Company: MSTR
Filing Date: 2025-01-03
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001140361-25-000231
Chunk: 162

Company: Strategy Inc
Filing Date: 2025-01-03
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 162
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 for future issuance under the 2023 Equity Plan.

In determining related share-based compensation expense for any award under the Stock Incentive Plans, the Company has made an accounting policy election to account for forfeitures of awards as they occur and therefore share-based compensation expense presented below has not been adjusted for any estimated forfeitures.

#### Stock option awards
Stock options granted under the Stock Incentive Plans must have an exercise price equal to at least the fair market value of the Company’s class A common stock on the date of grant, become exercisable as established by the Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee, and expire no later than 10 years following the date of grant. The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense associated with such stock option awards on a straight-line basis over the award’s requisite service period (generally, the vesting period). With the exception of stock option awards to non-employee members of the Company’s Board of Directors under the 2023 Equity Plan, which vest in full after one year, the stock option awards granted to date vest in equal annual installments over an approximately four-year vesting period (unless accelerated in connection with a change in control event under specified conditions as set forth in the applicable option agreement or otherwise in accordance with provisions of the Stock Incentive Plans).

Share-based compensation expense related to stock option awards is based on the fair value of the stock option awards on the date of grant, as estimated using the Black-Scholes valuation model. The Black-Scholes valuation model requires the input of certain management assumptions, including the expected term, expected stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividend yield. The Company estimates the term over which option holders are expected to hold their stock options by using the simplified method for “plain-vanilla” stock option awards because the Company’s stock option exercise history does not provide a reasonable basis to compute the expected term for stock options granted under the Stock Incentive Plans. During 2021, 2022 and 2023, as a result of the significant increase in the Company’s stock price volatility, the Company established estimates for the expected stock price volatility by calculating a blended rate from the historical stock price volatility of its class A common stock and the implied volatility of the Company’s traded financial instruments with similar terms to the respective award. For stock options granted prior to 2021, the Company relied exclusively on its historical stock price volatility using a simple average calculation method to estimate the expected stock price volatility over the expected term because the Company believed at