NOTE 2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of presentation

The consolidated financial statements have been consistently prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and include the accounts of Cardax, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cardax Pharma, Inc., and its predecessor, Cardax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was merged with and into Cardax, Inc. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Estimates in these consolidated financial statements include asset valuations, estimates of future cash flows from and the economic useful lives of long-lived assets, valuations of stock compensation, certain accrued liabilities, income taxes and tax valuation allowances, and fair value estimates. Despite management’s intention to establish accurate estimates and reasonable assumptions, actual results could differ materially from these estimates and assumptions.

Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. The Company held no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

The Company maintains cash deposit accounts at one financial institution. Accounts at this institution are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000. The Company’s cash balance at times may exceed these limits. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had $1,988,139 and $0, respectively, in excess of federally insured limits on deposit.

Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable of $37,243 and $0 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, consists of amounts due from sales of consumer health products.

It is the Company’s policy to provide for an allowance for doubtful collections based upon a review of outstanding receivables, historical collection information, and existing economic conditions. Normal receivables are due 60 days after the issuance of the invoice. Receivables past due more than 90 days are considered delinquent. Delinquent receivables are written off based on individual credit evaluation and specific circumstances of the customer. There was no allowance necessary as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the average cost method. Market is defined as sales price less cost to dispose and a normal profit margin. Inventory costs include third party costs for finished goods. The Company utilizes contract manufacturers and receives inventory in finished form.

The Company provides a reserve against inventory for known or expected inventory obsolescence. The reserve is determined by specific review of inventory items for product age and quality that may affect salability. There were no reserves necessary for inventory as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Property and equipment, net

Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less depreciation. Equipment under capital lease obligations and leasehold improvements are amortized on the straight-line method over the shorter period of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the equipment. Such amortization is included in depreciation and amortization in the consolidated financial statements. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets are as follows.

Major additions and improvements are capitalized, and routine expenditures for repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts, and any resulting gain or loss is charged to income for the period.

Impairment of long-lived assets

The Company evaluates long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets, as appropriate, may not be recoverable.

When the sum of the undiscounted future net cash flows expected to result from the use and the eventual disposition is less than the carrying amounts, an impairment loss would be measured based on the discounted cash flows compared to the carrying amounts. There was no impairment charge recorded for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Revenue recognition

The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of its products through e-commerce and wholesale channels when the transfer of title and risk of loss occurs. For shipments with terms of FOB Shipping Point, revenue is recognized upon shipment. For shipments with terms of FOB Destination, revenue is recognized upon delivery.

Sales returns and allowances are recorded as a reduction to sales in the period in which sales are recorded. The Company records shipping charges and sales tax gross in revenues and cost of goods sold. Sales discounts and other adjustments are recorded at the time of sale.

Cost of goods sold

Cost of goods sold is comprised of costs to manufacture or acquire products sold to customers, direct and indirect distribution costs, and other costs incurred in the sale of goods.

Shipping and handling costs

Shipping and handling costs are included in cost of goods sold. Shipping and handling costs were $10,366 and $3,884 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Sales and use tax

Revenues, as presented on the accompanying income statement, include taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities. Such taxes were $5,132 and $1,205 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Research and development

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and consists primarily of salaries and wages of scientists and related personnel engaged in research and development activities, scientific consultations, manufacturing of product candidates, third-party research, laboratory supplies, rents associated with operating leased laboratory equipment, and scientific advisory boards. The focus of these costs is on the development of Astaxanthin technologies. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, research and development costs were $460,991 and $347,885, respectively.

Advertising

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included as an element of sales and marketing costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, advertising costs were $84,317 and $27,939, respectively.

Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach. Deferred income taxes reflect the impact of temporary differences between assets and liabilities recognized for financial reporting purposes and the amounts recognized for income tax reporting purposes, net operating loss carry-forwards, and other tax credits measured by applying currently enacted tax laws. A valuation allowance is provided when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized.

The Company determines whether a tax position is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the position. The Company uses a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon tax authority examination, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

The Company files income tax returns in the United States (“U.S.”) Federal and the States of Hawaii and California jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to the interpretation of the related tax laws and regulations and require significant judgment to apply.

The Company did not recognize any tax liabilities for income taxes associated with unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2017 and 2016. The Company’s policy is to include interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, within the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statements of operations.

Fair value measurements

U.S. GAAP establishes a framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements).

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

If the asset or liability has a specified (contractual) term, the Level 2 input must be observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

The asset’s or liability’s fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Valuation techniques used need to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, there were no recurring fair value measurements of assets and liabilities subsequent to initial recognition.

Stock based compensation

The Company accounts for stock based compensation costs under the provisions of ASC No. 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation and ASC No. 505, Equity, which require the measurement and recognition of compensation expense related to the fair value of stock based compensation awards that are ultimately expected to vest. Stock based compensation expense recognized includes the compensation cost for all stock based payments granted to employees, officers, directors, and consultants based on the grant date fair value estimated. These standards also apply to awards modified, repurchased, or canceled during the periods reported.

Basic and diluted net loss per share

Basic earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net loss for the year by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net loss for the year by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year plus the number of potentially dilutive common shares (“dilutive securities”) that were outstanding during the year. Dilutive securities include options granted pursuant to the Company’s stock option plans, and warrants issued to non-employees. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation of earnings per share in periods in which a net loss is reported, as their effect would be antidilutive.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, related to revenue recognition. The underlying principle of this ASU is that a business or other organization will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects what it expects in exchange for the goods or services. This ASU also requires more detailed disclosures and provides additional guidance for transactions that were not addressed completely in prior accounting guidance. ASU No. 2014-09 provides alternative methods of initial adoption. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this ASU on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 by one year to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years and permitted early adoption of the standard, but not before the original effective date. The Company has assessed the impact of these ASUs and does not believe that they will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued four additional ASUs in 2016 that affect the guidance in ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and are effective upon adoption of ASU No. 2014-09. The Company has assessed the impact of these ASUs and does not believe that they will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, including the following ASUs:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. This ASU requires management to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for all leases. ASU No. 2016-02 retains a distinction between finance leases and operating leases. The classification criteria for distinguishing between finance leases and operating leases are substantially similar to the classification criteria for distinguishing between capital leases and operating leases in the previous leases guidance.

The result of retaining a distinction between finance leases and operating leases is that under the lessee accounting model, the effect of leases in the statement of comprehensive income and the statement of cash flows is largely unchanged from previous U.S. GAAP. The guidance in ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this ASU on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation. This ASU was issued as part of the FASB’s simplification initiative focused on improving areas of U.S. GAAP for which cost and complexity may be reduced while maintaining or improving the usefulness of information disclosed within the financial statements. The amendments focused on simplification specifically with regard to share-based payment transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The guidance in ASU No. 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments in this ASU should be applied prospectively to an award modified on or after the adoption date. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 23). The amendments of ASU No. 2016-18 require that a statement of cash flow explain the change during a period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The guidance of ASU No. 2016-18 is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation: Scope of Modification Accounting. The amendments of ASU No. 2017-09 provide guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. The guidance of ASU No. 2017-09 is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

The Company does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements, if adopted, would have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Reclassifications

The Company has made certain reclassifications to conform its prior periods’ data to the current presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the reported results of operations or cash flows.