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Capital | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
Equity [Abstract] |
Capital | Capital As of March 31, 2021, there were 285,622,197 common stock and operating partnership units outstanding, of which 172,331,871, or 60.3%, were owned by ESRT and 113,290,326, or 39.7%, were owned by other partners, including ESRT directors, members of senior management and other employees. On May 16, 2019, the Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. Empire State Realty OP, L.P. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (“2019 Plan”) was approved by our shareholders. The 2019 Plan provides for grants to directors, employees and consultants of ESRT and the Operating Partnership, including options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance awards, dividend equivalents and other equity-based awards. An aggregate of approximately 11.0 million shares of ESRT common stock is authorized for issuance under awards granted pursuant to the 2019 Plan. We will not issue any new equity awards under the First Amended and Restated Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. and Empire State Realty OP, L.P. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan ("2013 Plan", and collectively with the 2019 Plan, "the Plans"). The shares of ESRT Class A common stock underlying any awards under the 2019 Plan and the 2013 Plan that are forfeited, canceled or otherwise terminated, other than by exercise, will be added back to the shares of ESRT Class A common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan. Shares tendered or held back upon exercise of a stock option or settlement of an award under the 2019 Plan or the 2013 Plan to cover the exercise price or tax withholding and shares subject to a stock appreciation right that are not issued in connection with the stock settlement of the stock appreciation right upon exercise thereof, will not be added back to the shares of ESRT Class A common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan. In addition, shares of ESRT Class A common stock repurchased on the open market will not be added back to the shares of ESRT Class A common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan. Long-term incentive plan ("LTIP") units are a special class of partnership interests. Each LTIP unit awarded will be deemed equivalent to an award of one share of ESRT stock under the Plans, reducing the availability for other equity awards on a one-for-one basis. The vesting period for LTIP units, if any, will be determined at the time of issuance. Under the terms of the LTIP units, we will revalue for tax purposes its assets upon the occurrence of certain specified events, and any increase in valuation from the time of grant until such event will be allocated first to the holders of LTIP units to equalize the capital accounts of such holders with the capital accounts of unitholders. Subject to any agreed upon exceptions, once vested and having achieved parity with unitholders, LTIP units are convertible into Series PR operating partnership units on a one-for-one basis. LTIP units subject to time-based vesting, whether vested or not, receive the same per unit distributions as operating partnership units, which equal per share dividends (both regular and special) on our common stock. LTIP units subject to market-based vesting receive 10% of such distributions currently, unless and until such LTIP units are earned based on performance, at which time they will receive the accrued and unpaid 90% and will commence receiving 100% of such distributions thereafter. Stock and Publicly Traded Operating Partnership Unit Repurchase Program ESRT's Board of Directors reauthorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of ESRT Class A common stock and the Operating Partnership’s Series ES, Series 250 and Series 60 operating partnership units through December 31, 2021. Under the program, ESRT may purchase ESRT Class A common stock and we may purchase our Series ES, Series 250 and Series 60 operating partnership units in accordance with applicable securities laws from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by ESRT and us at our discretion and will be subject to stock price, availability, trading volume and general market conditions. The authorization does not obligate ESRT or us to acquire any particular amount of securities, and the program may be suspended or discontinued at ESRT and our discretion without prior notice. The following table summarizes ESRT's purchases of equity securities in each of the three months ended March 31, 2021:
Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased |  | Weighted Average Price Paid per Share |  | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plan |  | Maximum Approximate Dollar Value Available for Future Purchase (in thousands)
January 2021 | 337,339 |  |  | $ | 9.17 |  |  | 337,339 |  |  | $ | 496,908 |
February 2021 | 45,732 |  |  | $ | 9.65 |  |  | 45,732 |  |  | $ | 496,467 |
March 2021 | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | — |  |  | $ | 496,467 |
