AvePoint, Inc. Stock Compensation Disclosure
16. Stock-Based Compensation
The Company maintains the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”). As of December 31, 2025, 36,655,699 shares remained for future issuance under the 2021 Plan. To date, the Company has issued only stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units to employees, directors and consultants.
Stock-based compensation was included in the following line items in the consolidated statements of income (loss):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 1,512 | $ | 1,315 | $ | 3,161 | ||||||
| Sales and marketing | 10,098 | 8,965 | 9,518 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 19,556 | 20,483 | 19,338 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 8,149 | 8,296 | 4,031 | |||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | $ | 39,315 | $ | 39,059 | $ | 36,048 | ||||||
Total tax benefit related to vested or exercised awards during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $10.3 million, $9.5 million and $2.5 million, respectively.
Stock Options
The compensation costs for stock option awards are recognized using the straight-line attribution method over the requite service period and are accounted for forfeitures as they occur. Stock options vest over a -year service period and expire on the anniversary of the date of award.
The weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted in the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $8.34, $4.26 and $2.49, respectively.
The Company estimated the grant date fair value of these stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Expected term (in years) | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.1 | |||||||||
| Expected volatility | 55.6 | % | 55.9 | % | 59.2 | % | ||||||
| Risk-free rate | 4.1 | % | 4.1 | % | 3.6 | % | ||||||
| Dividend yield | — | — | — | |||||||||
A summary of the Company’s stock option activity during the year ended December 31, 2025 is as follows:
| Stock Options | Weighted-Average Exercise Price | Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life | ||||||||||
| Balance, January 1, 2025 | 23,280,017 | $ | 4.32 | 5.08 | ||||||||
| Granted | 269,685 | 14.66 | — | |||||||||
| Exercised | (5,008,369 | ) | 3.54 | — | ||||||||
| Forfeited or expired | (105,840 | ) | 6.40 | — | ||||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2025 | 18,435,493 | $ | 4.67 | 4.18 | ||||||||
As of December 31, 2025, the following table summarizes information about outstanding and exercisable stock options:
| Outstanding | Exercisable | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise Price | Stock Options | Weighted-Average Contractual Life | Weighted-Average Exercise Price | Stock Options | Weighted-Average Contractual Life | Weighted-Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| 5,376,008 | 1.84 | $ | 1.41 | 5,376,008 | 1.84 | $ | 1.41 | ||||||||||||||||
|
| 7,062,973 | 4.61 | 3.90 | 7,062,973 | 4.61 | 3.90 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| 5,996,512 | 6.31 | 8.50 | 5,147,154 | 6.02 | 8.48 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 18,435,493 | 4.36 | $ | 4.67 | 17,586,135 | 4.18 | $ | 4.48 | |||||||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2025, there was $3.6 million in unrecognized compensation costs related to all non-vested options. This unrecognized stock-based compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.5 years.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had 18,435,493 options outstanding and 17,586,135 options exercisable with intrinsic values of $170.2 million and $165.5 million, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2025, 5,008,369 options were exercised, with a total intrinsic value of $60.1 million. During the year ended December 31, 2024, 3,415,893 options were exercised, with a total intrinsic value of $34.8 million. During the year ended December 31, 2023, 2,840,716 options were exercised, with a total intrinsic value of $11.8 million. Total cash received from exercise of options during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $17.7 million, $11.0 million and $5.6 million, respectively.
Restricted Stock Units
Under the terms of the 2021 Plan, we have issued stock unit awards with a continuous employment condition only (“Time-Based RSUs”), and restricted stock unit awards with a continuous employment condition that are also contingent on the Company meeting certain performance goals (“PSUs”, and together “RSUs”). Both types of RSU awards vest over a -year period from the grant date.
The compensation costs for RSUs are recognized using the straight-line attribution method over the requisite service period and are accounted for forfeitures as they occur. RSUs are measured at the fair market value of the underlying stock at the grant date.
A summary of the Company’s RSU activity during the year ended December 31, 2025 is as follows:
| Unvested PSUs | Unvested Time-Based RSUs | |||||||||||
| Number of Shares | Number of Shares | Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value | ||||||||||
| Unvested as of December 31, 2024 | 502,676 | 9,157,103 | $ | 6.36 | ||||||||
| Granted | 301,842 | 2,169,293 | 14.96 | |||||||||
| Vested | — | (4,781,217 | ) | 6.49 | ||||||||
| Forfeited | — | (412,682 | ) | 7.31 | ||||||||
| Unvested as of December 31, 2025 | 804,518 | 6,132,497 | $ | 9.28 | ||||||||
The per share weighted-average grant date fair value of RSUs granted during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $14.96, $7.66 and $4.38, respectively.
The total fair value of shares vested during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $75.7 million, $51.3 million and $18.9 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2025, there was $54.1 million in unrecognized compensation costs specific to the non-vested RSUs under the 2021 Plan. This unrecognized stock-based compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.5 years.
Company Earn-Out RSUs
The compensation costs for Company Earn-Out RSUs are recognized using the straight-line attribution method over the requite service period and are accounted for forfeitures as they occur. In order to capture the market conditions associated with the Company Earn-Out RSUs, the Company applied an approach that incorporated a Monte Carlo simulation, which involved random iterations that took different future price paths over the Sponsor Earn-Out RSUs’ contractual life based on the appropriate probability distributions. The fair value was determined by taking the average of the fair values under each Monte Carlo simulation trial. Under this approach, the grant-date fair value of the Company Earn-Out RSUs on July 1, 2021, was determined to be $2.5 million. The stock options underlying the Earn-Out RSUs vest over a -year period and expire on the anniversary of the date of award. If the contingent milestones of the Earn-Out RSUs are not met by July 1, 2028, the holders of the underlying stock options will not receive the Earn-Out RSUs. As of December 31, 2024, all Company Earn-Out RSUs are fully vested. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $0.3 million and $0.9 million, respectively, related to these Earn-Out RSUs.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 28, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 31, 2023 | |
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.