We issue stock-based incentive awards to eligible employees, directors and consultants, including restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance stock units (“PSUs”), stock options (both incentive and non-qualified), and other awards, under the terms of our outstanding stock benefit plans (the “Plans” or “Stock Plans”) and forms of equity award agreements approved by our board of directors.

Awards are generally subject to multi-year vesting periods. We recognize compensation expense for awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the vesting periods, reduced by estimated forfeitures. Upon issuance of restricted stock, exercise of stock options, or issuance of shares under the Plans, we generally issue new shares of common stock, but may issue treasury shares.

On June 22, 2023, our stockholders approved the Verint Systems Inc. 2023 Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”). Upon approval of the 2023 Plan, new awards were no longer permitted under our prior stock-based compensation plan (the “2019 Plan”). Awards outstanding at June 22, 2023 under the 2019 Plan or other previous stock-based compensation plans were not impacted by the approval of the 2023 Plan. Collectively, our stock-based compensation plans are referred to herein as the “Plans”.

The 2023 Plan authorizes our board of directors to provide equity-based compensation in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance awards, other stock-based awards, and performance compensation awards. Subject to adjustment as provided in the 2023 Plan, up to an aggregate of (i) 9,000,000 shares of our common stock plus (ii) 3,982,168 shares of our common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan as of June 22, 2023, plus (iii) the number of shares of our common stock that become available for issuance as a result of awards made under the 2019 Plan or the 2023 Plan that are forfeited, cancelled, exchanged, or that terminate or expire, may be issued or transferred in connection with awards under the 2023 Plan. Each stock option or stock-settled stock appreciation right granted under the 2023 Plan will reduce the available plan capacity by one share and each other award denominated in shares that is granted under the 2023 Plan will reduce the available plan capacity by 1.9 shares.


	Year Ended January 31,
(in thousands)	2024		2023		2022
Component of income before provision for income taxes:
Cost of revenue - recurring	$	2,114	$	2,856	$	1,999
Cost of revenue - nonrecurring	2,017		2,806		3,029
Research and development, net	11,918		12,576		7,565
Selling, general and administrative	51,550		57,876		52,672
Total stock-based compensation expense	67,599		76,114		65,265
Income tax benefits related to stock-based compensation (before consideration of valuation allowances)	11,580		12,368		10,615
Total stock-based compensation, net of taxes	$	56,019	$	63,746	$	54,650


	Year Ended January 31,
(in thousands)	2024		2023		2022
Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	$	62,006	$	68,258	$	58,678
Stock bonus program and bonus share program	5,616		7,793		6,568
Total equity-settled awards	67,622		76,051		65,246
Phantom stock units (cash-settled awards)	(23)		63		19
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	67,599	$	76,114	$	65,265

Awards under our stock bonus and bonus share programs are accounted for as liability-classified awards, because the obligations are based predominantly on fixed monetary amounts that are generally known at inception of the obligation, to be settled with a variable number of shares of our common stock, which for awards under our stock bonus program is determined using a discounted average price of our common stock.

We periodically award RSUs to our directors, officers, and other employees. The fair value of these awards is equivalent to the market value of our common stock on the grant date. RSUs are not shares of our common stock and do not have any of the rights or privileges thereof, including voting or dividend rights. On the applicable vesting date, the holder of an RSU becomes entitled to a share of our common stock. RSUs are subject to certain restrictions and forfeiture provisions prior to vesting.

We periodically award PSUs to executive officers and certain employees that vest upon the achievement of specified performance goals or market conditions. We separately recognize compensation expense for each tranche of a PSU award as if it were a separate award with its own vesting date. For certain PSUs, an accounting grant date may be established prior to the requisite service period.

Once a performance vesting condition has been defined and communicated, and the requisite service period has begun, our estimate of the fair value of PSUs requires an assessment of the probability that the specified performance criteria will be achieved, which we update at each reporting date and adjust our estimate of the fair value of the PSUs, if necessary. All compensation expense for PSUs with market conditions is recognized if the requisite service period is fulfilled, even if the market condition is not satisfied.


	Year Ended January 31,
	2024			2023			2022
(in thousands, except grant date fair values)	Shares or Units	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Shares or Units	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Shares or Units	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Beginning balance	2,230	$	52.42	2,454	$	42.99	2,950	$	35.97
Granted	2,127	$	35.68	1,743	$	54.98	1,540	$	48.01
Released	(1,433)	$	46.12	(1,733)	$	42.13	(1,800)	$	36.14
Forfeited	(266)	$	43.70	(234)	$	48.86	(236)	$	40.23
Ending balance	2,658	$	43.29	2,230	$	52.42	2,454	$	42.99

With respect to our stock bonus program, the activity presented in the table above only includes shares earned and released in consideration of the discount provided under that program. Consistent with the provisions of the Plans under which such shares are issued, other shares issued under the stock bonus program are not included in the table above because they do not reduce available plan capacity (since such shares are deemed to be purchased by the grantee at fair value in lieu of receiving an earned

Our RSU and PSU awards may include a provision which allows the awards to be settled with cash payments upon vesting, rather than with delivery of common stock, at the discretion of our board of directors. As of January 31, 2024, for such awards that are outstanding, settlement with cash payments was not considered probable, and therefore these awards have been accounted for as equity-classified awards and are included in the table above.

We have periodically issued phantom stock units to certain employees that settle, or are expected to settle, with cash payments upon vesting. Like equity-settled awards, phantom stock units are awarded with vesting conditions and are subject to certain forfeiture provisions prior to vesting.

