Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

24. Stock-Based Compensation

We recognize stock-based compensation expense related to stock options, restricted stock units, performance units, phantom units and the employee stock purchase plan. We account for forfeitures as they occur.

Stock-based compensation expense consisted of the following during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Equity awards	$	8,105	$	7,388	$	8,460
Liability awards	2,336		1,096		1,580
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	10,441	$	8,484	$	10,040

Stock Incentive Plan

In April 2013, we adopted the 2013 Plan to provide for the granting of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance units, other stock-based awards and dividend equivalent rights to employees, directors and consultants of Archrock. The 2013 Plan is administered by the compensation committee of our Board of Directors. Under the 2013 Plan, the maximum number of shares of common stock available for issuance pursuant to awards is 10,100,000. An additional 2,832,994 shares were registered for issuance under the 2013 Plan pursuant to the terms of the Merger. Each option and stock appreciation right granted counts as one share against the aggregate share limit, and any share subject to a stock-settled award other than a stock option, stock appreciation right or other award for which the recipient pays intrinsic value counts as 1.75 shares against the aggregate share limit. Shares subject to awards granted under the 2013 Plan that are subsequently canceled, terminated, settled in cash or forfeited (excluding shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations or to pay the exercise price of an option) are, to the extent of such cancellation, termination, settlement or forfeiture, available for future grant under the 2013 Plan. Cash-settled awards are not counted against the aggregate share limit. No additional grants have been or may be made under the 2007 Plan following the adoption of the 2013 Plan. Previous grants made under the 2007 Plan continue to be governed by that plan and the applicable award agreements.

The 2013 Plan allows us to withhold shares upon vesting of restricted stock at the then-current market price to cover taxes required to be withheld on the vesting date. We withheld 212,080 shares from participants valued at $2.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 to cover tax withholding.

The compensation committee of our Board of Directors generally establishes its schedule for making annual long-term incentive awards, consisting of a combination of restricted shares and performance units vesting over multiple years, to our named executive officers several months in advance and does not make such awards based on knowledge of material nonpublic information. Although the compensation committee of our Board of Directors has historically granted awards on a regular, predictable cycle, such awards may be granted at other times during the year, as determined in the sole discretion of the compensation committee.

Stock Options

Stock options are granted at fair market value at the grant date, are exercisable according to the vesting schedule established by the compensation committee of our Board of Directors in its sole discretion and expire no later than seven years after the grant date. Stock options generally vest one-third per year on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, we did not grant any stock options, and there was no stock option activity during the year ended December 31, 2019:



	Stock Options (in thousands)	Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share		Weighted Average Remaining Life (in years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
Options outstanding and exercisable, January 1, 2019	154	$	19.40
Options outstanding and exercisable, December 31, 2019	154	19.40		0.6	$	—

Intrinsic value is the difference between the market value of our stock and the exercise price of each stock option multiplied by the number of stock options outstanding for those stock options where the market value exceeds their exercise price. The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $0.8 million and $0.3 million, respectively. There were no stock options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2019. Stock options outstanding at December 31, 2019 expire in March 2020 and March 2021.

Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units, Cash-Settled Restricted Stock Units and Cash-Settled Performance Units

For grants of restricted stock and restricted stock units, we recognize compensation expense over the vesting period equal to the fair value of our common stock at the grant date. Our restricted stock and restricted stock units include rights to receive dividends or dividend equivalents. We remeasure the fair value of cash-settled restricted stock units and cash-settled performance units and record a cumulative adjustment of the expense previously recognized. Our obligation related to the cash-settled restricted stock units and cash-settled performance units is reflected as a liability in our consolidated balance sheets. Restricted stock, restricted stock units, cash-settled restricted stock units and cash-settled performance units generally vest one-third per year on dates as specified in the applicable award agreement, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.

We also grant performance-based restricted stock units, which in addition to service conditions, have a market-based condition, which determines the number of restricted stock units and dividend equivalents earned. The market condition is based on our total shareholder return ranked against that of a predetermined peer group over a three-year performance period. The awards vest in their entirety on a date specified in the award agreement in the year following the conclusion of the performance period. The fair value of the performance-based restricted stock units, incorporating the market condition, is estimated on the grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Expected volatilities for us and each peer company utilized in the model are estimated using a historical period consistent with the awards’ remaining performance period as of the grant date. The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield on U.S. Treasury Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal Securities for a term consistent with the remaining performance period. The dividend yield used is 0.0% to approximate accumulation of earnings.

The following table presents the inputs used and the grant date fair value calculated in the Monte Carlo simulation model for the performance-based restricted stock units awarded during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.



