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Stock-Based Compensation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 28, 2025
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock-Based Compensation Stock-Based Compensation
J&J Plans and Conversion of J&J Awards

J&J’s 2012 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “J&J 2012 Plan”) expired on April 26, 2022. Prior to that expiration, on March 7, 2022, J&J’s Board of Directors approved the 2022 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “J&J 2022 Plan,” together with the J&J 2012 Plan, the “J&J Plans”). The J&J 2022 Plan became effective subsequent to the expiration of the J&J 2012 Plan. The J&J Plans provide for the grant of stock options, RSUs, PSUs, other stock-based awards, and cash awards to employees and directors, including the Company’s personnel. Stock-based compensation granted pursuant to the J&J Plans was denominated in shares of J&J’s common stock. As such, all awards granted subsequent to the effective date of the J&J 2022 Plan and prior to the completion of the Exchange Offer were issued under the J&J 2022 Plan.

On August 23, 2023 (the “Conversion Date”), J&J equity-based awards held by Kenvue employees were accounted for as if they were forfeited by J&J and generally replaced by Kenvue equity-based awards under the Kenvue 2023 Plan (see “—Kenvue 2023 Plan” below for additional details) with terms consistent to those applicable to the J&J awards, subject to adjustments to the number of underlying awards and option exercise prices to preserve the award’s value, except for certain performance-based awards that were replaced with Kenvue RSU awards. The awards were converted using the conversion ratio that was determined in accordance with the employee matters agreement entered into with J&J. This change in the awards was considered to be a modification for accounting purposes. As part of the deemed forfeiture of the J&J awards, the J&J performance criteria applicable to any outstanding performance-based awards were deemed satisfied at the target level, unless two years of service were completed in the performance period, in which case performance was deemed satisfied at the level of actual performance for such years. All other vesting terms and conditions were not affected by the conversion. Upon the conversion, there were 69,438,910 shares of common stock underlying the converted awards that were eligible to be issued under the Kenvue 2023 Plan. The terms of the converted Kenvue awards are as follows:

Conversion of RSUs

On the Conversion Date, the Company was deemed to have issued 12.5 million RSUs with an incremental cost of $283 million. These awards have vesting dates extending through August 2026. These RSUs provide for accelerated vesting in certain change-in-control scenarios.

The incremental cost of each RSU replaced was estimated based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the deemed Conversion Date, adjusted to reflect that the RSUs do not have dividend participation rights through the vesting date (using a dividend rate assumption consistent with the assumption disclosed within the table below).

Conversion of Stock Options

On the Conversion Date, the Company was deemed to have issued 57 million non-qualified stock options and incentive stock options with an incremental cost of $198 million. These stock options were deemed granted with an exercise price equal to the original exercise price provided within the original J&J awards, as modified by the conversion ratio described above. All stock
options will be vested by January 2027. These stock options provide for accelerated vesting in certain change-in-control scenarios.

Each stock option has a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $21.01 as of the Conversion Date. The fair value of each stock option was estimated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the converted stock options were as follows:

AssumptionAugust 2023 Converted Stock Options
Expected volatility(1)
16.5% – 21.4%
Expected dividend yield(2)
3.2%
Risk-free rate(3)
4.2% – 5.4%
Expected term(4)
0.5 years – 6.5 years
(1) Expected volatility was based on the historical volatility of a selected group of the Company’s peers and other factors.
(2) Expected dividend yield was calculated using the assumed dividend payout per common share as a percentage of the average Kenvue common share price for the prior three-month period, which was then annualized.
(3) Risk-free rate was based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect as of the Conversion Date.
(4) Expected term was consistent with the historical experiences of J&J for awards similar to those in the Kenvue population.

As noted above, the conversion of J&J awards to Kenvue awards was accounted for as a modification. As a result, the J&J awards were deemed to be canceled and replaced by Kenvue awards, resulting in incremental stock-based compensation expense of $25 million recognized in the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023 in relation to J&J denominated stock options which had vested. With respect to the deemed cancelation of J&J stock options, PSUs, and RSUs that had not yet vested, the Company reversed $148 million of previously recognized stock-based compensation expense. From the Conversion Date through the end of the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized $215 million of compensation costs attributable to the RSUs and stock options described above. In total, the Company recognized incremental stock-based compensation expense of $240 million in the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Kenvue 2023 Plan

In March 2023, the Company’s Board approved the 2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Kenvue 2023 Plan”) which provides for the grant of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options, RSUs, PSUs, other stock-based awards, and cash awards to eligible employees, non-employee directors, independent contractors, and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. Stock-based compensation granted pursuant to the Kenvue 2023 Plan is denominated in shares of Kenvue common stock. The Kenvue 2023 Plan was approved by J&J, as sole shareholder of the Company, prior to the Kenvue IPO and became effective in May 2023. The maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock that was approved for issuance under the Kenvue 2023 Plan was 188,897,256. 69,438,910 shares underlying awards converted from J&J awards to Kenvue awards (as described in “—J&J Plans and Conversion of J&J Awards” above) will not reduce the maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the Kenvue 2023 Plan. To meet share requirements resulting from the exercise of stock options and the vesting of RSUs and PSUs, the Company may use either authorized and unissued shares or shares of treasury stock. Since the inception of the Kenvue 2023 Plan, all issuances resulting from the exercise of stock options and the vesting of RSUs and PSUs were issued from the authorized and unissued Kenvue 2023 Plan share pool.

