Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc.BWIN
Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. Stock Compensation Disclosure
Share-Based Compensation
Omnibus Incentive Plan and Partnership Inducement Award Plan
The Company adopted an Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”) and a Partnership Inducement Award Plan (the “Inducement Plan” and collectively with the Omnibus Plan, the “Plans”) to motivate and reward colleagues and certain other individuals to perform at the highest level and contribute significantly to the Company’s success, thereby furthering the best interests of Baldwin Insurance Group’s stockholders. The Plans permit the grant of both nonqualified and incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock unit awards (“RSUs”), other performance awards (including performance-based RSUs (“PSUs”) issued in connection with the Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) for executives), cash-based awards and share-based awards to the Company’s directors, officers, colleagues and, solely with respect to the Omnibus Plan, consultants. The aggregate value of all compensation paid to a non-employee director under the Omnibus Plan in any calendar year may not exceed $250,000 and awards granted under the Inducement Plan require a minimum vesting period of one year.
The Plans are administered by the Compensation Committee, the members of which are independent members of the board of directors. The Compensation Committee assesses issuances under the Plans in the context of the Company's fully-diluted capital composition, which includes shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
The total number of shares of Class A common stock authorized for issuance under the Omnibus Plan and Inducement Plan was 13,143,677 and 3,000,000, respectively, at December 31, 2025. Under the Omnibus Plan, the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance will increase on the first day of each fiscal year by the lesser of (i) 2% of the aggregate shares of Class A and Class B common stock outstanding on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year and (ii) such number of shares as determined by the Company’s board of directors. In accordance therewith, the number of authorized shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan increased by 2,369,668 shares effective January 1, 2026.
At December 31, 2025, there were 3,339,994 and 1,954,897 shares of Class A common stock available for grant under the Omnibus Plan and Inducement Plan, respectively. The Company issues new shares of Class A common stock upon the grant of RSAs and the vesting of PSUs. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company made awards of RSAs, PSUs and fully-vested shares under the Plans to its non-employee directors, officers, colleagues and consultants. Fully-vested shares issued to directors, officers and colleagues during the year ended December 31, 2025 were vested upon issuance while RSAs issued to colleagues and consultants generally either cliff vest after to four years or vest ratably over to five years. The vesting of RSAs and PSUs issued to the Company's executive officers is discussed below under Long-Term Incentive Plan.
The following table summarizes the activity for awards granted by the Company under the Plans:
| Shares | Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value Per Share | |||||||||||||
| Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2022 | 3,595,303 | $ | 28.26 | |||||||||||
| Granted | 1,855,051 | 28.97 | ||||||||||||
| Vested and settled | (1,541,042) | 25.93 | ||||||||||||
| Forfeited | (387,722) | 32.17 | ||||||||||||
| Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2023 | 3,521,590 | 29.22 | ||||||||||||
| Granted | 1,992,423 | 31.80 | ||||||||||||
| Vested and settled | (1,708,427) | 28.37 | ||||||||||||
| Forfeited | (334,204) | 29.52 | ||||||||||||
| Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2024 | 3,471,382 | 31.08 | ||||||||||||
| Granted | 1,833,423 | 40.84 | ||||||||||||
| Vested and settled | (1,894,588) | 32.26 | ||||||||||||
| Forfeited | (315,949) | 30.44 | ||||||||||||
| Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2025 | 3,094,268 | 36.03 | ||||||||||||
Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2025 that are expected to vest | 2,467,982 | 35.38 | ||||||||||||
The total fair value of shares that vested and settled under the Plans was $61.1 million, $48.5 million and $40.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Non-vested awards outstanding at December 31, 2025 include 651,897 PSUs expected to vest, which have an aggregate intrinsic value of $15.7 million and a weighted-average remaining contractual term of 1.0 years.
Share-based compensation is recognized ratably over the vesting period of the respective awards and includes expense related to issuances under the Plans and the portion of annual bonuses that are payable in fully-vested shares of Class A common stock. The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense for the Plans net of actual forfeitures. The Company recorded share-based compensation expense of $71.1 million, $65.5 million and $56.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Share-based compensation expense is included in colleague compensation and benefits expense in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The Company had $59.0 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested shares at December 31, 2025, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years.
Long-Term Incentive Plan
During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Compensation Committee awarded the Company’s executive officers incentive compensation awards under the LTIP consisting of (i) PSUs with an aggregate target grant date value of $5.9 million, $5.8 million and $7.6 million, respectively, and (ii) RSAs with an aggregate grant date value of $0.3 million, $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The incentive compensation awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 have an aggregate maximum value of $20.2 million, $19.6 million and $25.9 million, respectively.
As part of the adoption of the LTIP each year, the Compensation Committee approves the form of PSU award agreement (the “Form PSU Award Agreement”) under the Omnibus Plan in connection with the granting of PSUs to its executive officers. The Form PSU Award Agreement provides for the granting of PSUs, which generally vest in the quarter following the end of a performance period of three years. The number of PSUs, if any, that will actually be earned pursuant to a PSU award will depend on the level of performance achieved with respect to applicable performance goals during the applicable performance period. The RSAs vest in equal annual installments over five years.
Valuation Assumptions
The fair value of PSUs with market conditions was estimated on the grant date using a Monte Carlo analysis to model the value of the PSUs using the following assumptions. Expected volatility is based on an average of implied volatility on the valuation date and the one-year historical volatility of Baldwin and publicly-traded companies within a peer group and, in 2023, the Russell 3000 Index. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rates in effect at the time of the grant. Expected term is based on the remaining measurement period of the awards at the grant date. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the PSUs with market conditions are set forth in the table below.
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Expected volatility minimum | 23 | % | 22 | % | 18 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Expected volatility maximum | 57 | % | 55 | % | 364 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | 4.25 | % | 4.48 | % | 4.41 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Expected term | 2.9 years | 2.8 years | 2.9 years | |||||||||||||||||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
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.