v3.26.1
Share-Based Compensation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Share-Based Compensation SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
Long-Term Incentive Plan
The Aptiv PLC 2024 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2024 LTIP”), which was approved by the Company’s shareholders in April 2024, allows for the grant of awards of up to 9,880,000 ordinary shares for long-term compensation. Prior to April 2024, the Company issued awards for long-term compensation under the Aptiv PLC Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated effective April 23, 2015 (the “PLC LTIP”). The Company’s long-term incentive plans were designed to align the interests of management and shareholders. The awards can be in the form of shares, options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance awards and other share-based awards to the employees, directors, consultants and advisors of the Company. The Company has awarded annual long-term grants of RSUs under its long-term incentive plans in order to align management compensation with Aptiv’s overall business strategy. All of the RSUs granted under both the 2024 LTIP and PLC LTIP are eligible to receive dividend equivalents for any dividend paid from the grant date through the vesting date. When applicable, dividend equivalents are paid out in ordinary shares upon vesting of the underlying RSUs. In addition, the Company has competitive and market-appropriate ownership requirements for its directors and officers.
Board of Director Awards
Aptiv has granted RSUs to the Board of Directors as detailed in the table below:
Grant DateRSUs grantedGrant Date Fair Value (1)Vesting DateShares Issued Upon VestingFair Value of Shares at IssuanceShares Withheld to Cover Withholding Taxes
(dollars in millions)
April 202538,590 $April 202641,121 $3,653 
April 202430,497 $April 202529,199 $1,298 
(1)Determined based on the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the date of the grant.
In addition, in April 2026, Aptiv granted 38,354 RSUs to the Board of Directors at a grant date fair value of approximately $2 million. The grant date fair value was determined based on the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the date of the grant. The RSUs will vest in April 2027.
Executive Awards
Aptiv has made annual grants of RSUs to its executives each year beginning in 2012. These awards include a time-based vesting portion and a performance-based vesting portion, as well as continuity awards in certain years. The time-based RSUs, which make up 40% of the awards for Aptiv’s officers and 50% for Aptiv’s other executives, vest ratably over three years. The performance-based RSUs, which make up 60% of the awards for Aptiv’s officers and 50% for Aptiv’s other executives, vest at the completion of a three-year performance period if certain targets are met. Each executive will receive between 0% and 240% (200% prior to 2025) of his or her target performance-based award based on the Company’s performance against established company-wide performance metrics, which are:
Metric2025 - 2026
Grants
2022 - 2024
Grants
Average return on invested capital (1)70%N/A
Software and adjacent market revenue30%N/A
Relative total shareholder return (2)(3)33%
Average return on net assets (4)N/A33%
Cumulative net incomeN/A33%
(1)Average return on invested capital is measured by tax-affected operating income divided by average invested capital. Average invested capital is measured by the sum of average total shareholders’ equity plus average net debt for each calendar year during the respective performance period.
(2)Relative total shareholder return is measured by comparing the average closing price per share of the Company’s ordinary shares for the specified trading days in December of the performance period to the average closing price per share of the Company’s ordinary shares for the specified trading days in December of the year preceding the grant, including dividends, and assessed against a comparable measure of competitor and peer group companies.
(3)The performance-based RSUs granted in 2025 and thereafter are subject to a performance modifier based on relative total shareholder return, whereby the ultimate payout level of the performance-based RSUs may be adjusted upwards by 20% if relative total shareholder return is in the upper quartile against a comparable measure of competitor and peer group companies or downwards by 20% if in the bottom quartile for the specified trading days of the performance period as defined above. There will be no adjustment if relative total shareholder return is in the middle quartiles.
(4)Average return on net assets is measured by tax-affected operating income divided by average net working capital plus average net property, plant and equipment for each calendar year during the respective performance period.
The details of the annual executive grants were as follows:
Grant DateRSUs GrantedGrant Date Fair ValueTime-Based Award Vesting DatesPerformance-Based Award Vesting Date
(in millions)
February 20220.59 $80 Annually on anniversary of grant date, 2023 - 2025December 31, 2024
February 20230.79 $99 Annually on anniversary of grant date, 2024 - 2026December 31, 2025
February 20241.12 $94 Annually on anniversary of grant date, 2025 - 2027December 31, 2026
February 20251.88 $130 Annually on anniversary of grant date, 2026 - 2028December 31, 2027
April 2026 (1)1.48 $90 Annually on February 28, 2027 - 2029December 31, 2028
(1)Includes only executives that remained with Aptiv following the Separation.
The grant date fair value of the RSUs is determined based on the target number of awards issued, the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the date of the grant of the award, including an estimate for forfeitures, and a contemporaneous valuation performed by a third-party valuation specialist with respect to the portion of the awards subject to relative total shareholder return.
Any new executives hired after the annual executive RSU grant date may be eligible to participate in the 2024 LTIP. The Company has also granted additional awards to employees in certain periods under both the PLC LTIP and 2024 LTIP. Any off-cycle grants made to new hires or other employees are valued at their grant date fair value based on the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the date of such grant.
The details of shares issued for vested annual executive grants are as follows:
Time-Based AwardsPerformance-Based Awards
Vesting DateOrdinary Shares Issued Upon VestingFair Value of Shares at IssuanceOrdinary Shares Withheld to Cover Withholding TaxesOrdinary Shares Issued Upon VestingFair Value of Shares at IssuanceOrdinary Shares Withheld to Cover Withholding Taxes
(dollars in millions)
Q1 2026666,811 $49 267,741 450,010 $33 190,981 
Q1 2025554,363 $36 224,317 138,010 $58,518 
A summary of RSU activity, including award grants, vesting and forfeitures is provided below:
RSUsWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
 (in thousands)
Nonvested, January 1, 20263,737 $79.10 
Vested(665)$81.09 
Forfeited(216)$74.55 
Nonvested, March 31, 20262,856 $78.98 
Aptiv recognized share-based compensation expense related to these RSUs of $24 million ($21 million, net of tax) and $30 million ($26 million, net of tax) based on the Company’s best estimate of ultimate performance against the respective targets during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. Aptiv will continue to recognize compensation expense, based on the grant date fair value of the awards applied to the Company’s best estimate of ultimate performance against the respective targets, over the requisite vesting periods of the awards. Based on the grant date fair value of the awards and the Company’s best estimate of ultimate performance against the respective targets as of March 31, 2026, unrecognized compensation expense on a pre-tax basis of approximately $143 million is anticipated to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately two years. For each of the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, approximately $34 million and $19 million, respectively, of cash was paid and reflected as a financing activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows related to the tax withholding for vested RSUs.
In the second quarter of 2026, in connection with the Separation, the Company adjusted the number of unvested RSUs with the intention of preserving the intrinsic value of the recipient's awards prior to the Separation.