NOTE K – SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock Awards

The Company had outstanding RSUs granted under the ArcBest Corporation Ownership Incentive Plan (the “Ownership Incentive Plan”) as of December 31, 2025 and 2024. The Ownership Incentive Plan provides for the granting of 4.9 million shares, which may be awarded as incentive and nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, RSUs, or performance award units.

Restricted Stock Units

A summary of the Company’s RSU award program is presented below:

Weighted-Average

  ​ ​ ​

Grant Date

Units

Fair Value

 

Outstanding – January 1, 2025

242,462

$

91.75

Granted

223,725

$

57.64

Vested

(123,001)

$

92.08

Forfeited(1)

(43,349)

$

75.55

Outstanding – December 31, 2025

299,837

$

68.51

(1)Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

The Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors granted RSUs during the years ended December 31 as follows:

k

Weighted-Average

 

Grant Date

 

  ​ ​ ​

Units

  ​ ​ ​

Fair Value

 

2025

 

223,725

$

57.64

2024

 

101,238

$

115.85

2023

 

149,350

$

86.53

The fair value of restricted stock awards that vested in 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $7.5 million, $67.5 million, and $34.2 million, respectively. Unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards outstanding as of December 31, 2025 was $12.0 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.8 years.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 25, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 3, 2025
2023Feb 23, 2024
2022Feb 24, 2023
2021Feb 25, 2022
2020Feb 26, 2021
2019Feb 28, 2020
2018Feb 28, 2019
2017Feb 28, 2018
2016Feb 28, 2017
2015Feb 26, 2016

About Stock Compensation Disclosures

Stock-based compensation disclosures detail the equity awards granted to employees and executives — including stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), and performance shares — along with the valuation methods and assumptions used to expense them. This section reveals the true cost of talent retention and the alignment between management incentives and shareholder interests.

Key signals: total unrecognized compensation expense and its expected recognition period signal future earnings headwinds from already-granted awards. For stock options, examine Black-Scholes assumptions — expected volatility, risk-free rate, and expected term — as understating any of these reduces reported compensation expense. Compare stock compensation expense as a percentage of revenue against peers to assess dilution cost. Watch vesting schedules for acceleration clauses tied to change-of-control events. Performance-based awards with undemanding targets may indicate weak governance. Add back stock compensation to operating cash flow to calculate a more conservative free cash flow figure.