Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Stock-Based Compensation

v3.22.2.2
Stock-Based Compensation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock-Based Compensation
14. Stock-Based Compensation
The Company adopted two equity incentive plans in prior years. Legacy BlackSky issued equity and equity-based awards under its 2014 stock incentive plan (the “2014 Plan”) and 2011 stock incentive plan (the “2011 Plan”, together with the 2014 Plan, collectively the “Plans”), which are now administered by the Company’s board of directors. The Plans are no longer active; however, outstanding awards granted under these Plans will not be affected. Both Plans allowed the board of directors to grant stock options, designated as incentive or nonqualified, and stock awards to employees, officers, directors, and consultants. Stock options were granted with an exercise price per share equal to at least the estimated fair value of the underlying class A common stock on the date of grant. The vesting period was determined through individual award agreements and was generally over a four-year period. Awards generally expired 10 years from the date of grant. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had 41 thousand and 1.5 million options outstanding, respectively, under the 2011 and 2014 Plans.
The stock-based compensation expense attributable to continuing operations was included in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as follows:
Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
2022 2021 2022 2021
(in thousands)
Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization $ 259  $ 2,898  $ 1,364  $ 2,949 
Engineering & systems integration costs, excluding depreciation and amortization 37  —  202  — 
Selling, general and administrative 2,867  25,595  14,823  26,316 
Total stock-based compensation expense $ 3,163  $ 28,493  $ 16,389  $ 29,265 
The stock-based compensation expense recorded for the RSUs during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 included a cumulative adjustment for service completed from the grant date to the close of the Merger as the result of a vested performance condition. Additionally, the Company recorded stock-based compensation related to capitalized internal labor for software development activities of $0.3 million and $0 during the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $1.3 million and $0 during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These amounts are included in property, plant, and equipment - net on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.
Stock Options
Following the Merger, the outstanding stock options issued under the 2014 Plan may be exercised (subject to their original vesting, exercise and other terms and conditions) to purchase a number of shares of class A common stock equal to the number of shares of Legacy BlackSky class A common stock, as adjusted for the common stock exchange ratio, subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable to such Legacy BlackSky stock option (each an “Assumed Company Stock Option”). The exercise price per share of each Assumed Company Stock Option was equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the exercise price per share applicable to such Legacy BlackSky stock option by the common stock exchange ratio.
The Black-Scholes option pricing model is used to determine the fair value of options granted. The Company utilized assumptions concerning expected term, a risk-free interest rate, and expected volatility to determine such values. A summary of the weighted-average assumptions used by the Company is presented below for the nine months ended September 30, 2022; there were no stock options awarded during the nine months ended September 30, 2021:
Fair value per common share
$2.10 - $2.15
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate
3.20% - 3.38%
Volatility
33.90% - 34.20%
Expected term (in years) 8.0
Dividend rate %
Legacy BlackSky historically adjusted the exercise price of certain outstanding stock options. For each award with an adjusted exercise price, Legacy BlackSky calculated the incremental fair value, which was the excess of the fair value of the modified award over the fair value of the original award immediately before the modification. The incremental fair value was recognized as stock-based compensation expense immediately to the extent that the modified stock option already had vested, and for stock options that were not yet vested, the incremental fair value has been recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the remaining vesting period.
A summary of the Company’s stock option activity under the Plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 is presented below:
Options Weighted-Average Exercise Price Weighted Average Contractual Term Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(in thousands) (in years) (in thousands)
Outstanding - January 1, 2022 5,022  $ 4.4914 
Granted 4,654  2.1468 
Exercised (638) 0.0565 
Forfeited (955) 7.3285 
Outstanding - September 30, 2022 8,083  3.1558  9.11 $ 1,924 
Exercisable - September 30, 2022 1,275  1.6698  6.79 1,221
For options exercised, intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the estimated fair value on the date of exercise and the exercise price. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $1.7 million and $6.8 million, respectively. The total fair value of options vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $0.6 million and $0.6 million, respectively.
As of September 30, 2022, there was $6.7 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.6 years.
Restricted Stock Awards
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company granted restricted stock awards ("RSA")s, which vest based upon the individual award agreements and generally vest over a three to four-year period. These shares are deemed issued as of the date of grant, but not outstanding until they vest. The Company intends to settle the RSAs in stock, and the Company has the shares available to do so.
A summary of the Company’s nonvested RSA activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 is presented below:
Restricted Stock Awards Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
(in thousands)
Nonvested - January 1, 2022 335  $ 0.0121 
Vested (178) 0.0121 
Canceled (78) 0.0121 
Nonvested - September 30, 2022 79  0.0121 
The Company has not granted any RSAs since 2020.
As of September 30, 2022, there was $1 thousand of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested RSAs granted under the Plan, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.6 years. The total grant date fair value of shares vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $2 thousand.
Restricted Stock Units
The Company granted an aggregate of 4.2 million RSUs to certain employees and service providers during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 under the 2021 Plan. The general vesting provisions are that 25% will vest on the one-year anniversary of the vesting commencement date and 75% will vest ratably over twelve consecutive quarters on specified quarterly vesting dates, with the first of such quarterly vesting dates occurring at least three months after the vesting of the initial 25% of the RSUs. During March 2022, 155 thousand RSUs were granted with a different vesting schedule, whereby 50% will vest annually on the anniversary of the vesting commencement date and during September 2022, 419 thousand RSUs were granted whereby 100% of such RSUs will vest at the earlier of (i) the one-year anniversary of the grant date or (ii) the date of the next annual meeting following the grant date.
A summary of the Company’s nonvested RSU activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 is presented below:
Restricted Stock Units Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
(in thousands)
Nonvested - January 1, 2022 10,959  $ 6.7675 
Granted 4,181  2.0595 
Vested (5,968) 6.9790 
Canceled (904) 5.2863 
Nonvested - September 30, 2022 8,268  4.3961 
A significant portion of the pre-Merger RSU grants vested in accordance with the vesting schedule of 180 days subsequent to the Merger. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, 2.3 million of the vested RSUs were withheld to satisfy payroll tax withholding obligations, which was recorded to additional paid-in capital totaling $4.6 million. Unrecognized compensation costs related to nonvested restricted stock units totaled $20.7 million as of September 30, 2022, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.5 years.