Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

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STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
We issue employee share-based awards under the UPS Incentive Compensation Plan, which permits the grant of nonqualified and incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and stock units, and restricted performance shares and performance units, to eligible employees (restricted stock and stock units, and restricted performance shares and performance units are herein referred to as "Restricted Units"). Upon vesting, Restricted Units result in the issuance of the equivalent number of UPS class A common shares after required tax withholdings. Dividends accrued on Restricted Units are reinvested in additional Restricted Units at each dividend payable date, and are subject to the same vesting and forfeiture conditions as the underlying Restricted Units upon which they are earned.
The primary compensation programs offered under the UPS Incentive Compensation Plan include the UPS Management Incentive Award program, the UPS Long-Term Incentive Performance Award program and the UPS Stock Option program. We also maintain an employee stock purchase plan which allows eligible employees to purchase shares of UPS class A common stock at a discount. Additionally, our matching contributions to the primary employee defined contribution savings plan are made in shares of UPS class A common stock.
Management Incentive Award Program ("MIP")
During the first quarter of 2015, we granted Restricted Units under MIP to eligible management employees. Restricted Units granted under MIP will generally vest over a five-year period with approximately 20% of the award vesting on January 15th of each of the years following the grant date (except in the case of death, disability, or retirement, in which case immediate vesting occurs). The entire grant is expensed on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Based on the date that the eligible management population and performance targets were approved for MIP, we determined the award measurement date to be February 5, 2015 (for U.S.-based employees) and March 30, 2015 (for international-based employees); therefore, the Restricted Unit grant was valued for stock compensation expense purposes using the closing New York Stock Exchange price of $101.46 and $97.27 on those dates, respectively.
Long-Term Incentive Performance Award Program ("LTIP")
We award Restricted Units under LTIP to certain eligible management employees. For grants prior to 2014, 90% of the target award was divided into three substantially equal tranches, one for each calendar year in the three-year award cycle, using performance criteria targets established each year.  The targets consisted of consolidated operating return on invested capital and growth in consolidated revenue.  The remaining 10% of the total award was based upon our achievement of adjusted earnings per share compared to a target established at the grant date.  The performance targets for these historical awards will continue to be determined each year, and the awards will continue to vest through 2016.

Beginning with the LTIP grant in the first quarter of 2014, the performance targets are equally-weighted among consolidated operating return on invested capital, growth in consolidated revenue, and total shareowner return relative to a peer group of companies.  These Restricted Units generally vest at the end of a three-year period (except in the case of death, disability, or retirement, in which case immediate vesting occurs on a prorated basis). The number of Restricted Units earned will be based on the percentage achievement of the performance targets set forth on the grant date.  The range of percentage achievement can vary from 0% to 200% of the target award. 
For the two-thirds of the award related to consolidated operating return on invested capital and growth in consolidated revenue, we recognize the grant-date fair value of these Restricted Units (less estimated forfeitures) as compensation expense ratably over the vesting period, based on the number of awards expected to be earned.  The remaining one-third of the award related to total shareowner return relative to a peer group is valued using a Monte Carlo model.  This portion of the award was valued at a share payout of 65.86% of the target grant, and is recognized as compensation expense (less estimated forfeitures) ratably over the vesting period.  Based on the date that the eligible management population and performance targets were approved for the 2015 LTIP Award, we determined the award measurement date to be March 26, 2015; therefore the target Restricted Units grant was valued for stock compensation expense using the closing New York Stock Exchange price of $96.64 on that date.
Nonqualified Stock Options
During the first quarter of 2015, we granted nonqualified stock option awards to a limited group of eligible senior management employees under the UPS Stock Option program. Stock option awards generally vest over a five-year period with approximately 20% of the award vesting at each anniversary date of the grant (except in the case of death, disability, or retirement, in which case immediate vesting occurs). The options granted will expire ten years after the date of the grant. In the first quarter of 2015 and 2014, we granted 0.2 and 0.1 million stock options, respectively, at a weighted average grant price of $101.93 and $96.98, respectively. The weighted average fair value of our employee stock options granted, as determined by the Black-Scholes valuation model, was $18.07 and $20.48 for 2015 and 2014, respectively, using the following assumptions:
 
2015
 
2014
Expected life (in years)
7.5

 
7.5

Risk-free interest rate
2.07
%
 
2.40
%
Expected volatility
20.61
%
 
24.26
%
Expected dividend yield
2.63
%
 
2.56
%

Compensation expense for share-based awards recognized in net income for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 was $134 and $142 million pre-tax, respectively. Compensation expense for share-based awards recognized in net income for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 was $328 and $306 million pre-tax, respectively.