Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Equity and Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plans

v3.10.0.1
Equity and Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plans
3 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]  
EQUITY AND LONG-TERM INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLANS
NOTE 9 – EQUITY AND LONG-TERM INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLANS
Equity Incentive Program
As of September 30, 2018, the Company had two equity incentive plans under which the Company was able to issue equity incentive awards, such as restricted stock units and stock options, to its employees, consultants and members of its Board of Directors: the 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2004 Plan”) and the 1998 Director Plan (the “Outside Director Plan”) with 1.4 million and 1.7 million shares available for issuance, respectively.
For details of the 2004 Plan and the Outside Director Plan, refer to Note 8 “Equity and Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plans,” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018.
Equity Incentive Plans - General Information
The following table summarizes the combined activity under the Company’s equity incentive plans for the indicated periods:
(In thousands)
Available
For Grant(1)
Balance as of June 30, 2018
3,680

Restricted stock units granted (2)
(637
)
Restricted stock units granted adjustment (3)
5

Restricted stock units canceled
4

Balance as of September 30, 2018
3,052

__________________ 
(1)
The number of restricted stock units reflects the application of the award multiplier (1.8x or 2.0x depending on the grant date of the applicable award).
(2)
Includes restricted stock units granted to senior management during the three months ended September 30, 2018 with performance-based vesting criteria (in addition to service-based vesting criteria for any of such restricted stock units that are deemed to have been earned). As of September 30, 2018, it had not yet been determined the extent to which (if at all) the performance-based vesting criteria had been satisfied. Therefore, this line item includes all such performance-based restricted stock units granted during the three months ended September 30, 2018, reported at the maximum possible number of shares that may ultimately be issuable if all applicable performance-based criteria are achieved at their maximum levels and all applicable service-based criteria are fully satisfied (0.4 million shares for the three months ended September 30, 2018 reflects the application of the multiplier described above).
(3)
Represents the portion of restricted stock units granted with performance-based vesting criteria and reported at the actual number of shares issued upon achievement of the performance vesting criteria during the three months ended September 30, 2018.
The fair value of stock-based awards is measured at the grant date and is recognized as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period. For restricted stock units granted without “dividend equivalent” rights, fair value is calculated using the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date, adjusted to exclude the present value of dividends which are not accrued on those restricted stock units. The fair value for restricted stock units granted with “dividend equivalent” rights is determined using the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. As of September 30, 2018, the Company accrued $4.8 million of dividends payable, which included both a special cash dividend and regular quarterly cash dividends for the unvested restricted stock units outstanding as of the dividend record date. The fair value for purchase rights under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan is determined using a Black-Scholes model.
The following table shows pre-tax stock-based compensation expense for the indicated periods: 
 
Three months ended
September 30,
(In thousands)
2018
 
2017
Stock-based compensation expense by:
 
 
 
Costs of revenues
$
1,831

 
$
1,416

Research and development
2,519

 
2,171

Selling, general and administrative
11,788

 
10,444

Total stock-based compensation expense
$
16,138

 
$
14,031


The following table shows stock-based compensation capitalized as inventory as of the dates indicated below: 
(In thousands)
As of
September 30, 2018
 
As of
June 30, 2018
Inventory
$
4,817

 
$
4,580


Restricted Stock Units
The following table shows the activity and weighted-average grant date fair value for restricted stock units during the three months ended September 30, 2018:
Restricted Stock Units
Shares(1)
(In thousands)
 
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Outstanding restricted stock units as of June 30, 2018(2)
2,014

 
$
76.50

Granted(2)
318

 
$
118.47

Granted adjustments(3)
(2
)
 
$
50.88

Vested and released
(332
)
 
$
63.72

Withheld for taxes
(234
)
 
$
63.72

Forfeited
(2
)
 
$
87.87

Outstanding restricted stock units as of September 30, 2018(2)
1,762

 
$
88.21

__________________ 
(1)
Share numbers reflect actual shares subject to awarded restricted stock units. Under the terms of the 2004 Plan, the number of shares subject to each award reflected in this number is multiplied by either 1.8x or 2.0x (depending on the grant date of the award) to calculate the impact of the award on the share reserve under the 2004 Plan.
(2)
Includes restricted stock units granted to senior management with performance-based vesting criteria (in addition to service-based vesting criteria for any of such restricted stock units that are deemed to have been earned). As of September 30, 2018, it had not yet been determined the extent to which (if at all) the performance-based vesting criteria had been satisfied. Therefore, this line item includes all such performance-based restricted stock units, reported at the maximum possible number of shares (42 thousand shares for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, 0.2 million shares for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 and 0.2 million shares for the three months ended September 30, 2018) that may ultimately be issuable if all applicable performance-based criteria are achieved at their maximum and all applicable service-based criteria are fully satisfied.
(3)
Represents the portion of restricted stock units granted with performance-based vesting criteria and reported at the actual number of shares issued upon achievement of the performance vesting criteria during three months ended September 30, 2018.

The restricted stock units granted by the Company generally vest (a) with respect to awards with only service-based vesting criteria, in three or four equal installments and (b) with respect to awards with both performance-based and service-based vesting criteria, in two equal installments on the third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date, in each case subject to the recipient remaining employed by the Company as of the applicable vesting date. The restricted stock units granted to the independent members of the Board of Directors' vest annually. 
The following table shows the weighted-average grant date fair value per unit for the restricted stock units granted and the restricted stock units vested and tax benefits realized by the Company in connection with vested and released restricted stock units for the indicated periods: 
 
Three months ended
September 30,
(In thousands, except for weighted-average grant date fair value)
2018
 
2017
Weighted-average grant date fair value per unit
$
118.47

 
$
88.96

Grant date fair value of vested restricted stock units
$
36,072

 
$
36,534

Tax benefits realized by the Company in connection with vested and released restricted stock units
$
6,918

 
$
18,412


As of September 30, 2018, the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense balance related to restricted stock units was $128.4 million, excluding the impact of estimated forfeitures, and will be recognized over a weighted-average remaining contractual term and an estimated weighted-average amortization period of 1.7 years. The intrinsic value of outstanding restricted stock units as of September 30, 2018 was $179.2 million.
Cash-Based Long-Term Incentive Compensation
The Company has adopted a cash-based long-term incentive (“Cash LTI Plan”) program for many of its employees as part of the Company’s employee compensation program. During the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company approved Cash LTI awards of $2.8 million and $2.1 million, respectively. Cash LTI awards issued to employees under the Cash LTI Plan will vest in three or four equal installments, with one-third or one-fourth of the aggregate amount of the Cash LTI award vesting on each anniversary of the grant date over a three or four-year period. In order to receive payments under a Cash LTI award, participants must remain employed by the Company as of the applicable award vesting date. Executives and non-employee Board of Directors' members are not participating in this program. During the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized $15.2 million and $14.8 million, respectively, in compensation expense under the Cash LTI Plan. As of September 30, 2018, the unrecognized compensation balance (excluding the impact of estimated forfeitures) related to the Cash LTI Plan was $116.4 million.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
KLA-Tencor’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) provides, effective January 2, 2018, that eligible employees may contribute up to 15% of their eligible earnings toward the semi-annual purchase of KLA-Tencor’s common stock. Prior to January 2, 2018, eligible employees could contribute up to 10% of their eligible earnings. The ESPP is qualified under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. The employee’s purchase price is derived from a formula based on the closing price of the common stock on the first day of the offering period versus the closing price on the date of purchase (or, if not a trading day, on the immediately preceding trading day).
The offering period (or length of the look-back period) under the ESPP has a duration of six months, and the purchase price with respect to each offering period beginning on or after such date is, until otherwise amended, equal to 85% of the lesser of (i) the fair market value of the Company’s common stock at the commencement of the applicable six-month offering period or (ii) the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the purchase date. The Company estimates the fair value of purchase rights under the ESPP using a Black-Scholes model.
The fair value of each purchase right under the ESPP was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model and the straight-line attribution approach with the following weighted-average assumptions: 
 
Three months ended
September 30,
 
2018
 
2017
Stock purchase plan:
 
 
 
Expected stock price volatility
30.0
%
 
25.9
%
Risk-free interest rate
1.9
%
 
0.9
%
Dividend yield
2.9
%
 
2.6
%
Expected life (in years)
0.5

 
0.5


The following table shows the tax benefits realized by the Company in connection with the disqualifying dispositions of shares purchased under the ESPP and the weighted-average fair value per share for the indicated periods: 
(In thousands, except for weighted-average fair value per share)
Three months ended
September 30,
2018
 
2017
Tax benefits realized by the Company in connection with the disqualifying dispositions of shares purchased under the ESPP
$
511

 
$
847

Weighted-average fair value per share based on Black-Scholes model
$
22.73

 
$
19.04


The ESPP shares are replenished annually on the first day of each fiscal year by virtue of an evergreen provision. The provision allows for share replenishment equal to the lesser of 2.0 million shares or the number of shares which KLA-Tencor estimates will be required to be issued under the ESPP during the forthcoming fiscal year. As of September 30, 2018, a total of 2.0 million shares were reserved and available for issuance under the ESPP.
Quarterly cash dividends
On August 2, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share on the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, which was paid on August 31, 2018 to the stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 15, 2018. The total amount of regular quarterly cash dividends and dividend equivalents paid by the Company during the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 was $119.9 million and $94.1 million, respectively. The amount of accrued dividends payable for regular quarterly cash dividends on unvested restricted stock units with dividend equivalent rights as of September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018 was $4.8 million and $6.7 million, respectively. These accrued cash dividends will be paid upon vesting of the underlying restricted stock units.
Special cash dividend
On November 19, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share on our outstanding common stock, which was paid on December 9, 2014 to the stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 1, 2014. The declaration and payment of the special cash dividend was part of the Company’s leveraged recapitalization transaction under which the special cash dividend was financed through a combination of existing cash and proceeds from the debt financing disclosed in Note 8 “Debt” that was completed during the three months ended December 31, 2014. As of the declaration date, the total amount of the special cash dividend accrued by the Company was approximately $2.76 billion, substantially all of which was paid out during the three months ended December 31, 2014, except for the aggregate special cash dividend of $43.0 million that was accrued for the unvested restricted stock units. As of September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018, the Company had a total of $37.5 thousand and $2.8 million, respectively, of accrued dividends payable for the special cash dividend with respect to outstanding unvested restricted stock units, which will be paid when such underlying unvested restricted stock units vest. During the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the total special cash dividends paid with respect to vested restricted stock units were $2.8 million and $6.2 million, respectively.