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Stock Compensation Plans
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock Compensation Plans Stock Compensation Plans
Equity Incentive Plan. Lamar’s 1996 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, (the “1996 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 and LTIP Unit programs. Options granted under the 1996 Plan expire ten years from the grant date with vesting terms ranging from three to five years which primarily includes 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.
In February 2013, the 1996 Plan was amended to eliminate the provision that limited the amount of Class A common stock, including shares retained from an award, that could be withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations to the minimum tax obligations required by law (except with respect to option awards). In accordance with ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation, the Company is required to classify the awards affected by the amendment as liability-classified awards at fair value each period prior to their settlement. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded a liability, in accrued expenses, of $16,404 and $7,936, respectively, related to its equity incentive awards affected by this amendment.
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 highly subjective assumptions, including expected term and expected volatility. We have reviewed our historical pattern of option exercises and have determined that meaningful differences in option exercise activity existed among vesting schedules. Therefore, for all stock options granted after January 1, 2006, we have categorized these awards into two groups of vesting 1) 5-year cliff vest and 2) 4-year graded vest, for valuation purposes. We have determined there were no meaningful differences in employee activity under our ESPP due to the nature of the plan.
We estimate the expected term of options granted using an implied life derived from the results of a hypothetical mid-point settlement scenario, which incorporates our historical exercise, expiration and post-vesting employment termination patterns, while accommodating for partial life cycle effects. We believe these estimates will approximate future behavior.
We estimate the expected volatility of our Class A common stock at the grant date using a blend of 90% historical volatility of our Class A common stock and 10% implied volatility of publicly traded options with maturities greater than six months on our Class A common stock as of the option grant date. Our decision to use a blend of historical and implied volatility was based upon the volume of actively traded options on our common stock and our belief that historical volatility alone may not be completely representative of future stock price trends.
Our risk-free interest rate assumption is determined using the Federal Reserve nominal rates for U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with maturities similar to those of the expected term of the award being valued. We assumed an expected dividend yield of 5%.
We estimate option forfeitures at the time of grant and periodically revise those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. We record stock based compensation expense only for those awards expected to vest using an estimated forfeiture rate based on our historical forfeiture data.
The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions used:
Grant YearDividend
Yield
Expected
Volatility
Risk Free
Interest Rate
Expected
Lives
20245%45%4%6
20235%45%4%6
20225%45%2%6
Information regarding stock options under the 1996 Plan for the year ended December 31, 2024 is as follows:
 SharesWeighted
Average
Exercise
Price
Weighted
Average
Contractual
Life
Outstanding, beginning of year391,015 $85.81 
Granted45,000 122.37 
Exercised(112,575)80.74 
Forfeited— — 
Expired— — 
Outstanding, end of year323,440 $92.67 6.32
Exercisable at end of year211,640 $85.35 5.31
At December 31, 2024 there was $2,682 of unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options granted which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.70 years.
Shares available for future stock option, LTIP Units and restricted share grants to employees and directors under existing plans were 1,463,374 at December 31, 2024. The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding as of December 31,
2024 was $9,586 and the aggregate intrinsic value of options exercisable was $7,738. Total intrinsic value of options exercised was $4,627 for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Information regarding LTIP Units under the 1996 Plan for the year ended December 31, 2024 is as follows:
SharesWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding, beginning of year176,000 $95.50 
Granted120,000 117.29 
Exercised— — 
Forfeited(35,200)102.03 
Outstanding, end of year260,800 $104.64 
Vested at end of year140,800 $93.87 
At December 31, 2024 there was $2,346 of unrecognized compensation cost related to LITP Units granted which is expected to be recognized in the first quarter of 2025.
The fair value of LTIP Units granted and vested as of December 31, 2024 was $27,291 and $13,216, respectively, based on the weighted average grant date fair value per unit.
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 for issuance under the 2019 ESPP was automatically increased by 87,645 shares on January 1, 2024 pursuant to the automatic increase provisions of the 2019 ESPP.
The following is a summary of 2019 ESPP share activity for the year ended December 31, 2024:
 Shares
Available for future purchases, January 1, 2024
242,292 
Additional shares reserved under 2019 ESPP87,645 
Purchases(125,409)
Available for future purchases, December 31, 2024204,528 
Performance-based compensation. Unrestricted shares of our Class A common stock may be awarded to key officers, employees and directors under our 1996 Plan based on certain Company performance measures for fiscal year 2024. The number of shares to be issued, if any, are generally dependent on the level of achievement of these performance measures as determined by the Company’s Compensation Committee based on our 2024 results and are issued in the first quarter of 2025. The shares subject to these awards generally can range from a minimum of 0% to a maximum of 120% of the target number of shares depending on the level at which the goals are attained. Under the 1996 Plan, the Company's Compensation Committee may also award additional shares in its discretion based on other factors, which awards, if any, for 2025, will also be issued in the first quarter of 2025. Based on the Company’s performance measures achieved through December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $24,711, $11,677 and $11,545 as stock-based compensation expense related to these agreements for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
LTIP Units. In addition to stock compensation, the Company may issue LTIP Units of the OP, a subsidiary of the Company, to certain officers, employees and directors under the 1996 Plan. Such LTIP Units are subject to vesting and forfeiture conditions based on performance criteria approved by the Compensation Committee, which generally mirrors the performance criteria applicable to the Company's performance-based compensation, as described above. The Compensation Committee may also make discretionary grants of LTIP Units based on other factors. 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 December 31, 2024, the OP issued a total of 260,800 LTIP Units to the Company's executive officers, of which 140,800 LTIP units have vested. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded $13,996 and $5,347, 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 years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded $746 and $715, respectively, in stock-based compensation expense related to these awards.