SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Greenwave Technology Solutions, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of 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, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates include estimates used in the calculation of stock-based compensation, fair values relating to derivative liabilities, payroll tax liabilities with interest and penalties, deemed dividends, allowance for doubtful accounts, assumptions used in right-of-use and lease liability calculations, valuations and impairments of goodwill and intangible assets acquired in business combination, estimated useful life of long-lived assets and finite life tangible assets, and the valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 825-10, “Financial Instruments” (“ASC 825-10”) requires disclosure of the fair value of certain financial instruments. The estimated fair value of certain financial instruments, including cash, accounts payable and accrued liabilities are carried at historical cost basis, which approximates their fair value because of the short-term maturity of these instruments. All other significant financial assets, financial liabilities and equity instruments of the Company are either recognized or disclosed in the consolidated financial statements together with other information relevant for making a reasonable assessment of future cash flows, interest rate risk and credit risk.

The Company follows ASC 825-10, which permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value.

Cash

For purposes of the consolidated statements of cash flows, the Company considers highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash in banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in accounts that at times may be in excess of the federally insured limit of $250,000 per bank. The Company minimizes this risk by placing its cash deposits with multiple major financial institutions. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the uninsured balances amounted to $1,267,659 and $434,399, respectively.

Property and Equipment, net

We state property and equipment at cost or, if acquired through a business combination, fair value at the date of acquisition. We calculate depreciation and amortization using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, except for our leasehold improvements, which are depreciated over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or their related lease term. Upon the sale or retirement of assets, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from our accounts and the resulting gain or loss is credited or charged to income. We expense costs for repairs and maintenance when incurred. Our property and equipment is pledged as collateral for certain non-convertible notes, see “Note 8 – Advances and Non-Convertible Notes Payable.”

Cost of Revenue

The Company’s cost of revenue consists primarily of the costs of purchasing metal from its suppliers, direct costs of providing hauling costs to customers, and cost of other revenue, including sand.

Related Party Transactions

Parties are considered related to the Company if the parties, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, control, are controlled by, or are under common control with the Company. Related parties also include principal owners of the Company, its management, members of the immediate families of principal owners of the Company and its management and other parties with which the Company may deal if one party controls or can significantly influence the management or operating policies of the other to an extent that one of the transacting parties might be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests. The Company discloses all related party transactions. See Note 19 – Related Party Transactions.

Leases

The Company accounts for its leases under ASC 842, Leases. Under this guidance, arrangements meeting the definition of a lease are classified as operating or financing leases and are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as both a right of use asset and lease liability, calculated by discounting fixed lease payments over the lease term at the rate implicit in the lease or the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. Lease liabilities are increased by interest and reduced by payments each period, and the right of use asset is amortized over the lease term. For operating leases, interest on the lease liability and the amortization of the right of use asset result in straight-line rent expense over the lease term. Variable lease expenses, if any, are recorded when incurred.

In calculating the right of use asset and lease liability, the Company elected to combine lease and non-lease components. The Company excluded short-term leases having initial terms of 12 months or less from the new guidance as an accounting policy election and recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. See Note 12 – Leases.

Commitments and Contingencies

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings, which arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. Except as set forth below, we are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results. See Note 11 – Commitments and Contingencies.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenues are accounted for under ASC Topic 606, “Revenue From Contracts With Customers” (“ASC 606”) and generally do not require significant estimates or judgments based on the nature of the Company’s revenue streams. The sales prices are generally fixed at the point of sale and all consideration from contracts is included in the transaction price. The Company’s contracts do not include multiple performance obligations or material variable consideration.

In accordance with ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with that core principle by applying the following:

(i)	Identify the contract(s) with a customer;
(ii)	Identify the performance obligation in the contract;
(iii)	Determine the transaction price;
(iv)	Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and
(v)	Recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation.

