Cytek Biosciences, Inc.CTKB
Cytek Biosciences, Inc. Stock Compensation Disclosure
Stock-based compensation plan
Stock Plans
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had three stock-based compensation plans (the “Plans”) which are described below.
2015 Equity Incentive Plan
In March 2015, the Board approved the 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (“2015 Plan”), which provided for the granting of stock options to employees, directors and consultants of the Company. As of the effective date of the 2021 Plan described below, the 2015 Plan was terminated and no further equity awards may be granted pursuant to the 2015 Plan. Outstanding stock options granted under the 2015 Plan will continue to be governed by the provisions of the 2015 Plan until expiration or exercise, whichever is earlier.
2021 Equity Incentive Plan
In July 2021, the Board approved the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”), which provides for the granting of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit (“RSU”) awards, performance awards, and other awards to employees, directors and consultants of the Company. The 2021 Plan became effective on July 22, 2021 in connection with the IPO. Upon the 2021 Plan’s effective date, there were 18,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance thereunder. On January 1 of each year commencing after the effective date of the IPO and continuing through and including January 1, 2031, the number of shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance under the 2021 Plan will increase automatically by an amount equal to 4% of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on the preceding December 31, unless the Board elects to authorize a lesser number of shares prior to the applicable January 1. As of December 31, 2025, the total number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2021 Plan was 23,533,103 shares.
2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
In July 2021, the Board approved the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”). The ESPP became effective on July 22, 2021 in connection with the IPO. Upon the ESPP’s effective date, there were 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance thereunder. On January 1 of each year commencing after the effective date of the IPO and continuing through and including January 1, 2031, the number of shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance under the ESPP will increase automatically by an amount equal to the lesser of (1) 1% of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on the preceding December 31, (2) 5,000,000 shares and (3) a number of shares determined by the Board. During the year ended December 31, 2025, 477,462 shares were issued pursuant to purchases under the ESPP. As of December 31, 2025, the total number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP was 5,965,420 shares.
Stock option valuation assumptions
The Company estimates the fair value of each stock option grant on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The model assumptions include expected volatility, expected term, dividend yield, and the risk-free interest rate. The expected volatility was based on the volatility of a group of similar entities. The Company derived expected term by using the “simplified” method (the expected term is determined as the average of the time-to-vesting and contractual life of the option), as the Company has limited historical information to develop expectations about future exercise patterns and post vesting employment termination behavior. The Company based the risk-free rate on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with remaining terms similar to the expected term of the option. The Company has never paid any dividends and does not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future, and therefore used an expected dividend yield of zero in the valuation model.
Stock Options
The following table shows stock option activity during the periods indicated (in thousands except share and per share data):
| Number of options outstanding | Weighted-average exercise price | Weighted-average remaining contractual term (in years) | Aggregate intrinsic value | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | 7,219,702 | $ | 8.74 | 6.90 | $ | 23,574 | |||||||||||||||||
| Options granted | 1,916,670 | 6.86 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options exercised | (821,266) | 1.23 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options forfeited | (320,447) | 9.63 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options expired | (230,202) | 13.59 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | 7,764,457 | $ | 8.89 | 6.85 | $ | 10,810 | |||||||||||||||||
| Options granted | 2,558,701 | 4.25 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options exercised | (553,858) | 0.58 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options forfeited | (236,688) | 6.98 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options expired | (392,448) | 14.20 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2025 | 9,140,164 | $ | 7.91 | 6.82 | $ | 6,918 | |||||||||||||||||
| Options exercisable as of December 31, 2025 | 5,982,905 | $ | 9.17 | 5.80 | $ | 5,284 | |||||||||||||||||
The weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 were $2.67, $4.61, and $6.64 per share, respectively.
There was $10.6 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options as of December 31, 2025. The unrecognized stock-based compensation expense is estimated to be recognized over a period of 2.50 years as of December 31, 2025.
The Company currently uses authorized and unissued shares to satisfy option exercises.
The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price and the estimated fair value of the Company’s common stock as of December 31, 2025.
RSU Awards
The following table shows RSU awards activity during the periods indicated:
| Shares | Weighted-average grant date fair value per share | Weighted-average remaining contractual term (in years) | Aggregate intrinsic value (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Unvested balance at December 31, 2023 | 2,608,257 | $ | 10.88 | 1.51 | $ | 23,787 | ||||||||||||||
| Granted | 3,530,685 | 6.92 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vested | (1,372,225) | 9.57 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | (545,839) | 9.12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Unvested balance at December 31, 2024 | 4,220,878 | $ | 8.22 | 1.46 | $ | 27,393 | ||||||||||||||
| Granted | 2,568,624 | 4.07 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vested | (1,762,850) | 8.20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | (459,549) | 7.44 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Unvested balance at December 31, 2025 | 4,567,103 | $ | 5.97 | 1.31 | $ | 23,064 | ||||||||||||||
There was $28.4 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested RSU awards as of December 31, 2025. The unrecognized stock-based compensation expense is estimated to be recognized over a period of 2.53 years as of December 31, 2025.
Stock-based compensation expense
The following table shows the allocation of stock-based compensation expense related to the Company’s stock-based awards (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of sales | $ | 3,994 | $ | 4,428 | $ | 3,212 | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 5,146 | 6,427 | 6,676 | ||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 4,480 | 4,766 | 4,290 | ||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 10,965 | 11,227 | 7,870 | ||||||||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | $ | 24,585 | $ | 26,848 | $ | 22,048 | |||||||||||
The following table shows the weighted-average valuation assumptions used in determining the fair value of employee stock options:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Expected term (in years) | 5.99 | 6.00 | 5.96 | ||||||||||||||
| Expected volatility | 66 | % | 73 | % | 71 | % | |||||||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | 4 | % | 4 | % | 4 | % | |||||||||||
| Dividend yield | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
The following table summarizes the weighted-average assumptions used in estimating the fair value of the ESPP for the current offering period using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Expected term (in years) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Expected volatility | 72 | % | 63 | % | 67 | % | |||||||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | 4 | % | 5 | % | 5 | % | |||||||||||
| Dividend yield | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 28, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Mar 13, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 1, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 17, 2022 | |
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.