Note 13 Options

The 2020 Equity Plan was approved by written consent of a majority of shareholders of record as of November 12, 2019 and adopted by the Board of Directors on December 5, 2019, as provided in the definitive information statement filed with Securities and

Exchange Commission on January 10, 2020 (the “DEF 14C”). The description of the 2020 Equity Plan is qualified in its entirety by the text of the 2020 Equity Plan, a copy of which was attached as Annex C to the DEF 14C.

Amendment to the 2020 Stock Incentive Plan

On January 8, 2024, our stockholders took action by written consent to ratify the amendment to the 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”) approved by the Board of Directors on December 15, 2023. On December 15, 2023, our Board approved an amendment to the 2020 Plan to effect an increase in the number of shares that remain available for issuance under the 2020 Plan by an additional 2,150,000 shares up to an aggregate of 2,964,150 shares available for issuance under the 2020 Plan (the “2020 Plan Amendment”). Before the 2020 Plan Amendment, the number of shares available for issuance under the 2020 Plan would be too limited to effectively operate as an incentive and retention tool for employees, officers, directors, non-employee directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates (as defined in the 2020 Plan). The 2020 Plan and the approved increase enabled us to continue our policy of equity ownership by employees, officers, directors, non-employee directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates as an incentive to contribute to the creation of long-term value for our stockholders.

2024 Stock Incentive Plan

Effective February 15, 2024, the Board of Directors adopted the 2024 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2024 Plan”) under which a total of 3,000,000 share of our common stock have been reserved for issuance of Incentive Stock Options, or ISOs, Non-Qualified Stock Options, or NSOs, restricted share awards, stock unit awards, SARs, other stock-based awards, performance-based stock awards, (collectively, “stock awards”) and cash-based awards (stock awards and cash-based awards are collectively referred to as “awards”). ISOs may be granted only to our employees, including officers, and the employees of our parent or subsidiaries. All other awards may be granted to our employees, officers, our non-employee directors, and consultants and the employees and consultants of our subsidiaries, and affiliates.

The following table sets forth shares authorized and available under our incentive plans at December 31, 2024:

 

 

 

Options Authorized

 

 

Options Granted

 

 

Options Exercised

 

 

Options Cancelled or Expired

 

 

Options Outstanding

 

 

Options Available to be Issued

 

 2016 Plan

 

 

12,712

 

 

 

3,333

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

1,000

 

 

 

2,333

 

 

 

10,379

 

 2020 Plan

 

 

2,964,150

 

 

 

2,745,084

 

 

 

50,459

 

 

 

201,028

 

 

 

2,493,597

 

 

 

470,553

 

 2024 Plan

 

 

3,000,000

 

 

 

96,861

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

8,000

 

 

 

88,861

 

 

 

2,911,139

 

Outstanding Options

 

The following is a summary of information about the Stock Options outstanding at December 31, 2024:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares Underlying

 

 

 

Shares Underlying Options Outstanding

 

 

Options Exercisable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

 

 

Average

 

Weighted

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted

 

 

 

Underlying

 

 

 

 

Remaining

 

Average

 

 

Underlying

 

 

Average

 

 

 

Options

 

 

Range of

 

Contractual

 

Exercise

 

 

Options

 

 

Exercise

 

 

 

Outstanding

 

 

Exercise Prices

 

Life (in years)

 

Price

 

 

Exercisable

 

 

Price

 

December 31, 2023

 

 

2,620,813

 

 

$2.35 - $195.00

 

6.6

 

$

19.38

 

 

 

271,259

 

 

$

4.69

 

December 31, 2024

 

 

2,584,791

 

 

$2.35 - $40.00

 

8.35

 

$

20.06

 

 

 

552,856

 

 

$

6.56

 

 

The following is a summary of activity of outstanding stock options at December 31, 2024:

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average

 

 

Average

 

 

 

Number

 

 

Exercise

 

 

Intrinsic

 

 

 

of Shares

 

 

Prices

 

 

Value

 

Balance, December 31, 2022

 

 

590,991

 

 

$

4.53

 

 

$

2,677,189

 

Options granted

 

 

2,050,905

 

 

 

23.55

 

 

 

 

Options cancelled

 

 

(21,083

)

 

 

(2.84

)

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2023

 

 

2,620,813

 

 

$

19.38

 

 

$

50,802,052

 

Options granted

 

 

118,111

 

 

 

15.37

 

 

 

 

Options exercised

 

 

(50,459

)

 

 

(3.25

)

 

 

 

Options cancelled

 

 

(88,850

)

 

 

(6.84

)

 

 

 

Options expired

 

 

(14,824

)

 

 

(9.67

)

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2024

 

 

2,584,791

 

 

$

20.06

 

 

$

51,844,122

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercisable, December 31, 2024

 

 

552,856

 

 

$

6.37

 

 

$

3,521,693

 

Options Granted

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, 25 employees were granted options to purchase an aggregate of 118,111 shares of the Company's common stock, having a weighted average exercise price of $15.37, exercisable over a 10-year term. The options will vest 60% on the third anniversary, and 20% each anniversary thereafter until fully vested. The Company uses the Black-Scholes Pricing Model to determine the fair value of options at the grant date. Inputs to this model include, expected term, risk-free interest rate, volatility, and the dividend rate. Due to a limited exercise history, the Company uses the simplified method of calculating expected term, which results in expected term of 6.8 years options granted in 2024. The Company uses an interest rate from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s published yield curve which corresponds to the expected term. The annualized monthly volatility rate was 92 to 97%. The weighted average estimated fair value using the Black-Scholes Pricing Model, based on these inputs was $12.38, per share, or $1,462,214 total expense. The options are being expensed over the vesting period.

Options Cancelled or Forfeited

Approximately 88,850 options with a weighted average strike price of $9.67 per share were forfeited by former employees during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. Reductions to share compensation expense recognized at the time of forfeiture.

Options Expired

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, options expirations consisted of 333 options with a $112.20 strike price, and 14,491 options with a $5.41 strike price.

Options Exercised

A total of 50,459 options were exercised during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. No options were exercised during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Proceeds from options exercises during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 amounted to $163,854.

Options Exercisable

There were 552,856 options exercisable as of December 31, 2024.

Options Expense

The Company recognized compensation expense net of forfeitures related to common stock options that are being amortized over the implied service term, or vesting period, of the options during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, as follows:

 

 

 

For the Year Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

Directors

 

$

86,892

 

 

$

91,990

 

Officers

 

 

4,214,949

 

 

 

238,932

 

Employees

 

 

209,815

 

 

 

68,304

 

Total amortized options expense

 

$

4,511,656

 

 

$

711,037

 

 

As of December 31, 2024, the remaining unamortized balance to be expensed over the next five years is $11,083,090 and the weighted-average period over which these awards are expected to be recognized is approximately 1.65 years.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2024Mar 27, 2025Showing above
2022Apr 14, 2023
2021Mar 29, 2022
2020Mar 31, 2021
2019Mar 25, 2020
2018Mar 22, 2019

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.