On August 25, 2023, the Company’s Compensation & Human Capital Committee approved equity grants to individuals employed by Kenvue as of October 2, 2023 (the “Founder Shares”). On October 2, 2023, the Founder Shares were granted to all Kenvue employees in the form of stock options and PSUs to executive officers and either stock options and PSUs or RSUs to non-executive individuals. The expense will be amortized over the requisite service period of the awards, which ranges from one to three years.
The components and classification of stock-based compensation expense for the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024, and December 31, 2023, were as follows:

Fiscal Twelve Months Ended
(Dollars in Millions)December 28, 2025December 29, 2024
December 31, 2023(4)
Stock options$41 $84 $90 
RSUs97 152 76 
PSUs(1)
(2)18 22 
Total stock-based compensation expense(2)
$136 $254 $188 
Cost of sales(3)
$26 $100 $67 
Selling, general, and administrative expenses(3)
110 154 121 
Total stock-based compensation expense(2)
$136 $254 $188 
(1) The reversal in stock-based compensation expense attributable to PSUs during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 is primarily driven by a reduction in the estimated achievement of the specified performance metrics for certain Performance PSUs.
(2) The decrease in stock-based compensation expense during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 as compared to the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 was driven primarily by forfeitures of unvested stock-based awards and the vesting of J&J stock-based awards that were converted into Kenvue awards, which had a higher grant date fair value and shorter expense attribution period as compared to stock-based awards outstanding as of December 28, 2025.
(3) During the fiscal three months ended March 30, 2025, the Company made a refinement to the methodology of its stock-based compensation expense allocations, which resulted in a reduction to Cost of sales and an increase to Selling, general, and administrative expenses for the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 as compared to the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023.
(4) Stock-based compensation expense includes $2 million for the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023 of allocated charges from J&J based on percentage attribution related to J&J employees providing services to the Company. No allocations were made subsequent to the fiscal three months ended July 2, 2023, during which Kenvue became a fully independent company.

The Company’s unrecognized stock-based compensation expense and the related weighted-average remaining requisite service periods for stock options, RSUs, and PSUs outstanding as of December 28, 2025 were as follows:

(Dollars in Millions)
Stock OptionsDecember 28, 2025
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense$38 
Weighted-average remaining requisite service period1.09 years
RSUs
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense$100 
Weighted-average remaining requisite service period1.45 years
PSUs(1)
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense$
Weighted-average remaining requisite service period0.79 years
(1) Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense and the related weighted-average remaining requisite service period for the Performance PSUs is calculated based on the Company’s best estimate of achievement of the specified performance metrics.

Stock Options

Under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, Kenvue grants stock options which expire 10 years from the grant date and vest over service periods that range from six months to four years. All stock options are granted using the closing price of Kenvue common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the grant date.
The grant date fair value of each stock option granted is estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. The weighted-average assumptions used in calculating the grant date fair value of stock options granted during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024, and December 31, 2023, were as follows:

Fiscal Twelve Months Ended
December 28, 2025December 29, 2024December 31, 2023
Expected volatility(1)
22.7 %21.3 %20.8 %
Expected dividend yield(2)
3.7 %3.9 %3.5 %
Risk-free rate(3)
4.1 %4.1 %4.5 %
Expected term(4)
6 years6 years6 years
(1) For awards granted under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, expected volatility is based on the six-year historical volatility of a selected group of the Company’s peers and other factors. For stock options granted under the J&J Plans, expected volatility was based on a blended rate of 10-year weekly historical overall volatility rate and a five-week average implied volatility rate based on at-the-money traded J&J stock options with a contractual term of two years.
(2) For stock options granted under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, expected dividend yield is calculated using the assumed dividend payout per common share as a percentage of the average Kenvue common share price for the prior three-month period, which is then annualized. For stock options granted under the J&J Plans, expected dividend yield was calculated using the assumed dividend payout per common share as a percentage of the spot J&J common share price as of the grant date.
(3) Risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect as of the grant date for stock options granted under both the Kenvue 2023 Plan and the J&J Plans.
(4) For stock options granted under the Kenvue 2023 Plan during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 and December 29, 2024, expected term is calculated as the average of the vesting periods and the contractual terms of the stock options given the lack of trading history of Kenvue common stock as of the time of valuation. For stock options granted under the Kenvue 2023 Plan during the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023, expected term was consistent with the historical experiences of J&J for awards similar to those in the Kenvue population. For stock options granted under the J&J Plans, expected term was calculated based on J&J’s historical data.

