VALUE LINE INC

Value Line, Inc. operates in the investment information and publishing business and, through its non-voting interests in EULAV Asset Management Trust (EAM), the investment management business. The industry is highly competitive, with many competing firms and a wide variety of product offerings, including free and paid online investment research available via the Internet. Some competing firms are substantially larger and have greater financial resources than the Company and EAM. In the investment management business conducted by EAM, the prevalence of broker supermarkets or platforms permitting easy transfer of assets among mutual funds, mutual fund families, and other investment vehicles tends to increase the speed with which shareholders can leave or enter the Value Line Funds based on short-term fluctuations in performance and variations in their ratings by outside agencies, advisers, and others.

The Company's primary competitive advantages include its well-known brands such as Value Line, the Value Line logo, The Value Line Investment Survey, Smart Research. Smarter Investing, and The Most Trusted Name in Investment Research, as well as its proprietary research, analysis, and statistical ranks including Timeliness and Safety rankings. The Company holds trademark and service mark registrations for various names and logos in multiple countries, which it believes provide significant value and are an important factor in marketing its products and services. Arnold Bernhard & Co. (AB&Co.) is the controlling shareholder of the Company and, as of April 30, 2026, owns 91.98% of the outstanding shares of the common stock of the Company.

The Company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions for its digital and print published products, copyright fees from third parties using Value Line proprietary data and trademarks in investment products, and through its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM, which provides investment management services to the Value Line Funds. Subscription revenue is paid in advance by subscribers and accounted for as unearned revenue on the Consolidated Balance Sheets within current and long-term liabilities. Copyright fees are typically received on a quarterly basis and are primarily based upon the market value of assets invested in each product's portfolio utilizing Value Line proprietary data. The Company also receives a portion of EAM's non-distribution revenues ranging from 41% at non-distribution fee revenue levels of $9 million or less to 55% at such revenue levels of $35 million or more, and a non-voting profits interest representing 50% of residual profits, subject to temporary adjustments.

The Company's investment periodicals and related publications are offered by Value Line Publishing LLC (VLP) and cover stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and options. The services fall into four categories: comprehensive reference periodical publications, targeted niche periodical newsletters, investment analysis software, and current and historical financial databases. The flagship service is The Value Line Investment Survey, published each week in print and daily on the web, which provides Timeliness and Safety ranks for equity securities. The Value Line Investment Survey - Small and Mid-Cap covers small and medium-capitalization stocks with its own Performance Rank. The Value Line Fund Advisor Plus features approximately 800 leading load, no-load, and low-load open-end mutual funds and provides data on approximately 19,000 mutual funds. The Value Line Daily Options Survey evaluates and ranks approximately 600,000 U.S. equity and equity index options. Value Line Select is a monthly stock selection service focusing on a single company with a superior risk/reward ratio. Value Line Select: Dividend Income & Growth focuses on companies with dividend yields greater than the average of all stocks covered by Value Line. Value Line Select ETFs recommends a new ETF for purchase each month. The Value Line Special Situations Service focuses on smaller companies with exceptional appreciation potential. The Value Line M&A Service recommends stocks of companies that may be acquired. The Value Line Climate Change Investing Service recommends stocks that should benefit from addressing climate change. The Value Line 600 contains full-page research reports on approximately 600 equity securities. The Value Line Information You Should Know Wealth Newsletter is a monthly general interest publication. Digital services include The Value Line Investment Survey - Smart Investor, Savvy Investor, Small Cap Investor, Investor 600, Value Line Pro Premium, Pro Basic, Pro Elite, and various library editions. The Value Line Research Center provides online access to select Company investment research services. Investment analysis software includes The Value Line Investment Analyzer and The Value Line ETFs Service, with the Professional version covering nearly 5,500 stocks. DataFile products include Fundamental DataFile I covering nearly 5,500 publicly traded companies with annual data from 1955 and quarterly data from 1963, Estimates and Projections DataFile, and Mutual Fund DataFile covering approximately 19,000 mutual funds with up to 20 years of historical data.

The Company's copyright programs make available certain proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information for use in third-party products such as unit investment trusts, variable annuities, managed accounts, and exchange traded funds. These products are structured as ETFs and Unit Investment Trusts, all of which have in common some degree of reliance on the Value Line Ranking System for their portfolio creation, and are offered and distributed by independent sponsors. Through EAM, the Company has interests in investment management services for the Value Line Funds. Total assets in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at April 30, 2026, were $3.72 billion, which is $0.96 billion, or 20.4%, below total assets of $4.68 billion at April 30, 2025. Total net assets of the Value Line Funds at April 30, 2026, were $3,723,496 thousand, comprising the Value Line Asset Allocation Fund at $344,776 thousand, Value Line Capital Appreciation Fund at $506,586 thousand, Value Line Mid Cap Focused Fund at $1,331,548 thousand, Value Line Small Cap Opportunities Fund at $822,036 thousand, Value Line Select Growth Fund at $311,805 thousand, and Value Line Larger Companies Focused Fund at $406,745 thousand. EAM acts as the Adviser to the Value Line Funds, and EULAV Securities acts as the Distributor. State Street Bank is the custodian of the assets of the Value Line Funds and provides fund accounting and administrative services, while shareholder services are provided by SS&C.

During the period, the Company outsourced the distribution of its print publications to third parties in the United States after April 30, 2024. Value Line Distribution Center, Inc. (VLDC), which previously distributed print publications, is now the owner and lessor of specialized equipment employed in distribution. The Company holds total investment assets (excluding its interests in EAM) with a fair market value of $62,286,000 at April 30, 2026, compared to $43,314,000 at April 30, 2025, including equity securities in various ETFs and common stock, and fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale consisting of securities issued by United States federal government and bank certificates of deposit within the United States. At April 30, 2026, the Company and its subsidiaries employed 106 people.

