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ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2025
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions. Within this report, certain dollar amounts and percentages have been rounded to their approximate values.

 

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Forward Industries, Inc. and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries: Forward Industries (IN), Inc. (“Forward US”), DE Sub 1 LLC (“Forward Delaware”), Forward Industries (Switzerland) GmbH (“Forward Switzerland”), Forward Industries UK Limited (“Forward UK”), Intelligent Product Solutions, Inc. (“IPS”) and Kablooe, Inc. (“Kablooe”). The terms “Forward”, “we”, “our” or the “Company” as used throughout this document are used to indicate Forward Industries, Inc. and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting

 

As a result of the Retail Exit, the OEM Plan and the Company’s new digital asset treasury strategy, the Company now has two reportable segments: design and digital assets. The design segment consists of two operating segments (IPS and Kablooe, which have been aggregated into one reportable segment) that provide a full spectrum of hardware and software product design and engineering services to customers predominantly located in the U.S. The digital assets segment captures SOL-based yield generated by participating in the Solana network’s staking protocol, which currently comprises rewards received from native staking. See Note 16 for additional information on our segments.

 

Goodwill

Goodwill

 

The Company reviews goodwill for impairment at least annually, or more often if triggering events occur. The Company has two reporting units with goodwill (the IPS and Kablooe operating segments) and we perform our annual goodwill impairment test on September 30, the end of the fiscal year, or upon the occurrence of a triggering event. The Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine if an impairment is more likely than not to have occurred. If the Company can support the conclusion that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the Company would not need to perform a quantitative impairment test for the reporting unit. If the Company cannot support such a conclusion or does not elect to perform the qualitative assessment, then the Company will perform the quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, no impairment charge is recognized. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, an impairment charge will be recognized for the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value. A significant amount of judgment is required in performing goodwill impairment tests including estimating the fair value of a reporting unit. See Note 4.

 

Digital Assets

Digital Assets

 

The Company accounts for its holdings of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Solana, as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-60, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other – Crypto Assets (“ASC 350-60”). Digital assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in net income/(loss) each reporting period. Digital assets are classified as noncurrent assets unless the Company intends to sell them or otherwise realize their value within twelve months after the reporting date. Upon disposal of a digital asset (e.g., by sale, exchange or transfer) the Company derecognizes the asset and recognizes a realized gain or loss in net income, calculated as the difference between the sale proceeds and the asset’s carrying amount, which is determined using a first-in, first-out method.

 

Digital assets that are not in scope of ASC 350-60 are accounted for as indefinite-lived intangible assets subject to impairment testing, or as financial assets if they are redeemable for cash.

 

Intangible Assets

Intangible Assets

 

Intangible assets include trademarks and customer relationships, which were acquired as part of the acquisitions of IPS in Fiscal 2018 and Kablooe in Fiscal 2020 and are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which are periodically evaluated for reasonableness.

 

Our intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In assessing the recoverability of our intangible assets, we must make estimates and assumptions regarding future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the respective assets. These estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on whether an impairment charge is recognized and the magnitude of any such charge. Fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time, based on relevant information. These estimates are subjective in nature and involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgments and therefore cannot be determined with precision. Changes in assumptions could significantly affect the estimates. See Note 4.

 

Cash

Cash

 

The Company maintains cash deposits and money market accounts with financial institutions in the United States that at times may exceed federally insured limits of $250,000 per financial institution. At September 30, 2025, there were deposits totaling approximately $37,471,000 held in excess of federally insured limits. Historically, we have not experienced any losses due to such cash concentrations.

 

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

 

Accounts receivable consist of unsecured trade accounts with customers net of an allowance for credit losses. Collectability of accounts receivable is estimated by evaluating the number of days accounts are outstanding, customer payment history, recent payment trends and perceived creditworthiness, adjusted as necessary based on specific customer situations. At September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2024, the Company had allowances for credit losses of $92,000 and $27,000, respectively.

 

Inventories

Inventories

 

Inventories consisted primarily of finished goods and were stated at the lower of cost (determined by the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value. Based on management’s estimates, an allowance was made to reduce excess, obsolete, or otherwise unsellable inventories to net realizable value. If needed, an allowance was established through charges to cost of sales, which is now presented as a component of income/(loss) from discontinued operations in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. In determining the adequacy of any allowance, management’s estimates were based upon several factors, including analyses of inventory levels, historical loss trends, sales history and projections of future sales demand. Due to the Retail Exit and the OEM Plan the Company has no remaining inventory at September 30, 2025. Inventory on hand at September 30, 2024 is presented as a component of assets held for sale.

