PARSONS CORP Stock Compensation Disclosure
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table provides information as of December 31, 2025 regarding compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance.
Plan Category |
|
Number of Securities to be Issued upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights |
|
|
Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights |
|
|
Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities Reflected in Column (a)) |
|
|
|||
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders (1) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,217,941 |
|
(2) |
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders |
|
|
1,591,245 |
|
(3) |
|
- |
|
|
|
6,931,420 |
|
(4) |
Total |
|
|
1,591,245 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8,149,361 |
|
|
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Parsons Corporation Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) was adopted effective March 1, 2020. Under the ESPP, eligible employees who elect to participate are granted the right to purchase shares of Parsons common stock at a discount of 5% of the market value on the last trading day of the offering period.
The following table presents stock issuance activity for the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 (in thousands):
|
|
2025 |
|
|
2024 |
|
||
Purchase price paid for shares sold |
|
$ |
9,464 |
|
|
$ |
7,935 |
|
Number of shares sold |
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
96 |
|
The average purchase price for the year ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 was $63.09 and $82.66 per share, respectively.
Equity-Based Compensation Plans
The Company issues stock-based awards through the Incentive Award Plan. The compensation expense for these awards is recorded in “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Stock-based compensation expense was $34.0 million, $52.6 million, and $27.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, net of recognized tax benefits of $6.2 million, $8.9 million, and $8.6 million for 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The tax benefit realized related to awards vested during 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $9.1 million, $12.0 million, and $4.3 million, respectively. We recognize forfeitures as they occur.
At December 31, 2025, the amount of compensation cost relating to non-vested awards not yet recognized in the consolidated financial statements is $37.5 million. The majority of these unrecognized compensation costs will be recognized by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.
Restricted Stock Units
Restricted Stock Units awards are issued under the Incentive Award Plan and are settled by the issuance of the Company’s common stock. Outstanding awards have been granted based on either service or service and performance conditions. Awards vest over three-year periods, either annually or cliff. Expense is recognized on an accelerated basis for awards with service conditions only and on a straight-line basis for awards that include performance conditions. Expense recognition of awards with performance criteria are subject to the probability of meeting the performance conditions and adjusted for the number of shares expected to be earned. Compensation cost for awards with performance conditions are trued-up at each reporting period for changes in the expected shares pro-rated for the portion of the requisite service period rendered. For awards that include market conditions, the grant date fair value is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. Inputs to the Monte Carlo model include the vesting period, historical stock volatilities for Parsons and a peer group commensurate with a look back period equal to the vesting period.
The following table presents the number of shares of restricted stock units granted (at target shares for awards with performance conditions) for the years ended December 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|||
Restricted Stock Units (service condition) |
|
|
401,974 |
|
|
|
346,483 |
|
|
|
616,337 |
|
Restricted Stock Units (service and performance condition) |
|
|
359,146 |
|
|
|
296,513 |
|
|
|
452,179 |
|
The number of units granted for awards with performance conditions in the above table is based on performance at the target amount. The number of shares ultimately issued, which could be greater or less than target, will be based on achieving specific performance conditions related to the awards. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, certain restricted stock unit grants with performance conditions vested with performance different from the target share amounts. As a result, 156,312 and 99,280 additional shares, respectively were granted and vested.
The following table presents the number and weighted average grant-date fair value of restricted stock units (at target shares for awards with performance conditions) for the years ended December 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:
|
|
Number of Units |
|
|
Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value |
|
||
Outstanding at December 31, 2022 |
|
|
1,621,155 |
|
|
$ |
37.49 |
|
Granted |
|
|
1,068,516 |
|
|
|
48.96 |
|
Vested |
|
|
(372,962 |
) |
|
|
37.56 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(223,373 |
) |
|
|
39.90 |
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2023 |
|
|
2,093,336 |
|
|
|
43.11 |
|
Granted |
|
|
642,996 |
|
|
|
79.71 |
|
Vested |
|
|
(697,956 |
) |
|
|
37.83 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(155,358 |
) |
|
|
45.33 |
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2024 |
|
|
1,883,018 |
|
|
|
57.35 |
|
Granted |
|
|
761,120 |
|
|
|
50.20 |
|
Vested |
|
|
(855,126 |
) |
|
|
41.88 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(197,767 |
) |
|
|
52.84 |
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2025 |
|
|
1,591,245 |
|
|
$ |
62.80 |
|
For the year ended December 31, 2025, 988,128 shares of restricted stock units were issued, and 347,450 shares of common stock related to employee statutory income tax withholding were retired. For the year ended December 31, 2024, 778,167 shares of restricted stock units were issued, and 272,284 shares of common stock related to employee statutory income tax withholding were retired. For the year ended December 31, 2023, 484,988 shares of restricted stock units were issued, and 159,281 shares of common stock related to employee statutory income tax withholding were retired.
The following table presents the number of shares of restricted stock outstanding (at target shares for awards with performance conditions) at December 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|||
Restricted Stock Units (service condition) |
|
|
730,329 |
|
|
|
911,908 |
|
|
|
1,085,203 |
|
Restricted Stock Units (service and performance condition) |
|
|
860,916 |
|
|
|
971,110 |
|
|
|
1,008,133 |
|
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.