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STOCK-BASED COMPENSTION PLANS
 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSTION PLANS STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS
Equity Incentive Plans
The Barkbox, Inc. 2011 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended from time to time, the “2011 Plan”) provides for the award of stock options and other equity interests in the Company to directors, officers, employees, advisors or consultants of the Company.
On June 1, 2021, in connection with the Merger, the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) became effective and 846,475 authorized shares of common stock were reserved for issuance thereunder. In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, on the Closing Date of the Merger, options to purchase shares of Legacy BARK’s common stock previously issued under the 2011 Plan were converted into options to purchase an aggregate of 1,469,517 shares of BARK common stock.
For each fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2022 and ending on (and including) March 31, 2031, the aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2021 Plan may be increased by a number, determined and approved by the Board on or before May 1st of such fiscal year, not to exceed 5% of the total number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding on the last day of the preceding fiscal year. In April 2023, the Board approved an increase of the aggregate number of common stock that may be issued under the 2021 Plan by 443,808 shares. As of March 31, 2026, 739,010 shares of shares of common stock were available for the Company to grant under the 2021 Plan; there were no remaining shares available for grant under the 2011 Plan. Periodically, the Company issues new hire, promotion and other awards under the 2021 Plan and awards may be forfeited resulting in the underlying shares returning to the 2021 Plan.
The 2011 and 2021 Plans (together, the “Plans”) are administered by the Company’s Compensation Committee of its Board (the “Compensation Committee”). The exercise prices, vesting and other restrictions are determined by the Board, except that the exercise price per share of a stock option may not be less than 100% of the fair value of the common share on the date of grant. Stock options awarded under the Plans typically expire 10 years after the date of grant and generally have vesting conditions of 25% on the first anniversary of the date of grant and 75% on a monthly basis at a rate of 1/36th, unless otherwise determined by the Compensation Committee. Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) awarded under the plan for the purchase of common stock will vest based on continued service which is generally four years. The grant date fair value of the award will be recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of the RSUs is estimated on the date of grant based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock. The Plans provide that the Compensation Committee shall determine the vesting conditions of awards granted under the Plans, and the Compensation Committee has, from time to time, approved vesting schedules for certain awards that deviate from the vesting conditions described in this paragraph.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
In June 2021, the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”) became effective. The 2021 ESPP authorizes the issuance of shares of common stock pursuant to purchase rights granted to employees. On the first day of each fiscal year commencing on April 1, 2022 and ending on (and including) March 31, 2041, the aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the ESPP shall increase by a number, determined by the Board on or before May 1st of such fiscal year, not to exceed the lesser of (i) one percent (1%) of the total number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding on the last day of the preceding fiscal year or (ii) 75,000 shares of common stock. If the Board does not determine to increase the aggregate number of shares of common stock in the ESPP by May 1 of the applicable fiscal year, then the increase shall be zero for that year.
In April 2025, the Board approved the authorization of an additional 75,000 shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2021 ESPP. A total of 292,905 shares of common stock have been reserved for future issuance under the 2021 ESPP.
Employees who elect to participate in the ESPP commence payroll withholdings that accumulate through the end of the respective offering period. In accordance with the guidance in ASC 718-50 - Compensation - Stock Compensation, the ability to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock for eighty-five percent (85%) of the lower of the price on the first day of the offering period or the last day of the offering period (i.e. the purchase date)
represents an option and, therefore, the ESPP is a compensatory plan under this guidance. Accordingly, share-based compensation expense is determined based on the option’s grant-date fair value as estimated by applying the Black Scholes option-pricing model and is recognized over the withholding period.
The fair value assumptions used to determine the fair value of ESPP rights were estimated on the grant dates using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,Fiscal Year Ended March 31,Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
202620252024
Expected term (years)0.50.50.5
Expected volatility
60.0% - 69.0%
67.6 - 76.0%
61.9 - 77.6%
Risk-free interest rate
3.66% - 4.30%
4.4 - 5.4%
5.39 - 5.39%
Expected dividend yield— %— %
—%
Expected stock price volatility was estimated using the historical volatility for the Company based on daily price observations over a period equivalent to the expected term. The risk-free interest rate was determined using an interest rate based on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon notes with terms consistent with the expected term. The expected term was determined using the time period between the beginning of the offering period and the end of the offering period. The Company determined the dividend yield by dividing the expected annual dividend on the Company's stock by the share price on the date of grant.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, employees who elected to participate in the ESPP purchased a total of 26,347 shares of common stock at an average price of $13.59, resulting in cash proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.4 million. ESPP employee payroll contributions accrued as of March 31, 2026 were de minimis, and are included within accrued and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. Cash withheld via employee payroll deductions is presented in financing activities as proceeds from stock purchases under employee stock purchase plan on the consolidated statement of cash flows.
Stock Option Activity
The following is a summary of stock option activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026:
Number Options OutstandingWeighted- Average Exercise PriceWeighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life (Years)Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in millions)
Outstanding as of March 31, 2025
457,107 47.46 4.73$0.8 
Granted1,250 25.20 
Exercised(8,000)9.44 
Cancelled or forfeited(10,034)25.84 
Expired(8,990)151.46
Outstanding as of March 31, 2026
431,333 $46.43 4.59$— 
Vested and expected to vest as of March 31, 2026
429,512 $46.51 4.57$— 
Exercisable as of March 31, 2026
389,816 $48.19 4.28$— 
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the years ended March 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024 was $25.20, $27.60 and $23.40 respectively.
The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the year ended March 31, 2026, 2025 and 2024 was less than $0.1 million, $2.5 million and $0.1 million respectively.
As of March 31, 2026, there was $0.4 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock options that is expected to be recognized over a weighted average remaining vesting period of 0.9 years.
The Company estimates the fair values of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model on the date of grant. During the years ended March 31, 2026, 2025, and 2024 the weighted average of the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option pricing model were as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
202620252024
Expected term (years)6.005.215.26
Expected volatility69.79 %70.38 %73.71 %
Risk-free interest rate4.07 %4.54 %4.21 %
Expected dividend yield— %— %— %
Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) Activity
The following table summarizes the activity related to the Company’s RSUs for Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2026:
Number of RSUsWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested and outstanding as of March 31, 2025
851,259 $30.70 
Granted672,354 $18.80 
Released(325,914)$31.31 
Forfeited(229,041)$24.68 
Unvested and outstanding as of March 31, 2026
968,658 $23.67 
The following table summarizes the weighted average grant-date fair value of RSUs and total fair value of vested RSUs for the periods presented:
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
202620252024
Weighted average grant-date fair value of RSUs$18.80 $30.00 $23.20 
Total fair value of released RSUs (in millions)$5.6 $7.4 $3.3 
As of March 31, 2026, total unrecognized compensation expense related to RSUs was $12.7 million and is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.41 years. The fair value for RSUs is established based on the market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.

Stock-Based Compensation
The following table summarizes the total stock-based compensation expense by function and by type of award for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2026, 2025, and 2024 (in thousands):
Fiscal Year ended
March 31,
202620252024
General and administrative$13,177 $11,505$11,754
Advertising and marketing$1,174 1,2301,177
Total stock-based compensation expense$14,351 $12,735$12,931
Stock-based compensation expense by type of award
RSUs$10,961 $9,856 $8,268 
Stock options963 1,809 3,803 
Management Incentive Program2,242 826 284 
Market-based award— — 304 
ESPP185 244 272 
Total stock-based compensation expense$14,351 $12,735 $12,931