Private Perpetual Preferred Units As of March 31, 2021, there were 4,664,038 Series 2019 Preferred Units ("Series 2019 Preferred Units") and 1,560,360 Series 2014 Private Perpetual Preferred Units ("Series 2014 Preferred Units"). The Series 2019 Preferred Units have a liquidation preference of $13.52 per unit and are entitled to receive cumulative preferential annual cash distributions of $0.70 per unit payable in arrears on a quarterly basis. The Series 2019 Preferred Units are not redeemable at the option of the holders and are redeemable at our option only in the case of specific defined events. The Series 2014 Preferred Units which have a liquidation preference of $16.62 per unit and are entitled to receive cumulative preferential annual cash distributions of $0.60 per unit payable in arrears on a quarterly basis. The Series 2014 Preferred Units are not redeemable at the option of the holders and are redeemable at our option only in the case of specific defined events. Distributions Total distributions paid to OP unitholders were $0.0 million and $31.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Total distributions paid to preferred unitholders were $1.1 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Incentive and Share-Based Compensation The Plans provide for grants to directors, employees and consultants consisting of stock options, restricted stock, dividend equivalents, stock payments, performance shares, LTIP units, stock appreciation rights and other incentive awards. An aggregate of 11.0 million shares of ESRT common stock is authorized for issuance under awards granted pursuant to the 2019 Plan, and as of March 31, 2021, 7.8 million shares of ESRT common stock remain available for future issuance. In March 2021, we made grants of LTIP units to executive officers under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted to executive officers a total of 364,199 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting and 1,007,156 LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting, with fair market values of $3.4 million for the time-based vesting awards and $6.9 million for the market-based vesting awards. In March 2021, we made grants of LTIP units and restricted stock to certain other employees under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted to certain other employees a total of 128,419 LTIP units and 113,333 shares of restricted stock that are subject to time-based vesting and 192,760 LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting, with fair market values of $2.7 million for the time-based vesting awards and $1.5 million for the market-based vesting awards. The awards subject to time-based vesting vest ratably over four years from January 1, 2021, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests on January 1, 2022 and the remainder will vest thereafter in three equal annual installments. The vesting of the LTIP units subject to market-based vesting is based on the achievement of relative total stockholder return hurdles over a three-year performance period, commencing on January 1, 2021. Following the completion of the three-year performance period, our Compensation and Human Capital Committee will determine the number of LTIP units to which the grantee is entitled based on our performance relative to the performance hurdles set forth in the LTIP unit award agreements the grantee entered into in connection with the award grant. These units then vest in two installments, with the first installment vesting on January 1, 2024 and the second installment vesting on January 1, 2025, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment on those dates. In March 2021, we also made one-time additional grants of LTIP units and restricted stock to an executive officer and certain other employees under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted the executive officer 46,168 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting and we granted to certain other employees 85,409 LTIP units and 7,562 restricted stock that are subject to time-based vesting, with fair market values of $1.5 million. These awards are subject to time-based vesting and vest over five years from January 1, 2021, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests 30% on January 1, 2024, the second installment vests 30% on January 1, 2025 and the remainder of 40% will vest on January 1, 2026. For awards granted in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, our named executive officers can elect to receive their annual incentive bonus in any combination of (i) cash or vested LTIPs at the face amount of such bonus or (ii) time-vesting LTIPs which would vest over three years, subject to continued employment, at 125% of such face amount. For awards granted in 2021, the amounts vest at 120% of such face amount. In March 2021, we made grants of LTIP units to executive officers under the 2019 Plan in connection with the 2020 bonus election program. We granted to executive officers a total of 235,729 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting with a fair market value of $2.2 million. Of these LTIP units, 39,472 LTIP units vested immediately on the grant date and 196,257 LTIP units vest ratably over three years from January 1, 2021, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests on January 1, 2022 and the remainder will vest thereafter in two equal annual installments. In March 2020, we made grants of LTIP units to executive officers under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted to executive officers a total of 745,155 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting and 3,358,767 LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting, with fair market values of $5.6 million for the time-based vesting awards and $14.0 million for the market-based vesting awards. In March 2020, we made grants of LTIP units and restricted stock to certain other employees under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted