Company: AX
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001299709-25-000174
Chunk: 61

Company: Axos Financial, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 61
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 of our employees with the long-term economic interests of our stockholders. Our direct competitors and our peer companies rely on equity compensation to attract and retain top talent in our industry and remain competitive and we believe that any failure by us to offer competitive levels of equity compensation to attract and retain employees would have an adverse effect on our business. The following points summarize why our Board strongly believes that the Amendment is essential for our future success to help ensure all employees think and act like owners:

• 100% of US-based full-time employees who have reached the end of their first bonus period are awarded a portion of their incentive compensation in the form of RSUs.

• Multi-year vesting period and potential for personal income growth supports employee retention, especially for high-performing employees who drive our success.

• Further supporting employee retention, any unvested awards are generally forfeited upon departure from the Company.

• Long-term equity incentives help prevent management from making decisions that favor short-term results over longer-term stability and profitability.

• The 1,000,000 additional shares of common stock represent only 1.8% of the number of shares of common stock that are outstanding as of September 1, 2025 and is designed to manage our equity compensation needs for the next two to three years, depending on the Company’s share price on award grant dates. When annualized over a utilization period of 2.5 years, the 0.7% is far lower than the growth in book value of the Company, which has averaged 18% over the past three fiscal years.

• The 2014 Plan is currently scheduled to expire on September 5, 2026. The Amendment would extend the Company’s ability to grant new awards under the 2014 Plan and meet its equity compensation needs for the next two to three years.

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## Item 3. Approval of an Amendment to the Amended and Restated 2014 Stock Incentive Plan
On September 19, 2025, our Board approved the Amendment. The complete text of the Amendment is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A, and the discussion in this proposal is qualified in its entirety by the full text contained therein. The Amendment was effective on the date of the Board’s approval, so long as it is approved by our stockholders within 12 months after that date. If we do not obtain stockholder approval of the Amendment, the 2014 Plan (without giving effect to the proposed amendment) will remain in effect.

#### Impact of the