A summary of stock option activity under the Kenvue 2023 Plan during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 is presented below:

 Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(Options in Thousands)
Options
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term
(Dollars in Millions)
Options outstanding as of December 29, 202466,885$20.42 6.9 years$95 
Options granted9,82623.29 
Options exercised(6,413)19.55 
Options canceled/forfeited(7,177)21.37 
Options outstanding as of December 28, 202563,121$20.85 6.2 years$5 
Options exercisable as of December 28, 202539,814$20.68 5.1 years$5 

The weighted-average grant date fair value of stock options granted was $4.20, $3.17, and $3.82 in the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively. The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised was $24 million, $21 million, and $96 million in the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively. Cash proceeds received from the exercise of stock options was $122 million in the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025. The tax benefit associated with cash proceeds received from the exercise of stock options was $5 million in the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025.
Restricted Stock Units and Performance Stock Units

Restricted Stock Units

Under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, Kenvue grants RSUs which vest over service periods that range from one year to three years. All RSUs granted have forfeitable dividend participation rights during the vesting period. Under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, Kenvue grants insignificant RSUs to non-employee directors which vest, but are not issued, immediately upon grant. For awards granted under the J&J Plans, the grant date fair value of RSUs granted was equivalent to the fair market value on the grant date, discounted by the expected dividend yield, as the RSUs did not have dividend participation rights during the vesting period.

Performance Stock Units

Beginning in the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024, under the Kenvue Plan, the Company grants PSUs with both performance vesting conditions and market-based vesting conditions. The Performance PSUs are paid in shares of Kenvue’s common stock after the end of a three-year performance period. The Performance PSUs have forfeitable dividend participation rights during the vesting period. The vesting of Performance PSUs is tied to the completion of a three-year service period and the achievement, over a three-year period, of specified performance metrics as well as the relative total shareholder return for Kenvue common stock. The number of shares earned at the end of the three-year performance period will vary, based on actual performance, from 0% to 200% of the target number of Performance PSUs granted.

The grant date fair value of each Performance PSU granted, inclusive of the fair value associated with the achievement of the specified performance metrics and the relative total shareholder return goal, is estimated on the grant date using the Monte Carlo valuation model. The weighted-average assumptions used in calculating the fair value of Performance PSUs granted during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 and December 29, 2024 were as follows:

Fiscal Twelve Months Ended
December 28, 2025December 29, 2024
Expected volatility(1)
22.5 %21.3 %
Risk-free rate(2)
3.8 %4.3 %
(1) Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of a selected group of the Company’s peers and other factors over the prior three fiscal years.
(2) Risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect as of the grant date for Performance PSUs granted.

Under the Kenvue 2023 Plan, the Company granted PSUs with only market-based vesting conditions during the fiscal twelve months ended December 31, 2023 (the “Market PSUs”). The Market PSUs are paid in shares of Kenvue’s common stock after the end of a three-year performance period. The vesting of Market PSUs is tied to the completion of service periods that range from one year to three years and the achievement, over a three-year period, of relative total shareholder return for Kenvue common stock. The number of shares earned at the end of the three-year period will vary, based on actual performance, from 0% to 200% of the target number of Market PSUs granted. The grant date fair value of each Market PSU granted, inclusive of the fair value associated with the relative total shareholder return goal, was estimated on the grant date using the Monte Carlo valuation model.

Under the J&J Plans, J&J granted PSUs, which were paid in shares of J&J common stock after the end of a three-year performance period. The vesting of these PSUs was tied to the completion of service periods that ranged from six months to three years and the achievement, over a three-year period, of two equally weighted goals that directly aligned with or helped drive long-term J&J shareholder return: adjusted operational earnings per share and relative total shareholder return. The number of shares earned at the end of the three-year period varied, based on actual performance, from 0% to 200% of the target number of PSUs granted. The grant date fair value for the net income per share goal of each PSU was estimated on the grant date using the fair market value of J&J shares at the grant date, discounted by the expected dividend yield, as the PSUs did not have dividend participation rights during the vesting period, and the fair value for the relative total shareholder return of each PSU was estimated on the grant date using the Monte Carlo valuation model. As discussed in “—J&J Plans and Conversion of J&J Awards” above, the PSUs granted under the J&J Plans were replaced with Kenvue RSU awards, and as such, there are none outstanding following the Conversion Date.
Restricted Stock Unit and Performance Stock Unit Activity

A summary of unvested RSU and PSU activity under the Kenvue 2023 Plan during the fiscal twelve months ended December 28, 2025 is presented below:

(Shares in Thousands)
Outstanding Restricted Stock Units
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding Performance Stock Units
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Shares as of December 29, 202413,633 $20.77 2,675 $21.43 
Granted4,966 23.16 1,319 25.44 
Issued(7,121)21.46 (2)23.22 
Canceled/forfeited(1,537)21.32 (1,093)22.80 
Change due to performance and/or market condition achievement  (1,809)21.97 
Shares as of December 28, 20259,941 $21.31 1,090 $22.61 

The weighted-average grant date fair value of RSUs granted was $19.10 and $20.37 in the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The aggregate fair value of RSUs issued was $125 million and $1 million in the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

The weighted-average grant date fair value of PSUs granted was $18.61 and $23.57 in the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The aggregate fair value of PSUs issued was $0 million for both the fiscal twelve months ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023.