 

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment consist of computer hardware and software, furniture, fixtures and equipment and are recorded at cost. Expenditures for major additions and improvements are capitalized, and minor replacements, maintenance, and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in the results of operations for the respective period. Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the related assets using the straight-line method. The estimated useful lives for all property and equipment ranges from three to five years.

 

Equity Offering Costs

Equity Offering Costs

 

Offering costs include underwriting commissions, professional fees, filing fees and other costs directly associated with the Company’s recent financing transactions. Prior to the completion of an offering, offering costs related to common and preferred stock issuances are recorded as a component of other assets on the consolidated balance sheet and recorded a reduction to additional paid-in capital when the shares related to such offering are issued. Offering costs associated with warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred and recorded as a component of general and administrative expenses.

 

Leases

Leases

 

Lease assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term, using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate commensurate with the lease term, since the Company’s lessors do not provide an implicit rate, nor is one readily available. The Company has certain leases that may include an option to renew and when it is reasonably probable to exercise such option, the Company will include the renewal option terms in determining the lease asset and lease liability. Lease assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Operating lease assets are shown as right-of-use assets on the consolidated balance sheets. The current and long-term portions of operating lease liabilities are shown separately as such on the consolidated balance sheets.

 

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

 

The Company recognizes future tax benefits and liabilities measured at enacted rates attributable to temporary differences between financial statement and income tax bases of assets and liabilities and to net tax operating loss carryforwards to the extent that realization of these benefits is more likely than not. At September 30, 2025, there was no change to our assessment that a full valuation allowance was required against all net deferred tax assets. Accordingly, any deferred tax provision or benefit was offset by an equal and opposite change to the valuation allowance. Our income tax provision or benefit is generally not significant due to the existence of significant net operating loss carryforwards.

 

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

 

Discontinued OEM Distribution Segment

 

The OEM distribution segment recognized revenue when: (i) finished goods were shipped to its customers (in general, these conditions occurred at either point of shipment or point of destination, depending on the terms of sale and transfer of control); (ii) there were no other deliverables or performance obligations; and (iii) there were no further obligations to the customer after the title of the goods had transferred. If the Company received consideration before achieving the criteria previously mentioned, it recorded a contract liability, which would be classified as a component of liabilities held for sale in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The OEM distribution segment had no contract liabilities at September 30, 2025, 2024 or 2023. The results of operations of the OEM segment are reported as discontinued operations for Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024 (see Note 3).

 

Discontinued Retail Distribution Segment

 

The retail distribution segment sold products primarily through online websites operated by authorized third-party retailers. Revenue was recognized when control (as defined in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”) of the related goods was transferred to the retailer, which generally occurred upon shipment to the end customer. Other than product delivery, the retail distribution segment did not typically have other deliverables or performance obligations associated with its products. Revenue was measured as the amount of consideration expected to be received in exchange for the products provided, net of allowances taken by retailers for product returns and any taxes collected from customers that will be remitted to governmental authorities. When the Company received consideration before achieving the criteria previously mentioned, it recorded a contract liability, which would be classified as a component of deferred income in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The retail distribution segment had no contract liabilities at September 30, 2025, 2024 or 2023. The results of operations of the retail segment are reported as discontinued operations for Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024 (see Note 3).

 

Design Segment

 

The Company applies the “cost to cost” and “right to invoice” methods of revenue recognition to the contracts with customers in the design segment. The design segment typically engages in two types of contracts: (i) time and material and (ii) fixed price. The Company recognizes revenue over time on its time and material contracts utilizing a “right to invoice” method. Revenues from fixed price contracts that require performance of services that are not related to the production of tangible assets are recognized by using cost inputs to measure progress toward the completion of its performance obligations, or the “cost to cost” method. Revenues from fixed price contracts that contain specific deliverables are recognized when the performance obligation has been satisfied or the transfer of goods to the customer has been completed and accepted.

 

Recognized revenues that will not be billed until a later date are recorded as contract assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The design segment had contract assets of $1,064,000, $1,273,000 and $976,000 at September 30, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Contracts where collections to date have exceeded recognized revenues, or contract liabilities, are recorded as a liability and classified as a component of deferred income in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The design segment had contract liabilities of $293,000, $399,000 and $297,000 at September 30, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

 

Digital Asset Staking

 

The Company participates in proof-of-stake validation. Proof-of-stake validation, also referred to as staking, requires the Company to delegate its digital assets to a validator. Staking can be performed on proprietary validation infrastructure or through the use of third-party infrastructure or service providers. The Company concluded that where it controls the validation infrastructure, it is a principal in the provision of staking services to the blockchain, and recognizes staking revenue on a gross basis. Blockchain rewards distributed to third parties staking on the Company’s validation infrastructure are included in the Cost of sales.

