12. SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE PLAN

 

The Company maintains a restricted stock incentive plan for the purpose of attracting and retaining officers, employees, and non-employee board members. Share awards generally vest in equal annual installments over a three-to-ten year period from date of issuance. Non-vested shares have voting rights and are eligible for any dividends paid on shares of common stock. The Company recognized compensation cost for these fixed awards over the service vesting period, which represents the requisite service period, using the straight-line method. Prior to our IPO, the value of non-vested shares was calculated based on the offering price of the shares in the most recent private placement offering of $20.00, adjusted for stock dividends since granted and assumed selling costs, which management believed approximated fair market value as of the date of grant. Upon our IPO, the value of non-vested shares granted is generally calculated based on the closing price of our common stock on the date of the grant.

 

During our Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on June 1, 2023, the Company's 2017 Incentive Award Plan was amended to increase the available shares for issuance from 250,000 to 350,000 and add an evergreen provision to, on April 1st and October 1st of each year, automatically increase the maximum number of shares of common stock available under the plan to 15% of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock, if on such date 350,000 (as adjusted for any reverse splits) is less than 15% of the Company's then-outstanding shares of common stock.  At the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on June  2, 2025, the Company’s 2017 Incentive Award Plan was amended and restated to (i) increase the number of shares available for issuance thereunder to 450,000 from 350,000 shares of common stock and (ii) revise the plan’s evergreen provision to, on April 1st and October 1st of each year, automatically increase the maximum number of shares of common stock available under the plan to 15% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock, if on such date 450,000 shares constitute less than 15% of the Company’s then-outstanding shares of common stock.

 

A summary of the activity for the Company’s restricted stock was as follows:

  

 

Outstanding shares:

 

Common Shares

  

Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value

 
         

Balance at December 31, 2024

  117,081  $12.34 

Granted

  97,685  $6.11 

Adjusted for reverse split, net

  1   N/A 

Vested

  (84,080) $10.32 

Forfeited

  (26,579) $9.73 

Balance at December 31, 2025

  104,108  $8.79 

 

The non-vested restricted shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025, will vest over the next one to two years. As of  December 31, 2025, there were approximately 23,000 shares available to grant under the Company's 2017 Incentive Award Plan. Of the shares vested for the year ended December 31, 2025, 26,579 were forfeited to cover payroll taxes.

 

Share-based compensation expense was approximately $1.1 million and $1.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, as part of our general and administrative costs. As of December 31, 2025, future unrecognized stock compensation related to unvested shares totaled approximately $0.9 million.

 

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 27, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 31, 2025
2023Apr 16, 2024
2022Mar 28, 2023
2021Mar 30, 2022
2020Mar 30, 2021
2019Mar 13, 2020

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.