Forward Industries

FWDI · Nasdaq · Information Technology · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

FWDI · Last close · November 6, 2026

$5.70

Forward Industries' revenue fell 9.0% to $18 million in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −46.1%, down from −10.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$5 million, against $0 million a year earlier. The diluted share count rose 516.8%.

FORWARD INDUSTRIES, INC. Latest fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 10-K filed December 11, 2025 · 0001683168-25-009068 Updated November 7, 2026

Revenue

$18M

9.0%

Operating margin

−46.1%

35.4 pts

Net income

−$167M

Free cash flow

−$5M

$0M a year earlier

Return on capital

−0.9%

Market cap

$494M

Nov 6 close

P/E

—

Loss: no P/E

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Forward Industries does

Forward Industries has two lines of activity. The first is a design business that provides hardware and software product design and engineering services, mainly to medical and technology customers in the United States. Its work covers medical products, smart displays, beverage vending machines, software apps, lighting, security systems, cameras, wearables and vehicle controls, from first concept through engineering, prototypes and files for manufacturing. It also offers targeted help to clients that have their own development teams.

The second is a digital asset treasury. In September 2025 the company announced a plan to buy Solana (SOL), a cryptocurrency, and other digital assets, and to make SOL its main treasury reserve asset. It announced initial SOL purchases of approximately $1.58 billion in total. It plans to stake its SOL, meaning lock it up to help run the Solana network, and to earn extra revenue through partnerships in that ecosystem. It changed its Nasdaq ticker symbol from FORD to FWDI in November 2025.

Forward says few competitors offer the full range of design skills it has, though many design and engineering firms compete in specific industries. As of November 30, 2025, it had approximately 60 employees.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

A new strategy built around SOL that may not be carried out successfully.
Regulators may treat some digital assets it holds as securities, which could hurt their value.
Assets concentrated in SOL, so problems specific to Solana would hit it hard.
Uncertainty about how digital assets are classified, which could bring regulatory scrutiny and added rules.
Competition from many design and engineering firms in specific industries.

From Forward Industries's annual report on Form 10-K, filed December 11, 2025, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2021, earnings per share fell 6.5% a year and net income 3.6% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 20% and diluted each share's earnings. Forward Industries then lost money in fiscal 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	1	3	3	3	38
Debt incl. finance leases	2	1	1	1	0
Net debt (negative means net cash)	0	−1	−2	−2	−38
Net debt to EBITDA	—	−1.3x	−3.6x	—	—
Debt to equity	0.2x	0.2x	0.4x	0.2x	0.0x
Interest coverage	−4.5x	4.8x	1.5x	−34.3x	−170.8x
Current ratio	1.8x	1.4x	1.1x	1.0x	15.1x
Quick ratio	1.5x	1.4x	1.0x	1.0x	—

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Forward Industries' revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Forward Industries' projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, 2 insiders bought $80,320 of Forward Industries shares on the open market, and none sold any.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
May 19, 2026	Michael D PruittChief Executive Officer, Director	Bought	500	$4.16	$2,080	Form 4
Dec 19, 2025	Ryan David NaviChief Investment Officer	Bought	10,000	$7.08	$70,800	Form 4
Dec 15, 2025	Michael D PruittChief Executive Officer	Bought	1,000	$7.44	$7,440	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	4 of 9	6 of 9	5 of 9
Rule of 40	−1.5%	−43.2%	−33.9%
Altman Z''	−2.87	−4.93	320.13
Accruals ratio	−24.9%	−15.4%	−21.8%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Fail	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Fail
Return on assets rose	Fail	Pass	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Fail
Gross margin rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Pass
F-score	4 of 9	6 of 9	5 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Forward Industries side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

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Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Forward Industries	FY25	−9.0%	−46.1%	−24.9%	−0.9%	—	5
D-Wave Quantum	FY25	178.5%	−408.2%	−308.5%	—	—	5	Compare
Rigetti Computing	FY25	−34.3%	−1,194.4%	−1,089.4%	—	—	3	Compare
GPGI	FY25	−85.8%	−22.9%	−38.2%	—	—	—	Compare
IonQ	FY25	201.8%	−487.4%	−230.4%	−68.3%	—	3	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	28	25	34	37	34	39	38	37	20	18
Revenue growth	−8.4%	−9.9%	39.3%	8.4%	−7.8%	13.2%	−2.1%	−4.0%	−45.5%	−9.0%
Gross profit	5	4	7	7	7	8	9	8	5	5
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	1	1	0	−3	−2	−1	1	0	−2	−8
Net income	1	1	1	−4	−2	0	−1	−4	−2	−167
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.07	0.07	0.15	−0.38	−0.19	0.05	−0.14	−3.39	−1.77	−24.59
Diluted shares (millions)	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	1	1	7
Cash flow
Cash from operations	1	−0	1	−2	−0	−0	2	1	0	−4
Capital expenditure	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Free cash flow	1	−0	1	−2	−0	−1	1	1	0	−5
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	5	5	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	38
Debt incl. finance leases	—	0	0	0	2	2	1	1	1	0
Total assets	12	13	19	16	19	20	21	17	15	1,475
Total liabilities	4	4	8	8	13	12	15	15	12	5
Shareholders' equity	8	9	11	8	7	7	6	3	3	1,470
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	18.5%	16.9%	19.0%	17.6%	19.2%	20.9%	23.0%	22.8%	25.9%	28.5%
Operating margin	2.2%	2.4%	0.8%	−8.3%	−5.8%	−2.0%	1.5%	0.4%	−10.8%	−46.1%
Net margin	2.2%	2.3%	4.0%	−9.6%	−5.2%	1.3%	−3.6%	−10.2%	−9.8%	−918.1%
Free cash flow margin	2.6%	−0.6%	2.6%	−5.3%	−1.0%	−1.5%	3.6%	2.5%	2.3%	−24.9%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	−5.8%	−10.4%	41.9%	3.1%	−8.8%	11.7%	1.5%	−1.5%	−43.2%	−33.9%
Return on capital	—	—	4.6%	−42.1%	−31.7%	−11.9%	9.2%	4.7%	—	−0.9%
Return on equity	7.8%	6.8%	13.8%	−38.3%	−24.8%	7.5%	−20.1%	−84.1%	−69.9%	−22.7%
Return on assets	4.8%	4.5%	8.5%	−20.4%	−10.0%	2.7%	−6.8%	−19.5%	−12.1%	−22.4%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	−7.5x	−8.5x	—	—	—	−1.3x	−3.6x	—	—

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Forward Industries' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Forward Industries.