Note 9 – Benefit Plans

Stock Plans

The Company had 436.6 million shares reserved for future issuance under its stock plans as of March 28, 2015. RSUs granted generally vest over four years, based on continued employment, and are settled upon vesting in shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis. Each share issued with respect to RSUs granted under the Company’s stock plans reduces the number of shares available for grant under the plan by two shares. RSUs cancelled and shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations increase the number of shares available for grant under the plans utilizing a factor of two times the number of RSUs cancelled or shares withheld. Stock options count against the number of shares available for grant on a one-for-one basis.

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

During the three months ended March 28, 2015, Section 16 officers Timothy D. Cook, Angela Ahrendts, Luca Maestri and Daniel Riccio had equity trading plans in place in accordance with Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) under the Exchange Act. An equity trading plan is a written document that pre-establishes the amounts, prices and dates (or formula for determining the amounts, prices and dates) of future purchases or sales of the Company’s stock, including shares acquired pursuant to the Company’s employee and director equity plans.

Restricted Stock Units

A summary of the Company’s RSU activity and related information for the six months ended March 28, 2015 is as follows:


	Number of RSUs (in thousands)			Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in millions)
Balance at September 27, 2014		103,822		$	70.98
RSUs granted		38,445		$	102.36
RSUs vested		(19,423	)	$	65.24
RSUs cancelled		(2,980	)	$	75.15

Balance at March 28, 2015		119,864		$	81.87	$	14,773

RSUs that vested during the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2015 had fair values of $317 million and $2.0 billion, respectively, as of the vesting date. RSUs that vested during the three- and six-month periods ended March 29, 2014 had fair values of $198 million and $1.3 billion, respectively, as of the vesting date.

Stock Options

The Company had 2.3 million stock options outstanding as of March 28, 2015, with a weighted-average exercise price per share of $18.15 and weighted-average remaining contractual term of 2.6 years, substantially all of which are exercisable. The aggregate intrinsic value of the stock options outstanding as of March 28, 2015 was $239 million, which represents the value of the Company’s closing stock price on the last trading day of the period in excess of the weighted-average exercise price multiplied by the number of options outstanding.

The total intrinsic value of options at the time of exercise was $119 million and $367 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2015, respectively, and $148 million and $707 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 29, 2014, respectively.

Share-Based Compensation

The following table shows a summary of the share-based compensation expense included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014 (in millions):


	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	March 28, 2015		March 29, 2014		March 28, 2015		March 29, 2014
Cost of sales	$	142	$	110	$	282	$	219
Research and development		384		300		758		589
Selling, general and administrative		401		286		775		569

Total share-based compensation expense	$	927	$	696	$	1,815	$	1,377

The income tax benefit related to share-based compensation expense was $311 million and $662 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2015, respectively, and was $230 million and $495 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 29, 2014, respectively. As of March 28, 2015, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding stock options and RSUs expected to vest was $8.1 billion, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of 2.9 years.