Stock-based compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

As at March 31, 2024, the Company had several stock-based compensation plans including a stock options plan, various cash-settled liability plans, and an employee share purchase plan. These plans resulted in an expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024 of $59 million (three months ended March 31, 2023 - expense of $32 million).

Stock options plan

In the three months ended March 31, 2024, under the Company’s stock options plan, the Company issued 817,609 options at the weighted-average price of $113.77 per share, based on the closing price on the grant date. Pursuant to the employee plan, these options may be exercised upon vesting, which is between 12 months and 48 months after the grant date, and will expire after seven years from the grant date.

Under the fair value method, the fair value of the stock options at grant date was approximately $27 million. The weighted-average fair value assumptions were approximately:


			For the three months ended March 31, 2024
Expected option life (years)(1)			4.75
Risk-free interest rate(2)			3.88%
Expected share price volatility(3)			28.38%
Expected annual dividends per share(4)			$0.760
Expected forfeiture rate(5)			3.12%
Weighted-average grant date fair value per option granted during the period			$33.27

(1)Represents the period of time that awards are expected to be outstanding. Historical data on exercise behaviour or, when available, specific expectations regarding future exercise behaviour were used to estimate the expected life of the option.

(2)Based on the implied yield available on zero-coupon government issues with an equivalent term commensurate with the expected term of the option.

(3)Based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock price over a period commensurate with the expected term of the option.

(4)Determined by the current annual dividend at the time of grant. The Company does not employ different dividend yields throughout the contractual term of the option.

(5)The Company estimates forfeitures based on past experience. This rate is monitored on a periodic basis.

Performance share unit plans

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company issued 568,159 Performance Share Units ("PSUs") with a grant date fair value of $65 million and 25,589 Performance Deferred Share Units ("PDSUs") with a grant date fair value, including the fair value of expected future matching units, of $3 million. PSUs and PDSUs attract dividend equivalents in the form of additional units based on dividends paid on the Company’s Common Shares, and vest three to four years after the grant date, contingent on the Company’s performance ("performance factor"). Vested PSUs are settled in cash. Vested PDSUs are converted into DSUs pursuant to the DSU plan, are eligible for a 25% company match if the employee has not exceeded their share ownership requirements, and are settled in cash only when the holder ceases their employment with the Company.

The performance period for 568,159 PSUs and all PDSUs granted in the three months ended March 31, 2024 is January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026 and the performance factors are Free Cash Flow ("FCF"), annualized earnings before interest, tax,

depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA"), and Total Shareholder Return "TSR" compared to the S&P/TSX 60 Index, TSR compared to the S&P 500 Industrials Index, and TSR compared to Class 1 Railroads.

The performance period for all of the 431,430 PSUs and 12,694 PDSUs granted in 2021 was January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023, and the performance factors were Return on Invested Capital ("ROIC"), TSR compared to the S&P/TSX 60 Index, and TSR compared to Class I Railways. The resulting payout was 135% of the outstanding units multiplied by the Company's average common share price calculated based on the last 30 trading days preceding December 31, 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, payouts were $54 million on 399,372 PSUs, including dividends reinvested. The 11,372 PDSUs that vested on December 31, 2023, with a fair value of $2 million, including dividends reinvested and matching units, will be paid out in future reporting periods pursuant to the DSU plan (as described above).