 

The Company recognizes noncash consideration from staking activities related to its digital asset holdings in accordance with ASC 606. Staking income is generated when the Company participates in digital asset networks to validate transactions and, in return, earns rewards in the form of additional digital assets. The Company considers its performance obligation to be satisfied at the point in time when it has successfully provided validation services to the network and the reward is determinable and collectible. Revenue is measured as the fair value of digital assets received as staking rewards at contract inception, which generally occurs at the beginning of each epoch of the respective blockchain.

 

Disaggregation of Revenue

 

Design segment revenue is predominantly recognized over time and has similar other economic factors, including, but not limited to, the geographic location and type of customer, payment terms and length of contracts. Digital assets staking revenue is recognized at a point in time. See Note 16 for disaggregated revenue amounts.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions

Foreign Currency Transactions

 

The Company’s functional currency is the U.S. dollar. Foreign currency transactions may generate receivables or payables that are fixed in terms of the amount of foreign currency that will be received or paid. Fluctuations in exchange rates between such foreign currency and the functional currency increase or decrease the expected amount of functional currency cash flows upon settlement of the transaction. These increases or decreases in expected functional currency cash flows are foreign currency transaction gains or losses that are included in other income or expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The approximate net losses from foreign currency transactions were $5,000 and $8,000 in Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024, respectively.

 

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

 

We perform fair value measurements in accordance with the guidance provided by ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement.” ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required to be recorded at their fair values, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which we would transact and consider assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the assets or liabilities, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance.

 

ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. An asset’s or liability’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. ASC 820 establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

 

  · Level 1: quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
  · Level 2: inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; or
  · Level 3: unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair values of the assets or liabilities.

 

The acquisition of Kablooe provided annual contingent earnout payments based on results of Kablooe’s operations through August 2025. In accordance with ASC 820, the fair value of this earnout liability was measured on a recurring basis at each reporting date using inputs categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Due to the low likelihood of Kablooe reaching the specified earnout targets, the fair value of this earnout liability was $0 at September 30, 2024. The carrying amounts of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, due to Forward China, and the Note payable to Forward China approximate fair value due to their short-term maturities.

 

The Company applies ASC 820 in the valuation of SOL held by the Company for financial statement purposes. The fair value of SOL uses Level 1 inputs to reflect the price that would be received for SOL in a current sale, which assumes an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date in SOL’s “principal market,” or in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market. Market participants are defined as buyers and sellers in the principal or most advantageous market that are independent, knowledgeable, and willing and able to transact. The Company determines its principal market (or in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market) on a periodic basis to determine which market is its principal market for the purpose of calculating fair value for the creation of quarterly and annual financial statements. Issuer-specific events, market trends, bid/ask quotes of brokers and information providers and other data may be reviewed in the course of making a good faith determination of the digital asset’s fair value.

 

Share-Based Compensation Expense

Share-Based Compensation Expense

 

The Company estimates the fair value of employee and non-employee director share-based compensation on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which includes variables such as the expected volatility of the Company’s share price, the exercise behavior of its grantees, interest rates, and dividend yields. These variables are projected based on the Company’s historical data, experience, and other factors. The fair value of employee and non-employee director share-based compensation is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations over the related service or vesting period of each grant. In the case of awards with multiple vesting periods, the Company has elected to use the graded vesting attribution method, which recognizes compensation cost on a straight-line basis over each separately vesting portion of the award as if the award was, in substance, multiple awards (see Note 9).

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2024-03, “Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses” and in January 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-01, “Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Clarifying the Effective Date”, which clarified the effective date of ASU 2024-03 for non-calendar year-end companies. ASU 2024-03 will require the Company to disclose the amounts of purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation and intangible asset amortization, as applicable, included in certain expense captions in the consolidated statements of operations, as well as qualitatively describe remaining amounts included in those captions. ASU 2024-03 will also require the Company to disclose both the amount and the Company’s definition of selling expenses. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2027. The Company is currently evaluating the effects of the pronouncement on its consolidated financial statements.

 

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-08, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets (“ASU 2023-08”). ASU 2023-08 requires certain crypto assets meeting defined criteria to be measured at fair value each reporting period with changes in fair value recognized in net income, presented separately from other intangible assets and accompanied by enhanced disclosures. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted this standard in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2025, in conjunction with its new treasury strategy. Since the Company held no digital assets until September 2025, the adoption of this standard had no impact to prior reported financial statements and no cumulative adjustment to retained earnings was required or recorded.

 

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, “Income Taxes - Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures”, requiring enhancements and further transparency to certain income tax disclosures, most notably the tax rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, on a prospective basis and retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effects of this pronouncement on its consolidated financial statements.

 

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures,” which requires expanded segment reporting and disclosure and is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted this guidance in Fiscal 2025, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements.