6. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by reporting segment are as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoor

Products &

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firearm

Segment

 

 

Accessories

Segment

 

 

Total

Goodwill

 

Balance as of April 30, 2018

 

$

18,490

 

 

$

172,797

 

 

$

191,287

 

Adjustments

 

 

534

 

 

 

 

 

 

534

 

Acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

844

 

 

 

844

 

Goodwill impairment

 

 

 

 

 

(10,396

)

 

 

(10,396

)

Balance as of April 30, 2019

 

 

19,024

 

 

 

163,245

 

 

 

182,269

 

Adjustments

 

 

 

 

 

(2

)

 

 

(2

)

Goodwill impairment

 

 

 

 

 

(98,662

)

 

 

(98,662

)

Balance as of April 30, 2020

 

$

19,024

 

 

$

64,581

 

 

$

83,605

 

 

For more information regarding goodwill impairment testing, see Note 3 — Significant Accounting Policies — Valuation of Long-lived Tangible and Intangible Assets to our consolidated financial statements.

As of April 30, 2020, the goodwill recorded within our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment is presented net of $109.1 million of accumulated impairment losses, all of which was recorded during fiscal 2020 and 2019. The goodwill within our Firearms segment has no accumulated impairment losses.

 

The following table presents a summary of intangible assets as of April 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

 

 

 

April 30, 2020

 

 

April 30, 2019

 

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Net Carrying

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Net Carrying

 

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Amount

 

Customer relationships

 

$

92,560

 

 

$

(52,981

)

 

$

39,579

 

 

$

92,560

 

 

$

(41,643

)

 

$

50,917

 

Developed technology

 

 

21,788

 

 

 

(12,705

)

 

 

9,083

 

 

 

21,230

 

 

 

(10,428

)

 

 

10,802

 

Patents, trademarks, and trade names

 

 

57,837

 

 

 

(34,320

)

 

 

23,517

 

 

 

57,477

 

 

 

(28,479

)

 

 

28,998

 

Backlog

 

 

1,150

 

 

 

(1,150

)

 

 

 

 

 

1,150

 

 

 

(1,150

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

173,335

 

 

 

(101,156

)

 

 

72,179

 

 

 

172,417

 

 

 

(81,700

)

 

 

90,717

 

Patents in progress

 

 

1,145

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,145

 

 

 

897

 

 

 

 

 

 

897

 

Total definite-lived intangible assets

 

 

174,480

 

 

 

(101,156

)

 

 

73,324

 

 

 

173,314

 

 

 

(81,700

)

 

 

91,614

 

Indefinite-lived intangible assets

 

 

430

 

 

 

 

 

 

430

 

 

 

226

 

 

 

 

 

 

226

 

Total intangible assets

 

$

174,910

 

 

$

(101,156

)

 

$

73,754

 

 

$

173,540

 

 

$

(81,700

)

 

$

91,840

 

 

 

We amortize intangible assets with determinable lives over a weighted-average period of approximately five years. The weighted-average periods of amortization by intangible asset class is approximately five years for customer relationships, six years for developed technology, and five years for patents, trademarks, and trade names. Amortization expense, excluding amortization of deferred financing costs, amounted to $19.5 million, $22.0 million, and $21.0 million for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

The following table represents future expected amortization expense as of April 30, 2020, which will primarily be recorded in our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment (in thousands):

 

Fiscal

 

Amount

 

2021

 

$

16,798

 

2022

 

 

14,412

 

2023

 

 

11,857

 

2024

 

 

10,109

 

2025

 

 

6,456

 

Thereafter

 

 

12,547

 

Total

 

$

72,179

 

 

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.