The Company primarily generates revenue by purchasing scrap metal from businesses and retail suppliers, processing it, and selling the ferrous and non-ferrous metals to customers. The Company also provides hauling services to certain corporate clients.

The Company realizes revenue upon the fulfillment of its performance obligations to customers. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had a contract liability of $0 and $25,000, respectively, for contracts under which the customer had paid for and the Company had not yet delivered.

The following table details our contract liability activity for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

Balance, December 31, 2021	$	-
Net transfers in due to new contract liabilities		25,000
Net transfers out to revenue		-
Balance, December 31, 2022	$	25,000
Net transfers in due to new contract liabilities		-
Net transfers out to other gain		(25,000	)
Balance, December 31, 2023	$	-

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable represent amounts primarily due from customers on products and services rendered. These accounts receivable, which are reduced by an allowance for credit losses, are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The Company extends credit to customers under contracts containing customary and explicit payment terms, and payment is generally required within 1 to 30 days of shipment or the services being rendered.

The Company evaluates the collectability of its accounts receivable based on a combination of factors, including whether sales, the aging of customer receivable balances, historical collection rates, and economic trends. Management uses this evaluation to estimate the amount of customer receivables that may not be collected in the future and records a provision for expected credit losses. Accounts are written off when all efforts to collect have been exhausted.

Inventories

Although we ship the ferrous and non-ferrous metals we purchase from suppliers multiple times per day, we do maintain inventories. We calculate the value of the inventories on hand, which consist of processed and unprocessed scrap metal (ferrous and nonferrous), used and salvaged vehicles, and supplies, based on the net realizable value or the cost of the inventories, whichever is less. We calculate the cost of the inventory based on the first-in-first-out (FIFO) methodology. We calculate the value of finished products based on their net realizable value as their cost basis is not readily available. The value of our inventories was $200,428 and $189,646, respectively, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. See “Note 5 – Inventories.”

Advertising

The Company charges the costs of advertising to expense as incurred. Advertising costs were $414,194 and $83,993 for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date fair value of the award and is expensed over the requisite service period. For stock-based awards to employees, non-employees and directors, the Company calculates the fair value of the award on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Determining the fair value of stock-based awards at the grant date under this model requires judgment, including estimating volatility, employee stock option exercise behaviors and forfeiture rates. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based awards represent the Company’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment.

Income Taxes

The Company follows ASC Subtopic 740-10, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740-10”) for recording the provision for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are computed based upon the difference between the financial statement and income tax basis of assets and liabilities using the enacted marginal tax rate applicable when the related asset or liability is expected to be realized or settled. Deferred income tax expenses or benefits are based on the changes in the asset or liability during each period.

If available evidence suggests that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is required to reduce the deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. Future changes in such valuation allowance are included in the provision for deferred income taxes in the period of change. Deferred income taxes may arise from temporary differences resulting from income and expense items reported for financial accounting and tax purposes in different periods. See “Note 18 – Income Taxes.”

Convertible Instruments

U.S. GAAP requires companies to bifurcate conversion options from their host instruments and account for them as freestanding derivative financial instruments according to certain criteria. The criteria include circumstances in which (a) the economic characteristics and risks of the embedded derivative instrument are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of the host contract, (b) the hybrid instrument that embodies both the embedded derivative instrument and the host contract is not re-measured at fair value under otherwise applicable generally accepted accounting principles with changes in fair value reported in earnings as they occur, and (c) a separate instrument with the same terms as the embedded derivative instrument would be considered a derivative instrument. An exception to this rule is when the host instrument is deemed to be conventional, as that term is described under ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities From Equity.”

