Instructions -
Prepare journal entries to record issuance of the stock options, termination of the stock options, exercise of the stock options, and charges to compensation expense, for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
(Issuance, Exercise, and Termination of Stock Options) On January 1, 2016, Nichols Corporation granted 10,000 options to key executives. Each option allows the executive to purchase one share of Nichols' $5 par value common stock at a price of $20 per share. The options were exercisable within a 2-year period beginning January 1, 2018, if the grantee is still employed by the company at the time of the exercise. On the grant date, Nichols' stock was trading at $25 per share, and a fair value option-pricing model determines total compensation to be $400,000.
On May 1, 2018, 8,000 options were exercised when the market price of Nichols' stock was $30 per share. The remaining options lapsed in 2020 because executives decided not to exercise their options.