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Share-Based Compensation Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Share-Based Compensation Plans SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS
UAL maintains share-based compensation plans for our management employees and our non-employee directors. These plans provide for grants of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), stock appreciation rights, restricted shares, RSUs, performance compensation awards, performance units, cash incentive awards, other equity-based and equity-related awards, and dividends and dividend equivalents.
All awards are recorded as either equity or a liability in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The share-based compensation expense is recorded in salaries and related costs.
During 2019, UAL granted share-based compensation awards pursuant to the United Continental Holdings, Inc. 2017 Incentive Compensation Plan. These share-based compensation awards included approximately 1.2 million RSUs consisting of 0.9 million time-vested RSUs and 0.3 million performance-based RSUs and approximately 307,000 stock options. The time-vested RSUs vest pro-rata, a majority of which vest on February 28th of each year, over a three-year period from the date of grant. The amount of performance-based RSUs that vest will be based on the Company's relative improvement in pre-tax margin compared to a group of airline industry peers for the three years ending December 31, 2021. The RSUs are generally equity awards settled in stock for domestic employees and liability awards settled in cash for international employees. The cash payments are based on the 20-day average closing price of UAL common stock immediately prior to the vesting date. The stock options have a ten-year term and vest annually over six years, at variable rates, beginning on the third anniversary of UAL's 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
The following table provides information related to UAL's share-based compensation plan cost for the years ended December 31 (in millions):
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Compensation cost:
 
 
 
 
 
 
RSUs
 
$
98

 
$
98

 
$
63

Restricted stock
 
1

 
2

 
8

Stock options
 
1

 
1

 
2

Total
 
$
100

 
$
101

 
$
73


The table below summarizes UAL's unearned compensation and weighted-average remaining period to recognize costs for all outstanding share-based awards that are probable of being achieved as of December 31, 2019 (in millions, except as noted):
 
 
Unearned Compensation
 
Weighted-Average
Remaining Period
(in years)
RSUs
 
$
66

 
2.0
Stock options
 
11

 
5.3
Total
 
$
77

 
 

RSUs and Restricted Stock. As of December 31, 2019, UAL had recorded a liability of $44 million related to its cash-settled RSUs. UAL paid $41 million, $28 million and $50 million related to its cash-settled RSUs during 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The table below summarizes UAL's RSUs and restricted stock activity for the years ended December 31 (shares in millions):
 
 
Liability Awards
 
Equity Awards
 
 
RSUs
 

RSUs
 
Weighted-
Average
Grant Price
 
Restricted 
Stock
 
Weighted-
Average
Grant Price
Outstanding at December 31, 2016
 
2.1

 
0.8

 
$
51.67

 
0.5

 
$
52.00

Granted
 
0.6

 
1.0

 
71.68

 
—

 
—

Vested
 
(0.7
)
 
(0.3
)
 
51.81

 
(0.2
)
 
51.60

Forfeited
 
(0.2
)
 
(0.1
)
 
57.49

 
—

 
—

Outstanding at December 31, 2017
 
1.8

 
1.4

 
63.99

 
0.3

 
52.30

Granted
 
0.7

 
1.1

 
67.74

 
—

 
—

Vested
 
(0.5
)
 
(0.5
)
 
63.02

 
(0.2
)
 
53.24

Forfeited
 
(0.1
)
 
(0.2
)
 
67.34

 
—

 
—

Outstanding at December 31, 2018
 
1.9

 
1.8

 
66.29

 
0.1

 
51.17

Granted
 
0.1

 
1.1

 
86.72

 
—

 
—

Vested
 
(0.5
)
 
(0.8
)
 
64.85

 
(0.1
)
 
51.17

Forfeited
 
(0.9
)
 
(0.1
)
 
76.48

 
—

 
—

Outstanding at December 31, 2019
 
0.6

 
2.0

 
78.03

 
—

 
—


The fair value of RSUs and restricted stock that vested in 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $99 million, $70 million and $76 million, respectively. The fair value of the restricted stock and the stock-settled RSUs was based upon the UAL common stock price on the date of grant. The fair value of the cash-settled RSUs was based on the UAL common stock price as of the last day preceding the settlement date.
Stock Options. In 2019, UAL granted an award of approximately 307,000 premium-priced stock options with an exercise price that was 25% higher than the closing price of UAL's common stock on the date of grant, representing an exercise price of $110.21. UAL did not grant any stock option awards during 2018. In 2017, UAL granted approximately 36,000 stock options with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of UAL's common stock on the date of grant, representing an exercise price of $77.56 and a weighted-average grant date fair value of approximately $0.7 million. Expense related to each portion of an option grant is recognized on a straight-line basis over the specific vesting period for those options.
The Company determined the grant date fair value of stock options using a Black-Scholes option pricing model, which requires the use of several assumptions. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. treasury yield curve in effect for the expected term of the option at the time of grant. The dividend yield on UAL's common stock was assumed to be zero since UAL did not pay dividends at the time of the option grants. The volatility assumptions were based upon historical volatilities of UAL using daily stock price returns equivalent to the expected term of the option. The expected term of the options was determined based upon a simplified assumption that the option will be exercised evenly from vesting to expiration due to the Company's lack of relevant historical data related to stock options.
As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 0.7 million outstanding stock option awards, 0.2 million of which were exercisable, with weighted-average exercise prices of $82.12 and $56.89, respectively, intrinsic values of $11 million and $6 million, respectively, and weighted-average remaining contractual lives (in years) of 7.3 and 3.7, respectively.