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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2025
Compensation Related Costs [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Stock Incentive Plans
In April 2007, the Board of Directors adopted the CoStar Group 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2007 Plan”), subject to stockholder approval, which was obtained on June 7, 2007. In April 2016, the Board of Directors adopted the CoStar Group 2016 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2016 Plan”), subject to stockholder approval, which was obtained on June 9, 2016. All shares of common stock that were authorized for issuance under the 2007 Plan that, as of June 9, 2016, remained available for issuance under the 2007 Plan (excluding shares subject to outstanding awards) were rolled into the 2016 Plan and, as of that date, no shares of common stock were available for new awards under the 2007 Plan. The 2007 Plan continues to govern vested unexercised stock options issued prior to June 9, 2016. Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, as defined in the 2007 Plan, all outstanding unexercisable options under the 2007 Plan immediately become exercisable.
The 2016 Plan provides for the grant of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and stock appreciation rights to officers, employees, and directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. Stock options granted under the 2016 Plan may be non-qualified or may qualify as incentive stock options. Except in limited circumstances related to a merger or other acquisition, the exercise price for an option may not be less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The vesting period for each grant of options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and stock appreciation rights under the 2016 Plan is determined by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof and is generally three to four years, subject to minimum vesting periods for restricted stock and restricted stock units of at least one year. In some cases, vesting of awards under the 2016 Plan may be based on performance conditions. The Company initially reserved approximately 22.7 million shares of common stock for issuance under the 2016 Plan, which included shares of common stock that were authorized and remained available for issuance under the 2007 Plan as of June 9, 2016. Any shares of common stock subject to (a) outstanding awards under the 2007 Plan as of June 9, 2016 or (b) outstanding awards under the 2016 Plan after June 9, 2016, that cease for any reason to be subject to such awards (other than by reason of exercise or settlement of the awards to the extent they are exercised or settled in vested and nonforfeitable shares) will become authorized and unissued under the 2016 Plan. Pursuant to the terms of the 2016 Plan, all amounts reserved or issued under the plan were adjusted to reflect the Company’s ten-for-one common stock split. Unless terminated sooner, the 2016 Plan will terminate in June 2026, but will continue to govern unexercised and unexpired awards issued under the 2016 Plan prior to that date. Approximately 10.0 million shares were available for future grant under the 2016 Plan as of June 30, 2025.
In connection with the Matterport Acquisition, the Company assumed Matterport's 2021 Incentive Award Plan and the Matterport Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, including outstanding restricted stock units and stock options originally granted by Matterport under the Assumed Matterport Plans to continuing employees. These assumed awards will vest in accordance with their original terms, generally over four years. The Company does not intend to issue further grants under these plans. Shares forfeited due to employee termination or expiration are returned to the share pool. As of June 30, 2025, approximately 1.8 million shares remained available under the Assumed Matterport Plans.
On April 28, 2025, the Board of Directors approved the CoStar Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2025 Plan”), subject to the stockholder approval, which was obtained on June 26, 2025. All shares of common stock that were authorized for issuance under the 2016 Plan that, as of April 28, 2025, remained available for issuance under the 2016 Plan (excluding shares subject to outstanding awards) were rolled into the 2025 Plan and, following stockholder approval of the 2025 Plan, no further grants will be made under the 2016 Plan.
At June 30, 2025, there was approximately $327.4 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to stock incentive plans, net of estimated forfeitures, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average-period of 2.7. See Note 2 for further discussion of stock-based compensation expense.
Stock Options
Option activity was as follows:
 Number of
Shares
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contract
Life (in years)
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
(in millions)
Outstanding at December 31, 2024
1,904,590 $51.48 4.80$43.8 
Assumed in Matterport Acquisition1,799,170 $9.54 
Granted212,700 $78.33 
Exercised(502,578)$9.37 $34.6 
Canceled or expired(26,000)$91.98 
Outstanding at June 30, 2025
3,387,882 $36.83 4.45$150.6 
Exercisable at June 30, 2025
3,033,446 $31.86 3.90$149.9 
The Company estimated the fair value of each option granted on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, using the assumptions in the following table:
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 20252024
Dividend yield%%
Expected volatility35 %35 %
Risk-free interest rate4.3 %4.3 %
Expected life (in years)55
Weighted-average grant date fair value$30.05$31.57
The expected dividend yield is determined based on the Company's past cash dividend history and anticipated future cash dividend payments. The Company has never declared nor paid any dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any dividends on its common stock during the foreseeable future, but intends to retain any earnings for future growth of its business. Expected volatility is calculated based on historical volatility of the daily closing price of the Company's common stock over a period consistent with the expected life of the options granted. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rate with terms similar to the expected life of the options granted. The expected life for the options is determined based on multiple factors, including historical employee behavior patterns of exercising options and post-employment termination behavior as well as expected future employee option exercise patterns.
Restricted Stock Awards
The Company grants restricted common stock to certain executive officers, directors, and employees of the Company which vest over a specific service period. Executive officers also receive restricted common stock, which vests based on the achievement of certain performance conditions, primarily, the achievement of a three-year cumulative revenue goal established at the grant date. The CEO of the Company has approved grants of restricted common stock to other executive officers and employees of the Company that vest over a specific service period and to other executive officers that vest based on the achievement of certain performance conditions, primarily, the achievement of revenue growth and profit margins established at the grant date. The grant of awards with performance conditions supports the Company’s goal of aligning executive incentives with long-term stockholder value and ensuring that executive officers have a continuing stake in the long-term success of the Company.
The vesting of restricted common stock is subject to continuing employment requirements. Certain performance-based restricted common stock awards are also subject to a market condition such that the actual number of shares that vest at the end of the respective three-year period is determined based on the Company’s achievement of performance goals and an established
Company specific TSR factor relative to the S&P 500 Index over the same three-year performance period. At the end of the three-year performance period, if the performance condition is achieved at or above the pre-established threshold, the number of shares earned is further adjusted by a TSR payout percentage, which ranges between 80% and 120%, based on the Company’s TSR performance relative to that of S&P 500 Index over the respective three-year period.
The Company estimates the fair value of its performance-based restricted stock awards with market conditions on the date of grant using a Monte-Carlo simulation valuation model. This pricing model uses multiple simulations to evaluate the probability of achieving the market condition to calculate the fair value of the awards. Expense is only recorded for awards that are expected to vest, net of estimated forfeitures. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of performance-based restricted stock awards with market conditions were as follows:
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 20252024
Dividend yield%%
Expected volatility31 %34 %
Risk-free interest rate4.2 %4.5 %
Expected life (in years)33
Weighted-average grant date fair value$85.29$86.96
The expected dividend yield is determined based on the Company's past cash dividend history and anticipated future cash dividend payments. The Company has never declared nor paid any dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any dividends on its common stock during the foreseeable future, but intends to retain any earnings for future growth of its business. Expected volatility is calculated based on historical volatility of the daily closing price of the common stock of the companies within the S&P 500 Index over a period consistent with the expected life of the awards. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rate with terms similar to the expected life of the awards. The expected life is consistent with the performance measurement period of the awards.
As of June 30, 2025, the Company determined that it was probable that at least the minimum performance goals associated with performance-based restricted stock awards with market conditions granted during 2023, 2024, and 2025 would be met by their forfeiture dates. As of June 30, 2025, the Company determined that it was probable that at least the minimum performance goals associated with performance-based restricted stock awards without market conditions granted during the first quarter of 2025 would be met by their forfeiture dates.
The following table presents stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based restricted stock awards for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 (in millions):
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2025202420252024
Performance-based restricted stock awards without market conditions
$1.4 $— $1.9 $— 
Performance-based restricted stock awards with market conditions
$3.1 $3.1 $3.7 $5.6 
As of June 30, 2025, the Company expects to record an aggregate stock-based compensation expense of approximately $46.5 million for performance-based restricted stock awards over the remainder of 2025 and in 2026, 2027, and 2028.
The following table presents unvested restricted stock awards activity for the six months ended June 30, 2025:
Restricted Stock Awards — without Market ConditionRestricted Stock Awards — with Market Condition
 Number of
Shares
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value per Share
Number of
Shares
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value per Share
Unvested restricted stock awards at December 31, 20242,554,989 $76.19 733,200 $81.49 
Granted1,919,780 $76.59 435,120 $85.29 
Vested(808,475)$74.11 (124,068)$71.19 
Canceled(187,228)$74.80 (48,252)$71.19 
Unvested restricted stock awards at June 30, 2025
3,479,066 $76.62 996,000 $84.93 
Restricted Stock Units
The following table presents unvested restricted stock units activity for the six months ended June 30, 2025:
 Number of
Units
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value per Share
Unvested restricted stock units at December 31, 202423,532 $73.88 
Assumed in Matterport Acquisition2,256,423 $75.63 
Granted9,892 $74.36 
Vested(586,779)$75.57 
Canceled(64,507)$75.63 
Unvested restricted stock units at June 30, 2025
1,638,561 $75.62