Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU) FY 2021 MD&A

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help readers understand our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“Annual Report on Form 10-K”). This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below.

For purposes of this MD&A, the term “we” and other forms thereof refer to Clear Secure, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), which includes Alclear Holdings, LLC (“Alclear”).

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws regarding, among other things, our or management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events, which are considered forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business strategy. These statements often include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” or similar expressions. These statements are based upon assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you read this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described under the heading “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors,” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, could affect our actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Our forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We expressly disclaim any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a member-centric secure identity platform operating under the brand name CLEAR. At CLEAR we know that you are always you—your biometric identity is foundational to helping enable frictionless everyday experiences, connecting you to all the things that make you, YOU, and transforming the way you live, work and travel. Members enroll in CLEAR to create an unbreakable link between their identity and biometrics (e.g. eyes, face and fingerprints). CLEAR's current offerings include: CLEAR Plus, a consumer aviation subscription service, which enables access to predictable and fast experiences through dedicated entry lanes in airport security checkpoints nationwide; the flagship CLEAR App including Home to Gate and Health Pass; and Reserve powered by CLEAR, our virtual queuing technology that enables customers to manage lines. CLEAR also has SDK and API capabilities to enable our partners to seamlessly integrate directly into our platform to enable better, faster and more frictionless experiences for our partners' customers. Use cases enabled by SDKs and APIs include identity validation, identity verification, attribute validation such as age validation, vaccine status and payment, among others.

Key Factors Affecting Performance

We believe that our current and future financial growth are dependent upon many factors, including the key factors affecting performance described below.

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Ability to Grow Total Cumulative Enrollments

We are focused on growing Total Cumulative Enrollments and the number of members that engage with our platform. Our operating results and growth opportunities depend, in part, on our ability to attract new members, including paying members (CLEAR Plus members) as well as new platform members. We rely on multiple channels to attract new CLEAR Plus members, including in-airport (our largest channel) which in turn is dependent on the ongoing ability of our ambassadors to successfully engage with the traveling public. We also rely on numerous digital channels such as paid search and partnerships. In many cases, we offer limited time free trials to new members who may convert to paying members upon the completion of their trial. Our future success is dependent on those channels continuing to drive new members and our ability to convert free trial members into paying members.

We believe we will see an acceleration of Total Cumulative Platform Uses relative to Total Cumulative Enrollments over time as our members use our products across multiple locations and use cases. We believe this dynamic will grow the long-term economic value of our platform by increasing total engagement, expanding our margins and maximizing our revenue. Our future success is dependent upon maintaining and growing our partnerships as well as ensuring our platform remains compelling to members.

Although we have historically grown the number of new members over time and successfully converted some free trial members to paying members, our future success is dependent upon our ongoing ability to do so.

Ability to retain CLEAR Plus members

Our ability to execute on our growth strategy is focused, in part, on our ability to retain our existing CLEAR Plus members. Frequency and recency of usage are the leading indicators of retention, and we must continue to provide frictionless and predictable experiences that our members will use in their daily lives. The value of the CLEAR platform to our members increases as we add more use cases and partnerships, which in turn drives more frequent usage and increases retention. Historically, CLEAR Plus members who used CLEAR in both aviation and non-aviation venues renewed at rates materially above those who used CLEAR only in aviation. We cannot be sure that we will be successful in retaining our members due to any number of factors such as our inability to successfully implement a new product, adoption of our technology, harm to our brand or other factors.

Ability to add new partners, retain existing partners and generate new revenue streams

Our partners include local airport authorities, airlines and other businesses. Our future success depends on maintaining those relationships, adding new relationships and maintaining favorable business terms. In addition, our growth strategy relies on creating new revenue streams such as per partner, per member or per use transaction fees. Although we believe our service provides significant value to our partners, our success depends on creating mutually beneficial partnership agreements. We are focused on innovating both our product and our platform to improve our members’ experience, improve safety and security and introduce new use cases. We intend to accelerate our pace of innovation to add more features and use cases, to ultimately deliver greater value to our members and partners. In the near term, we believe that growing our member base facilitates our ability to add new partnerships and provide additional offerings, which we expect will lead to revenue generation opportunities in the long term.

