Stock-Based Compensation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Equity Incentive Plan. Lamar Advertising’s 1996 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, (the “Incentive Plan”) has reserved 17.5 million shares of Class A common stock for issuance to directors and employees, including shares underlying granted options and common stock reserved for issuance under its performance-based incentive program. Options granted under the plan expire ten years from the grant date with vesting terms ranging from three to five years and include 1) options that vest in one-fifth increments beginning on the grant date and continuing on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date and 2) options that cliff-vest on the fifth anniversary of the grant date. All grants are made at fair market value based on the closing price of our Class A common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the date of grant.

We use a Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to estimate the fair value of share-based awards. The Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model incorporates various and highly subjective assumptions, including expected term and expected volatility. The Company granted options for an aggregate of 13,500 shares of its Class A common stock during the six months ended June 30, 2023. At June 30, 2023 a total of 1,728,045 shares were available for future grant.

Stock Purchase Plan. On May 30, 2019, our shareholders approved Lamar Advertising’s 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2019 ESPP”). The number of shares of Class A common stock available under the 2019 ESPP was automatically increased by 87,327 shares on January 1, 2023 pursuant to the automatic increase provisions of the 2019 ESPP.

The following is a summary of 2019 ESPP share activity for the six months ended June 30, 2023:


			Shares
Available for future purchases, January 1, 2023			301,971
Additional shares reserved under 2019 ESPP			87,327
Purchases			(79,515)
Available for future purchases, June 30, 2023			309,783

Performance-based stock compensation. Unrestricted shares of our Class A common stock may be awarded to key officers, employees and directors under the Incentive Plan. The number of shares to be issued, if any, will be dependent on the level of achievement of performance measures for key officers and employees, as determined by the Company’s Compensation Committee based on our 2023 results. Any shares issued based on the achievement of performance goals will be issued in the first quarter of 2024. The shares subject to these awards can range from a minimum of 0% to a maximum of 100% of the target number of shares depending on the level at which the goals are attained. For the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $1,855 and $5,959, respectively, as stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based awards. For the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $6,445 and $5,959, respectively, as stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based awards.

LTIP Units. In addition to performance-based stock compensation, the Company may issue LTIP Units of Lamar Advertising Limited Partnership (the "OP"), a subsidiary of the Company, to certain officers, employees and directors under the Incentive Plan of the Company. Such LTIP Units are subject to vesting and forfeiture conditions based on performance criteria approved by the Compensation Committee, which mirrors the performance criteria applicable to the Company's performance-based stock compensation, as described above. LTIP Units are a class of units intended to qualify as “profits interests” of the OP. The LTIP Units convert into Common Units of the OP upon the occurrence of certain events. Common Units are redeemable by the holder for shares of the Company's Class A common stock after a holding period of twelve months, or may be paid out in cash at the option of the general partner of the OP. As of the June 30, 2023, the OP issued a total of 176,000 LTIP Units to the Company’s executive officers, of which 88,000 LTIP units have vested. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company recorded $1,012 and $2,903, respectively, as stock-based compensation expense related to these LTIP Units.

Restricted stock compensation. Annually, each non-employee director automatically receives a restricted stock award of our Class A common stock upon election or re-election. The awards vest 50% on grant date and 50% on the last day of the directors' one year term. For the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $419 and $369, respectively, in stock-based compensation expense related to these awards. For the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $520 and $429, respectively, in stock-based compensation expense related to these awards.