15.
Share-Based Compensation

The Company has a long-term equity incentive plan, which allows for grants of restricted stock, performance awards, stock appreciation rights, and stock options to directors, officers, and employees, as well as others who engage in services for PCA. On February 28, 2024, our board of directors approved, and, on May 8, 2024, our stockholders approved, the amendment and restatement of the plan. The amendment extended the plan’s term to May 8, 2034 and increased the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the plan by 2.4 million shares. The total number of shares authorized for past and future awards is 14.3 million shares.

As of December 31, 2025, assuming performance units are paid out at the target level of performance, 2.5 million shares were available for future grants under the current plan. Forfeitures are added back to the pool of shares of common stock available to be granted at a future date.

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock awards granted to officers and employees generally vest at the end of a four-year period, and restricted stock awards granted to directors vest immediately. A summary of the Company’s restricted stock activity follows:

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

Restricted stock at January 1

 

 

620,403

 

 

$

148.63

 

 

 

671,723

 

 

$

127.15

 

 

 

655,914

 

 

$

117.14

 

Granted

 

 

147,265

 

 

 

211.53

 

 

 

175,956

 

 

 

176.60

 

 

 

196,821

 

 

 

134.68

 

Vested (a)

 

 

(158,857

)

 

 

137.08

 

 

 

(219,530

)

 

 

105.10

 

 

 

(174,139

)

 

 

97.86

 

Forfeitures

 

 

(8,015

)

 

 

164.95

 

 

 

(7,746

)

 

 

154.95

 

 

 

(6,873

)

 

 

129.74

 

Restricted stock at December 31

 

 

600,796

 

 

$

166.88

 

 

 

620,403

 

 

$

148.63

 

 

 

671,723

 

 

$

127.15

 

 

(a)
The total fair value of awards upon vesting for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $33.0 million, $39.2 million, and $22.7 million, respectively.

Performance Units

Performance unit awards granted to certain officers are earned based on the achievement of defined performance rankings of Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) or Total Shareholder Return (TSR) compared to ROIC and TSR for peer companies. ROIC performance unit awards vest four years after the grant date, while TSR performance unit awards vest approximately three years after the grant date. Both ROIC and TSR performance units are paid out entirely in shares of the Company’s common stock. A summary of the Company’s performance unit activity follows:

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

 

 

Units

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

 

Units

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

 

Units

 

 

Weighted
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value

 

Performance units at January 1

 

 

358,466

 

 

$

119.17

 

 

 

372,777

 

 

$

119.22

 

 

 

358,449

 

 

$

109.89

 

Granted

 

 

129,853

 

 

 

211.72

 

 

 

129,923

 

 

 

189.01

 

 

 

146,331

 

 

 

140.09

 

Vested (b)

 

 

(139,443

)

 

 

167.14

 

 

 

(139,984

)

 

 

182.64

 

 

 

(132,003

)

 

 

117.03

 

Forfeitures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4,250

)

 

 

168.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance units at December 31

 

 

348,876

 

 

$

171.68

 

 

 

358,466

 

 

$

119.17

 

 

 

372,777

 

 

$

119.22

 

 

(b)
The total fair value of awards upon vesting, including dividends, for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $29.0 million, $27.8 million, and $19.3 million, respectively. Upon vesting of the awards in 2025, 2024, and 2023, PCA issued 151,895 shares, 152,196 shares, and 146,631 shares, respectively. For 2025, 2024, and 2023, these amounts included 12,452 shares, 12,212 shares, and 14,628 shares, respectively, for dividends accrued during the vesting period.

Compensation Expense

Our share-based compensation expense is recorded in “Cost of sales” and “Selling, general, and administrative expenses.” Compensation expense for share-based awards recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income, net of forfeitures was as follows (dollars in millions):

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

Restricted stock

 

$

28.7

 

 

$

30.6

 

 

$

25.5

 

Performance units

 

 

16.5

 

 

 

18.2

 

 

 

14.5

 

Total share-based compensation expense

 

 

45.2

 

 

 

48.8

 

 

 

40.0

 

Income tax benefit

 

 

(11.2

)

 

 

(12.2

)

 

 

(10.0

)

Share-based compensation expense, net of tax benefit

 

$

34.0

 

 

$

36.6

 

 

$

30.0

 

 

The fair value of restricted stock is determined based on the closing price of the Company’s stock on the grant date. Compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, is recorded over the requisite service period. As PCA’s Board of Directors has the ability to accelerate the vesting of these awards upon an employee’s retirement, the Company accelerates the recognition of compensation expense for certain employees approaching normal retirement age.

For performance unit awards made in 2025, 2024, and 2023, in terms of grant date value, 50% used total shareholder return (TSR) as the performance measure and 50% used return on invested capital (ROIC) as the performance measure. All units awarded before 2018 used ROIC as the performance measure. The ROIC component of performance unit awards is valued based on the closing price of the stock on the grant date. As the ROIC component contains a performance condition, compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, is recorded over the requisite service period based on the most probable number of awards expected to vest. The TSR component of performance unit awards is valued using a Monte Carlo simulation as the TSR component contains a market condition. The Monte Carlo simulation estimates the fair value of the TSR component based on the expected term of the award, a risk-free interest rate, expected dividends, and expected volatility of the Company’s common stock and the common stock of the peer companies. Compensation expense is recorded ratably over the expected term of the award regardless of whether the market condition is satisfied.

The unrecognized compensation expense for all share-based awards was as follows (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2025

 

 

 

Unrecognized
Compensation
Expense

 

 

Remaining
Weighted Average
Recognition
Period (in years)

 

Restricted stock

 

$

31.0

 

 

 

2.5

 

Performance units

 

 

25.5

 

 

 

2.2

 

Total unrecognized share-based compensation expense

 

$

56.5

 

 

 

2.4

 

 

We evaluate share-based compensation expense on a quarterly basis based on our estimate of expected forfeitures, review of recent forfeiture activity, and expected future turnover. We recognize the effect of adjusting the forfeiture rate for all expense amortization in the period that we change the forfeiture estimate. The effect of forfeiture adjustments was insignificant in all periods presented.

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Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 26, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 27, 2025
2023Feb 29, 2024
2022Feb 23, 2023
2021Feb 24, 2022
2020Feb 24, 2021
2019Feb 26, 2020
2018Feb 28, 2019
2017Feb 28, 2017
2015Feb 26, 2016

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.