Timing of new partner, product and location launches

Our financial performance is dependent in part on new partner, product and location launches. In many cases, we cannot predict the exact timing of those launches. Delays, resulting either from internal or external factors may have a material effect on our financial results.

Timing of expenses; Discretionary investments

Although many of our expenses occur in a predictable fashion, certain expenses may fluctuate from period to period due to timing.

In addition, management may make discretionary investments when it sees an opportunity to accelerate growth, add a new partner or acquire talent, among other reasons. This may lead to volatility or unpredictability in our expense base and in our profitability.

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Maintaining strong unit economics

Our business model is powered by network effects and has historically been characterized by efficient member acquisition and high member retention rates. This is evident by our approximately 18 times Lifetime Value relative to our Customer Acquisition Cost for CLEAR Plus members who joined during 2021. The Lifetime Value relative to our Customer Acquisition Cost for CLEAR Plus members who joined during 2021 is consistent with the average for prior periods. While we believe our unit economics will remain attractive, this is dependent on our ability to add new members efficiently and maintain our historically strong retention rates. As we grow our market penetration, the cost to acquire new members could increase and the experience we deliver to members could degrade, causing lower retention rates.

Changes to the macro environment

Our business is dependent on macroeconomic and other events outside of our control, such as decreased levels of travel or attendance at events, terrorism, civil unrest, political instability, union and other transit related strikes and other general economic conditions. We are also subject to changes in discretionary consumer spending.

Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and the demand for our services increases, we expect our expenses to increase, in some cases significantly, in comparison to the first quarter of 2021 and the 2020 fiscal year when we had lower staffing needs and proactively reduced our operating expenses. These increased expenses will include higher cost of direct salaries and benefits driven by field labor, sales and marketing, research and development costs, and general and administrative (including costs associated with being a public company and increased equity-based compensation expense). Due to the nature of our revenue recognition policy (e.g., CLEAR Plus revenues are recognized over the life of a subscription, which is typically 12 months), our reported revenues are expected to lag behind Total Bookings. We may incur net losses and negative adjusted EBITDA in the long term if we are required to increase expenses to support our growth. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Financial Performance” and “Business” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Reorganization Transactions

Prior to the completion of our initial public offering (“IPO”), we undertook certain reorganization transactions (the “Reorganization Transactions”) such that Clear Secure, Inc. is now a holding company, and its sole material asset is a controlling equity interest in Alclear. As the general partner of Alclear, Clear Secure, Inc. operates and controls all of the business and affairs of Alclear, has the obligation to absorb losses and receive benefits from Alclear and, through Alclear and its subsidiaries, conducts our business.

The Reorganization Transactions were accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of the Company recognized the assets and liabilities received in the Reorganization Transactions at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical financial statements of Alclear. The Company consolidates Alclear on its consolidated financial statements and records a non-controlling interest, related to the Alclear non-voting common units (“Alclear Units”) held by our Founders and pre-IPO members, on its consolidated balance sheets and statement of operations. See “Part I — Item 1. Business” for a more detailed discussion of the Reorganization Transactions.

Taxation and Expenses

After the consummation of our IPO, we became subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income of Alclear and will be taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. Alclear, is treated as flow-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as such, has generally not been subject to U.S. federal income tax at the entity level. Accordingly, the historical results of operations and other financial information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K do not include any material provisions for U.S. federal income tax for the periods prior to our IPO.

In addition to tax expense, we incur expenses related to our operations, plus payments under the tax receivable agreement (“TRA”) described below, which we expect to be significant. We intend to cause Alclear to make distributions in an amount sufficient to allow us to pay our tax obligations and operating expenses, including distributions to fund any ordinary course payments under the TRA.

