6. Share-Based Compensation

The Compensation Committee of the Board has approved the grant of non-qualified stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and shares to certain employees, non-employees and members of the Board under the ARKO Corp. 2020 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “Plan”). Stock options granted under the Plan expire no later than ten years from the date of grant and the exercise price may not be less than the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant. Vesting periods are assigned to stock options and restricted share units on a grant-by-grant basis at the discretion of the Board. The Company issues new shares of common stock upon exercise of stock options and vesting of RSUs.

Additionally, a non-employee director may receive RSUs in lieu of up to 100% of his or her cash fees, which RSUs will be settled in common stock upon the director’s departure from the Board or an earlier change in control of the Company. In the three months ended March 31, 2022, 78,103 RSUs were issued to non-employee directors with a weighted average grant date fair value of $8.77 per share, or $0.7 million. These awards are included in the table below under restricted stock units. As of March 31, 2022, 167,673 RSUs issued to non-employee directors were outstanding.

The fair value of each stock option award is estimated by management on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The following table summarizes the assumptions utilized in the valuation of the stock option awards granted in the three months ended March 31, 2022:

The expected stock price volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s peer group’s stock price. The volatilities are estimated for a period of time equal to the expected term of the related option. The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield of U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with an equivalent remaining term. The expected term of the options represents the estimated period of time until exercise and is determined by considering the contractual terms, vesting schedule and expectations of future employee behavior. 444,489 of stock option awards were out of the money as of March 31, 2022.

In the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company granted 693,590 time-vested RSUs with a weighted average grant date fair value of $8.47 per share, or $5.9 million, and vesting over a weighted average period of 2.9 years as of March 31, 2022.

In the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company granted a target of 1,120,354 performance-based RSUs with a weighted average grant date fair value of $8.35 per share, or $9.3 million. The 2022 performance-based RSUs were awarded to certain members of senior management in connection with the achievement of specific key financial metrics primarily measured over a three-year period and cliff vest at the end of such period. The number of 2022 performance-based RSUs that will ultimately vest is contingent upon the achievement of these key financial metrics by the end of the performance period. The Company assesses the probability of achieving these metrics on a quarterly basis except for performance-based RSUs with market conditions. For these awards, the Company recognizes the fair value expense ratably over the performance and vesting period. These awards are included in the table above in RSUs Granted.

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company granted 13,332 shares of common stock to certain members of senior management, with a weighted average grant date fair value of $7.58 per share, or $0.1 million, with no vesting period.

Total compensation cost recorded for employees, non-employees and members of the Board for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was $2.8 million and $1.0 million, respectively, and included in general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested shares, stock options and RSUs granted was approximately $26.7 million and $11.6 million, respectively.