	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018
Remaining performance period as of grant date (in years)	2.9			2.8
Risk-free interest rate used	2.6		%	2.4		%
Grant-date fair value	$	12.91		$	13.46

The following table presents restricted stock, restricted stock unit, performance-based restricted stock unit, cash-settled restricted stock unit and cash-settled performance unit activity during the year ended December 31, 2019:



	Shares (in thousands)		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Non-vested awards, January 1, 2019	1,728		$	9.68
Granted ⁽¹⁾	1,404		10.01
Vested ⁽²⁾	(957	)	8.85
Canceled	(153	)	10.33
Non-vested awards, December 31, 2019 ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾	2,022		10.25

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⁽¹⁾	The weighted average grant date fair value of shares granted during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $10.01, $9.66 and $12.95, respectively.


⁽²⁾	The total fair value of all awards vested during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $9.0 million, $8.2 million and $10.8 million, respectively.


⁽³⁾	Non-vested awards as of December 31, 2019 were comprised of 376,000 cash-settled restricted stock units and cash-settled performance units and 1,646,000 restricted stock, stock-settled restricted stock units and stock-settled performance-based restricted stock units.

⁽⁴⁾

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the settlement terms of 99,631 performance units, with grant dates in 2018 and 2019, were modified from settlement in stock to cash. The change in award settlement from stock to cash was the only modification to these awards; the vesting, forfeiture and all other terms and conditions were unchanged. The modification resulted in a $0.2 million reclassification from additional paid-in capital to other current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and had an immaterial impact on our consolidated statements of operations.

As of December 31, 2019, we expect $13.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock, stock-settled restricted stock units, performance units, cash-settled restricted stock units and cash-settled performance units to be recognized over the weighted-average period of 1.8 years. Cash paid upon vesting of cash-settled restricted stock units during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $1.3 million, $1.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Adopted in 2017, our ESPP provides employees with an opportunity to participate in our long-term performance and success through the purchase of shares of common stock at a price that may be less than fair market value. Each quarter, eligible employees may elect to withhold a portion of their salary up to the lesser of $25,000 per year or 10% of their eligible pay to purchase shares of our common stock at a price equal to 85% to 100% of the fair market value of the stock as defined by the plan. The ESPP will terminate on the date that all shares of common stock authorized for sale under the ESPP have been purchased, unless it is extended. The maximum number of shares of common stock available for purchase under the ESPP is 1,000,000. As of December 31, 2019, 783,270 shares remained available for purchase under the ESPP. Our ESPP is compensatory and, as a result, we record an expense in our consolidated statements of operations related to the ESPP. The purchase discount under the ESPP is 5% of the fair market value of our common stock on the first trading day of the quarter or the last trading day of the quarter, whichever is lower.

Directors’ Stock and Deferral Plan

Adopted in 2007, the Archrock, Inc. Directors’ Stock and Deferral Plan provides non-employee members of the Board of Directors with an opportunity to elect to receive our common stock as payment for a portion or all of their retainer. The number of shares paid each quarter is determined by dividing the dollar amount of fees elected to be paid in common stock by the closing sales price per share of the common stock on the last day of the quarter. In addition, directors who elect to receive a portion or all of their fees in the form of common stock may also elect to defer, until a later date, the receipt of a portion or all of their fees to be received in common stock. We have reserved 100,000 shares under the Directors’ Stock and Deferral Plan and, as of December 31, 2019, 48,022 shares remained available to be issued under the plan.

Partnership Long-Term Incentive Plans

Pursuant to the Merger, all outstanding phantom units previously granted under the 2017 and 2006 Partnership LTIP were converted into comparable awards based on Archrock’s common shares. As such, all outstanding phantom units were converted, effective as of the closing of the Merger, into Archrock restricted stock units. See Note 15 (“Equity”) for further details of the Merger. Each Archrock restricted stock unit is subject to the same vesting, forfeiture and other terms and conditions applicable to the converted Partnership phantom units. There was no additional compensation cost to record as the conversion of awards did not result in incremental fair value.

Prior to the Merger, in April 2017, the Partnership adopted the 2017 Partnership LTIP to provide for the benefit of employees, directors and consultants of the Partnership, us and our respective affiliates. The 2017 Partnership LTIP provided for the issuance of unit options, unit appreciation rights, restricted units, phantom units, performance awards, bonus awards, distribution equivalent rights, cash awards and other unit-based awards. Previous grants made under the 2006 Partnership LTIP continued to be governed by that plan and the applicable award agreements. We recognized compensation expense over the vesting period equal to the fair value of the Partnership’s common units at the grant date. Phantom units granted under the 2017 and 2006 LTIP may have included nonforfeitable tandem distribution equivalent rights to receive cash distributions on unvested phantom units in the quarter in which distributions were paid on common units. Phantom units generally vested one-third per year on dates specified in the applicable award agreements subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. During the year ended December 31, 2018, 53,091 phantom units vested with a weighted average grant date fair value per unit of $11.24.