NOTE 8. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

StableX Technologies, Inc. 2020 Long Term Incentive Plan

 

On May 28, 2020, the Company’s shareholders approved the StableX Technologies, Inc. 2020 Long Term Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”) for future grants of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance and other awards. The Company originally reserved 76,872 shares of its common stock pursuant to the 2020 Plan. Stock options issued under the 2020 Plan have a maximum contractual term of 10 years. On December 30, 2024, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the 2020 Plan to increase the reserved shares by 187,500, to a total of 264,372 shares. On October 3, 2025, the Company’s stockholders approved a further amendment to the 2020 Plan to increase the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be delivered pursuant to awards granted under the Plan to 400,000 shares. The Company has 92 shares available for future issuance remaining under this plan as of December 31, 2025.

 

 

AYRO 2017 Long Term Incentive Plan

 

The Company has reserved a total of 3,734 shares of its common stock pursuant to the AYRO, Inc. 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan. At December 31, 2025, no shares remained available for grant under future awards under the 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan, and in connection with the 2020 Plan, the remaining unissued amounts were cancelled.

 

DropCar Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan

 

The Company’s equity incentive plan created in 2014 (the “2014 Plan”) was amended in 2018 to increase the number of shares of Company common stock available for issuance. Pursuant to the 2014 Plan, 1,104 shares of common stock were reserved for issuance. The Company had 422 shares of common stock outstanding and no shares available for grant under the 2014 Plan at December 31, 2025.

 

Stock Options

 

Option awards are generally granted with an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of grant; those options are determined by the Administrator and specified in the individual award agreements; and generally have a contractual term of 10 years. Awards granted under the 2020 Plan during the year ended December 31, 2025, vested under one of two schedules as specified in the individual award agreements: either immediately upon grant, or 75% upon grant with the remaining 25% vesting on December 31, 2025. All options granted during the year ended December 31, 2025, were fully vested as of December 31, 2025.

 

The fair value of each option is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option valuation model that uses assumptions in the following tables. Because Black-Scholes option valuation models incorporate ranges of assumptions for inputs, these ranges are disclosed. Expected volatilities are based on historical volatilities of the Company’s stock. The Company uses the simplified method to estimate the expected term. The risk-free rate for periods within the contractual life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant.

 

In applying the Black-Scholes option pricing model to the options issued, the Company used the following assumptions:

 

   December 31, 2025 
Risk free interest rate   3.64% - 3.73%
Expected term (years)   5.00 
Expected volatility   110.48% - 128.00%
Expected dividends   0.00%

 

Below is a table summarizing the changes in stock options outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2025:

 

   Number of Shares   Weighted Average Exercise Price   Contractual Life (Years) 
Outstanding at December 31, 2024   479   $5,280    3.45 
Grants   325,468    6.33      
Exercised             
Expired   (57)   20,032      
Outstanding at December 31, 2025   325,890   $10.52    9.8 
Exercisable at December 31, 2025   325,890   $10.52    9.8 

 

The weighted average grant date fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2025 was $5.95. There were no stock options granted during the year ended December 31, 2024. The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options vested and exercisable was $0 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

 

The aggregate intrinsic value at December 31, 2025 and 2024, is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying options and the closing stock price of $2.63 and $10.93 from the Company’s common stock as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

 

The Company recognized $1,235,419 and $8,158 of stock option expense for the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options.

 

 

Total stock-based compensation, including restricted stock awards and stock options is included in the consolidated statement of operations as follows:

 

   2025   2024 
   Years Ended December 31, 
   2025   2024 
Research and development  $   $3,810 
Sales and marketing       453 
General and administrative   1,235,419    709,486 
Total  $1,235,419   $713,749 

 

Restricted Stock

 

On December 2, 2024, pursuant to the StableX Technologies, Inc. 2020 Long-Term Incentive Plan, the Company granted 58,646 shares of restricted stock to non-executive directors. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, all shares of restricted stock were vested and issued. (See Note 7. Stockholders’ Equity)

 

The total fair value of restricted stock vested for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was $0 and $731,889, respectively.

 

The Company recognized compensation expense related to all restricted stock during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, of $0 and $705,591, respectively. No compensation expense was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2025, as all restricted stock awards were fully vested as of December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2025, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards.

 

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 30, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 31, 2025
2023Apr 1, 2024
2021Mar 23, 2022
2020Mar 31, 2021

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.