SUBURBAN PROPANE PARTNERS LP Stock Compensation Disclosure
11. Unit-Based Compensation Arrangements
As described in Note 2, the Partnership recognizes compensation cost over the respective service period for employee services received in exchange for an award of equity, or equity-based compensation, based on the grant date fair value of the award. The Partnership measures liability awards under an equity-based payment arrangement based on remeasurement of the award’s fair value at the conclusion of each interim and annual reporting period until the date of settlement, taking into consideration the probability that the performance conditions will be satisfied.
Restricted Unit Plan. At the Partnership’s Tri-Annual Meeting held on May 15, 2018, the Unitholders approved and the Partnership adopted the Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. 2018 Restricted Unit Plan (the “Restricted Unit Plan”) authorizing the issuance of up to 1,800,000 Common Units to executives, managers and other employees and members of the Board of Supervisors of the Partnership. The Restricted Unit Plan was amended and restated to authorize the issuance of an additional 1,725,000 and 2,650,000 Common Units by approval of the Unitholders at the Partnership’s Tri-Annual Meetings held on May 18, 2021 and May 21, 2024, respectively, for a total of 6,175,000 Common Units. Unless otherwise determined by the Compensation Committee of the Partnership’s Board of Supervisors (the “Compensation Committee”) on or before the grant date, of all outstanding awards under the Restricted Unit Plan will vest on each of the first three anniversaries of the award grant date. Participants in the Restricted Unit Plan are not eligible to receive quarterly distributions on, or vote, their respective restricted units until vested. Restricted units cannot be sold or transferred prior to vesting. The value of each restricted unit is established by the market price of the Common Unit on the date of grant, net of estimated future distributions during the vesting period. Restricted units are subject to forfeiture in certain circumstances as defined in the Restricted Unit Plan. Compensation expense for the unvested awards is recognized ratably over the vesting periods and is net of estimated forfeitures.
The following is a summary of activity in the Restricted Unit Plan:
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted Average |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Grant Date Fair |
|
||
|
|
Units |
|
|
Value Per Unit |
|
||
Outstanding September 24, 2022 |
|
|
1,516,229 |
|
|
$ |
13.52 |
|
Awarded |
|
|
571,732 |
|
|
|
13.45 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(15,552 |
) |
|
|
(13.15 |
) |
Vested (1) |
|
|
(706,047 |
) |
|
|
(14.59 |
) |
Outstanding September 30, 2023 |
|
|
1,366,362 |
|
|
|
12.94 |
|
Awarded |
|
|
466,625 |
|
|
|
14.77 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(1,470 |
) |
|
|
(18.44 |
) |
Vested (1) |
|
|
(731,239 |
) |
|
|
(13.47 |
) |
Outstanding September 28, 2024 |
|
|
1,100,278 |
|
|
|
13.37 |
|
Awarded |
|
|
509,951 |
|
|
|
15.09 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(25,368 |
) |
|
|
(13.79 |
) |
Vested (1) |
|
|
(657,440 |
) |
|
|
(13.30 |
) |
Outstanding September 27, 2025 |
|
|
927,421 |
|
|
$ |
14.35 |
|
As of September 27, 2025, unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted units awarded under the Restricted Unit Plan amounted to $2,550. Compensation cost associated with the unvested awards is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.2 years. Compensation expense for the Restricted Unit Plan for fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $7,775, $8,191 and $8,260, respectively.
Phantom Equity Plan. At its November 8, 2022 meeting, the Compensation Committee adopted the Phantom Equity Plan (the “PEP”) to incentivize behaviors that will lead to the creation of long-term value for the Partnership’s Unitholders by functioning as a cash-settled corollary plan to the Partnership’s Restricted Unit Plan. The executive officers of the Partnership, the members of the Board, and other employees of the Partnership are eligible for awards of phantom units under the PEP. Unless otherwise stipulated by the Compensation Committee, the standard vesting schedule for awards under the PEP will be one-third of each award on each of the first three anniversaries of the award grant date, subject to continuous employment or service from the grant date through the applicable payment date. Unvested awards are subject to forfeiture in certain circumstances, as defined in the PEP document and the applicable award agreements. Upon vesting, phantom units are automatically converted into cash equal to the average of the highest and lowest trading prices of the Partnership’s Common Units on the day prior to the vesting date.
Compensation expense, which includes adjustments to previously recognized compensation expense for current period changes in the fair value of unvested awards, for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 was $7,564, $7,297 and $3,668, respectively. As of September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, the Partnership had a liability included within accrued employment and benefit costs (or other liabilities, as applicable) of $11,561 and $9,019, respectively.
Distribution Equivalent Rights Plan. On January 17, 2017, the Partnership adopted the Distribution Equivalent Rights Plan (the “DER Plan”), as amended on November 8, 2022, which gives the Compensation Committee discretion to award distribution equivalent rights (“DERs”) to executive officers of the Partnership. Once awarded, DERs entitle the grantee to a cash payment each time the Board of Supervisors declares a cash distribution on the Partnership’s Common Units, which cash payment will be equal to an amount calculated by multiplying the number of unvested restricted units and unvested phantom units which are held by the grantee on the record date of the distribution, by the amount of the declared distribution per Common Unit. Compensation expense recognized under the DER Plan was $1,382, $1,475 and $1,344 for fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Long-Term Incentive Plan. On November 10, 2020, the Partnership adopted the 2021 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “LTIP”). The LTIP is a non-qualified, unfunded, long-term incentive plan for executive officers and key employees that provides for payment, in the form of cash, of an award of equity-based compensation at the end of a three-year performance period. The LTIP document governs the terms and conditions of the outstanding awards with the level of compensation earned being based on the Partnership’s average distributable cash flow over the three-year measurement period. The level of compensation earned under the fiscal 2021 award was evaluated using two separate measurement components: (i) 75% weight based on the level of average distributable cash flow of the Partnership over the three-year measurement period; and (ii) 25% weight based on the achievement of certain operating and strategic objectives, set by the Compensation Committee, over that award’s three-year measurement period. The level of compensation earned under the fiscal 2022 award and awards thereafter, is also evaluated using two separate measurement components: (i) 50% weight based
on the level of average distributable cash flow of the Partnership over the three-year measurement period; and (ii) 50% weight based on the achievement of certain operating and strategic objectives, set by the Compensation Committee for that award’s three-year measurement period.
Compensation expense, which includes adjustments to previously recognized compensation expense for current period changes in the fair value of unvested awards, for fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023 was $4,439, $3,573, and $3,771, respectively. The cash payout in fiscal 2025, which related to the fiscal 2022 award, was $4,038; the cash payout in fiscal 2024, which related to the fiscal 2021 award, was $4,405; and the cash payout in fiscal 2023, which related to the fiscal 2020 award, was $3,129.
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.