It’s unclear just how big the annual loss will be when Kopin (KOPN), a maker of microdisplays for electronic devices, files its annual report.

Not only will investors have to wait longer than anticipated to find out— the company says it cannot file its annual report on time— the belated report may also contain details that surprise investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms that can’t file on time to state “in reasonable detail” why the filing deadline cannot be met without unreasonable effort or expense.

Kopin fired its auditor in December 2024 and blamed the year-end change for not being able to file on time:

“The change in the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm at a time so close to the Company’s fiscal year-end has resulted in the need for additional time for the Company to coordinate the completion of the audit of the financial statements for the year ended December 28, 2024 (the “2024 Audit”).”

Seems reasonable but there’s more for investors to consider.

Late filers like Kopin must also answer whether they expect to include “any significant change in results of operations” in their belated reports.

Kopin answered in the affirmative and added:

“During the fiscal year 2024 the Company accrued $24.8 million for litigation and approximately $6.5 million for legal expenses. As a result, the Company expects to report a significant increase in its net loss as compared to the prior year. In addition, as a result of the litigation and legal costs the Company anticipates that it will conclude there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the issuance of the 2024 Form 10-K.”

With an Enterprise Value (EV) of approximately $100 million, Kopin is priced as if it will grow annual sales to more than $601 million, up from an estimated $54.5 million in 2025. To justify its current share price of $0.96 our Reverse DCF— which quantifies investor expectations embedded in the current share price— indicates Kopin must:

—Grow sales 35% annually between 2026-2034, significantly faster than the company’s estimated 2024 and 2025 sales growth of 18.8% and 13.6%, respectively
—Increase NOPAT margin to 11%, higher than our 2023 estimate of (38.8%) and our 3-year average estimate of (34.48%)
—Increase Invested Capital (IC) Turns to 2.1, up from our 3-year average estimate of 1.65

Notably, the current share price also implies Kopin increases Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) to 23.1% from our 2023 estimate of (42.69%) and 3-year average estimate of (55.29%):