Following our IPO, we have and we expect to continue to incur increased amounts of compensation expense, including related to equity awards granted under the 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan to both existing employees and newly-

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hired employees, and grants in connection with new hires could be significant. In addition, as a new public company, we are implementing additional procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the standards and requirements applicable to public companies. We expect to incur additional expenses related to these steps and, among other things, additional directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, director fees, reporting requirements of the SEC, transfer agent fees, hiring additional accounting, legal and administrative personnel, increased auditing and legal fees and similar expenses.

Tax Receivable Agreement

In connection with the IPO we entered into the TRA with the Alclear Members that provides for the payment by us to the Alclear Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize (computed using simplifying assumptions to address the impact of state and local taxes) as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Alclear’s assets resulting from (a) exchanges by the Alclear Members (or their transferees or other assignees) of Alclear Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C Common Stock or Class D Common Stock, as applicable) for shares of our Class A common stock, $0.00001 par value per share (“Class A Common Stock”) or Class B common stock, $0.00001 par value per share (“Class B Common Stock”) as applicable, and purchases of Alclear Units and corresponding shares of Class C common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“Class C Common Stock”) or Class D common stock, $0.00001 par value per share (“Class D Common Stock” and, together with the Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock, collectively, “Common Stock”), as the case may be, from Alclear Members (or their transferees or other assignees) or (b) payments under the TRA, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the TRA.

The actual increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under these agreements, varies depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges by or purchases from the Alclear Members, the price of our Class A Common Stock at the time of the exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income we generate in the future and the tax rate then applicable and the portion of our payments under the TRA constituting imputed interest.

Acquisitions

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company made strategic acquisitions of Whyline, Inc., our virtual queuing technology that enables customers to manage lines and certain assets of Atlas Certified, LLC., our automated solution to verify professional licenses and certification data across industries. Revenues and operating loss related to these acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2021 were insignificant to the consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to our results as determined in accordance with GAAP, we disclose Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share, Diluted as non-GAAP financial measures that management believes provide useful information to investors. These measures are not financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for net income (loss), or any other operating performance measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure reported by other companies. Our Non-GAAP financial measures are expressed in thousands.

Adjusted EBITDA (Loss)

We define Adjusted EBITDA (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted for income taxes, interest (income) expense net, depreciation and amortization, losses on asset disposals, equity-based compensation expense, mark to market of warrant liabilities, other income (expense), net, acquisition-related costs and changes in fair value of contingent consideration. Adjusted EBITDA (Loss) is an important financial measure used by management and our board of directors in determining performance-based compensation for our management and key employees.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss)

We define Adjusted Net Income (Loss) as Net income (loss) attributable to Clear Secure, Inc. adjusted for the net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests, equity-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, acquisition-related costs, changes in fair value of contingent consideration and the income tax effect of these adjustments. Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is used in the calculation of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Common Share as defined below.

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Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share

We compute Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share, Basic as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) divided by Adjusted Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding for our Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock, Class C Common Stock and Class D Common Stock assuming the exchange of all vested and outstanding common units in Alclear at the end of each period presented. We do not present Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Common Share for shares of our Class B Common Stock although they are participating securities based on the assumed conversion of those shares to our Class A Common Stock. We do not present Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Common Share on a dilutive basis for periods where we have Adjusted Net Loss since we do not assume the conversion of any potentially dilutive equity instruments as the result would be antidilutive. In periods where we have Adjusted Net Income, the Company also calculates Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share, Diluted based on the effect of potentially dilutive equity instruments for the periods presented using the treasury stock/if-converted method, as applicable. Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Common Share are applicable only for periods after June 29, 2021, post the Reorganization Transactions and IPO.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share exclude, to the extent applicable, the tax effected impact of non-cash expenses and other items that are not directly related to our core operations. These items are excluded because they are connected to the Company’s long term growth plan and not intended to increase short term revenue in a specific period. Further, to the extent that other companies use similar methods in calculating non-GAAP measures, the provision of supplemental non-GAAP information can allow for a comparison of the company’s relative performance against other companies that also report non-GAAP operating results.

Free Cash Flow

We define Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities adjusted for purchases of property and equipment plus the value of share repurchases over fair value. With regards to our CLEAR Plus subscription service, we generally collect cash from our members upfront for annual subscriptions. As a result, when the business is growing Free Cash Flow can be a real time indicator of the current trajectory of the business.

