the Board of Directors (collectively, the “plans”). These awards generally vest and are expensed in equal annual amounts over three to five years. The plans provide that options be granted at exercise prices not less than the market value of the underlying common stock on the date the option is granted and options and share awards are adjusted for such changes as stock splits and stock dividends. Options are exercisable for periods of no more than seven years after date of grant. Upon exercise in the case of stock options, grant in the case of restricted stock or vesting in the case of performance based contingent stock and restricted stock unit grants, shares are issued out of available treasury shares. The Company’s current plan permits the granting of awards in the form of stock, stock appreciation rights, stock awards and cash awards in addition to stock options.

Total compensation expense related to stock options, restricted stock units, including those awards made to non-employee members of its Board of Directors, and stock performance awards for the years ended December 27, 2020, December 29, 2019 and December 30, 2018 was $49,748, $28,044 and $27,892, respectively, and was recorded as follows:

The following table represents total stock compensation expense, net of performance adjustments, by award type related to stock performance awards, restricted stock units, stock options and awards made to non-employee members of the Company’s Board of Directors, for the years ended December 27, 2020, December 29, 2019 and December 30, 2018:


	2020		2019	2018
Stock performance awards	$	8,415	(1,573)	842
Restricted stock units	28,529		18,744	17,897
Stock options	10,958		9,113	7,393
Non-employee awards	1,846		1,760	1,760
	49,748		28,044	27,892
Income tax benefit	5,295		3,648	2,832
	$	44,453	24,396	25,060

In 2020, 2019 and 2018, as part of its annual equity grant to executive officers and certain other employees, the Company issued contingent stock performance awards (the “Stock Performance Awards”). These awards provide the recipients with the ability to earn shares of the Company’s common stock based on the Company’s achievement of stated cumulative operating performance targets over the three fiscal years ended December 2022, December 2021, and December 2020 for the 2020, 2019 and 2018 awards, respectively. Each Stock Performance Award has a target number of shares of common stock associated with such award which may be earned by the recipient if the Company achieves the stated diluted earnings per share and revenue targets. For certain employees, the Stock Performance Awards also include an additional target for the Company's return on invested capital target in addition to the diluted earnings per share and revenue targets. The ultimate amount of the award may vary from 0% to 200% of the target number of shares, depending on the cumulative results achieved.


	2020		2019	2018
Outstanding at beginning of year	471		633	900
Granted	352		281	250
Forfeited	(48)		(58)	(49)
Canceled	(184)		(146)	—
Vested	(5)		(239)	(468)
Outstanding at end of year	586		471	633
Weighted average grant-date fair value:
Granted	$	56.49	86.90	88.18
Forfeited	$	80.31	92.90	86.27
Canceled	$	88.25	99.58	—
Vested	$	99.58	74.72	61.86
Outstanding at end of year	$	69.25	87.59	86.58

Shares canceled in 2020 and 2019 represent Stock Performance Awards granted during 2018 and 2017, respectively, that were canceled based on the failure to meet the targets set forth by the agreement. Shares granted in 2018 included 14 additional shares related to the 2016 award, reflecting increases in the ultimate amount of shares to be issued based on the Company's cumulative results achieved during the performance period. These shares were excluded from the calculation of the weighted average grant-date fair value of Stock Performance awards granted in 2018.

Stock Performance Awards are valued at the market value of the underlying common stock at the dates of grant and are expensed over the performance period. On a periodic basis, the Company reviews the actual and forecasted performance of the Company against the stated targets for each award. The total expense is adjusted upward or downward based on the expected amount of shares to be issued as defined in the respective stock performance award agreement. If minimum targets as detailed under the award are not met, no additional compensation expense will be recognized and any previously recognized compensation expense will be reversed. During 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized expense, net of performance adjustments, of $8,415, $(1,573) and $842, respectively, relating to Stock Performance Awards. At December 27, 2020, the amount of total unrecognized compensation cost related to these awards is approximately $18,601 and the weighted average period over which this will be expensed is 21 months.

The Company, as part of its annual equity grant to executive officers and certain other employees, issues restricted stock or grants restricted stock units. These shares or units are nontransferable and subject to forfeiture for periods prescribed by the Company. These awards are valued at the market value of the underlying common stock at the date of grant and are subsequently amortized over the periods during which the restrictions lapse, generally three years. During 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized compensation expense, net of forfeitures, on these awards of $28,529, $18,744 and $17,897, respectively. At December 27, 2020, the amount of total unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock units is $69,064 and the weighted average period over which this will be expensed is 24 months.

In October 2012, as part of an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, (the “Agreement”), the Company’s Chief Executive Officer was awarded 587 shares to be granted in two tranches across 2013 and 2014, which were expensed from 2013 through 2018. These awards provided the recipient with the ability to earn shares of the Company’s common stock based on the Company’s achievement of four stated stock price hurdles and continued employment through December 30, 2018. In August 2014, the Agreement was further amended to include additional requirements. Specifically, if the third and fourth stock price hurdles were achieved, the number of shares ultimately issued was dependent on the average stock price for the thirty day period immediately prior to December 30, 2018. This amendment did not result in any incremental fair value to the award which was used to record compensation expense for the award. At December 30, 2018, all requirements of the Agreement were met and 587 shares were issued.


	2020		2019	2018
Outstanding at beginning of year	451		434	636
Granted	841		259	257
Forfeited	(51)		(44)	(40)
Vested	(196)		(198)	(419)
Outstanding at end of year	1,045		451	434
Weighted average grant-date fair value:
Granted	$	91.80	87.98	97.45
Forfeited	$	94.01	92.56	93.45
Vested	$	94.21	90.23	67.34
Outstanding at end of year	$	91.56	92.54	94.22


	2020		2019	2018
Outstanding at beginning of year	2,444		2,310	2,579
Granted	829		740	538
Exercised	(297)		(546)	(736)
Expired or forfeited	(114)		(60)	(71)
Outstanding at end of year	2,862		2,444	2,310
Exercisable at end of year	1,451		1,284	1,391
Weighted average exercise price:
Granted	$	96.79	86.66	98.10
Exercised	$	55.82	58.18	45.64
Expired or forfeited	$	94.32	95.71	93.81
Outstanding at end of year	$	88.16	81.58	74.78
Exercisable at end of year	$	82.80	73.03	61.59

With respect to the 2,862 outstanding options and 1,451 options exercisable at December 27, 2020, the weighted average remaining contractual life of these options was 4.26 years and 2.93 years, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value of the options outstanding and exercisable at December 27, 2020 was $21,131 and $16,149, respectively. Substantially all unvested outstanding options are expected to vest.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes valuation model in determining the fair value of stock options. The expected life of the options used in this calculation is the period of time the options are expected to be outstanding and has been determined based on historical exercise experience. The weighted average fair value of options granted in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $18.58, $15.70 and $19.26, respectively. The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions used for grants in the fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018:

The intrinsic values, which represent the difference between the fair market value on the date of exercise and the exercise price of the option, of the options exercised in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018 were $9,721, $24,483 and $38,909, respectively.

In 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company granted 29, 18 and 20 shares of common stock, respectively, to its non-employee members of its Board of Directors. Of these shares, the receipt of 19 shares from the 2020 grant, 10 shares from the 2019 grant and 11 shares from the 2018 grant has been deferred to the date upon which the respective director ceases to be a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. These awards were valued at the market value of the underlying common stock at the date of grant and vested upon grant. In connection with these grants, compensation cost of $1,846 was recorded in selling, distribution and administration expense in the year ended December 27, 2020, $1,760 in the year ended December 29, 2019 and $1,760 in the year ended December 30, 2018.