Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation is measured at the grant date based on the grant-date fair value of the awards ultimately expected to vest, and is recognized as an expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, which is generally five years for stock options and three years for restricted stock units. Determining the amount of stock-based compensation to be recorded requires the Company to develop estimates used in calculating the grant-date fair value of stock options.

Grant-Date Fair Value — The Company uses the Black-Scholes valuation model to calculate the grant-date fair value of stock option awards. The use of valuation models requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions, such as expected volatility, expected term, risk-free interest rate, expected dividend yield and forfeiture rates. The grant-date fair value of restricted stock units represents the value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, reduced by the present value of dividends expected to be paid on the Company’s common stock prior to vesting.

Information pertaining to the Company’s stock option awards and the related estimated weighted-average assumptions to calculate the fair value of stock options granted during the three-month periods ended February 1, 2014 and February 2, 2013

are as follows:



	Three Months Ended
Stock Options	February 1, 2014			February 2, 2013
Options granted (in thousands)	16			20
Weighted-average exercise price		$48.97			$39.98
Weighted-average grant-date fair value		$7.06			$5.87
Assumptions:
Weighted-average expected volatility	23.0		%	24.1		%
Weighted-average expected term (in years)	5.4			5.3
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate	1.6		%	0.7		%
Weighted-average expected dividend yield	2.7		%	3.0		%

Expected volatility — The Company is responsible for estimating volatility and has considered a number of factors, including third-party estimates. The Company currently believes that the exclusive use of implied volatility results in the best estimate of the grant-date fair value of employee stock options because it reflects the market’s current expectations of future volatility. In evaluating the appropriateness of exclusively relying on implied volatility, the Company concluded that: (1) options in the Company’s common stock are actively traded with sufficient volume on several exchanges; (2) the market prices of both the traded options and the underlying shares are measured at a similar point in time to each other and on a date close to the grant date of the employee share options; (3) the traded options have exercise prices that are both near-the-money and close to the exercise price of the employee share options; and (4) the remaining maturities of the traded options used to estimate volatility are at least one year.

Expected term — The Company uses historical employee exercise and option expiration data to estimate the expected term assumption for the Black-Scholes grant-date valuation. The Company believes that this historical data is currently the best estimate of the expected term of a new option, and that generally its employees exhibit similar exercise behavior.

Risk-free interest rate — The yield on zero-coupon U.S. Treasury securities for a period that is commensurate with the expected term assumption is used as the risk-free interest rate.

Expected dividend yield — Expected dividend yield is calculated by annualizing the cash dividend declared by the Company’s Board of Directors for the current quarter and dividing that result by the closing stock price on the date of grant. Until such time as the Company’s Board of Directors declares a cash dividend for an amount that is different from the current quarter’s cash dividend, the current dividend will be used in deriving this assumption. Cash dividends are not paid on options, restricted stock or restricted stock units.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The amount of stock-based compensation expense recognized during a period is based on the value of the awards that are ultimately expected to vest. Forfeitures are estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The term “forfeitures” is distinct from “cancellations” or “expirations” and represents only the unvested portion of the surrendered stock-based award. Based on an analysis of its historical forfeitures, the Company has applied an annual forfeiture rate of 4.4% to all unvested stock-based awards as of February 1, 2014. The rate of 4.4% represents the portion that is expected to be forfeited each year over the vesting period. This analysis will be re-evaluated quarterly and the forfeiture rate will be adjusted as necessary. Ultimately, the actual expense recognized over the vesting period will only be for those options that vest.

Additional paid-in-capital (APIC) Pool

The APIC pool represents the excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation that are available to absorb future tax deficiencies. If the amount of future tax deficiencies is greater than the available APIC pool, the Company records the excess as income tax expense in its condensed consolidated statements of income. During the three-month periods ended February 1, 2014 and February 2, 2013, the Company had available APIC pool to absorb tax deficiencies recorded and as a result, these deficiencies did not affect its results of operations.

Stock-Based Compensation Activity

A summary of the activity under the Company’s stock option plans as of February 1, 2014 and changes during the three-month period then ended is presented below:



Activity during the Three Months Ended February 1, 2014	Options Outstanding (in thousands)		Weighted- Average Exercise Price Per Share		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term in Years	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding November 2, 2013	18,992			$33.56
Options granted	16			$48.97
Options exercised	(2,507	)		$31.76
Options forfeited	(115	)		$40.79
Options expired	(24	)		$45.46
Options outstanding at February 1, 2014	16,362			$33.79	5.2		$236,988
Options exercisable at February 1, 2014	11,131			$30.04	3.8		$202,894
Options vested or expected to vest at February 1, 2014 (1)	15,976			$33.57	5.1		$234,806


(1)	In addition to the vested options, the Company expects a portion of the unvested options to vest at some point in the future. The number of options expected to vest is calculated by applying an estimated forfeiture rate to the unvested options.

During the three months ended February 1, 2014, the total intrinsic value of options exercised (i.e., the difference between the market price at exercise and the price paid by the employee to exercise the options) was $44.9 million and the total amount of proceeds received by the Company from the exercise of these options was $79.6 million.

During the three months ended February 2, 2013, the total intrinsic value of options exercised (i.e., the difference between the market price at exercise and the price paid by the employee to exercise the options) was $52.0 million and the total amount of proceeds received by the Company from the exercise of these options was $113.8 million.

A summary of the Company’s restricted stock unit award activity as of February 1, 2014 and changes during the three-month period then ended is presented below:



Activity during the Three Months Ended February 1, 2014	Restricted Stock Units Outstanding (in thousands)		Weighted- Average Grant- Date Fair Value Per Share
Restricted stock units outstanding at November 2, 2013	2,493			$37.62
Units granted	24			$46.81
Restrictions lapsed	(784	)		$34.86
Forfeited	(38	)		$38.50
Restricted stock units outstanding at February 1, 2014	1,695			$39.00

As of February 1, 2014, there was $70.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share-based awards comprised of stock options and restricted stock units. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.4 years . The total grant-date fair value of shares that vested during the three months ended February 1, 2014 and February 2, 2013 was approximately $39.5 million and $50.2 million, respectively.