Deemed Dividends

The Company records, when necessary, deemed dividends for: (i) warrant price protection, based on the difference between the fair value of the warrants immediately before and after the repricing (inclusive of any full ratchet provisions); (ii) the exchange of preferred shares for convertible notes, based on the amount of the face value of the convertible notes in excess of the carrying value of the preferred shares; (iii) the settlement of warrant provisions, based on the fair value of the common shares issued; and (iv) amortization of discount on preferred stock resulting from recognition of a beneficial conversion feature.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company classifies as equity any contracts that: (i) require physical settlement or net-share settlement; or (ii) provide the Company with a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in its own shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement) providing that such contracts are indexed to the Company’s own stock. The Company classifies as assets or liabilities any contracts that: (i) require net-cash settlement (including a requirement to net cash settle the contract if an event occurs and if that event is outside the Company’s control); or (ii) gives the counterparty a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement). The Company assesses classification of its common stock purchase warrants and other freestanding derivatives at each reporting date to determine whether a change in classification between assets and liabilities is required.

The Company’s freestanding derivatives consisted of warrants to purchase common stock that were issued in connection with the issuance of debt and the sale of common shares, and of embedded conversion options within convertible notes. The Company evaluated these derivatives to assess their proper classification in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 using the applicable classification criteria enumerated under ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The Company determined that certain embedded conversion and/or exercise features did not contain fixed settlement provisions. The convertible notes contained a conversion feature such that the Company could not ensure it would have adequate authorized shares to meet all possible conversion demands. As such, the Company was required to record the derivatives which do not have fixed settlement provisions as liabilities and mark to market all such derivatives to fair value at the end of each reporting period. The Company also records derivative liabilities for instruments, including convertible notes, preferred stock, and warrants, in which the Company does not have sufficient authorized shares to cover the conversion of these instruments into shares of common stock.

Environmental Remediation Liability

The operations of the Company, like those of other companies in its industry, are subject to various domestic and foreign environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations not only govern current operations and products, but also impose potential liability on the Company for past operations. Management expects environmental laws and regulations to impose increasingly stringent requirements upon the Company and the industry in the future. Management believes that the Company conducts its operations in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations and has implemented various programs designed to protect the environment and promote continued compliance.

The Company continuously assesses its potential liability for remediation-related activities and adjusts its environmental-related accruals as information becomes available upon which more accurate costs can be reasonably estimated and as additional accounting guidelines are issued. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had accruals reported on the balance sheet as current liabilities of $0 and $0, respectively.

Actual costs incurred may vary from the accrued estimates due to the inherent uncertainties involved including, among others, the nature and magnitude of the wastes involved, the various technologies that can be used for remediation and the determination of acceptable remediation with respect to a particular site. Additionally, costs for environmental-related activities may not be reasonably estimable and therefore would not be included in our current liabilities.

Management believes its environmental remediation liabilities were resolved in fiscal year 2022.

Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews its property and equipment and any identifiable intangibles for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The test for impairment is required to be performed by management at least annually. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the future undiscounted operating cash flow expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Long-lived assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. Intangible assets are stated at cost and reviewed annually to examine any impairments, usually assuming an estimated useful life of five to ten years. When retired or otherwise disposed, the related carrying value and accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective accounts and the net difference less any amount realized from disposition, is reflected in earnings. The estimated useful lives of the Intellectual Property, Customer List, and Licenses assumed in the Empire acquisition is 5 years, 10 years, and 10 years, respectively. See Note 7 – Amortization of Intangible Assets.

Indefinite Lived Intangibles and Goodwill

The Company accounts for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805, “Business Combinations,” where the total purchase price is allocated to the tangible and identified intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The purchase price is allocated using the information currently available, and may be adjusted, up to one year from acquisition date, after obtaining more information regarding, among other things, asset valuations, liabilities assumed and revisions to preliminary estimates. The purchase price in excess of the fair value of the tangible and identified intangible assets acquired less liabilities assumed is recognized as goodwill.

The Company tests indefinite lived intangibles and goodwill for impairment in the fourth quarter of each year and whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value and may not be recoverable. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $0 and $2,499,753 in impairment expense related to goodwill and $2,958,500 and $2,958,500 in amortization of intangible assets, respectively.

