STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

STOCK BASED COMPENSATION

6. stock-based compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation based on the fair value of the stock or stock-based instrument on the date of grant.

In January 2019, the Company granted 75,353 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to its board of directors as partial compensation for the 2019 year. In January 2018, the Company granted 58,578 RSUs to its board of directors as partial compensation for the 2018 year. RSUs vest quarterly on a straight-line basis over a one-year period. The Company’s net income for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 includes approximately $250,000 and $273,000, respectively, of non-cash compensation expense related to the RSU grants to the board of directors. This expense is recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses.

In January 2018, the Company granted 5,130 shares of common stock to various employees. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, approximately $10,000 of compensation expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses and approximately $36,000 of compensation expense is included in cost of revenue for this grant. 

In March 2018, the Company granted 68,764 shares of common stock to various employees. In the event that any of these employees voluntarily terminates their employment prior to certain dates, portions of the shares may be forfeited. In addition, if certain Company performance criteria are not achieved, portions of these shares may be forfeited. These shares will be expensed during various periods through March 2022 based upon the service and performance thresholds. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, approximately $85,000 of compensation expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses and approximately $16,100 of compensation expense is included in cost of revenue for this grant. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, approximately $76,600 of compensation expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses and approximately $16,100 of compensation expense is included in cost of revenue for this grant.

On February 12, 2019, these employees returned 1,221 common shares, valued at approximately $7,893, to pay the employees’ withholding taxes.

In March 2018, 12,330 and 9,130 of the shares granted in 2016 and 2017, respectively, were forfeited because the Company failed to achieve certain performance criteria for the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition, on March 22, 2018, these employees returned 7,552 common shares, valued at approximately $62,000, to pay the employees’ withholding taxes.

A summary of the status of the Company’s stock option plans as of March 31, 2019 and changes during the three months ended March 31, 2019 is as follows:

					Weighted
			Weighted		average
			average		remaining
			exercise		contractual		Aggregate
	Options		price		term (in years)		intrinsic value
Outstanding at beginning of period		41,772	$	7.58
Exercised during the period		35,000	$	6.60
Outstanding and vested at end of period		6,772	$	12.67		0.25	$	0

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, 35,000 stock options were exercised, pursuant to the provisions of the stock option plan, where the company received no cash, and 34,478 shares of its common stock in exchange for the 35,000 shares issued in the exercise. The 34,478 shares that the Company received were valued at $231,003, the fair market value of the shares on the date of exercise. During the three months ended March 31, 2018, no stock options were granted or exercised.