See below for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP measures.

Reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA (Loss)

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Net Income (Loss)

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*There was no income tax impact due to the fact that the Company’s effective tax rate was approximately 0% for the periods presented.

As stated above, due to the Company incurring a net loss for the periods presented, the Company has not calculated Adjusted Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding, Dilutive.

Calculation of Adjusted Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding

Calculation of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share, Basic

Reconciliation of Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities to Free Cash Flow

Key Performance Indicators

To evaluate performance of the business, we utilize a variety of other non-GAAP financial reporting and performance measures. These key measures include Total Bookings, Total Cumulative Enrollments, Total Cumulative Platform Uses, and Annual CLEAR Plus Net Member Retention.

Total Bookings

Total Bookings represent our total revenue plus the change in deferred revenue during the period. Total Bookings in any particular period reflect sales to new and renewing CLEAR Plus subscribers plus any accrued billings to partners. Management believes that Total Bookings is an important measure of the current health and growth of the business and views it as a leading indicator.

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Total Bookings increased by $130.0 million, or 62%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by the continued rebound in air travel and the launch of a new credit card partnership, resulting in strong CLEAR Plus enrollment growth and strong net member retention.

Total Cumulative Enrollments

We define Total Cumulative Enrollments as the number of enrollments since inception as of the end of the period. An Enrollment is defined as any member who has registered for the CLEAR platform since inception and has a profile (including limited time free trials regardless of conversion to paid membership) net of duplicate and/or purged accounts. This includes CLEAR Plus members who have completed enrollment with CLEAR and have never activated a payment method, plus associated family accounts. Management views this metric as an important tool to analyze the efficacy of our growth and marketing initiatives as new members are potentially a current and leading indicator of revenues.

Total Cumulative Enrollments were 10,366 as of December 31, 2021 and 5,249 as of December 31, 2020, which represented a 97% increase. The year over year growth was driven by the continued rebound in air travel and the launch of a new credit card partnership, as well as platform (mobile) enrollments.

Total Cumulative Platform Uses

We define Total Cumulative Platform Uses as the number of individual engagements across CLEAR use cases, including in-airport verifications, since inception as of the end of the period. We also include airport lounge access verifications, sports and entertainment venue verifications and Health Pass surveys since inception as of the end of the period. Management views this metric as an important tool to analyze the level of engagement of our member base which can be a leading indicator of future growth, retention and revenue.

Total Cumulative Platform Uses was 83,957 as of December 31, 2021 and 58,375 as of December 31, 2020, which represented a 44% increase, driven by the rapid growth of Health Pass usage as businesses and events are reopening and a continued increase in CLEAR Plus verifications in connection with a rebound in air travel. Platform (mobile) members represented an increased mix in the year which in the short term may demonstrate lower frequency usage trends than CLEAR Plus members.

Annual CLEAR Plus Net Member Retention

We define Annual CLEAR Plus Net Member Retention as one minus the CLEAR Plus net member churn on a rolling 12 month basis. We define “CLEAR Plus net member churn” as total cancellations net of winbacks in the trailing 12 month period divided by the average active CLEAR Plus members as of the beginning of each month within the same 12 month period. Winbacks are defined as reactivated members who have been cancelled for at least 60 days. Active CLEAR Plus members are defined as members who have completed enrollment with CLEAR and have activated a payment method for our in-airport CLEAR Plus service, including their registered family plan members. Active CLEAR Plus members also include those in a grace period of up to 45 days after a billing failure during which time we attempt to collect updated payment information. Management views this metric as an important tool to analyze the level of

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engagement of our member base, which can be a leading indicator of future growth and revenue, as well as an indicator of customer satisfaction and long term business economics.

