The Joint Corp. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

The Company grants stock-based awards under its 2014 Incentive Stock Plan (the “2014 Plan”) and the 2012 Stock Plan (the “2012 Plan”). The 2014 Plan replaced the 2012 Plan, but the 2012 plan remains in effect for the administration of awards made prior to its replacement by the 2014 Plan. The shares issued as a result of stock-based compensation transactions generally have been funded with the issuance of new shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Company may grant the following types of incentive awards under the 2014 Plan: (i) non-qualified stock options; (ii) incentive stock options; (iii) stock appreciation rights; (iv) restricted stock; and (v) restricted stock units. Each award granted under the 2014 Plan is subject to an award agreement that incorporates, as applicable, the exercise price, the term of the award, the periods of restriction, the number of shares to which the award pertains, and such other terms and conditions as the plan committee determines. Awards granted under the 2014 Plan are classified as equity awards, which are recorded in stockholders’ equity in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Stock Options

The Company’s closing price on the date of grant is the basis of fair value of its common stock used in determining the value of share-based awards. To the extent the value of the Company’s share-based awards involves a measure of volatility, the Company historically relied on the volatilities from publicly-traded companies with similar business models as its common stock lacked enough trading history for it to utilize its own historical volatility. Effective July 1, 2019, the Company uses available historical volatility of the Company’s common stock over a period of time corresponding to the expected stock option term. The Company uses the simplified method to calculate the expected term of stock option grants to employees as the Company does not have sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate the expected term of stock options granted to employees. Accordingly, the expected life of the options granted is based on the average of the vesting term, which is generally four years and the contractual term, which is generally ten years. The Company will continue to evaluate the appropriateness of utilizing such method. The risk-free interest rate is based on United States Treasury yields in effect at the date of grant for periods corresponding to the expected stock option term.

The Company has computed the fair value of all options granted using the Black-Scholes-Merton model during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, using the following assumptions:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020	2019
Expected volatility	53% to 58%	35% to 55%
Expected dividends	None	None
Expected term (years)	7	7
Risk-free rate	0.42% to 1.65%	1.89% to 2.61%

The information below summarizes the stock options:


	Number of Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2018	986,691	$	4.72	6.8
Granted at market price	65,759	12.31
Exercised	(103,205)	5.28			$	1,236,099
Cancelled	—	—
Outstanding at December 31, 2019	949,245	$	5.19	6.5
Granted at market price	111,158	14.76
Exercised	(224,802)	4.49			$	3,234,018
Cancelled	—	—
Outstanding at December 31, 2020	835,601	$	6.65	6.6	$	16,153,117
Exercisable at December 31, 2020	570,724	$	4.64	5.8	$	12,334,489

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the Company's stock options granted during 2020 and 2019 was $7.88 and $5.21, respectively.

The aggregate fair value of the Company's stock options vested during 2020 and 2019 was $427,263 and $388,672, respectively.

The Company recognizes compensation costs ratably over the period of service using the straight-line method. Forfeitures are estimated based on historical and forecasted turnover, which is approximately 5%. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, stock-based compensation expense for stock options was $517,431 and $418,301, respectively.

Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense for stock options as of December 31, 2020 was $1,087,732, which is expected to be recognized ratably over the next 2.7 years.

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock awards granted to employees generally vest in four equal annual installments. Restricted stock awards granted to non-employee directors vest on the earlier of (i) one year from the grant date and (ii) the date of the next annual meeting of the shareholders of the Company occurring after the date of grant.

The information below summaries the restricted stock activity:


Restricted Stock Awards	Shares	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value per Award
Non-vested at December 31, 2019	38,976	$	12.31
Granted	28,680	14.92
Vested	(22,061)	13.99
Cancelled	—	—
Non-vested at December 31, 2020	45,595	$	13.13

For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock was $368,544 and $302,350, respectively. Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2020 was $380,339 to be recognized ratably over two years.