The recipients of stock compensation awards may be entitled to the dividends that companies pay on their underlying equity shares, while the stock awards are still outstanding but not vested (ASC 718-10-55-45). FASB considers these divided-protected stock awards as participating securities under certain conditions. Share-based payments that include dividend-protection features, such as dividend payments or adjustments to the exercise price for dividends declared, have certain accounting implications for both expense recognition and earnings per share (EPS) calculations. READ MORE