Parent Company Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Parent Stock-Based Compensation

Parent Company Stock-Based Compensation

GM grants to certain employees and key executive officers Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), Performance-based Share Units (PSUs) and stock options. Shares awarded under the plans are subject to forfeiture if the participant leaves the company for reasons other than those permitted under the plans, such as retirement, death or disability.

RSU awards granted either cliff vest or ratably vest generally over a three-year service period, as defined in the terms for each award. PSU awards vest at the end of a three-year performance period based on performance criteria determined by the Executive Compensation Committee of the GM Board of Directors at the time of award. The number of shares earned may equal, exceed or be less than the targeted number of shares depending on whether the performance criteria are met, surpassed or not met. Stock options expire 10 years from the grant date. GM's performance-based stock options vest ratably over 55 months based on the performance of its common stock relative to that of a specified peer group. GM's service-based stock options vest ratably over 19 months to three years.

The following table summarizes information about RSUs, PSUs and stock options granted to our employees and key executive officers under GM's stock-based compensation programs (shares in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31, 2021
	Shares	Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term in Years
Outstanding at January 1, 2021	2,940	$	31.01	1.4
Granted	653	$	57.49
Settled	(1,018)	$	28.62
Forfeited or expired	(67)	$	44.85
Outstanding at December 31, 2021(a)	2,508	$	38.51	1.2
Unvested at December 31, 2021	1,618	$	44.96	1.5
Vested and payable at December 31, 2021	790	$	25.31

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(a)    Includes the target amount of PSUs.

The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of the stock options are a dividend yield of 1.67%, 4.28% and 3.90%, expected volatility of 48%, 25% and 28%, a risk-free interest rate of 0.76%, 1.50% and 2.63%, and an expected option life of 6.00 years for options issued during 2021, 2020 and 2019. The expected volatility is based on the average of the implied volatility of publicly traded options for GM's common stock.

Total compensation expense related to the above awards was $50 million, $49 million and $50 million in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

At December 31, 2021, total unrecognized compensation expense for nonvested equity awards granted was $32 million. This expense is expected to be recorded over a weighted-average period of 1.2 years. The total fair value of RSUs and PSUs vested was $20 million, $21 million and $19 million in 2021, 2020 and 2019.