Stock-Based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Stock-Based Compensation

2. Stock-Based Compensation

Equity Incentive Plan. Lamar’s 1996 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”) has reserved 13 million shares of Class A common stock for issuance to directors and employees, including shares underlying granted options and common stock reserved for issuance under its performance-based incentive program. Options granted under the plan expire ten years from the grant date with vesting terms ranging from three to five years and include 1) options that vest in one-fifth increments beginning on the grant date and continuing on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date and 2) options that cliff-vest on the fifth anniversary of the grant date. All grants are made at fair market value based on the closing price of our Class A common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on the date of grant.

We use a Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to estimate the fair value of share-based awards. The Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model incorporates various and highly subjective assumptions, including expected term and expected volatility. The Company granted options for an aggregate of 1,762,000 shares of its Class A common stock during the three months ended March 31, 2013.

In February 2013, our Board of Directors voted to amend the Incentive Plan to eliminate the provision that limited the amount of Class A Common Stock, including shares retained from an award, that could be withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations to the minimum tax obligations required by law (except with respect to option awards). In accordance with ASC 718, the Company is required to classify the awards affected by the amendment as liability-classified awards at fair value each period prior to their settlement. As of March 31, 2013, the Company recorded a liability, in accrued expenses, of $687 related to its equity incentive awards affected by this amendment.

Stock Purchase Plan. In 2009 our Board of Directors adopted a new employee stock purchase plan, the 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan or 2009 ESPP, which was approved by our shareholders on May 28, 2009. The 2009 ESPP reserved 588,154 shares of Class A common stock for issuance to our employees, which included 88,154 shares of Class A common stock that had been available for issuance under our 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan or 2000 ESPP. The 2000 ESPP was terminated following the issuance of all shares that were subject to the offer that commenced under the 2000 ESPP on January 1, 2009 and ended June 30, 2009. The terms of the 2009 ESPP are substantially the same as the 2000 ESPP.

The number of shares of Class A common stock available under the 2009 ESPP was automatically increased by 78,963 shares on January 1, 2013 pursuant to the automatic increase provisions of the 2009 ESPP.

The following is a summary of 2009 ESPP share activity for the period ended March 31, 2013:

	Shares
Available for future purchases, January 1, 2013		358,950
Additional shares reserved under 2009 ESPP		78,963
Purchases		(34,297	)
Available for future purchases, March 31, 2013		403,616

Performance-based compensation. Unrestricted shares of our Class A common stock may be awarded to key officers, employees and directors under our 1996 Equity Incentive Plan. The number of shares to be issued, if any, will be dependent on the level of achievement of performance measures for key officers and employees, as determined by the Company’s Compensation Committee based on our 2013 results. Any shares issued based on the achievement of performance goals will be issued in the first quarter of 2014. The shares subject to these awards can range from a minimum of 0% to a maximum of 100% of the target number of shares depending on the level at which the goals are attained. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Company has recorded $793 as non-cash compensation expense related to performance based awards. In addition, each non-employee director automatically receives upon election or re-election a restricted stock award of our Class A common stock. The awards vest 50% on grant date and 50% on the last day of each of the director’s one-year term. The Company recorded $246 non-cash compensation expense related to these non-employee director awards for the three months ended March 31, 2013.