SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

The following table presents share-based compensation expense recognized by the Company and unrecognized compensation costs:


	Share-Based Compensation				Unrecognized Compensation Costs
	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021		2020		As of March 31, 2021
Carry Unit Plan	$	759	$	3,120	$	44
Awards issued pursuant to LTIP:
Stock Option Awards	24,223		20,349		123,543
Performance Stock Units	2,982		3,901		60,675
Restricted Awards	317		576		549
	$	28,281	$	27,946	$	184,811

Carry Unit Plan

The following table summarizes activity relating to the Company's Carry Unit Plan:


	Number of Time Vesting Awards	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value







Balance, December 31, 2020	6,875,000	$	3.41
Vested	(5,375,000)	3.80

Balance, March 31, 2021	1,500,000	$	1.99

The weighted average fair value per unit was $2.10 and $3.89, as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

Stock Option Awards

The following table summarizes activity related to stock options granted to Company employees:


	Shares Under Option	Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (a)
Balance at December 31, 2020	37,062,146	$	25.52	8.69	$	457,608
Granted	409,478	34.78
Exercised	(104,365)	17.79
Forfeited	(360,778)	26.10
Balance at March 31, 2021	37,006,481	25.64		8.46	256,796
Options exercisable at March 31, 2021	3,141,750	$	17.55	6.78	$	47,070

(a)The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price and the closing price of Altice USA's Class A common stock at the respective date.

The total unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.56 years.

The following weighted-average assumptions were used to calculate the fair values of stock option awards granted during the three months ended March 31, 2021:


Risk-free interest rate			0.93%
Expected life (in years)			6.18
Dividend yield			—%
Volatility			32.92%
Grant date fair value			$10.77

Performance Stock Unit Awards

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had 7,330,235 PSUs outstanding. The PSUs have a weighted average grant date fair value of $10.65 per unit. The total unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding PSUs is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 4.85 years.