Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Equity-Based Compensation

v3.22.4
Equity-Based Compensation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Equity-Based Compensation EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION
Total equity-based compensation expense was $13,485, $14,706, and $14,633 for fiscal years 2022, 2021, and 2020, of which, $154, $408, and $239, was related to liability-classified awards, respectively. The related tax benefit for these periods was $2,556, $2,813, and $2,472, respectively.
The following table shows the remaining unrecognized compensation expense on a pre-tax basis for all types of unvested equity awards outstanding as of December 31, 2022. This table does not include an estimate for future grants that may be issued.
2023 $ 11,273 
2024 7,781 
2025 4,117 
2026 408 
$ 23,579 
The remaining unrecognized compensation expense above is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years.
The Company's 2015 Equity Incentive Award Plan (the "2015 Plan") is currently the only plan under which equity awards are issued. The 2015 Plan allows for the grant of various equity awards including stock-settled stock
appreciation rights, stock options, restricted stock units, deferred stock units, and other types of equity-based awards to the Company’s officers, key employees, and non-employee directors.
Since the inception of the 2015 Plan, 1,750 shares have been authorized. As of December 31, 2022, 3,877 awards had been granted under the 2015 Plan, of which 2,924 were stock-settled stock appreciation rights, and 953 were restricted stock awards. Also, as of December 31, 2022, a total of 1,088 options and grants had been forfeited, of which 59 awards have been added back to the number of shares available for issuance under the 2015 Plan.
Stock-Settled Stock Appreciation Rights
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of its stock-settled stock appreciation rights. There were no stock-settled stock appreciation rights granted in 2022. The weighted-average fair value of stock-settled stock appreciation rights granted in 2021 and 2020 was $27.12 and $17.65, respectively.
Stock-settled stock appreciation rights granted to officers and key employees upon hire or promotion to such a position, or annually for existing participants, generally vest 25% each year on the anniversary of the grant date and expire 4.5 years from the date of grant.
Following is a table that includes the weighted-average assumptions that the Company used to calculate fair value of stock-settled stock appreciation rights that were granted during the periods indicated.
Year Ended
2022 2021 2020
Expected volatility (1) N/A 43.28  % 35.23  %
Risk-free interest rate (2) N/A 0.33  % 1.66  %
Expected life (3) N/A
3.5 yrs
3.5 yrs.
Expected dividend yield (4) N/A 0.00  % 0.00  %
Weighted-average exercise price (5) N/A $ 85.19  $ 63.02 
(1)The Company utilizes historical volatility of the trading price of its common stock.
(2)Risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve with respect to the expected life of the award.
(3)Depending upon the terms of the award, one of two methods will be used to calculate expected life:
(i)a weighted-average that includes historical settlement data of the Company’s equity awards and a hypothetical holding period, or (ii) the simplified method.
(4)The Company historically has not paid and currently has no plan to pay dividends.
(5)Exercise price is the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant.
A summary of the Company’s stock-settled stock appreciation right activity is as follows:
Shares Weighted-average exercise price Weighted-average remaining
contractual term
Aggregate intrinsic value*
Outstanding at January 1, 2022 150  $ 82.22  2.3 $ 3,596 
Granted —  — 
Exercised (2) 63.02 
Forfeited —  — 
Expired (1) 116.06 
Outstanding at December 31, 2022 147  $ 82.16  1.3 $ — 
Exercisable at December 31, 2022 72  $ 90.63  1.1 $ — 
* Aggregate intrinsic value is defined as the difference between the current market value at the reporting date (the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the last trading day of the period) and the exercise price of awards that were in-the-money. The closing price of the Company’s common stock at December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2022 was $53.20 and $101.20, respectively.
The total intrinsic value of stock-settled stock appreciation rights exercised was $50, $10,337, and $7,881, for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. The total fair value of stock-settled stock appreciation rights that vested was $983, $3,868, and $3,532, for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
During the years ended December 31, 2022, January 1, 2022, and January 2, 2021, certain employees elected to receive a net amount of shares upon the exercise of stock-settled stock appreciation rights in order to satisfy the Company’s tax withholding obligation. There was no reduction to additional paid-in capital for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020.
Restricted Stock Awards
Restricted stock awards include stock-settled and cash-settled restricted stock units granted to the Company’s officers and key employees, and deferred stock units granted to non-employee directors. Restricted stock units are granted to officers and key employees upon hire or promotion to such a position, or annually for existing participants, and generally vest 25% each year on the anniversary of the grant date. Awards of deferred stock units granted to non-employee directors generally vest 25% each quarter, commencing on the first vest date anniversary following the final vesting of the previous award. Upon vesting, holders of stock-settled restricted stock units and deferred stock units are entitled to receive shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis. Holders of cash-settled restricted stock units are entitled to receive cash payments equivalent to the number of awards held, valued at the closing market price on the vest date. The fair value of restricted stock awards is determined based on the Company’s closing stock price on the date of grant. Cash-settled restricted stock units are accounted for as liability-classified awards and fair value is remeasured to the current fair value, which is the Company's closing stock price, at each reporting date until the award is settled at vesting. Restricted stock awards are full-value shares at the date of grant, vesting over the periods of service, and do not have expiration dates.
A summary of the Company’s stock-settled restricted stock unit activity is as follows:
Shares Weighted-average grant date fair value
Outstanding at January 1, 2022 366 $ 80.87 
Granted 170 91.67 
Vested (142) 81.11 
Forfeited (9) 83.11 
Outstanding at December 31, 2022 385 $ 85.50 
During the year ended December 31, 2022, certain employees elected to receive a net amount of shares upon the release of restricted stock units in order to satisfy the Company’s tax withholding obligation. This resulted in a reduction to additional paid-in capital of $4,706, $3,575, and $2,367 for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively, reflected as a financing activity in the Company’s consolidated statements of cash flows.
The total fair value of restricted stock units that vested was $12,808, $11,378, and $7,732, for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
A summary of the Company’s cash-settled restricted stock unit activity is as follows:
Shares Weighted-average grant date fair value
Nonvested at January 1,2022 12 $ 78.66 
Granted 6 91.53 
Vested (3) 79.22 
Forfeited (3) 79.67 
Nonvested at December 31,2022 12 $ 84.72 
The weighted-average fair value of liability-classified awards outstanding was $85, $79, and $76 for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
The number of deferred stock units vested and unreleased totaled 8, 19, and 23 for the years ended 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. There were no deferred stock units that vested in 2022, 2021, and 2020.