12. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

 

In August 2025, in connection with the Company's acquisition of Geovox, it recorded goodwill of $0.5 million (deductible for tax purposes) and other intangible assets of $3.7 million. The operations of Geovox are included as a component of the Company's Intelligent Industrial reporting unit.

 

At September 30, 2025, the Company had goodwill of $0.5 million and other intangible assets, net of $3.7 million attributable to its Intelligent Industrial reporting unit, goodwill of $0.7 million and other intangible assets, net of $0.4 million attributable to its Smart Water reporting unit and other intangible assets, net of $1.1 million attributable to its Energy Solutions reporting unit. Goodwill represents the excess cost of a business acquired over the fair market value of identifiable net assets at the date of acquisition.

 

At September 30, 2024, in light of the Company's historical losses and continued delays in obtaining additional contracts from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other customers on its Industrial Intelligent segment, the Company performed a recoverability assessment on the long-lived assets of its Intelligent Industrial asset group (formerly a part of the Company's Emerging Markets asset group) in which its carrying value was compared to estimated undiscounted cash flows over the remaining useful life of the asset group's primary asset, which is its developed technology.  Accordingly, a fair value analysis was performed.  Based on the assessment, the Company determined the fair value of the asset was less than its carrying value.  The Company used an excess earnings approach to value the asset.  Key assumptions used in the analysis include revenue, gross margin and cash flow projections.  As a result of the assessment, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $2.8 million on this asset group, which impaired its intangible assets in their entirety. 

 

The Company’s consolidated goodwill and other intangible assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

  Weighted-Average Remaining Useful Lives (in years)  

AS OF SEPTEMBER 30,

 
     

2025

  

2024

 

Goodwill:

           

Intelligent Industrial

    $4,858  $4,336 

Smart Water

     736   736 

Total goodwill

     5,594   5,072 

Accumulated impairment losses

     (4,336)  (4,336)
     $1,258  $736 

Other intangible assets:

           

Developed technology

 6.1  $5,575  $2,275 

Customer relationships

 0.1   3,955   3,900 

Trade names

 0.7   2,332   2,022 

Non-compete agreements

 0.9   245   186 

Total other intangible assets

 3.8   12,107   8,383 

Accumulated amortization

     (6,952)  (6,734)
     $5,155  $1,649 

 

Other intangible assets amortization expense for fiscal years 2025 and 2024 was $0.2 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

 

As of September 30, 2025, fiscal year future estimated amortization expense of other intangible assets is as follows (in thousands):

 

2026

  561 

2027

  547 

2028

  547 

2029

  542 

2030

  508 

Thereafter

  2,450 
  $5,155 

  

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Nov 21, 2025Showing above
2024Nov 22, 2024
2023Nov 17, 2023
2022Nov 18, 2022
2021Nov 19, 2021
2020Nov 20, 2020
2019Nov 22, 2019
2018Nov 16, 2018
2016Nov 17, 2016
2015Nov 19, 2015

About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures

Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.

Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.