NOTE 16 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Under the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated as of June 22, 2023 (the “Plan”), the Compensation and Human Capital Committee of the Board of Directors, which consists of three of the Company’s non-employee directors, has the authority to grant participants incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights and stock awards, for up to 12,000,000 shares of common stock.

Stock Options:

Stock options granted to participants under the Plan generally become exercisable after three years and remain exercisable until the tenth anniversary of the date of grant. All stock options granted under the Plan have an exercise price equal to or greater than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. There were no stock options granted during the fiscal years ended January 31, 2026, January 31, 2025 and January 31, 2024.

 

The fair value of the stock options, less expected forfeitures, is amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting term. Total compensation expense for stock option grants recognized during the fiscal years ended January 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024 was $0.1 million, $0.9 million and $2.1 million, respectively. As of January 31, 2026, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options. Total cash consideration received for stock option exercises during the fiscal years ended January 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024 was $0.5 million, $0.1 million and $0.7 million, respectively. The shortfall tax expense on these exercises for fiscal 2026 was approximately $0.1 million.

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option plan as of January 31, 2026 and changes during each of the fiscal years in the three-year period ended January 31, 2026:

 

 

 

Outstanding
 Options

 

 

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price per
Option

 

 

Option
Price Per
Share

 

 

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(years)

 

 

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
$(000)

 

Options outstanding at January 31,
   2023 (
183,101 options exercisable)

 

 

1,085,029

 

 

$

23.84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(51,840

)

 

$

13.02

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited

 

 

(19,000

)

 

$

34.13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options outstanding at January 31,
   2024 (
662,375 options exercisable)

 

 

1,014,189

 

 

$

24.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(4,000

)

 

$

16.87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited

 

 

(58,700

)

 

$

42.12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options outstanding at January 31,
   2025 (
951,489 options exercisable)

 

 

951,489

 

 

$

23.13

 

 

$12.42-$38.04

 

 

 

5.5

 

 

$

1,775

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(30,000

)

 

$

16.87

 

 

$

16.87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited

 

 

(22,140

)

 

$

30.36

 

 

$

30.36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options outstanding at January 31, 2026

 

 

899,349

 

 

$

23.16

 

 

$12.42-$38.04

 

 

 

4.6

 

 

$

3,372

 

Exercisable at January 31, 2026

 

 

899,349

 

 

$

23.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.6

 

 

$

3,372

 

The table below presents information related to stock option activity for the years ended January 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024:

 

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended
January 31,

 

 

 

2026

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Total fair value of stock options exercised

 

$

163

 

 

$

22

 

 

$

212

 

Total fair value of stock options vested

 

$

2,201

 

 

$

2,117

 

 

$

2,756

 

 

Non-vested Stock Options

The Company had 148,639 of non-vested stock options at January 31, 2025 with a weighted average grant date fair value of $14.81. All of these shares vested in fiscal 2026.

Stock Awards:

Under the Plan, the Company can also grant stock awards to employees and directors. For fiscal years 2026, 2025 and 2024, compensation expense for stock awards was $5.0 million, $3.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively. As of January 31, 2026, there was approximately $5.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock awards. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.9 years.

Transactions for stock awards under the Plan since fiscal 2023 are summarized as follows:

 

 

 

Number of
Stock Award
Units

 

 

Weighted-
Average Grant
Date Fair Value

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (years)

 

 

Aggregate Intrinsic Value
($(000's)

 

Units outstanding at January 31, 2023

 

 

294,148

 

 

$

28.84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units granted

 

 

300,633

 

 

$

28.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units vested

 

 

(104,379

)

 

$

22.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units forfeited

 

 

(4,446

)

 

$

28.78

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units outstanding at January 31, 2024

 

 

485,956

 

 

$

30.15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units granted

 

 

311,786

 

 

$

27.78

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units vested

 

 

(138,274

)

 

$

28.19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units forfeited

 

 

(2,106

)

 

$

30.70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units outstanding at January 31, 2025

 

 

657,362

 

 

$

29.43

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units granted

 

 

508,428

 

 

$

13.53

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units vested

 

 

(127,000

)

 

$

34.65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units forfeited

 

 

(44,805

)

 

$

24.13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Units outstanding at January 31, 2026

 

 

993,985

 

 

$

20.87

 

 

 

1.3

 

 

$

22,663

 

 

Stock awards granted by the Company can be classified as either time-based stock awards or performance-based stock awards. Time-based stock awards vest over time in the number of shares established at grant date, subject to continued employment. Performance-based stock awards vest over time subject both to continued employment and to the achievement of corporate financial performance goals. Upon the vesting of a stock award, shares are issued from the pool of authorized shares. The number of shares to be issued related to the outstanding performance-based stock awards can vary from 0% to 200% of the target number of underlying stock award units, established at grant date, depending on the particular stock awards and the extent of the achievement of the predetermined financial goals. The total fair value of stock award units that vested during fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 was $4.4 million, $3.9 million and $2.3 million, respectively. There were 27,479, 42,388 and 22,034 shares of common stock of the Company tendered by the employee for the payment of the employee’s withholding tax obligation totaling $0.5 million, $1.2 million and $0.6 million during the fiscal years ended January 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Unvested stock award units had a total fair value of $20.7 million, $19.3 million and $14.7 million, for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The shortfall tax expense on the vested stock awards for fiscal 2026 was approximately $0.5 million. The number of shares issued related to the remaining stock awards are established at grant date.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2026Mar 19, 2026Showing above
2025Apr 16, 2025
2024Mar 26, 2024
2023Mar 23, 2023
2022Mar 24, 2022
2021Mar 25, 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.