XML 36 R25.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.25.4

Stock-Based Compensation | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2025
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract] |
Stock-Based Compensation | NOTE 13. Stock-Based Compensation Stock-based compensation plan In 2008, the Company adopted its 2008 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan, and, in 2017, adopted the Zeta Global Holdings Corp. 2017 Incentive Plan (collectively, the “Plans”). The Plans permitted the issuance of stock options, restricted stock and RSUs to employees, officers, consultants or advisors and non-employee directors of the Company. Options granted under the Plans expire no later than ten years from the grant date. Prior to the IPO, the restricted stock and RSUs granted under the Plans generally did not vest until a change in control. Upon a change in control, restricted stock and RSUs vest as to 25% of the shares with the balance of the shares vesting in equal quarterly installments following the change in control over the remainder of a five-year term from the original date of grant. The restricted stock and RSUs fully vest upon a change in control to the extent five years have passed from the original date of grant of the restricted stock or RSUs. Since the vesting of these awards was contingent upon the change of control event, which was not considered probable until it occurred, the Company did not record any stock-based compensation for such awards prior to the IPO, a change in control event. The stock-based compensation has been recognized following the vesting of restricted stock, RSUs and options as described below. The Company ceased granting awards under the Plans following its adoption of the 2021 Plan (as defined below) in connection with the IPO. In connection with the IPO, the Company adopted the Zeta Global Holdings Corp. 2021 Incentive Award Plan (the “2021 Plan”), which was effective as of the day prior to the first public trading date of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and under which restricted stock, RSUs and options have been granted to service providers. With certain exceptions, the equity awards granted under the 2021 Plan generally vest over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting upon the first anniversary of the grant date and the remainder of the shares vesting in equal quarterly installments thereafter. During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $177,821, $194,984 and $242,881, respectively. Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units As noted above, the Company’s restricted stock and RSUs granted prior to the IPO did not vest until a change of control. On March 24, 2021, the Company’s board of directors approved a modification in the vesting terms of its restricted stock and RSU awards. This modification was accounted for under the guidance in ASC 718-20-35-3. Given the vesting of the modified awards contained a performance condition associated with the IPO, the Company had determined that the modification was considered improbable-to-improbable under ASC 718-20-55-118 through 119. The Company recognized compensation expense over the modified vesting terms, based on the fair value as of the date of modification. Following is the activity of restricted stock and RSUs granted by the Company:
|  | Shares |  |  | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value |
Non-vested as of January 1, 2024 |  |  | 49,698,329 |  |  | $ | 10.54 |
Granted |  |  | 7,074,690 |  |  |  | 12.36 |
Vested |  |  | (23,826,174 | ) |  |  | 10.14 |
Forfeited |  |  | (917,241 | ) |  |  | 9.83 |
Non-vested as of December 31, 2024 |  |  | 32,029,604 |  |  | $ | 11.26 |
Granted (1) |  |  | 8,006,222 |  |  |  | 16.47 |
Vested (2) |  |  | (19,438,496 | ) |  |  | 10.83 |
Forfeited (3) |  |  | (1,277,033 | ) |  |  | 12.79 |
Non-vested as of December 31, 2025 (4) |  |  | 19,320,297 |  |  | $ | 13.75 |
(1) During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company granted 282,210 shares of restricted stock and 7,724,012 RSUs to its employees, advisors and non-employee directors. (2) During the year ended December 31, 2025, 16,903,886 shares of restricted stock and 2,534,610 RSUs vested. (3) During the year ended December 31, 2025, 553,226 shares of restricted stock and 723,807 RSUs were forfeited. (4) Includes 6,787,559 unvested shares of Class A restricted stock, 2,341,981 unvested shares of Class B restricted stock and 10,190,757 unvested RSUs, each as of December 31, 2025. Stock options Following is the summary of transactions under the Plans and the 2021 Plan:
|  | Number of options |  |  | Weighted average exercise price |  |  | Weighted average remaining contractual life (years) |  |  | Aggregate intrinsic value (per share) |
Outstanding options as of January 1, 2024 |  |  | 2,619,937 |  |  | $ | 8.49 |  |  |  | 4.97 |  |  | $ | 0.57 |
Granted |  |  | 1,832,802 |  |  |  | 10.81 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Exercised |  |  | (429,989 | ) |  |  | 7.38 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Forfeited |  |  | (208,735 | ) |  |  | 9.10 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Outstanding options as of December 31, 2024 |  |  | 3,814,015 |  |  | $ | 9.70 |  |  |  | 8.35 |  |  | $ | 8.45 |
Granted |  |  | 12,805,814 |  |  |  | 13.98 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Exercised |  |  | (406,852 | ) |  |  | 8.15 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Forfeited |  |  | (579,231 | ) |  |  | 11.85 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Outstanding options as of December 31, 2025 |  |  | 15,633,746 |  |  | $ | 13.17 |  |  |  | 9.18 |  |  | $ | 4.04 |
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had 1,617,159 outstanding exercisable options with a weighted-average exercise price of $9.30. The Company granted 12,805,814 options during the year ended December 31, 2025. The Company determined the estimated weighted-average fair value of the options using the Black-Scholes-Merton method as $7.94. The following assumptions were used by the Company for the options valuation:
|  | As of December 31, 2025
Dividend yield |  | 0.0%
Volatility |  | 55.0% - 60.1%
Expected Term (years) |  | 6.1 - 6.2
Risk free rate of interest |  | 3.9% - 4.2%
