v3.26.1
Stock-based compensation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock-based compensation Stock-based compensation
The Company provides stock-based compensation to its employees under two plans:
The 2019 Stock Incentive Plan is a seven-year plan that became effective upon stockholder approval at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting held on October 16, 2019 and has been subsequently amended with stockholder approval, most recently at the Annual Meeting held on August 15, 2024. This plan provides for the grant of stock options, stock grants, stock units and stock appreciation rights to employees, consultants and directors. Under the plan, no recipient may receive awards during any fiscal year that exceed 500,000 stock options, 250,000 stock grants or stock units, or 500,000 stock appreciation rights, nor may any non-employee director be granted awards in excess of $350. As of March 31, 2026, the Company had 1,504,798 common shares reserved for new awards under the 2019 Stock Incentive Plan. The plan expires October 16, 2026. The Company has submitted a replacement plan for approval by stockholders during the 2026 annual meeting scheduled for June 4, 2026.
The Equity Inducement Plan became effective on March 20, 2024. This plan provides for the grant of equity awards to individuals that were not previously employees or directors of the Company as an inducement material to the individual’s entry into employment with the Company. As of March 31, 2026, the Company had 145,474 common shares reserved for new awards under the Equity Inducement Plan.
The following table presents information about stock options:
 Three months ended
 March 31,
2026
February 23, 2025
Information about stock options granted:
Weighted-average grant date fair value per share$5.28 $4.68 
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine grant-date fair value:
Expected life4.4 years4.4 years
Risk-free interest rate3.6 %4.1 %
Volatility88 %84 %
Dividend yield— %— %
There were no stock option exercises during either of the periods presented.
The following table presents information about other stock-based awards:
 Three months ended
 March 31,
2026
February 23,
2025
Weighted-average fair value per share as of transaction date:
RSUs granted$7.11 $7.25 
RSUs vested— 9.26 
The following table presents information about stock option balances and activity:
 SharesWeighted-average exercise price per shareWeighted-average remaining contractual term
Aggregate intrinsic value
Outstanding at December 31, 20251,377,054 $7.83 
Granted8,775 7.88 
Forfeited(59,520)6.80 
Expired(20,400)10.62 
Outstanding at March 31, 20261,305,909 7.84 4.9 years$— 
Exercisable at March 31, 2026538,481 9.47 3.2 years— 
The following table presents information about recent RSU and PSU activity:
RSUsPSUs
 SharesWeighted-average grant date fair value per shareSharesWeighted-average grant date fair value per share
Outstanding at December 31, 20251,440,419 $6.46 2,283,000 $4.25 
Granted451,780 7.11 — — 
Forfeited(64,538)7.88 — — 
Outstanding at March 31, 20261,827,661 6.57 2,283,000 4.25 
Stock-based compensation expense
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation by income statement line item:
Three months ended
March 31,
2026
February 23,
2025
Cost of sales
$216 $184 
Research and development expense(242)— 
Selling, general and administrative expense1,724 2,368 
Stock-based compensation expense$1,698 $2,552 
Most of the stock-based compensation expense for the current period and going forward arises from RSU awards to the Company’s named executive officers under the Equity Inducement Plan and, to a lesser extent, to the Company’s directors. The RSU awards to named executive officers are expensed ratably over the course of each year as awards vest on each of the first five anniversaries of the grant date, which was their date of hire. The annual RSU awards to directors are expensed ratably over the course of each year in which they vest.
The Company has also issued PSU awards to its named executive officers, for which most of the expense has already been recognized through December 31, 2025. These awards are divided into ten equal tranches that will vest, if at all, based upon closing stock price milestones over a five-year performance period, and to the extent a PSU award tranche vests based on stock price performance, 50% of the shares for each tranche will be issued immediately, and 50% of the shares will be issued on the one-year anniversary of the performance vesting date.
As of March 31, 2026, there was $12,354 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested equity compensation awards granted under the Lifecore incentive stock plans. This total expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.0 years.