NOTE 3 — EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

The Company has stock plans that provide for grants of equity-based awards to eligible participants, including stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and market-based performance RSUs (“market-based PRSUs”) of Lam Research common stock (“Common Stock”). An option is a right to purchase Common Stock at a set price. An RSU award is an agreement to issue a set number of shares of Common Stock at the time of vesting. The Company’s market-based PRSUs contain both a market condition and a service condition. The Company’s options and RSU awards typically vest over a period of three years or less, although awards assumed in connection with the acquisition of Novellus Systems, Inc. (“Novellus”), have vesting terms up to four years. The Company also has an employee stock purchase plan that allows employees to purchase its Common Stock at a discount through payroll deductions.

The Company recognized the following equity-based compensation expense and related income tax benefit in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations:


	Three Months Ended
	September 27, 2015		September 28, 2014
	(in thousands)
Equity-based compensation expense	$	35,774	$	32,040
Income tax benefit related to equity-based compensation expense	$	6,097	$	4,724

The estimated fair value of the Company’s stock-based awards, less expected forfeitures, is amortized over the awards’ vesting term on a straight-line basis.

Stock Options and RSUs

The Lam Research Corporation 2007 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (collectively the “Stock Plans”) provide for the grant of non-qualified equity-based awards to eligible employees, consultants and advisors, and non-employee directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. A summary of stock plan transactions is as follows:


	Options Outstanding					Restricted Stock Units Outstanding
	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Fair Market Value at Grant
June 28, 2015		835,832		$	37.44		4,954,088		$	60.13
Granted		—		$	—		73,614		$	68.99
Exercised		(14,718	)	$	25.81		N/A			N/A
Cancelled		—		$	—		(21,964	)	$	61.87
Vested restricted stock		N/A			N/A		(652,543	)	$	40.63

September 27, 2015		821,114		$	37.66		4,353,195		$	63.20

As of September 27, 2015, there was $2.5 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options granted and outstanding; that cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average remaining vesting period of 1.9 years. As of September 27, 2015, there was $169.9 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSUs granted; that expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average remaining period of 1.9 years.

ESPP

The 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated (the “1999 ESPP”), allows employees to designate a portion of their base compensation to be withheld through payroll deductions and used to purchase Common Stock at a purchase price per share equal to the lower of 85% of the fair market value of Common Stock on the first or last day of the applicable purchase period. Each offering period generally lasts up to 12 months and includes up to three interim purchase dates.

Purchase rights under the 1999 ESPP were valued using the Black-Scholes option valuation model and the following weighted-average assumptions for the three and nine months ended September 27, 2015 and September 28, 2014:


	Three Months Ended
	September 27, 2015			September 28, 2014
Expected term (years)		0.68			0.68
Expected stock price volatility		31.56	%		29.07	%
Risk-free interest rate		0.18	%		0.07	%
Dividend Yield		0.93	%		0.29	%

As of September 27, 2015, there was $14.0 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to the 1999 ESPP, which is expected to be recognized over a remaining period of approximately 11 months.