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Note 2 - Stock Incentive Plans and Other Share-based Compensation
 9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2016
Notes to Financial Statements  
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]
(2)
Stock Incentive Plans and Other Share-Based Compensation
 
As of July 31, 2016, there were approximately 293,000 remaining shares available for grant under the Optical Cable Corporation Second Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan.
 
Share-based compensation expense for employees, a consultant and non-employee Directors recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months and nine months ended July 31, 2016 was $145,459 and $659,796, respectively, and for the three months and nine months ended July 31, 2015 was $222,195 and $859,889, respectively. Share-based compensation expense is entirely related to expense recognized in connection with the vesting of restricted stock awards or other stock awards.
 
Restricted and Other Stock Awards
 
The Company has granted, and anticipates granting from time to time, restricted stock awards subject to approval by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Since fiscal year 2004, the Company has exclusively used restricted stock awards for all share-based compensation of employees and consultants, and stock awards to non-employee members of the Board of Directors.
 
Stock awards to non-employee members of the Board of Directors vest immediately upon grant, but cannot be sold, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered or disposed of until six months after the date of grant.
 
During the three months ended July 31, 2016, restricted stock awards for certain employees under the Optical Cable Corporation Second Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan totaling 36,584 shares were approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company. Of the restricted shares granted, 18,292 are service-based awards which vest annually over approximately three years with the first vesting date occurring on July 31, 2017; and 18,292 shares are operational performance-based shares vesting over approximately five years beginning on January 31, 2018 based on the achievement of certain quantitative operational performance goals. The Company uses gross profit growth as its performance-based measure for restricted stock awards granted to employees.
 
Restricted stock award activity during the nine months ended July 31, 2016 consisted of restricted or other stock grants totaling 122,880 shares, restricted shares forfeited totaling 25,438 and restricted or other shares withheld for taxes in connection with the vesting of restricted shares or other shares totaling 30,105. Employees have the option to surrender shares to pay for withholding tax obligations resulting from any vesting restricted shares, or to pay cash to the Company in the amount of the withholding taxes owed on the value of any vesting restricted shares in order to avoid surrendering shares. Beginning with the 2016 grant, non-employee Directors have the option to surrender shares to pay for tax obligations resulting from any vesting shares as well.
 
As of July 31, 2016, the estimated amount of compensation cost related to unvested equity-based compensation awards in the form of service-based and operational performance-based shares that the Company will recognize over a 2.8 year weighted-average period is approximately $2.3 million.