Goodwill

Goodwill is the excess of the purchase price paid over the fair value of the net assets of the acquired business. Goodwill is tested annually at December 31 for impairment. The annual qualitative or quantitative assessments involve determining an estimate of the fair value of reporting units in order to evaluate whether an impairment of the current carrying amount of goodwill exists. A qualitative assessment evaluates whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. The first step of a quantitative goodwill impairment test compares the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount including goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss may be recognized. The amount of impairment loss is determined by comparing the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount. If the carrying amount exceeds the implied fair value, then an impairment loss is recognized equal to that excess. The Company has adopted the provisions of ASU 2017-04—Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. ASU 2017-04 requires goodwill impairments to be measured on the basis of the fair value of a reporting unit relative to the reporting unit’s carrying amount rather than on the basis of the implied amount of goodwill relative to the goodwill balance of the reporting unit. Thus, ASU 2017-04 permits an entity to record a goodwill impairment that is entirely or partly due to a decline in the fair value of other assets that, under existing GAAP, would not be impaired or have a reduced carrying amount. Furthermore, the ASU removes “the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test.” Instead, all reporting units, even those with a zero or negative carrying amount will apply the same impairment test. Accordingly, the goodwill of reporting unit or entity with zero or negative carrying values will not be impaired, even when conditions underlying the reporting unit/entity may indicate that goodwill is impaired.

We test our goodwill for impairment annually, or, under certain circumstances, more frequently, such as when events or circumstances indicate there may be impairment. We are required to write down the value of goodwill only when our testing determines the recorded amount of goodwill exceeds the fair value. Our annual measurement date for testing goodwill impairment is December 31.

None of the goodwill is deductible for income tax purposes. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $0 and $2,499,753 in impairment expense related to goodwill, respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the carrying value of goodwill was $0 and $0, respectively.

Factoring Agreements

We have entered into factoring agreements with various financial institutions to receive cash for our future revenues. These transactions are treated as a debt instrument and are accounted for as a liability because the Company makes weekly payments towards the balance and fees. We utilize factoring arrangements as an integral part of our financing for working capital. Any change in the availability of these factoring arrangements could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company owed $0 and $4,893,207, net of debt discounts of $0 and $1,221,022, respectively for factoring advances. See “Note 8 – Advances and Non-Convertible Notes Payable.”

Segment Reporting

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the Chief Executive Officer, or decision-making group, in deciding the method to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company currently has one reportable segment for financial reporting purposes, which represents the Company’s core business.

Net Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share

The Company computes earnings (loss) per share under ASC subtopic 260-10, Earnings Per Share. Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per share, if presented, would include the dilution that would occur upon the exercise or conversion of all potentially dilutive securities into common stock using the “treasury stock” and/or “if converted” methods, as applicable.

The computation of basic and diluted income (loss) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 excludes potentially dilutive securities when their inclusion would be anti-dilutive, or if their exercise prices were greater than the average market price of the common stock during the period.

Potentially dilutive securities excluded from the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share are as follows:

	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022
Common shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes		22,058,824		-
Options to purchase common shares		92,166		92,166
Warrants to purchase common shares		18,649,802		9,757,710
Common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock		-		1,301,988
Total potentially dilutive shares		40,800,792		11,151,864

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

On January 1, 2020, The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) methodology. The measurement of expected credit losses under the CECL methodology is applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost, including loan receivables and held to maturity debt securities. It also applies to Off-Balance Sheet (“OBS”) credit exposures not accounted for as insurance (loan commitments, standby letters of credit, financial guarantees, and other similar instruments) and net investments and leases recognized by a lessor in accordance with Topic 842 on leases. In addition, ASC 326 made changes to the accounting for available for sale debt securities. One such change is to require credit losses to be presented as an allowance rather than as a write down on available for sale debt securities management does not intend to sell or believes that it is more likely than not they will be required to sell. The adoption of this update did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

There are other various updates recently issued, most of which represented technical corrections to the accounting literature or application to specific industries and are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.