ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Applied Energetics, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary North Star Power Engineering, Inc. (“North Star”) (collectively, “company,” “Applied Energetics,” “AERG”, “we,” “our” or “us”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period financial statement amounts to conform to the current presentation. Going Concern The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the company incurred a net loss of approximately $790,000, had negative cash flows from operations of $200,000 and may incur additional future losses due to the reduction in Government contract activity. These matters raise substantial doubt as to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The company’s existence is dependent upon management’s ability to develop profitable operations. Management is devoting substantially all of its efforts to developing its business and raising capital and there can be no assurance that the company’s efforts will be successful. No assurance can be given that management’s actions will result in profitable operations or the resolution of its liquidity problems. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result should the company be unable to continue as a going concern. In order to improve the company’s liquidity, the company’s management is actively pursuing additional equity financing through discussions with investment bankers and private investors. There can be no assurance that the company will be successful in its effort to secure additional equity financing. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of assets and the amount or classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the company be unable to continue as a going concern. Applied Energetics, Inc. is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware. Our executive office is located at 2480 west Ruthrauff Road, Suite 140 Q, Tucson, Arizona, 85705 and our telephone number is (520) 628-7415. Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Management bases its assumptions on historical experiences and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. In addition, management considers the basis and methodology used in developing and selecting these estimates, the trends in and amounts of these estimates, specific matters affecting the amount of and changes in these estimates, and any other relevant matters related to these estimates, including significant issues concerning accounting principles and financial statement presentation. Such estimates and assumptions could change in the future as more information becomes known which could impact the amounts reported and disclosed herein. Significant estimates include revenue recognition under the percentage of completion method of contract accounting, the valuation of inventory, carrying amounts of long-lived assets, valuation assumptions for share-based payments and measurements of income tax assets and liabilities valuation of debt discount related to beneficial conversion features. Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders Basic loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period before giving effect to stock options, stock warrants, restricted stock units and convertible securities outstanding, which are considered to be dilutive common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per common share is calculated based on the weighted average number of common and potentially dilutive shares outstanding during the period after giving effect to dilutive common stock equivalents. Contingently issuable shares are included in the computation of basic loss per share when issuance of the shares is no longer contingent. The number of warrants, options, restricted stock units and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, which were not included in the computation of earnings per share because the effect was antidilutive, was 15,361,688 and 38,256 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Fair Value of Current Assets and Liabilities The carrying amount of accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents are investments in money market funds or securities with an initial maturity of three months or less. These money market funds are invested in government and US treasury based securities. Income Taxes Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized currently for the future tax consequences attributable to the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. Our valuation allowance is currently 100% of our assets. We consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, to determine whether, based on the weight of that evidence, a valuation allowance is needed for some portion or all of a net deferred tax asset. Judgment is used in considering the relative impact of negative and positive evidence. In arriving at these judgments, the weight given to the potential effect of negative and positive evidence is commensurate with the extent to which it can be objectively verified. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets and review the amount of such allowance annually. When we determine certain deferred tax assets are more likely than not to be utilized, we will reduce our valuation allowance accordingly. Share-Based Payments Employee stock-based compensation cost is measured at grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of each option grant is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option valuation model. We make the following assumptions relative to this model: (i) the annual dividend yield is zero as we do not pay dividends on common stock, (ii) the weighted-average expected life is based on a midpoint scenario, where the expected life is determined to be half of the time from grant to expiration, regardless of vesting, (iii) the risk free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury security rate for the expected life, and (iv) the volatility is based on the level of fluctuations in our historical share price for a period equal to the weighted-average expected life. We estimate forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and adjust this estimate over the requisite service period should actual forfeitures differ from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change and which impacts the amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods. Significant Concentrations and Risks We maintain cash balances at a commercial bank and, at times, balances exceed FDIC limits. Substantially all of our accounts receivable are with agents or departments of the US Federal Government which, although concentrated in one group of common entities, does not expose us to significant credit risk.

ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Applied Energetics, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary North Star Power Engineering, Inc. (“North Star”) (collectively, “company,” “Applied Energetics,” “AERG”, “we,” “our” or “us”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period financial statement amounts to conform to the current presentation.

Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the company incurred a net loss of approximately $790,000, had negative cash flows from operations of $200,000 and may incur additional future losses due to the reduction in Government contract activity. These matters raise substantial doubt as to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The company’s existence is dependent upon management’s ability to develop profitable operations. Management is devoting substantially all of its efforts to developing its business and raising capital and there can be no assurance that the company’s efforts will be successful. No assurance can be given that management’s actions will result in profitable operations or the resolution of its liquidity problems. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result should the company be unable to continue as a going concern.

In order to improve the company’s liquidity, the company’s management is actively pursuing additional equity financing through discussions with investment bankers and private investors. There can be no assurance that the company will be successful in its effort to secure additional equity financing.

The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of assets and the amount or classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the company be unable to continue as a going concern.

Applied Energetics, Inc. is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware. Our executive office is located at 2480 west Ruthrauff Road, Suite 140 Q, Tucson, Arizona, 85705 and our telephone number is (520) 628-7415.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Management bases its assumptions on historical experiences and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. In addition, management considers the basis and methodology used in developing and selecting these estimates, the trends in and amounts of these estimates, specific matters affecting the amount of and changes in these estimates, and any other relevant matters related to these estimates, including significant issues concerning accounting principles and financial statement presentation. Such estimates and assumptions could change in the future as more information becomes known which could impact the amounts reported and disclosed herein. Significant estimates include revenue recognition under the percentage of completion method of contract accounting, the valuation of inventory, carrying amounts of long-lived assets, valuation assumptions for share-based payments and measurements of income tax assets and liabilities valuation of debt discount related to beneficial conversion features.

Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders

Basic loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period before giving effect to stock options, stock warrants, restricted stock units and convertible securities outstanding, which are considered to be dilutive common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per common share is calculated based on the weighted average number of common and potentially dilutive shares outstanding during the period after giving effect to dilutive common stock equivalents. Contingently issuable shares are included in the computation of basic loss per share when issuance of the shares is no longer contingent. The number of warrants, options, restricted stock units and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, which were not included in the computation of earnings per share because the effect was antidilutive, was 15,361,688 and 38,256 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Fair Value of Current Assets and Liabilities

The carrying amount of accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents are investments in money market funds or securities with an initial maturity of three months or less. These money market funds are invested in government and US treasury based securities.

Income Taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized currently for the future tax consequences attributable to the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. Our valuation allowance is currently 100% of our assets.

We consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, to determine whether, based on the weight of that evidence, a valuation allowance is needed for some portion or all of a net deferred tax asset. Judgment is used in considering the relative impact of negative and positive evidence. In arriving at these judgments, the weight given to the potential effect of negative and positive evidence is commensurate with the extent to which it can be objectively verified. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets and review the amount of such allowance annually. When we determine certain deferred tax assets are more likely than not to be utilized, we will reduce our valuation allowance accordingly.

Share-Based Payments

Employee stock-based compensation cost is measured at grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of each option grant is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option valuation model. We make the following assumptions relative to this model: (i) the annual dividend yield is zero as we do not pay dividends on common stock, (ii) the weighted-average expected life is based on a midpoint scenario, where the expected life is determined to be half of the time from grant to expiration, regardless of vesting, (iii) the risk free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury security rate for the expected life, and (iv) the volatility is based on the level of fluctuations in our historical share price for a period equal to the weighted-average expected life. We estimate forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and adjust this estimate over the requisite service period should actual forfeitures differ from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change and which impacts the amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods.

Significant Concentrations and Risks

We maintain cash balances at a commercial bank and, at times, balances exceed FDIC limits. Substantially all of our accounts receivable are with agents or departments of the US Federal Government which, although concentrated in one group of common entities, does not expose us to significant credit risk.