to certain other employees a total of 113,971 LTIP units and 158,806 shares of restricted stock that are subject to time-based vesting and 502,475 LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting, with fair market values of $2.3 million for the time-based vesting awards and $2.3 million for the market-based vesting awards. The awards subject to time-based vesting vest ratably over four years from January 1, 2020, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests on January 1, 2021 and the remainder will vest thereafter in three equal annual installments. The vesting of the LTIP units subject to market-based vesting is based on the achievement of relative total stockholder return hurdles over a three-year performance period, commencing on January 1, 2020. Following the completion of the three-year performance period, our Compensation and Human Capital Committee will determine the number of LTIP units to which the grantee is entitled based on our performance relative to the performance hurdles set forth in the LTIP unit award agreements the grantee entered into in connection with the award grant. These units then vest in two installments, with the first installment vesting on January 1, 2023 and the second installment vesting on January 1, 2024, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment on those dates. In March 2020, we made grants of LTIP units to executive officers under the 2019 Plan in connection with the 2019 bonus election program. We granted to executive officers a total of 624,380 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting with a fair market value of $4.4 million. Of these LTIP units, 23,049 LTIP units vested immediately on the grant date and 601,331 LTIP units vest ratably over three years from January 1, 2020, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests on January 1, 2021 and the remainder will vest thereafter in two equal annual installments. In May 2020, we made grants of LTIP units under the 2019 Plan. At such time, we granted our non-employee directors a total of 171,153 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting with fair market values of $1.1 million. These awards vest ratably over three years from the date of the grant, subject generally to the director's continued service on our Board of Directors. We also granted Christina Chiu, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a total of 82,199 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting and 116,927 LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting, with fair market values of $0.5 million for the time-based vesting awards and $0.5 million for the market-based vesting awards. We also granted certain other employees a total of 63,229 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting with a fair market value of $0.4 million. The awards subject to time-based vesting vest ratably over three or four years from the date of grant, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment. The first installment vests on the respective grant dates in May 2021 and the remainder will vest thereafter in two or three equal annual installments. The vesting of the LTIP units subject to market-based vesting is based on the achievement of relative total stockholder return hurdles over a three-year performance period, commencing on May 7, 2020. Following the completion of the three-year performance period, our Compensation and Human Capital Committee will determine the number of LTIP units to which the grantee is entitled based on our performance relative to the performance hurdles set forth in the LTIP unit award agreements the grantee entered into in connection with the award grant. These units then vest in two installments, with the first installment vesting on May 7, 2023 and the second installment vesting on May 7, 2024, subject generally to the grantee's continued employment on those dates. In December and August 2020, we granted Grant H. Hill and R. Paige Hood, respectively, our new non-employee directors, a total of 31,117 LTIP units that are subject to time-based vesting with a fair market value of $0.2 million. These awards vest ratably on each of the first three anniversaries of May 15, 2020, subject generally to their continued service on our Board of Directors. In COVID-19 disrupted markets during the first quarter of 2020, the LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting were undervalued on initial appraisal, and the resulting number of LTIP units issued in March 2020 was reduced on final appraisal to match the original Board-approved dollar value. In June 2020, we reduced the grants of LTIP units that are subject to market-based vesting which were awarded to executive officers and certain other employees by 666,933 LTIP units with fair market values of $2.8 million and 99,630 LTIP units with fair market values of $0.5 million, respectively. Share-based compensation for time-based equity awards is measured at the fair value of the award on the date of grant and recognized as an expense on a straight-line basis over the shorter of (i) the stated vesting period, which is generally three, four or five years, or (ii) the period from the date of grant to the date the employee becomes retirement eligible, which may occur upon grant. An employee is retirement eligible when the employee attains the (i) age of 65 and (ii) the date on which the employee has first completed ten years of continuous service with us or our affiliates. During the second quarter of 2020, the Board