Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation pursuant to relevant authoritative guidance, which requires measurement

of compensation cost for all stock awards at fair value on the date of grant and recognition of compensation, net of estimated

forfeitures, over the requisite service period for awards expected to vest.

The Company has a Stock Incentive Plan (the "Plan"), pursuant to which the Company's Board is permitted to grant equity to

employees and directors. Under the Plan, a maximum of 20.65 million shares of the Company's common stock is approved to

be issued for grants of restricted stock and stock options.

The table below summarizes the expense recognized within general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements

of Income related to stock-based compensation for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):

The tax benefits related to stock-based compensation, inclusive of the tax benefits upon the exercises of options and vesting of

restricted stock were $60.7 million, $22.1 million and $25.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022,

respectively.

The following table summarizes the Company’s total unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding stock awards as of

December 31, 2024 (cost in thousands):


	Unrecognized Compensation Cost	Weighted Average Period of Expense Recognition Remaining (in Years)
Stock options	$34,979	1.91
Restricted stock	37,903	0.58
Total	$72,882

Stock Options

The following summarizes the changes in the number of shares of stock options outstanding for the following periods (shares

and aggregate intrinsic value in thousands):


	Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price	Options Exercisable at End of Year	Weighted Average Exercise Price of Exercisable Options	Weighted Average Fair Value of Options Granted During the Year	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2021	5,447	$176.52	3,798	$145.18		$257,707
Granted	649	223.66			$65.23
Exercised	(544)	94.79				64,783
Forfeited	(251)	230.60
Outstanding at December 31, 2022	5,301	188.12	3,512	159.46		113,681
Granted	411	222.51			$66.28
Exercised	(648)	172.01				40,983
Forfeited	(81)	241.78
Outstanding at December 31, 2023	4,983	192.18	3,182	163.54		451,039
Granted	169	285.11			$97.38
Exercised	(2,271)	188.61				324,577
Forfeited	(397)	253.49
Outstanding at December 31, 2024	2,484	$191.97	1,760	$171.95		$364,092
Expected to vest at December 31, 2024	724	$240.62

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at December 31, 2024 (shares in thousands):


Exercise Price	Options Outstanding	Weighted Average Remaining Vesting Life in Years	Options Exercisable
$114.90 – $224.99	1,544	0.09	1,415
$225.45 – $238.32	543	1.05	142
$248.28 – $283.86	355	0.60	192
$288.37 – $373.15	42	1.57	11
	2,484		1,760

The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercisable at December 31, 2024 was $292.9 million. The weighted average

remaining contractual term of options exercisable at December 31, 2024 was 3.1 years.

The fair value of stock option awards granted was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following

weighted-average assumptions for grants or modifications during the years ended December 31 as follows:

The weighted-average remaining contractual term for options outstanding was 4.6 years at December 31, 2024.

On September 30, 2021, the Company granted 850,000 performance stock options to an officer of the Company ("Performance

Option Grant"), which are exercisable upon the achievement of certain time-based vesting and market conditions. On October

23, 2024, the Company modified the Performance Option Grant and recorded approximately $10.3 million in incremental

stock-based compensation expense.

Restricted Stock

The following table summarizes the changes in the number of shares of restricted stock awards and restricted stock units

outstanding for the following periods (shares in thousands):


	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2021	278	$278.57
Granted	386	229.22
Cancelled	(83)	267.53
Issued	(146)	283.60
Outstanding at December 31, 2022	435	237.68
Granted	441	213.36
Cancelled	(24)	230.11
Issued	(310)	235.25
Outstanding at December 31, 2023	542	219.61
Granted	367	277.87
Cancelled	(55)	229.11
Issued	(394)	225.22
Outstanding at December 31, 2024	460	$260.23

The total fair value of restricted stock awards and restricted stock units vested was $112.3 million, $66.6 million and $34.4

million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.