We currently grant share-based compensation pursuant to the Kohl’s Corporation 2017 Long-Term Compensation Plan, which provides for the granting of various forms of equity-based awards, including nonvested stock, performance share units, and options to purchase shares of our common stock, to officers, key employees, and directors. As of February 3, 2024, there were 9.0 million shares authorized and 5.0 million shares available for grant under the 2017 Long-Term Compensation Plan. Options and nonvested stock that are surrendered or terminated without issuance of shares are available for future grants.

Annual grants are typically made in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Grants to newly-hired and promoted employees and other discretionary grants are made periodically throughout the remainder of the year.

We grant shares of nonvested restricted stock awards and units to eligible key employees and to our Board of Directors. Substantially all awards have restriction periods tied primarily to employment and/or service. Employee awards generally vest over five years. Director awards vest over the term to which the director was elected, generally one year. In lieu of cash dividends, holders of nonvested stock awards are granted restricted stock equivalents which vest consistently with the underlying nonvested stock awards. Holders of restricted stock units are granted shares upon vesting in lieu of cash dividends.

The fair value of nonvested stock awards and units is the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. We may acquire shares from employees in lieu of amounts required to satisfy minimum tax withholding requirements upon the vesting of the employee’s unvested stock award. Such shares are then designated as treasury shares.

The following table summarizes nonvested stock and restricted stock unit activity, including restricted stock equivalents and restricted stock unit equivalents issued in lieu of cash dividends:


	2023		2022		2021
(Shares and Units in Thousands)	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance at beginning of year	2,439	$39.40	2,769	$36.17	3,451	$32.09
Granted	2,229	22.97	1,098	47.67	696	55.31
Vested	(1,160)	36.65	(1,060)	38.73	(1,165)	35.80
Forfeited	(409)	31.48	(368)	41.71	(213)	34.68
Balance at end of year	3,099	$29.66	2,439	$39.40	2,769	$36.17

The aggregate fair value of awards at the time of vesting was $43 million in 2023, $41 million in 2022, and $42 million in 2021.

We grant performance-based share units ("performance share units") to certain executives. The performance measurement period for these performance share units is three fiscal years. The fair market value of the grants is determined using a Monte-Carlo valuation on the date of grant (Level 3 inputs).

The actual number of shares which will be earned at the end of the three-year vesting periods will vary based on our cumulative financial performance over the vesting periods. The number of performance share units earned will be modified up or down based on Kohl's Relative Total Shareholder Return against a defined peer group during the vesting periods. The payouts, if earned, will be settled in Kohl's common stock after the end of each multi-year performance periods.

The following table summarizes performance share unit activity by year:


	2023		2022		2021
(Units in Thousands)	Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value	Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value	Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance at beginning of year	813	$45.87	856	$42.74	1,037	$49.95
Granted	770	20.23	553	40.92	225	58.07
Vested	(582)	23.78	—	—	(211)	72.21
Forfeited	(224)	65.80	(596)	36.79	(195)	66.88
Balance at end of year	777	$31.26	813	$45.87	856	$42.74

The following table summarizes our stock option activity:


	2023		2022		2021
(Shares in Thousands)	Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price	Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price	Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price
Balance at beginning of year	—	$—	12	$48.66	36	$52.15
Exercised	—	—	(12)	48.66	(23)	54.00
Forfeited/expired	—	—	—	—	(1)	51.27
Balance at end of year	—	$—	—	$—	12	$48.66

The intrinsic value of options exercised represents the excess of our stock price at the time the option was exercised over the exercise price and was $0 in 2023 and less than $1 million in 2022 and 2021.

Effective April 18, 2019, in connection with our entry into a commercial agreement with Amazon.com Services, Inc. (“Amazon”), we issued warrants to an affiliate of Amazon, to purchase up to 1,747,441 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $69.68, subject to customary anti-dilution provisions. The fair value was estimated to be $17.52 per warrant using a binomial lattice method. The warrants vest in five equal annual installments, and the first installment vested on January 15, 2020. The last installment vested on January 15, 2024 and all 1,747,441 shares were vested and unexercised as of February 3, 2024. The warrants will expire on April 18, 2026.

Stock-based compensation expense is included in Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Income. Stock-based compensation expense, net of forfeitures, totaled $42 million for 2023, $30 million for 2022, and $48 million for 2021. At February 3, 2024, we had approximately $93 million of unrecognized share-based compensation expense, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.5 years.