrants listed on Nasdaq (BNAI/BNAIW), enabling access to public capital markets .
Partnerships and pilots: launched BENAuto with AFG; MedAdvisor pilot for pharmacy AI assistants, demonstrating early commercial traction in target verticals .
CEO tone on scaling: “We are making solid progress on our key strategic priorities, and believe we are well-positioned to accelerate growth and scale our differentiated AI platform” (Michael Zacharski) .

What Went Wrong

Minimal revenue ($49,790) with significant operating expenses ($6.85M), yielding an operating loss of $(6.80)M; expenses driven by $3.18M in transaction costs, higher employee and professional fees as BEN transitions to public company operations .
Going concern: management states substantial doubt absent new financing; cash burn from operations of $(4.55)M in Q1 underscores urgency to raise capital .
Controls: material weakness in internal control over financial reporting remains; remediation underway via CFO hiring and added review procedures, but not yet effective .

Financial Results

Income Statement and EPS vs Prior Year

Metric	Q1 2023	Q1 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$0.00	$0.05
Total Operating Expenses ($USD Millions)	$2.64	$6.85
Operating Income ($USD Millions)	$(2.64)	$(6.80)
Net Income - (IS) ($USD Millions)	$(2.64)	$(6.88)
Diluted EPS - Continuing Operations ($USD)	$(0.15)	$(0.27)
Net Income Margin %	N/A (no revenue)	−13,829% (calc from net loss/revenue)

Notes:

Prior quarter (Q4 2023) revenue/EPS not disclosed for BEN due to pre-merger private status; Q1 2024 10-Q provides Q1 2023 comparatives .

Balance Sheet Highlights

Metric	Dec 31, 2023	Mar 31, 2024
Cash And Equivalents ($USD Millions)	$1.69	$3.30
Total Assets ($USD Millions)	$22.01	$36.85
Total Liabilities ($USD Millions)	$4.31	$16.25
Warrant Liabilities ($USD Millions)	$0.00	$1.97
Total Equity ($USD Millions)	$17.69	$20.60

Cash Flow and Operating KPIs

Metric	Q1 2023	Q1 2024
Cash from Operations ($USD Millions)	$(0.06)	$(4.55)
Capital Expenditure ($USD Millions)	$0.00	$(0.17) (incl. internal-use software)
Weighted Avg Shares (Basic/Diluted) (Millions)	17.13	25.23

Segment Breakdown

Segment	Notes
Single Operating Segment	BEN manages and reports as one operating segment; R&D hub in Korea supports platform development .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue	FY/Q2 onward	None disclosed	None disclosed	Maintained (no formal guidance)
Operating Expenses	FY/Q2 onward	None disclosed	Expect elevated public company costs; focus on discipline	Maintained directional commentary
Tax Rate	FY/Q2 onward	None disclosed	None disclosed	Maintained (no formal guidance)
Dividends	Ongoing	None	None	Maintained

No quantitative guidance ranges were provided in the Q1 materials; the company highlighted operating cost drivers and capital needs qualitatively .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2, Q-1)	Current Period (Q1 2024)	Trend
AI/Technology initiatives	N/A (pre-merger private)	BENAuto launch with AFG; MedAdvisor pilot; platform narrative in IR release	Initiation of commercial pilots; early GTM
Public listing/Capital markets	N/A	Closed business combination; listed as BNAI/BNAIW	Transition to public company
Operating costs/public company readiness	N/A	Elevated G&A incl. $3.18M transaction costs; build-out of public company infrastructure	Near-term cost intensity
Internal controls and governance	N/A	Material weakness disclosed; remediation plan underway	Work-in-progress remediation
R&D execution (Korea lab, KU sponsorship)	N/A	R&D sponsorships and spend; Korea lab assets noted	Continued investment

Conference call logistics: May 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET; webcast archived on investor site .

Management Commentary

CEO perspective: “We are excited to announce our first set of results as a public company following our Nasdaq listing in March… well-positioned to accelerate growth and scale our differentiated AI platform” — Michael Zacharski .
Business stage and revenue reality: “We are a development stage company and have not generated any significant revenue to date” .
Liquidity outlook: “Current available funds are insufficient… we will need to seek additional funds… history of losses and negative cash flow… raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern” .

Q&A Highlights

The company announced and held a Q1 results call, but a full transcript was not available via our sources; no additional quantitative guidance or Q&A clarifications can be cited beyond disclosed filings and press materials .

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global Capital IQ) for Q1 2024 was unavailable for BEN/BNAI given mapping/coverage limitations; as such, estimate comparisons cannot be presented. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable due to CIQ mapping/rate-limit errors in our tools.

Key Takeaways for Investors

BEN is newly public with minimal revenue and significant near-term operating costs; trajectory hinges on converting pilots (AFG automotive, MedAdvisor pharmacy) into scaled contracts .
Liquidity is a central risk: Q1 operating cash outflow $(4.55)M) vs $3.30M cash; management explicitly cites going concern risks and intent to raise additional capital .
Governance and reporting: material weaknesses persist; remediation actions underway—watch for progress as a catalyst to institutional confidence .
Equity structure and warrants: warrant liabilities ($1.97M) and significant assumed public/private warrants may introduce P&L volatility via fair value changes; monitor dilution/leverage from convertible notes .
Strategic narrative: AI platform, Korea R&D lab, and HIPAA-compliant healthcare assistants frame long-term opportunity; near-term execution focus should be on cost discipline and commercial acceleration .
Lack of guidance and unavailable consensus implies higher estimate dispersion post-listing; catalysts include any signed production contracts, financing events, and control remediation milestones .

Other relevant Q1 2024 press items:

BEN Achieves HIPAA Compliance for Healthcare AI Assistants (supports healthcare GTM credibility) .
Business combination close; began trading as BNAI/BNAIW (listing confirmation) .

Prior two quarters’ earnings:

BEN’s pre-merger quarters are not presented as public-company earnings releases; the Q1 2024 10-Q provides prior-year Q1 comparatives, but Q4/Q3 2023 operating results for BEN are not available in SEC earnings materials, limiting quarter-on-quarter trend analysis .

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