In accordance with the terms of our applicable equity incentive plans, following the completion of the Spin-Off on February 1, 2021, we equitably adjusted the number of shares underlying our remaining unvested awards by a factor of approximately 1.45 based on the ratio of the trading prices of our common stock prior to the Spin-Off to the trading prices of our common stock following the Spin-Off.

Our stock bonus program permits eligible employees to receive a portion of their earned bonuses, otherwise payable in cash, in the form of discounted shares of our common stock. Executive officers are eligible to participate in this program to the extent that capacity remains available under the program following the enrollment of all other participants. Shares awarded to executive officers with respect to the discount feature of the program are subject to a one-year vesting period. This program is subject to annual funding approval by our board of directors and an annual cap on the number of shares that can be issued. Subject to these limitations, the number of shares to be issued under the program for a given year is determined using a five-day trailing average price of our common stock when the awards are calculated, reduced by a discount determined by the board of directors each year (the “discount”). To the extent that this program is not funded in a given year or the number of shares of common stock needed to fully satisfy employee enrollment exceeds the annual cap, the applicable portion of the employee bonuses will generally revert to being paid in cash. Obligations under this program are accounted for as liabilities, because the obligations are based predominantly on fixed monetary amounts that are generally known at inception of the

Under our bonus share program, we may provide discretionary bonuses to employees or pay earned bonuses that are outside the stock bonus program in the form of shares of common stock. Unlike the stock bonus program, there is no enrollment for this program and no discount feature. Similar to the accounting for the stock bonus program, obligations for these bonuses are accounted for as liabilities, because the obligations are based predominantly on fixed monetary amounts that are generally known, to be settled with a variable number of shares of common stock. As noted above, all shares issued under this program are included in the Award Activity Table above. Like the stock bonus program, shares awarded under the program are issued after the end of the performance period, in the subsequent fiscal year.

For bonuses in respect of the year ended January 31, 2021, our board of directors approved the use of up to 300,000 shares of common stock in the aggregate for awards under these two programs, with up to 200,000 shares of common stock, and a discount of 15%, for awards under our stock bonus program. However, these two programs were not used for the performance period ended January 31, 2021, and no shares were issued during the year ended January 31, 2022. Bonuses in respect of the year ended January 31, 2021 were paid solely in cash.

For bonuses in respect of the year ended January 31, 2022, our board of directors approved the use of up to 300,000 shares of common stock in the aggregate for awards under these two programs, with up to 300,000 shares of common stock, and a discount of 15%, approved for awards under our stock bonus program. We issued approximately 119,000 shares under the stock bonus program during the three months ended July 31, 2022, in respect of the performance period ended January 31, 2022. The bonus share program was not used, and no shares were issued under this program, in respect of the performance period ended January 31, 2022.

For bonuses in respect of the year ended January 31, 2023, our board of directors approved the use of up to 300,000 shares of common stock in the aggregate for awards under these two programs, with up to 200,000 of these shares of common stock, and a discount of 15%, approved for awards under our stock bonus program. During the three months ended July 31, 2023, we issued approximately 27,000 shares under the stock bonus program and 178,000 shares under the bonus share program, in respect of the year ended January 31, 2023.

The following table summarizes activity under the stock bonus program during the years ended January 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 in isolation from other share activity. As noted above, shares issued in a given fiscal year are in respect of the prior fiscal year’s program period. Also, as noted above, shares issued in respect of the discount feature under the program reduce available plan capacity and are included in the Award Activity Table above. Other shares issued under the program do not reduce available plan capacity and are therefore excluded from the Award Activity Table above.


	Year Ended January 31,
(in thousands)	2024	2023	2022
Shares in lieu of cash bonus — granted and released (not included in the Award Activity Table above)	27	119	—
Shares in respect of discount (included in the Award Activity Table above):
Granted	—	12	—
Released	2	10	—

For bonuses in respect of the year ended January 31, 2024, our board of directors approved the use of up to 300,000 shares of common stock in the aggregate under these two programs, with up to 200,000 shares of common stock, and a discount of 15%, approved for awards under our stock bonus program. Any shares earned under these programs for the performance period ended January 31, 2024 will be issued during the first half of the year ending January 31, 2025.

In March 2024, our board of directors approved up to 300,000 shares of common stock in the aggregate under these two programs, with up to 200,000, and a discount of 15%, for awards under our stock bonus program for the performance period ending January 31, 2025. Any shares earned under these programs will be issued during the year ending January 31, 2026.

We maintain a 401(k) Plan for our full-time employees in the United States. The plan allows eligible employees who attain the age of 21 beginning with the first of the month following their date of hire to elect to contribute up to 60% of their annual compensation, subject to the prescribed maximum amount. We match employee contributions at a rate of 50%, up to a maximum annual matched contribution of $2,000 per employee.

We provide retirement benefits for non-U.S. employees as required by local laws or to a greater extent as we deem appropriate through plans that function similar to 401(k) plans. Funding requirements for programs required by local laws are determined on an individual country and plan basis and are subject to local country practices and market circumstances.

We are obligated to make severance payments for the benefit of certain employees of our foreign subsidiaries. Severance payments made to Israeli employees are considered significant compared to all other subsidiaries with severance payment arrangements. Under Israeli law, we are obligated to make severance payments to employees of our Israeli subsidiary, subject to certain conditions. In most cases, our liability for these severance payments is fully provided for by regular deposits to funds administered by insurance providers and by an accrual for the amount of our liability which has not yet been deposited.