Performance-Based Common Stock Warrants

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

On March 9, 2016, we issued common stock purchase warrants to Comcast Corporation ("Comcast") to purchase up to 725,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $54.55 per share. The right to exercise the warrants is subject to vesting over three successive two-year periods (with the first two-year period commencing on January 1, 2016) based on the level of purchases of goods and services from us by Comcast and its affiliates, as defined in the warrants. The table below presents the purchase levels and potential number of warrants to vest in each period based upon achieving the purchase levels.


	Potential Warrants To Vest
Aggregate Level of Purchases by Comcast and Affiliates	January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2017	January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019	January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021
$260 million	100,000	100,000	75,000
$300 million	75,000	75,000	75,000
$340 million	75,000	75,000	75,000
Maximum Potential Warrants Earned by Comcast	250,000	250,000	225,000

If total aggregate purchases by Comcast and its affiliates are below $260 million in any of the two-year periods above, no warrants will vest related to that two-year period. If total aggregate purchases of goods and services by Comcast and its affiliates exceed $340 million during either the first or second two-year period, the amount of any such excess would count toward aggregate purchases in the following two-year period. This threshold was not met in either the first or second two-year period. For the two-year period ended December 31, 2017, Comcast earned and vested in 175,000 out of the maximum potential 250,000 warrants. For the two-year period ended December 31, 2019, Comcast earned and vested in 100,000 out of the maximum potential 250,000 warrants. At September 30, 2020, 275,000 vested warrants were outstanding. To fully vest in the rights to purchase all of the remaining unearned 225,000 underlying shares, Comcast and its affiliates must purchase an aggregate of $340 million in goods and services from us during the period January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021.

All warrants that vest will expire on January 1, 2023. The warrants provide for certain adjustments that may be made to the exercise price and the number of shares issuable upon exercise due to customary anti-dilution provisions. Additionally, in connection with the common stock purchase warrants, we have also entered into a registration rights agreement with Comcast under which Comcast may from time to time request that we register the shares of common stock underlying vested warrants with the SEC.

As the warrants contain performance criteria under which Comcast must achieve specified aggregate purchase levels for the warrants to vest, as detailed above, the measurement date for the warrants for the first two-year successive periods was the date on which the warrants vested.

The FASB issued guidance in November 2019 that clarifies the accounting for share-based payments issued as sales incentives to customers. The guidance requires that stock-based compensation expense be recorded as a reduction in the transaction price on the basis of the grant-date fair value. The transition provisions require that equity-classified awards be measured at the adoption date fair value if the measurement date has not been established prior to the adoption date. The measurement periods for the first two successive two-year periods of our outstanding performance-based common stock warrants were completed prior to adoption and were not impacted by this updated guidance. The measurement period for the final two-year period began on January 1, 2020, and, accordingly, we measured the fair value of the award as of our adoption date on January 1, 2020 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Through September 30, 2020, none of the warrants had vested for the two-year period beginning January 1, 2020.

The assumptions we utilized in the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the resulting grant-date fair value of the warrants as of January 1, 2020 were the following:


Fair value	$	17.19
Price of Universal Electronics Inc. common stock	$	52.21
Risk-free interest rate	1.62		%
Expected volatility	48.86		%
Expected life in years	3.00

Prior to the adoption of the new guidance on January 1, 2020, we adjusted the estimated weighted average fair value of the warrants each period. The assumptions we utilized in the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the resulting weighted average fair value of the warrants were the following:


	Three Months Ended September 30, 2019			Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
Fair value	$	16.78		$	16.78
Price of Universal Electronics Inc. common stock	$	51.09		$	51.09
Risk-free interest rate	1.56		%	1.56		%
Expected volatility	47.82		%	47.82		%
Expected life in years	3.25			3.25

The impact to net sales recorded in connection with the warrants and the related income tax benefit were as follows:


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Reduction to net sales	$	187	$	711	$	525	$	1,381
Income tax benefit	$	47	$	177	$	131	$	345

We estimate the number of warrants that will vest based on projected future purchases that will be made by Comcast and its affiliates. These estimates may increase or decrease based on actual future purchases. The aggregate estimated fair value of the warrants is recognized as a reduction to revenue over the related two-year vesting period. At September 30, 2020, the aggregate unrecognized estimated fair value of warrants we estimate will vest was $0.8 million.