Company: AAOI
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-019126
Chunk: 40

Company: APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 40
---
 | ​ | ​ |
| ​ | ​ | Vice President          | ​ | ​ | ​ | 1x annual base salary | ​ | ​ |

Directors who are not also executive officers of the Company are required to hold shares of the Company’s common stock with a value equal to three times the amount of the annual retainer paid to directors. Stock ownership levels must be achieved by each executive officer and director within five years of the adoption of the guidelines or within five years of the individual’s first appointment as an executive officer or director, as applicable, whichever is later. Until the applicable stock ownership guideline is achieved, individuals are encouraged to retain an amount equal to 50% of the net shares obtained through the Company’s stock incentive plans. Stock that counts toward satisfaction of the guidelines includes: (i) shares of common stock owned directly by the executive officer or director; (ii) shares of common stock owned indirectly by the executive officer or director (e.g., by a spouse or other immediate family member residing in the same household or a trust for the benefit of the executive officer or director or his or her family), whether held individually or jointly; (iii) shares of common stock held under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan; (iv) shares granted under the Company’s long-term incentive plans; (v) shares represented by amounts invested in the Company’s 401(k) plan; and (vi) shares purchased in the open market. As of the date of this filing all of our executive officers and directors are in compliance with the guidelines. In February 2025, we amended our stock ownership and retention guidelines to make it clear that shares underlying unexercised stock options and unvested PSUs do not count toward the satisfaction of the minimum levels of stock ownership. Tax and Accounting Considerations Deductibility of Executive Compensation. Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), places restrictions on the deductibility of executive compensation paid by public companies. In 2024, the tax deductibility of our executive compensation was not a material factor in our compensation committee’s deliberations. Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. We follow the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (“FASB ASC Topic 718”) for our stock-based compensation awards. In 2024, the accounting consequences of our executive compensation was not a material factor in our compensation committee’s deliberations.

26

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2024 Summary Compensation Table The following table presents