Annual CLEAR Plus Net Member Retention was 92.3% as of December 31, 2021 and 78.8% as of December 31, 2020, a year-over year increase of 1,350 basis points. The performance was driven by strength in gross renewals and winbacks of previously cancelled members. A significant number of members who cancelled their CLEAR Plus subscriptions in 2020 have reactivated in 2021 driven by the continued rebound in air travel.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

The Company derives substantially all of its revenue from subscriptions to its consumer aviation service, CLEAR Plus. The Company offers certain limited-time free trials, family pricing, and other beneficial pricing through several channels, including airline and credit card partnerships. Membership subscription revenue is presented net of taxes, refunds, credit card chargebacks, and estimated amounts due to a credit card partner.

The Company also generates revenue in relation to sports stadiums and Health Pass which are and historically have been immaterial to our results. Sports stadium revenues consist of fees for use of the Company’s pods for security entry at various venues as well as access for members to dedicated entry lanes at various sports stadiums across the country. Additionally, the Company generates revenue from transaction fees charged either per use or per user over a predefined time period, which may include one-time implementation fees, platform licensing fees, hardware-leasing fees or incremental transaction fees.

Operating Expenses

The Company’s expenses consist of cost of revenue share fees, cost of direct salaries and benefits, research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses and depreciation and amortization expenses.

Cost of Revenue Share Fee

The Company operates as a concessionaire in airports and shares a portion of the gross receipts generated from the Company’s members with the host airports and airlines (“Revenue Share”). The Revenue Share fee is generally prepaid to the host airport in the period collected from the member. The Revenue Share fee is capitalized and subsequently amortized to operating expense over each member’s subscription period, as the payments are refundable on a pro rata basis. Such prepayments are recorded in “Prepaid Revenue Share fee” in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Cost of Revenue Share also includes a fixed fee component which is expensed in the period incurred.

Cost of Direct Salaries and Benefits

Cost of direct salaries and benefits includes employee-related expenses and allocated overhead associated with our field ambassadors directly assisting members and their corresponding travel related costs. Employee-related costs recorded in direct salaries and benefits consist of salaries, taxes, benefits and equity-based compensation. Such amounts are direct costs of services and are recorded in “Cost of direct salaries and benefits” in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of employee related expenses, allocated overhead costs and costs for contractors related to the Company’s development of new products and services and improving existing products and services. Research and development costs are generally expensed as incurred, except for costs incurred in connection with the development of internal-use software that qualify for capitalization as described in our internal-use software policy. Employee-related expenses consist of salaries, taxes, benefits and equity-based compensation.

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Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of costs of general marketing and promotional activities, advertising fees used to drive subscriber acquisition, commissions, the production costs to create our advertisements, expenses related to employees who manage our marketing and brand and allocated overhead costs.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee-related expenses for the executive, finance, accounting, legal, and human resources functions. Employee-related expenses consist of salaries, taxes, benefits and equity-based compensation. General and administrative costs also include the Company’s warrant expense and changes in the fair value of contingent consideration. In addition, general and administrative expenses include non-personnel costs, such as legal, accounting and other professional fees, variable credit card fees and variable mobile enrollment costs, and and all other supporting corporate expenses not allocated to other departments.

Interest Income, Net

Interest Income, net consists of interest income from our investment holdings partially offset by interest expense, which primarily includes amortization of discounts on our marketable securities and issuance costs on our revolving credit facility.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other Income (Expense), Net consists of certain non-recurring non-operating items including income recognized in relation to a minimum annual guarantee paid to us by a marketing partner and impairment on long-lived assets.

Provision for Income Taxes

As a result of the IPO and Reorganization, the Company became the sole managing member of Alclear, which is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. As a partnership, Alclear is not subject to U.S. federal and most state and local income taxes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Alclear is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including the Company, based on ownership interest. The Company is subject to U.S. federal income taxes, in addition to state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Alclear, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by the Company. The Company is also subject to income taxes in Israel, Argentina, and Mexico.

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020: (in millions)

For a comparative discussion of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations―Results of

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Operations” included in the final prospectus dated June 29, 2021 (File No. 333-256851) and filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Revenue

Revenue increased by $23.2 million, or 10%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was due to a 11.7% increase in the number of average monthly CLEAR Plus members, which was offset by a 1.6% decrease in average revenue per CLEAR Plus member in the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, respectively. Approximately 28.9% and 26.8% of paying CLEAR Plus members in the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, were on a family plan.