Performance-Based Stock Unit (“PSUs”) Award On April 3, 2024, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved the grant of 2,989,850 PSUs subject to market conditions (at the target level) under the 2021 Plan (the “2024 PSUs”). Upon achievement of certain conditions described below, the 2024 PSUs could result in the issuance of up to 5,979,700 shares of Class A Common Stock. The 2024 PSUs may be earned on the determination date, which is after the end of each fiscal quarter beginning with the three-month period ending on December 31, 2024 and ending with, and including, the three-month period ending on December 31, 2028, based on the 20-day volume-weighted average closing price per share (“VWAP”) for the applicable quarter. In no event shall (i) any 2024 PSUs be earned if the VWAP for the applicable quarter is below $10.30 and (ii) more than 200% of the target 2024 PSUs be earned. The number of 2024 PSUs earned for such quarter shall be reduced by the number of 2024 PSUs, if any, earned in any prior quarter. Each 2024 PSU represents the right to receive shares of Class A Common Stock as set forth in the 2024 PSU grant agreement or, at the option of the Company, an equivalent amount of cash. Participants have no right to the distribution of any shares or payment of any cash until the time the 2024 PSUs are earned and have vested. Each 2024 PSU provides for the right to receive a dividend equivalent to the value of any ordinary cash dividends paid on substantially all the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock if the 2024 PSUs are earned and vested. Earned 2024 PSUs vest as to 33.33% on the date the Company determines the number of 2024 PSUs that are earned for such quarter, and the remaining earned 2024 PSUs vest in eight equal quarterly installments thereafter, subject to accelerated vesting in connection with certain qualifying terminations of employment or a change in control. Following is the summary of PSUs subject to market conditions under the Company’s 2021 Plan:
|  | Number of PSUs |  |  | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value |
Outstanding PSUs as of January 1, 2024 |  |  | 4,755,675 |  |  | $ | 15.34 |
Granted |  |  | 2,989,850 |  |  |  | 17.83 |
Performance Adjustment |  |  | 5,748,142 |  |  |  | 16.07 |
Vested |  |  | (3,539,683 | ) |  |  | 15.97 |
Forfeited |  |  | (40,810 | ) |  |  | 20.66 |
Outstanding PSUs as of December 31, 2024 |  |  | 9,913,174 |  |  | $ | 16.27 |
Granted |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Performance Adjustment |  |  | 2,694,032 |  |  |  | 17.83 |
Vested and Issued |  |  | (6,737,176 | ) |  |  | 17.10 |
Forfeited |  |  | (213,571 | ) |  |  | 16.20 |
Outstanding PSUs as of December 31, 2025 |  |  | 5,656,459 |  |  | $ | 16.02 |
The number of shares to be issued upon achievement of the applicable performance condition and satisfaction of the vesting schedule are specified in the applicable PSU award agreements. In the table above, the number of “granted” PSUs are presented at 100% of the specified target shares. Of the total PSUs subject to market conditions granted by the Company, the Company determined that 16,317,251 PSUs were earned through December 31, 2025, of which 5,656,459 earned PSUs remained unissued. The performance adjustment shown in the table above reflects the incremental PSUs that were earned in excess of target (100%). As of December 31, 2025, the Company has outstanding 849,183 PSUs granted to certain employees that are not subject to market conditions. Upon achievement of certain operating targets, these PSUs could result in the issuance of 849,183 shares of Class A Common Stock. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan The Company maintains the 2021 ESPP. The 2021 ESPP permits participants to purchase the Company’s Class A Common Stock through contributions up to a specified percentage of their eligible compensation. The maximum number of shares that may be purchased by a participant during any offering period is capped at 10,000. In addition, no employee will be permitted to accrue the right to purchase shares under the Section 423 component at a rate in excess of $25 worth of shares during any calendar year during which such a purchase right is outstanding (based on the fair market value per share of the Company’s Class A Common Stock as of the first day of the offering period). The 2021 ESPP has consecutive offering periods of approximately six months in length commencing each year on December 1 and June 1 and ending on each May 31 and November 30, as applicable. The Company determined the estimated fair value of the shares purchased under the 2021 ESPP using the Black-Scholes-Merton method. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company issued 170,483 shares of Class A Common Stock related to the 2021 ESPP offering that ended on May 31, 2025 and 209,921 shares of Class A Common Stock related to the 2021 ESPP offering that ended on November 30, 2025. The fair value of shares for the offering that commenced on December 1, 2025 was estimated at $5.65 per share, using the following assumptions, and this offering that will end on May 31, 2026 is expected to result in the issuance of approximately 171,071 shares of Class A Common Stock.
|  | As of December 31, 2025 |
Dividend yield |  |  | 0.0 | %
Risk free interest rate |  |  | 3.8 | %
Volatility |  |  | 57.0 | %
Unrecognized stock-based compensation The Company has $254,362 of unrecognized compensation expense related to its 19,320,297 shares of unvested restricted stock and RSUs, 13,182,552 PSUs subject to market conditions, 14,016,587 options, 849,183 additional PSUs that are not subject to market conditions and approximately 171,071 shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued under the 2021 ESPP offering that will end on May 31, 2026. This unrecognized stock-based compensation will be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.05 years.

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for share-based payment arrangement. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480429/718-10-50-2 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 718 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/718/tableOfContent Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480429/718-10-50-2 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (h)(2) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480429/718-10-50-2 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (h)(2)(i) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480429/718-10-50-2 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (l) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480429/718-10-50-2 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DisclosureOfCompensationRelatedCostsShareBasedPaymentsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DisclosureOfCompensationRelatedCostsSharebasedPaymentsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration