NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS LP Stock Compensation Disclosure
2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan
In December 2017, the Natural Resource Partners 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) was approved and it became effective in January 2018. The 2017 Plan authorizes a total of 1,600,000 common units that are available for delivery by the Partnership pursuant to awards under the plan. The initial number of common units authorized for issuance pursuant to awards under the plan was 800,000 and in March 2022, an additional 800,000 units were authorized for issuance. The term is 10 years from the date of approval of the Board of Directors or, if earlier, the date the 2017 Plan is terminated by the Board of Directors or the committee appointed by the Board of Directors to administer the 2017 Plan, or the date all available common units available have been delivered. Common units delivered pursuant to the 2017 Plan will consist, in whole or part, of (i) common units acquired in the open market, (ii) common units acquired from the Partnership (including newly issued units), any of our affiliates or any other person or (iii) any combination of the foregoing.
Employees, consultants and non-employee directors of the Partnership, the general partner, GP LLC and their affiliates are generally eligible to receive awards under the 2017 Plan. The 2017 Plan provides for the issuance of a variety of equity-based grants, including grants of (i) options, (ii) unit appreciation rights, (iii) restricted units, (iv) phantom units, (v) cash awards, (vi) performance awards, (vii) distribution equivalent rights, and (viii) other unit-based awards. The plan is administered by the Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee ("CNG Committee") of the Board of Directors, which determines the terms and conditions of awards granted under the 2017 Plan. The Partnership recognizes forfeitures for any awards issued under this plan as they occur.
Unit-Based Awards
Unit-based awards under the 2017 Plan are generally issued to certain employees and non-employee directors of the Partnership. Awards granted to employees either vest 3 years following the grant date or vest ratably over the 3 year period following the grant date. Awards granted to non-employee directors vest over a 1 year period. Directors are given the option to take immediate issuance of the vested awards or defer such issuance until a later date. Upon deferral of issuance, such units will continue to accumulate distribution equivalent rights ("DERs") until issuance.
In connection with the phantom unit awards, the CNG Committee also granted tandem DERs, which entitle the holders to receive distributions equal to the distributions paid on the Partnership’s common units between the date the units are granted and the settlement date. The DERs are payable in cash upon vesting but may be subject to forfeiture if the grantee ceases employment prior to vesting.
During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Partnership granted service, performance and market-based awards under its 2017 Plan. The Partnership's service and performance-based awards are valued using the closing price of NRP's common units as of the grant date while the Partnership's market-based awards are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. The grant date fair value of the awards granted during the year ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $6.8 million, $6.7 million and $16.0 million, respectively, which included a grant-date fair value of $2.5 million, $2.5 million and $2.8 million for the market-based awards valued using a Monte Carlo simulation during the respective years. Total unit-based compensation expense associated with service, performance and market-based awards was $11.1 million, $11.3 million and $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and is included in general and administrative expenses and operating and maintenance expenses on the Partnership's Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. The unamortized cost associated with unvested outstanding awards as of December 31, 2025 was $5.9 million, which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.6 years. The unamortized cost associated with unvested outstanding awards as of December 31, 2024 was $9.5 million. The Partnership paid $5.5 million, $6.4 million and $3.2 million in cash during the year ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, for taxes on the unit-based award settlements during the respective years. These cash payments are included in other items, net under cash flows from financing activities on the Partnership's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
A summary of the unit activity in the outstanding grants during 2025 is as follows:
| (In thousands) | Common Units | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair value per Common Unit | ||||||
| Outstanding grants at January 1, 2025 | 350 | $ | 60.81 | |||||
| Granted | 57 | $ | 117.98 | |||||
| Fully vested and issued | (141 | ) | $ | 50.33 | ||||
| Outstanding grants at December 31, 2025 | 266 | $ | 78.68 | |||||
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.