Information about our operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is set forth below.

Cost of Revenue Share Fee

Cost of revenue share fee increased by $4.0 million, or 12%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. Fixed fees increased by 25%, or $2.3 million, and per member fees increased by 7%, or $1.7 million, in each case in 2021. COVID-related concessions reduced cost of revenue share fee by $2.4 million for 2021 and $0.4 million in 2020.

Cost of direct salaries and benefits

Cost of direct salaries and benefits expenses increased by $27.2 million, or 67%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to growth in employee compensation costs of $25.8 million caused by increasing travel volumes leading to higher staffing needs in airports, as well as an increase in wage rates. 2020 levels were depressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent decline in travel.

Research and development

Research and development expenses increased by $15.5 million, or 48%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The change was primarily due to an increase of $13.9 million in employee related costs, inclusive of equity-based compensation, a $1.1 million increase in technology costs and a $0.4 million increase in professional fees.

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Sales and marketing

Sales and marketing expenses increased by $18.8 million, or 115%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The change was primarily driven by a $9.4 million increase in commission expense primarily due to higher new member enrollments and an increase of $8.0 million related to paid advertising and sponsorship fees. 2020 levels were depressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent decline in travel.

General and administrative

General and administrative expenses increased by $50.7 million, or 43%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The change was primarily due to an increase of $17.7 million in employee related costs, $15.4 million in professional fees, $12.0 million in technology related costs, $11.9 million in mark to market of warrant liabilities due to an increase in value of our Common Stock upon IPO, and $3.2 million in equity classified warrant expense. The increase was partially offset by a decrease of $20.8 million in equity based compensation primarily driven by a reduction in the Company’s repurchase of vested awards at a price in excess of their grant date fair value in 2021. In the second half of 2021, the Company also incurred $4.9 million for public company expenses as a result of the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO and $1.4 million for acquisition related costs.

Non-operating income (expense)

Interest income, net decreased by $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to higher amortization of premiums on our marketable securities.

Other income (expense), net decreased by $8.7 million, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily driven by a $2.8 million decrease in other income in relation to a fixed payment included in a partnership agreement entered into late 2019 and an increase of $5.5 million in other expense primarily due to impairment on long-lived assets in 2021.

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Income tax expense

Income tax expense was $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the impact of Alclear being a partnership and allocating its taxable loss to its members, including the Company as well as non-controlling members, for which no benefit is recognized in the current year and taxes due in certain states and foreign jurisdictions.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our operations have historically been financed primarily through equity financing and cash flow from operating activities. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $280 million and marketable securities of $335 million.

Historically, our principal uses of cash have included funding our operations, capital expenditures, repurchases of members’ equity and more recently, business combinations that enhance our strategic positioning. We plan to finance our operations and capital expenses largely through cash generated from the proceeds of our IPO and operations. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, cash provided by operations and the availability of additional funds under our Credit Agreement (as defined below) will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next 12 months, including known commitments and contingencies of $73.8 million as discussed below. Future capital expenditure will generally relate to building enhancements to the functionality of our current platform, equipment, leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures related to office expansion and relocation, and general corporate infrastructure. We have planned capital expenditures related to the build out of our new office space of approximately $16.5 million in the next 12 to 24 months. We are still early in this process and engaging vendors for the project, and as is the case with any large-scale construction project, the timing and amounts of these expenditures are therefore subject to uncertainty.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our operations have been, and we expect they will continue to be, adversely impacted by government mandated regulations, and the social distancing practices and health concerns of our guests and employees. In light of the evolving nature of COVID-19 and the uncertainty it has produced around the world, we do not believe it is possible to predict the cumulative and ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our future business, results of operations and financial condition. See “Risk Factors—Risk Related to Our Business, Brand and Operations—The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and may continue to impact, our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

Credit Agreement

On March 31, 2020, we entered into a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) for a three-year $50 million revolving credit facility that expires on March 31, 2023. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement generally bear interest between 1.5% and 2.5% per year and also include interest based on the greater of the prime rate, LIBOR or New York Federal Reserve Bank (“NYFRB”) rate, plus an applicable margin for specific interest periods. In April 2021, the Company increased the size of the revolving credit facility to $100 million. As of December 31, 2021, we had not drawn on the revolving credit facility and did not have outstanding borrowings under the Credit Agreement.

