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Stock-Based Compensation | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2019
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract] |
Stock-Based Compensation | Stock-Based Compensation The Company provides stock-based compensation awards to employees, independent contractors and directors as an effective means for attracting, retaining and motivating such individuals. The Company maintains two stock-based compensation plans: the Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”) and the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2008 Plan”). Upon the effective date of the 2014 Plan in January 2014, the Company ceased using the 2008 Plan to grant new equity awards, and began using the 2014 Plan for grants of new equity awards. 2014 Plan In February 2014, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2014 Plan. The 2014 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options to the Company’s employees and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights, performance stock awards and other forms of stock compensation to the Company’s employees, consultants and directors. The 2014 Plan also provides for the grant of performance-based cash awards to the Company’s employees, consultants and directors. A total of 2,800,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were initially reserved for issuance pursuant to the 2014 Plan. In addition, the shares reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan include (a) those shares reserved but unissued under the 2008 Plan, and (b) shares returned to the 2008 Plan as the result of expiration or termination of awards (provided that the maximum number of shares that may be added to the 2014 Plan pursuant to (a) and (b) is 5,943,348 shares). The number of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be issued under the 2014 Plan will automatically increase on January 1st of each year, for a period of ten years, from January 1, 2015 continuing through January 1, 2024, by 5% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, or a lesser number of shares as may be determined by the Company’s board of directors. The shares available for issuance increased by 3,175,011 and 2,896,365 on January 1, 2020 and 2019, respectively, pursuant to the automatic share reserve increase provision under the 2014 Plan. In addition, shares subject to outstanding stock awards granted under the 2008 Plan and 2014 Plan that (i) expire or terminate for any reason prior to exercise or settlement; (ii) are forfeited because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares or otherwise return to the Company; or (iii) are reacquired or withheld (or not issued) to satisfy a tax withholding obligation in connection with an award or to satisfy the purchase price or exercise price of a stock award, return to the 2014 Plan’s share reserve and become available for future grant under the 2014 Plan, up to the maximum number of shares of 5,943,348. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had 5,296,333 shares reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan. Further, as of December 31, 2019, under the 2014 Plan, options to purchase 3,249,445 shares of the Company’s common stock were outstanding at a weighted-average exercise price of $44.14 per share and 3,694,915 restricted stock units were outstanding. 2008 Plan In October 2008, the Company’s stockholders approved the Company’s 2008 Plan. The 2008 Plan was most recently amended on May 8, 2013. The 2008 Plan provided for the grant of incentive stock options to the Company’s employees and the employees of the Company’s subsidiaries, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards and deferred stock awards to the Company’s employees, directors and consultants. The Company ceased granting equity awards under the 2008 Plan, and accordingly, as of January 30, 2014, no shares were available for future grant under the 2008 Plan. However, the 2008 Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of outstanding awards granted thereunder. As of December 31, 2019, options to purchase 1,124,450 shares of the Company’s common stock were outstanding under the 2008 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $5.66 per share. Stock Options The terms of stock option grants, including the exercise price per share and vesting periods, are determined by the Company’s board of directors or the compensation committee thereof. Stock options are granted at exercise prices of not less than the estimated fair market value of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. Stock options are generally subject to service-based vesting conditions and vest at various times from the date of the grant, with most options vesting in tranches, generally over a period of four years. Stock options granted under the 2014 Plan and the 2008 Plan are subject to service-based vesting conditions, and generally expire ten years from the grant date. The Company values stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the risk-free interest rate, expected life of the option, expected stock price volatility and dividend yield. The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates for constant maturity U.S. Treasury securities consistent with the expected term of the Company’s employee stock options. The expected life represents the period of time the stock options are expected to be outstanding and is based on the “simplified method.” Under the “simplified method,” the expected life of an option is presumed to be the mid-point between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term. The Company uses the “simplified method” due to the lack of sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to otherwise estimate the expected life of the stock options. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock over the estimated expected life of the stock options. The Company assumes no dividend yield because dividends are not expected to be paid in the near future, which is consistent with the Company’s history of not declaring or paying dividends to date. The following table summarizes the assumptions used for estimating the fair value of the stock options granted for the periods presented.
