Note 5 - Stock Options and Restricted Stock Awards

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

5

–

Stock Options

and Restricted S

tock

Awards

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC 

718

-

10,

“Compensation – Stock Compensation,”

which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to our employees and directors, including employee stock options, restricted stock unit awards and employee stock purchases related to the Employee Stock Purchase Plan based on estimated fair values. Stock-based compensation expense, calculated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for employee stock options and included in selling, general and administrative expense, was

$7.9

million for the

three

months ended

March 31, 2018,

and

$4.8

million for the

three

months ended

March 31, 2017.

ASU

No.

2016

-

09,

“Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (Topic

718

)”

requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recorded in the income statement when equity awards issued pursuant to the Company’s equity compensation plans vest or are settled. The Company recorded tax expense of

$22,000

related to a tax deficiency in the

first

quarter of

2018,

which increased income tax expense. The Company recorded a tax benefit of

$1.1

million in the

first

quarter of

2017

related to excess tax benefits in the

first

quarter of

2018,

which reduced income tax expense.

As of

March 31, 2018,

the Company had

$12.2

million of unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested employee stock options to be recognized over a weighted-average period of

3.6

years and

$13.1

million of unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted stock units to be recognized over a weighted-average period of

2.2

years.