AUSTIN, TX, May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWDI) (the "Company" or "Forward"), the leading Solana treasury company, today announced that it is set to join the small-cap Russell 2000^® Index and broad-market Russell 3000^® Index after the Russell indexes' semi-annual reconstitution, effective after the US market opens on June 29, 2026, according to a preliminary list of additions posted on May 22, 2026.

The semi-annual reconstitution of the Russell US indexes captures the 3,000 largest US stocks as of April 30, 2026, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000^® Index also results in automatic membership in the large-cap Russell 1000^® Index or small-cap Russell 2000^® Index and the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings, and style attributes.

Ryan Navi, Forward's Chief Investment Officer, stated, "Inclusion in the Russell 2000^® and Russell 3000^® marks an important milestone for Forward and reinforces the growing institutional recognition of our strategy, scale, and execution. We believe index inclusion will expand our shareholder base, improve trading liquidity, and increase visibility among long-term institutional investors. As we continue executing our disciplined Solana treasury strategy and compounding SOL-per-share, we believe Forward is well-positioned to establish itself as a leading institutional platform for digital asset exposure."

For more information on the Russell 2000^® Index, Russell 3000^® Index and the Russell indexes reconstitution, go to the "Russell Reconstitution" section on the FTSE Russell website.

About Forward Industries, Inc.

Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWDI) is a Solana focused digital asset treasury company, with the strategy to buy, hold, stake, trade, invest in, and grow SOL and SOL related digital assets, protocols and businesses. Forward's mission is to expand and strengthen the Solana ecosystem by acquiring and staking SOL and engaging with, providing tools to and investing in the Solana network, Solana developers and Solana related projects in order to increase shareholder value. In connection with a private placement transaction in September 2025, Forward launched a digital asset treasury strategy supported by industry leading investors and operating partners including Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto. For more information on the Company's Solana treasury strategy, visit www.forwardindustries.com.

About FTSE Russell, an LSEG Business

FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics, and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 70 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally. FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $18.1 trillion is benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. Leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers, and investment banks choose FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products, and index-based derivatives. A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: independent committees of leading market participants inform a transparent rules-based methodology. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance and embraces the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth, and reach of its offering. FTSE Russell is wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange Group.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "project," and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements relating to the Company's plan for value creation and strategic advantages, expected cost reductions, market size and growth opportunities. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the digital asset treasury strategy; the ability to realize anticipated cost savings from the cost reduction plan; changes in business, market, financial, political and regulatory conditions; risks relating to the Company's operations and business, including the highly volatile nature of the price of Solana and other cryptocurrencies; the risk that the price of the Company's common stock may be highly correlated to the price of the digital assets that it holds; risks related to increased competition in the industries and markets in which the Company does and will operate (including the applicable digital assets market); risks relating to significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty regarding digital assets generally; risks relating to the treatment of crypto assets for U.S. and foreign tax purposes, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements.

Contacts

Media Contact

Garrison Yang

Forward Industries, Inc.

comms@forwardindustries.com

Investor Relations Contact

Sean Mansouri, CFA / Aaron D'Souza

Elevate IR

(720) 330-2829

ir@forwardindustries.com

Forward Industries Set to Join the Russell 2000® and 3000® Indexes