| Year Ended December 31,
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Risk-free interest rate | 1.6% - 2.6% |  | 2.3% - 3.0% |  | 2.0% - 2.1%
Expected term (years) | 5.96 - 6.08 |  | 5.97 - 6.77 |  | 6.00 - 6.08
Expected volatility | 45% - 64% |  | 44% - 45% |  | 46% - 49%
Dividend yield | 0% |  | 0% |  | 0%
The following is a summary of the stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2019:
| Number of Options |  | Weighted-Average Exercise Price per Share |  | Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years) |  | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
Outstanding balance as of December 31, 2018 | 4,057,788 |  |  | $ | 27.23 |  |  | 5.95 |  | $ | 113,211 |
Granted | 809,289 |  |  | 61.34 |  |  | 8.35 |  |  |
Exercised | (361,134 | ) |  | 8.64 |  |  | 1.36 |  |  |
Forfeited | (116,435 | ) |  | 56.00 |  |  |  |  |  |
Expired | (15,613 | ) |  | 44.99 |  |  |  |  |  |
Outstanding balance as of December 31, 2019 | 4,373,895 |  |  | 34.24 |  |  | 5.88 |  | 28,736 |
Exercisable as of December 31, 2019 | 3,051,658 |  |  | $ | 20.98 |  |  | 4.69 |  | $ | 28,374 |
The weighted-average grant date fair value of the Company’s stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $28.49, $39.66 and $19.65 per share, respectively. The total unrecognized compensation cost related to the unvested options as of December 31, 2019 was $35.5 million and will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.9 years. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $15.4 million, $54.0 million and $24.9 million, respectively. Restricted Stock Units Under the 2014 Plan, the Company grants RSUs and PRSUs to the Company’s directors and certain of the Company’s employees and consultants. The terms of these grants under the 2014 Plan, including the vesting periods, are determined by the Company’s board of directors or the compensation committee, or a subcommittee thereof. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company granted 186,433 PRSUs with an aggregate grant date fair value of $11.5 million to certain of its employees. These PRSU awards are generally subject to vesting over periods of approximately one or two years, based on the Company achieving pre-determined consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA (loss) performance targets for the 2019 fiscal year. As of December 31, 2019, the performance targets were not met and no awards vested. During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company granted 1,275,955 PRSUs with an aggregate grant date fair value of $29.3 million to certain of its employees. These PRSU awards are subject to vesting over a period of three years, based on the Company’s stock price achieving pre-determined total shareholder return targets relative to that of companies comprising the Russell 3000 Index during each of the one, two and three-year vesting periods. The PRSU award agreements provide that the quantity of units subject to vesting may range from 200% to 0% of the granted quantities, depending on the achievement of market-based targets. The expense recognized each period is determined at the time of grant and not subject to fluctuation due to the achievement of market-based targets. Throughout 2019 and 2018, the Company granted RSUs under the 2014 Plan to the Company’s directors and certain of the Company’s employees and consultants. The terms of the restricted stock unit grants under the 2014 Plan, including the vesting periods, are determined by the Company’s board of directors or the compensation committee thereof. Restricted stock units are generally subject to service-based vesting conditions and vest at various times from the date of the grant, with most restricted stock units vesting in equal annual tranches, generally over a period of three to four years. The following is a summary of RSU and PRSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2019:
| Number of Restricted Stock Units |  | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share
Outstanding balance as of December 31, 2018 | 1,139,045 |  |  | $ | 52.47 |
Granted | 3,388,919 |  |  | 32.50 |
Vested | (538,752 | ) |  | 42.74 |
Forfeited | (294,297 | ) |  | 50.15 |
Outstanding balance as of December 31, 2019 | 3,694,915 |  |  | $ | 35.76 |
The total compensation cost related to the nonvested restricted stock units not yet recognized as of December 31, 2019 was $93.5 million and will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.1 years. In January 2020, the Company issued its annual grants to certain employees consisting of 1.7 million RSUs with an aggregate grant date fair value of $34.1 million and 1.9 million PRSUs with an aggregate intrinsic value of $37.6 million. These RSU and PRSU awards vest over a period of three years. The quantity of PRSU awards that will vest is based on the Company’s stock price achieving pre-determined total shareholder return targets relative to that of companies comprising the Russell 3000 Index during each performance period. The PRSU award agreements provide that the quantity of units subject to vesting may range from 200% to 0% of the granted quantities for the first performance period, depending on the achievement of market-based targets. Achievement percentages applicable to the second and third performance periods will be determined in advance of the grants date, by the Company’s compensation committee. The expense recognized each period is determined at the time of grant and not subject to fluctuation due to the achievement of market-based targets. Employee Stock Purchase Plan The Company’s 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) provides (i) for two offering periods each year and (ii) that the purchase price for shares of the Company’s common stock purchased under the ESPP will be 90% of the lesser of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the purchase date or the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the first day of the offering period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors may exercise its discretion, subject to certain conditions, to make changes to certain aspects of the ESPP including, but not limited to, the length of the offering periods and that the purchase price will be 85% of the lesser of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the purchase date or the fair market value of 2U’s common stock on the first day of the offering period. Participating eligible employees select a rate of payroll deduction between 1% and 15% of their salary or wage compensation received from the Company as in effect at the start of the offering period, with the aggregate purchase limited to a maximum fair market value of $25,000 per employee per year. Participation in the ESPP began on January 1, 2018. The ESPP is intended to qualify as an employee stock purchase plan under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. A maximum of 1,000,000 shares of 2U’s common stock may be issued under the ESPP, subject to adjustments for certain capital transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2019, an aggregate of 123,365 shares of 2U’s common stock were purchased in accordance with the ESPP. Net proceeds from the issuance of shares of 2U’s common stock under the ESPP for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $3.4 million. As of December 31, 2019, 812,964 shares remain available for purchase under the ESPP. Stock-Based Compensation Expense Stock-based compensation expense related to stock-based awards, as well as the ESPP, is included in the following line items on the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss:
| Year Ended December 31,
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
| (in thousands)
Curriculum and teaching | $ | 45 |  |  | $ | 14 |  |  | $ | 3 |
Servicing and support | 8,915 |  |  | 4,764 |  |  | 4,036 |
Technology and content development | 8,241 |  |  | 4,094 |  |  | 3,306 |
Marketing and sales | 7,021 |  |  | 2,743 |  |  | 1,742 |
General and administrative | 27,282 |  |  | 19,795 |  |  | 12,843 |
Total stock-based compensation expense | $ | 51,504 |  |  | $ | 31,410 |  |  | $ | 21,930 |
Prior to January 1, 2017, the Company adjusted stock-based compensation expense for estimated forfeitures of stock-based awards. Beginning on January 1, 2017, the Company began accounting for forfeitures (and the impact on stock-based compensation expense) as they occur and recorded the cumulative-effect of this accounting change at that time.

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