We have the option to repay any borrowings under the Credit Agreement without premium or penalty prior to maturity. In addition, the Credit Agreement contains certain other covenants (none of which relate to financial condition), events of default and other customary provisions, and also contains customary LIBOR replacement mechanics. The Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants, such as financial statement reporting requirements and delivery of borrowing base certificates, as well as customary covenants that restrict our ability to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, sell certain assets, guarantee obligations of third parties, declare dividends or make certain distributions, and undergo a merger or consolidation or certain other transactions.

At December 31, 2021, the Company was in compliance with all of the financial and non-financial covenants of our Credit Agreement.

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Cash Flow

The following summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (in millions):

Cash flows from operating activities

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by operating activities was $69.7 million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $82.0 million due to a favorable changes in working capital of $134.6 million primarily related to deferred revenue and accrued liabilities. Additionally, there was an increase in non-cash adjustments to net loss of $52.6 million. These increases were offset by an increase in net loss of $105.8 million.

Cash flows from investing activities

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $403.2 million compared to $21.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $306.3 million, primarily due to a net increase of $294.0 million related to the purchases and sales of marketable securities, $75.8 million increase in cash paid for business combinations and as an increase of $11.6 million relating to the purchases of property and equipment.

Cash flows from financing activities

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $504.0 million compared to net cash used in financing activities of $97.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $601.0 million. The increase was primarily due to IPO proceeds, net of underwriter fees and issuance costs of $436.8 million. Additionally, there was a decrease in cash used to repurchase member’s equity prior to the Reorganization of $198.6 million. These changes were offset by a decrease of $80.7 million due to a decrease in the proceeds from the issuance of members’ units, net of costs.

Commitments and Contingencies

We have non-cancelable operating lease arrangements for facilities. Additionally, we enter into agreements with airports for access to floor and office space. As of December 31, 2021, we had future minimum payments of $73.8 million, with $20.0 million due within 12 months. See Note 18, Commitments and Contingencies of the notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this document for further discussion of contractual obligations and other contingencies.

On November 4, 2021, the Company entered into a lease of an office building to house the Company’s corporate headquarters. The Lease Agreement provides for a commencement on the later of October 1, 2022 or the date on which the Landlord delivers possession of the premises with certain agreed upon improvements to be made by the Landlord completed. The term of the Lease Agreement is fifteen years after the date that rent obligations begin, with an option to renew for one 5-year or 10-year period at Fair Market Value (as defined in the Lease Agreement) by providing the Landlord with eighteen months’ notice and certain other requirements. The aggregate undiscounted future minimum lease payments are approximately $177.5 million.

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Additionally, the Company has commitments for future marketing expenditures to sports stadiums of $4.1 million as of December 31, 2021.

Other commitments

Additionally, the Company is subject to certain minimum spend commitments of approximately $19.5 million over the next two years under service arrangements.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported periods. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has defined a company’s critical accounting policies as the ones that are most important to the portrayal of a company’s financial condition and results of operations, and which require a company to make its most difficult and subjective judgments. Based on this definition, we have identified the critical accounting policies and judgments addressed below. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Tax Receivable Agreement

The Company entered into a Tax Receivable Agreement (“TRA”) which generally provides for payment by the Company to the remaining members of Alclear, the “TRA Holders,” of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax and franchise tax that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings. As of December 31, 2021, the Company did not record a liability from the TRA.

Business Combinations

Accounting for business combinations requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions with respect to the the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination, especially with respect to intangible assets.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies within the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this document, for recently issued accounting pronouncements and their expected impact on our consolidated financial statements.