Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Research Solutions (RSSS):

• Amazon for scientific articles: It provides a platform for the transactional sale and delivery of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content, similar to how Amazon is a go-to source for a vast array of goods.
• LexisNexis for scientific research: Like LexisNexis provides a comprehensive database and tools for legal professionals to access and manage legal documents, RSSS offers a specialized platform for researchers to access and manage STM articles.
• A Bloomberg Terminal for scientific research: It functions as a specialized, comprehensive platform for research-intensive organizations to access and manage critical scientific information, much like the Bloomberg Terminal provides essential financial data and tools to financial professionals.

• Cloud-based SaaS Research Platform: This platform helps research organizations accelerate their R&D by providing access to and management of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) articles.
• Transactional STM Content Sales: This service facilitates the acquisition of published scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content through managed sourcing and delivery.

Research Solutions (RSSS) primarily sells its cloud-based software-as-a-service research platform and scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content to other companies and research institutions.

According to the company's public filings, no single customer accounted for 10% or more of its consolidated revenues during recent fiscal years. Therefore, Research Solutions does not have individually named "major customers" that contribute a disproportionately large share of revenue.

However, the company serves a diverse range of research-intensive organizations across various sectors. Its customer base primarily consists of organizations that require access to STM content for their research and development activities. These categories of customer organizations include:

• Pharmaceutical companies
• Biotechnology companies
• Universities and academic institutions
• Medical device companies
• Other organizations engaged in scientific, technical, and medical (STM) research and development activities.

Roy W. Olivier - Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Roy W. Olivier joined Research Solutions' board of directors in January 2018, becoming Interim CEO on March 29, 2021, permanent CEO on October 4, 2021, and was appointed Chairman on September 16, 2025. Prior to his time at Research Solutions, he served as CEO of ARI Network Services, where he was instrumental in growing the business from under 80 employees to over 1,200 and increasing revenues from less than $15 million to over $100 million through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. He also founded ProQuest Media Solutions (now Snap-on Inc.) in 1993, a business he later sold to ProQuest in 2000.

Dave Kutil - Interim Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

Dave Kutil was appointed interim Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Research Solutions, effective December 10, 2025, following the departure of Bill Nurthen. He joined Research Solutions in 2023 as Controller and brings over 15 years of financial leadership experience to the role. Before joining Research Solutions, Kutil served as Controller for the North American subsidiary of Lesaffre and as Director of Accounting for Badger Meter.

Sefton Cohen - Chief Revenue Officer

Sefton Cohen was appointed Chief Revenue Officer of Research Solutions on November 19, 2024. He possesses over two decades of experience in scaling high-growth SaaS companies. Prior to joining Research Solutions, he held the position of CRO at Suralink and RapidRatings, where he notably led a commercial transformation that resulted in a $240 million private equity exit.

Rick Salloum - Chief Technology Officer

Rick Salloum was appointed Chief Technology Officer of Research Solutions on April 3, 2023. He has nearly three decades of extensive technology experience, having worked with both publicly traded and private equity organizations. Before his role at Research Solutions, Salloum served as the Vice President of Software Development and Technology Solutions at Safe-Guard Products. His previous executive technology leadership positions include Head of Engineering and Vice President of Engineering & Architecture for organizations such as Rent.com and CNN.com.

Peter Derycz - Founder

Peter Derycz founded Research Solutions (originally known as Reprints Desk) in 2006. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Derycz transitioned to Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board effective March 29, 2021. He is recognized for his over 20 years of involvement in designing, developing, and deploying large library and document management systems, and is known as one of the founders of the "pay-as-you-go" approach to acquiring and delivering scientific information. However, his employment was terminated, and he resigned from the Company's board of directors and all committees effective September 18, 2023.

Key Business Risks for Research Solutions (RSSS)

1. Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Research Workflows: A primary risk for Research Solutions is the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Management has noted that AI is "shifting demand from article retrieval to structured reasoning," which could significantly impact the company's transaction revenues. This suggests a fundamental change in how researchers seek and process scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content, potentially reducing reliance on traditional article retrieval services that form a component of Research Solutions' business model.
2. Declining Transaction Revenue and Customer Base amid Competitive Pressures: Research Solutions faces persistent challenges with declining transaction revenue and a decrease in its active customer count. This decline is attributed to weaker paid order volume and competitive pressures within the B2C segment. The company itself anticipates that transaction revenue growth will remain challenging in the near term.
3. Intense Competition from Established Publishers and Other Providers: Research Solutions operates in a highly competitive market for academic publishing and research solutions. The company faces competition from large, established players such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley. This competitive environment, along with other companies in the business services sector, could exert pressure on pricing, market share, and the need for continuous innovation.