approved changing the definition of retirement age from 60 to 65 starting with the grant awards issued in March 2020 under the 2019 Plan. Share-based compensation for market-based equity awards is measured at the fair value of the award on the date of grant and recognized as an expense on a straight-line basis over three or four years depending on retirement eligibility. For the market-based LTIP units, the fair value of the awards was estimated using a Monte Carlo Simulation model and discounted for the restriction period during which the LTIP units cannot be redeemed or transferred and the uncertainty regarding if, and when, the book capital account of the LTIP units will equal that of the common units. Our stock price, along with the prices of the comparative indexes, is assumed to follow the Geometric Brownian Motion Process. Geometric Brownian Motion is a common assumption when modeling in financial markets, as it allows the modeled quantity (in this case the stock price) to vary randomly from its current value and take any value greater than zero. The volatilities of the returns on our stock price and the comparative indexes were estimated based on implied volatilities and historical volatilities using a six-year look-back period. The expected growth rate of the stock prices over the performance period is determined with consideration of the risk-free rate as of the grant date. For LTIP unit awards that are time-based, the fair value of the awards was estimated based on the fair value of our stock at the grant date discounted for the restriction period during which the LTIP units cannot be redeemed or transferred and the uncertainty regarding if, and when, the book capital account of the LTIP units will equal that of the common units. For restricted stock awards, we estimate the stock compensation expense based on the fair value of the stock at the grant date. LTIP units and ESRT restricted stock issued during the three months ended March 31, 2021 were valued at $18.3 million. The weighted average per unit or share fair value was $8.38 for grants issued in 2021. The per unit or share granted in 2020 was estimated on the respective dates of grant using the following assumptions: an expected life from 2.0 to 5.3 years, a dividend rate of 2.60%, a risk-free interest rate from 0.12% to 0.32%, and an expected price volatility from 36.0% to 53.0%. No other stock options, dividend equivalents, or stock appreciation rights were issued or outstanding in 2021. The following is a summary of ESRT restricted stock and LTIP unit activity for the three months ended March 31, 2021:
| Restricted Stock |  | LTIP Units |  | Weighted Average Grant Fair Value
Unvested balance at December 31, 2020 | 217,700 |  |  | 7,750,284 |  |  | $ | 6.94 |
Vested | (70,338) |  |  | (847,406) |  |  | 11.94 |
Granted | 120,895 |  |  | 2,059,840 |  |  | 8.38 |
Forfeited or unearned | (9,495) |  |  | (1,417,107) |  |  | 5.47 |
Unvested balance at March 31, 2021 | 258,762 |  |  | 7,545,611 |  |  | $ | 7.02 |
The LTIP unit and ESRT restricted stock awards are treated for accounting purposes as immediately vested upon the later of (i) the date the grantee attains the age of 60 or 65, as applicable, and (ii) the date on which grantee has first completed ten years of continuous service with our company or its affiliates. For award agreements that qualify, we recognize noncash compensation expense on the grant date for the time-based awards and ratably over the vesting period for the performance-based awards, and accordingly, we recognized $1.0 million and $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Unrecognized compensation expense was $2.1 million at March 31, 2021, which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.7 years. For the remainder of the LTIP unit and ESRT restricted stock awards, we recognize noncash compensation expense ratably over the vesting period, and accordingly, we recognized noncash compensation expense of $3.8 million and $4.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Unrecognized compensation expense was $38.8 million at March 31, 2021, which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.7 years. Earnings Per Unit Earnings per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 is computed as follows (amounts in thousands, except per share amounts):
|  |  | Three Months Ended
|  |  |  |  | March 31, 2021 |  | March 31, 2020
Numerator: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net income (loss) |  |  |  |  | $ | (3,191) |  |  | $ | 8,288 |
Private perpetual preferred unit distributions |  |  |  |  | (1,050) |  |  | (1,050) |
Earnings allocated to unvested units |  |  |  |  | — |  |  | (257) |
Net income (loss) attributable to common unitholders – basic and diluted |  |  |  |  | $ | (4,241) |  |  | $ | 6,981 |
Denominator: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Weighted average units outstanding – basic |  |  |  |  | 277,881 |  |  | 292,645 |
Effect of dilutive securities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Stock-based compensation plans |  |  |  |  | — |  |  | — |
Weighted average units outstanding –- diluted |  |  |  |  | 277,881 |  |  | 292,645 |
Earnings (loss) per share: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Basic |  |  |  |  | $ | (0.02) |  |  | $ | 0.02 |
Diluted |  |  |  |  | $ | (0.02) |  |  | $ | 0.02 |
There were 315,595 and 399,894 antidilutive shares and LTIP units for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2021, respectively

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