The Company derives a significant portion of its cash flow from its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM. A substantial portion of the Company's revenue is generated from print and digital subscriptions paid in advance. The Company has experienced a negative trend in retail print subscription revenue, and while circulation of some print publications has increased, others have experienced a decline in circulation or in average yearly price realized. It is expected that print revenues overall will continue to decline long-term, while the Company emphasizes digital offerings. The Company is not able to predict whether revenues from digital retail publications will grow more than print revenues decline. Copyright agreements revenues are based on market interest in the respective proprietary information and are dependent upon the desire of third parties to use Value Line trademarks and proprietary research, competition, and fluctuations in segments of the equity markets.

The Company has established the goal of maintaining competitive digital products and marketing them through traditional and digital channels to retail and institutional customers. The Company expects that print revenues overall will continue to decline long-term, while it emphasizes digital offerings. The Company is not able to predict whether revenues from digital retail publications will grow more than print revenues decline.

The Company is emphasizing digital offerings to offset the long-term decline in print revenues. Digital services include a range of products such as The Value Line Investment Survey - Smart Investor, Savvy Investor, Small Cap Investor, Investor 600, Value Line Pro Premium, Pro Basic, Pro Elite, and various library editions, all offering online tools including screeners, alerts, watch-lists, and charting. The Value Line Research Center provides online access to select Company investment research services covering stocks, mutual funds, options, ETFs, and special situations stocks. The Company markets these digital products through traditional and digital channels to retail and institutional customers.

The Company's copyright programs represent a growth vector through the licensing of proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information for use in third-party products such as unit investment trusts, variable annuities, managed accounts, and exchange traded funds. These products are structured as ETFs and Unit Investment Trusts, all relying to some degree on the Value Line Ranking System for portfolio creation, and are offered and distributed by independent sponsors. Copyright fees are based on the market value of assets invested in each product's portfolio, causing payments to fluctuate with market conditions.

The Company's cost structure includes expenses related to its 106 employees at April 30, 2026, and the outsourcing of print publication distribution to third parties in the United States after April 30, 2024. The Company faces risks related to the availability and cost of materials and other inputs such as financial data, freight, and postage, as well as potential impacts from increased tariffs and other restrictions affecting the cost and availability of materials, equipment, and other necessary inputs to operations.

The Company outsourced its print publication distribution operations to third parties in the United States after April 30, 2024. Value Line Distribution Center, Inc. (VLDC) is now the owner and lessor of specialized equipment employed in distribution. The Company relies on the continued availability of generally dependable energy supplies, transportation facilities, digital data and telephone transmission infrastructure in the geographic areas in which the Company and certain suppliers operate. The Company also faces risks associated with the outsourcing of certain functions, technical facilities, and operations, including in some instances outside the U.S.

The Company does not disclose specific R&D spending levels, capital expenditure plans, share repurchase authorization amounts, or dividend policy figures in the filing.

The Company faces structural headwinds from the availability of competitive information on the Internet at low or no cost, which has had and may continue to have a negative impact on demand for its products. The negative trend in retail print subscription revenue is expected to continue long-term. The Company also faces risks from changes in investment trends and economic conditions, including global financial issues, changes in Federal Reserve policies affecting interest rates and liquidity, and the stability of the banking system. A prolonged recession or other economic or political events could adversely impact EAM's revenue if it led to decreased demand for products, a higher redemption rate, or a decline in securities prices.

The Company faces execution risks related to its dependence on key executive and specialist personnel, as its executive officers do not have employment agreements and the Company does not maintain key man insurance policies. The Company also faces risks from potential problems protecting intellectual property rights and confidential information, dependence on non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM and accordingly on its key management, investment management, and sales personnel, and fluctuations in EAM's and third-party copyright assets under management due to evaluations by outside rating agencies, broadly based changes in the values of equity and debt securities, market sector variations, redemptions by investors, and other factors including continuation of employment by key members of its management, investment management, and sales leadership.

The Company derives a significant portion of its cash flow from its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM, and a decrease in EAM's revenue would reduce cash flow received by the Company. EAM's assets under management, which impact its revenue, are subject to fluctuations based on market conditions, individual fund performance, and investor decisions; total assets in the Value Line Funds fell 20.4% from $4.68 billion at April 30, 2025 to $3.72 billion at April 30, 2026. The Company derives a significant portion of its cash flow and publishing revenues from a single significant customer. A substantial portion of the Company's revenue is generated from print and digital subscriptions, and the availability of competitive information on the Internet at low or no cost has had and may continue to have a negative impact on demand. The Company has experienced a negative trend in retail print subscription revenue, and it is expected that print revenues overall will continue to decline long-term. The Company's executive officers do not have employment agreements and the Company does not maintain key man insurance policies on any of its executive officers.

Management's message emphasizes the Company's core business of producing investment periodicals and underlying research, and making available Value Line copyrights, trademarks, and proprietary information to third parties. The strategic priorities include maintaining competitive digital products and marketing them through traditional and digital channels to retail and institutional customers, while acknowledging the expected long-term decline in print revenues. Management also focuses on the significant interest in cash flows generated by EAM through non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests, and the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and trademarks. The Company has established the goal of maintaining competitive digital products, but is not able to predict whether revenues from digital retail publications will grow more than print revenues decline.