Forward Borrows Against Solana Stack At 3.4% To Repurchase 6 Million Shares

Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI) will repurchase 6.16 million shares for $27.4 million using a $40 million loan from Galaxy Digital at 3.4% APR, increasing SOL-per-share by 29% annualized. The Share Repurchase Math The transaction reduces Forward’s common shares outstanding from 83.14 million to 76.98 million, the company announced Thursday. As of March 18, Forward holds 7.01 million SOL with 105.89 million fully diluted shares outstanding, resulting in SOL-per-share of 0.0662 versus 0.0624 on December 31. The company borrowed $40 million at a weighted average annual interest rate of approximately 3.4% with an average weighted maturity of 4.9 months. The facility is secured by fwdSOL held in the company’s treasury. “By repurchasing shares at a discount to both our net asset value and current market price, and by securing attractively priced financing that allows us to maintain staking rewards on our collateral, we are able to return a meaningful block of shares to our treasury while continuing to compound our digital asset holdings,” said Ryan Navi, Chief Investment Officer. The Staking Advantage Forward continues to earn staking rewards on the underlying SOL used as collateral, enabling the company to maintain yield generation while accessing low-cost capital. This structure allows Forward to increase SOL-per-share through the buyback while still generating staking income on the pledged assets. The 3.4% borrowing cost sits well below typical corporate debt rates and significantly below the company’s SOL staking yield, creating a positive carry trade where the company earns more on staking than it pays in interest. The Cost Reduction Plan Forward expects SG&A expenses excluding stock-based compensation and design segment SG&A to decrease by approximately 45% from $6.5 million in fiscal Q1 to an estimated $3.6 million by fiscal Q3. The cost reductions include lower fees under the company’s services agreement with Galaxy Digital LP, reduced outside legal expenses, lower marketing expenditures, reduced third-party vendor costs, and other operational efficiencies. “We are executing on a series of operational initiatives designed to reduce our cost structure and improve operating leverage,” said Kyle Samani, Chairman of Forward Industries. FWDI Tests Channel Support Forward is testing channel support after a brutal collapse from the $8.80 peak in mid-January. Since bottoming near $4 in mid-February, price has carved higher lows and higher highs within a well-defined ascending channel. The EMA cluster compresses tightly around current price with the 20, 50, and 100 EMAs all sitting at $5.10. The Supertrend at $5.44 is the immediate hurdle. Reclaiming and holding above $5.44 would put price above both the Supertrend and the EMA cluster simultaneously. Channel support near $4.80 must hold—a break below flips the recovery thesis. Above $5.44 with volume, the path to $5.95 (200 EMA) opens quickly. Image: Shutterstock