Note 15.Stock-Based Compensation

Stock Incentive Plans

We maintain stock incentive plans to attract and retain officers, directors and key employees. Stock awards under these plans include both performance-based and non-performance based stock incentives. As of December 31, 2015, we had outstanding under these plans stock options to acquire 5.9 million shares of our Class A common stock and approximately 57,000 restricted stock units. Stock options granted prior to and on December 31, 2015 were granted with exercise prices equal to or greater than the market value of our Class A common stock at the date of grant and with a maximum term of ten years. While generally we issue stock awards subject to vesting, typically over three to five years, some stock awards have been granted with immediate vesting and other stock awards vest only upon the achievement of certain performance objectives. As of December 31, 2015, we had 4.3 million shares of our Class A common stock available for future grant under our stock incentive plans.

Exercise prices for stock options outstanding and exercisable as of December 31, 2015 are as follows:

	Options Outstanding				Options Exercisable
Price Range	Number Outstanding as of December 31, 2015	Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (In Years)	Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Number Exercisable as of December 31, 2015	Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (In Years)	Weighted- Average Exercise Price
$0.00 - $10.00	686	1	$	2.12	686	1	$	2.12
$10.01 - $15.00	84,329	3	$	14.83	84,329	3	$	14.83
$15.01 - $20.00	246,524	4	$	18.96	246,524	4	$	18.96
$20.01 - $25.00	496,947	4	$	20.29	480,947	4	$	20.25
$25.01 - $30.00	305,415	4	$	28.12	227,415	3	$	28.64
$30.01 - $35.00	403,001	7	$	34.04	349,001	6	$	34.02
$35.01 - $40.00	2,378,839	6	$	37.90	1,440,839	6	$	37.70
$40.01 and above	1,977,500	9	$	49.42	252,500	8	$	48.09

	5,893,241	7	$	38.38	3,082,241	5	$	32.61

Stock Award Activity

Our stock option activity was as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2015				2014				2013
	Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Total options outstanding, beginning of period	6,669,614		$	34.02	6,271,058		$	30.43	7,908,300		$	27.21
Granted	929,000		$	51.59	1,161,000		$	47.84	1,190,000		$	38.75
Exercised	(894,071	)	$	27.78	(697,544	)	$	24.87	(2,494,893	)	$	24.65
Forfeited and cancelled	(811,302	)	$	29.45	(64,900	)	$	32.65	(332,349	)	$	27.01

Total options outstanding, end of period	5,893,241		$	38.38	6,669,614		$	34.02	6,271,058		$	30.43

Performance-based options outstanding, end of period (1)	—		$	—	623,100		$	25.27	629,300		$	25.27

Exercisable at end of period	3,082,241		$	32.61	3,013,114		$	29.66	2,712,891		$	28.69

(1)

These stock options are included in the caption “Total options outstanding, end of period.” See discussion of the 2005 LTIP below.

We realized total tax benefits from stock options exercised of $7.9 million, $7.2 million and $21.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Our restricted stock unit activity was as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2015				2014				2013
	Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value		Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value		Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period	96,768		$	29.29	121,877		$	29.93	151,683		$	30.18
Granted	100,000		$	50.00	—		$	—	—		$	—
Vested	(83,992	)	$	45.72	(22,877	)	$	33.08	(22,876	)	$	33.08
Forfeited and cancelled	(55,448	)	$	27.01	(2,232	)	$	25.51	(6,930	)	$	24.88

Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period	57,328		$	42.31	96,768		$	29.29	121,877		$	29.93

Restricted Performance Units outstanding, end of period	33,334		$	50.00	55,448		$	27.00	57,680		$	26.94

We granted 100,000 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) for the year ended December 31, 2015. The RSUs vest based on the attainment of certain quarterly company performance criteria for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2015 and will expire on March 31, 2016. For the year ended December 31, 2015, 66,666 of the RSUs vested and vesting of the remaining 33,334 RSUs is probable.

2005 LTIP. During 2005, DISH Network adopted a long-term, performance-based stock incentive plan (the “2005 LTIP”). The 2005 LTIP provided stock options and RSUs, either alone or in combination, with vesting over seven years at the rate of 10.0% per year during the first four years, and at the rate of 20.0% per year thereafter. In connection with the Spin-off, those stock options and RSUs were converted into EchoStar stock options and RSUs with the same terms and obligations as were provided under the 2005 LTIP. As of December 31, 2014, all outstanding awards under the terms of the 2005 LTIP had satisfied applicable time-based vesting requirements and were subject only to a performance condition that a company-specific goal is achieved by March 31, 2015. In 2015 we determined that the company-specific goal was no longer achievable under the terms of the 2005 LTIP. Accordingly, the 2005 LTIP and all outstanding awards under the terms of the 2005 LTIP were cancelled and terminated during 2015.

Stock-Based Compensation

Total non-cash, stock-based compensation expense for all of our employees is shown in the following table for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 and was assigned to the same expense categories as the base compensation for such employees:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Research and development expenses	$	4,570	$	2,403	$	3,478
Selling, general and administrative expenses	17,269		12,280		14,875

Total stock-based compensation	$	21,839	$	14,683	$	18,353

As of December 31, 2015, total unrecognized stock-based compensation cost, net of estimated forfeitures, related to our unvested stock awards was $33.1 million. This cost is based on an estimated future forfeiture rate of approximately 2.0% per year and will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately two years.

Valuation of Stock Options

The fair value of each stock option granted for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was estimated at the date of the grant using a Black-Scholes option valuation model. The estimated grant-date fair values and related assumptions were as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
Assumptions:	2015	2014	2013
Risk-free interest rate	1.38% - 1.80%	1.72% - 1.85%	0.99% - 1.54%
Volatility factor	27.16% - 27.85%	29.05% - 35.02%	37.54% - 42.23%
Expected term of options in years	5.3 - 5.4	5.2 - 5.3	5.4 - 5.5
Weighted-average grant-date fair value	$12.25 - $15.05	$13.79 - $17.21	$15.59 - $17.20

We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our common stock and accordingly, the dividend yield percentage used in the Black-Scholes option valuation model was assumed to be zero for all periods. The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded stock options which have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. Consequently, our estimate of fair value may differ from other valuation models. Further, the Black-Scholes option valuation model requires the input of subjective assumptions. Changes in the subjective input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate.

Based on the closing market price of our Class A common stock on December 31, 2015, the aggregate intrinsic value of our stock options was $24.7 million for options outstanding and $22.3 million for options exercisable as of December 31, 2015.