The clear emerging threat to Research Solutions (RSSS) is the rapid advancement and adoption of **Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs)**. These technologies are increasingly capable of synthesizing, summarizing, and extracting specific insights from vast amounts of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content. This directly threatens RSSS's core value proposition of providing a platform for content access and management, as AI-powered research assistants could offer alternative, potentially more efficient, and automated ways for researchers to discover, analyze, and interact with published literature, thereby diminishing the need for traditional content management platforms and transactional sales facilitated by RSSS.

Research Solutions (symbol: RSSS) operates in two primary markets: the transactional sale of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content, and cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) research platforms.

Transactional Sale of Scientific, Technical, and Medical (STM) Content

The global market for scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing, which includes the transactional sale of STM content, was valued at approximately $35.6 billion in 2024. This market is projected to grow to $52.1 billion by 2033. Other estimates place the global STM publishing market at over $26 billion annually, with projections for it to reach around $34.19 billion in 2026 and $45.61 billion by 2035. North America holds a significant share of this global market, accounting for approximately 38% in 2024.

Cloud-Based Software-as-a-Service Research Platform

While a precise global dollar value for the entire addressable market of "research-focused SaaS platforms" that cater to corporate, academic, government, and individual researchers is not readily available, relevant market segments and company insights provide an indication of its size.

The global academic software market, which includes cloud-based solutions for educational and research institutions, was valued at US$0.8 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach US$2.7 billion by 2031. Another estimate projects this market to grow from USD 1.00 billion in 2022 to USD 1.72 billion by 2030.

Research Solutions itself indicates that the "Research-focused SaaS is an under-penetrated market segment" and targets approximately 700,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout the world, suggesting a large potential customer base.

Research Solutions (RSSS) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key initiatives:

• Growth in Platform Subscription Revenue: The company has consistently reported increases in its platform subscription revenue, driven by both new deployments and expansion within its current customer base through upsells and cross-sells.
• Strategic Focus on B2B Market: Research Solutions is prioritizing B2B annual and multi-year agreements as a primary growth driver, with this segment showing strong annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth.
• API and AI Integration: The company is actively integrating API and AI capabilities, transitioning into an "answers and access" platform. This transformation is anticipated to lead to larger and more resilient contracts. An example of this is the launch of Scite MCP, which connects AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to scientific literature.
• Expansion within Existing Customer Base: A significant portion of revenue growth is expected to come from deepening relationships with existing clients through upsells and cross-sells of additional services and expanded platform usage.
• Increase in Net New Platform Deployments: The acquisition of new platform customers and the resulting increase in platform deployments are direct contributors to the growth of platform subscription revenue.

Share Repurchases

• Research Solutions had a buyback yield of 0.52% on a trailing twelve-month basis as of December 31, 2025.
• The company's highest buyback yield over the past five years was 0.94% as of March 31, 2025.
• Net cash flow from issuance (purchase) of equity shares showed a purchase of approximately $430.55K as of December 31, 2025, and reached its highest purchase of $940.57K as of March 31, 2025, over the last five years.

Share Issuance

• In Q2 fiscal year 2026 (ended December 31, 2025), Research Solutions issued approximately 487,000 shares of stock as part of the scite earnout payments.
• In Q1 fiscal year 2026 (ended September 30, 2025), the company issued approximately 265,000 shares as part of the first payment for the scite earnout.
• As of December 31, 2025, Research Solutions had 32,875,476 shares issued and outstanding.

Outbound Investments

• Research Solutions acquired scite, an AI-powered search and discovery platform, in November 2023. This acquisition added $3.6 million in annualized software subscription revenue.
• In July 2023, Research Solutions acquired ResoluteAI, an advanced search platform leveraging AI and NLP technologies. The initial purchase consideration, net of cash acquired, was approximately $2.9 million, with a total purchase consideration of roughly $4.6 million, including a contingent earnout.

Capital Expenditures

• Research Solutions' capital expenditures to operating cash flow (CapEx/OCF) 3-year CAGR was -49.56% on a trailing twelve-month basis as of December 31, 2024.
• Over the past five years, the average CapEx/OCF 3-year CAGR for Research Solutions was 39%, with a high of 178.63% in September 2023.
• The company's strategy involves consistent reinvestments into organic growth and strategic M&A acquisitions, with profits reinvested to expand the AI & SaaS platform, improve user experience, and acquire more customers.