A new accounting rule that went into effect for most companies on January 1 requires that the cost of stock options be subtracted from earnings. That prompted a stampede of accelerated vesting, or bringing options granted before 2006 up to full value early.
The result: Over the next few years, earnings will appear higher than they would have otherwise.
Some companies say that's just good business sense -- like taking advantage of a tax deduction before it disappears. But watchdogs such as the Corporate Library say early vesting clouds the earnings picture and undermines the premise that stock options are meant to be a long-term incentive.
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Here's a list, provided by the Corporate Library, of companies that have fast-forwarded stock options.
| COMPANY NAME | SYMBOL |
| Acxiom Corporation | ACXM |
| Adesa Inc. | KAR |
| Administaff Inc. | ASF |
| Advanced Energy Industries Inc. | AEIS |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | AMD |
| Agere Systems Inc. | AGR |
| AirTran Holdings Inc. | AAI |
| AK Steel Holding Corp. | AKS |
| Alcoa Inc. | AA |
| Allergan Inc. | AGN |
| Amerigroup Corp. | AGP |
| AmerisourceBergen Corp. | ABC |
| Amkor Technology Inc. | AMKR |
| AmSouth BanCorp. | ASO |
| Analog Devices Inc. | ADI |
| Andrew Corp. | ANDW |
| Andrx Corp. | ADRX |
| Applera Corp. - Applied Biosystems | ABI |
| Applera Corp. - Celera Genomics | CRA |
| Applica Incorporated | APN |
| Apria Healthcare Group Inc. | AHG |
| Armor Holdings Inc. | AH |
| Ashworth Inc. | ASHW |
| Astoria Financial Corp. | AF |
| Avaya Inc. | AV |
| Avid Technology Inc. | AVID |
| Avocent Corp. | AVCT |
| Axcelis Technologies Inc. | ACLS |
| Ball Corp. | BLL |
| Bank of Hawaii Corp. | BOH |
| BankUnited Financial Corp. | BKUNA |
| BE Aerospace Inc. | BEAV |
| Benchmark Electronics Inc. | BHE |
| Big Lots Inc. | BLI |
| Biogen Idec Inc. | BIIB |
| BioLase Technology Inc. | BLTI |
(Table continues on next page.)
[page break]
Companies that have fast-forwarded stock options (page 2).
| COMPANY NAME | SYMBOL |
| BISYS Group Inc. (The) | BSG |
| Black Box Corp. | BBOX |
| Bombay Co. Inc. (The) | BBA |
| Borland Software Corp. | BORL |
| Boston Communications Group Inc. | BCGI |
| Bowater Inc. | BOW |
| BroadVision Inc. | BVSN |
| Brocade Communications Systems Inc. | BRCD |
| Brooks Automation Inc. | BRKS |
| Buckeye Technologies Inc. | BKI |
| CD Technologies Inc. | CHP |
| Cabot Microelectronics Corp. | CCMP |
| Cabot Oil Gas Corp. | COG |
| Cambrex Corp. | CBM |
| Captaris Inc. | CAPA |
| Career Education Corp. | CECO |
| Catalina Marketing Corp. | POS |
| CBS Corp. | CBS |
| Centene Corp. | CNC |
| Central Freight Lines Inc. | CENF |
| Chemed Corp. | CHE |
| Ciena Corp. | CIEN |
| Cincinnati Bell Inc. | CBB |
| Circuit City Stores Inc. | CC |
| Clarcor Inc. | CLC |
| Comcast Corp. | CMCSA |
| CommScope Inc. | CTV |
| Community Health Systems Inc. | CYH |
| Computer Task Group Inc. | CTG |
| Connetics Corp. | CNCT |
| Cooper Tire Rubber Co. | CTB |
| Corinthian Colleges Inc. | COCO |
| Corning Inc. | GLW |
| Credence Systems Corp. | CMOS |
| Cree Inc. | CREE |
| Cross Country Healthcare Inc. | CCRN |
| Cryolife Inc. | CRY |
| CTS Corp. | CTS |
| Cymer Inc. | CYMI |
| Dana Corp. | DCN |
| Datascope Corp. | DSCP |
| Dell Inc. | DELL |
| Dime Community Bancshares Inc. | DCOM |
| Donaldson Co. Inc. | DCI |
| Dow Jones Co. Inc. | DJ |
| Dura Automotive Systems Inc. | DRRA |
| Dycom Industries Inc. | DY |
| Electro Scientific Industries Inc. | ESIO |
| Enterasys Networks Inc. | ETS |
| Entravision Communications Corp. | EVC |
| Enzo Biochem Inc. | ENZ |
| Epicor Software Corp. | EPIC |
| EPIQ Systems Inc. | EPIQ |
| Escala Group Inc. | ESCL |
| Exabyte Corp. | EXBT.OB |
| ExpressJet Holdings Inc. | XJT |
| Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. | FCS |
| Family Dollar Stores Inc. | FDO |
(Table continues on next page.)
[page break]
Companies that have fast-forwarded stock options (page 3).
| COMPANY NAME | SYMBOL |
| FEI Co. | FEIC |
| Fidelity Bankshares Inc. | FFFL |
| First Data Corp. | FDC |
| First Horizon National Corp. | FHN |
| Flagstar Bancorp Inc. | FBC |
| Flextronics International Ltd. | FLEX |
| Footstar Inc. | FTSTQ.PK |
| Fossil Inc. | FOSL |
| Foundry Networks Inc. | FDRY |
| Franklin Covey Co. | FC |
| Frontier Airlines Inc. | FRNT |
| Gamco Investors Inc. | GBL |
| Gander Mountain Co. | GMTN |
| Gannett Co. Inc. | GCI |
| Gateway Inc. | GTW |
| Gentex Corp. | GNTX |
| Gentiva Health Services Inc. | GTIVTX |
| Global Payments Inc. | GPN |
| Goody's Family Clothing Inc. | GDYS |
| Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. | HGR |
| Haverty Furniture Companies Inc. | HVT |
| HCA Inc. | HCA |
| Hewitt Associates Inc. | HEW |
| Hillenbrand Industries Inc. | HB |
| Hooper Holmes Inc. | HH |
| Horace Mann Educators Corp. | HMN |
| ICU Medical Inc. | ICUI |
| IDT Corp. | IDT |
| ImClone Systems Inc. | IMCL |
| InFocus Corp. | INFS |
| Ingersoll-Rand Co. Limited | IR |
| International Paper Co. | IP |
| International Rectifier Corp. | IRF |
| Intersil Corp. | ISIL |
| Inter-Tel Inc. | INTL |
| Intevac Inc. | IVAC |
| Irwin Financial Corp. | IFC |
| ITT Educational Services Inc. | ESI |
| IVAX Corp. | IVX |
| Jabil Circuit Inc. | JBL |
| Jack Henry Associates Inc. | JKHY |
| JDA Software Group Inc. | JDAS |
| JDS Uniphase Corp. | JDSU |
| K2 Inc. | KTP |
| Keane Inc. | KEA |
| Keithley Instruments Inc. | KEI |
| Kellwood Co. | KWD |
| Knight-Ridder Inc. | KRI |
| Korn/Ferry International | KFY |
| Lattice Semiconductor Corp. | LSCC |
| LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. | LF |
| Learning Tree International Inc. | LTRE |
| Libbey Inc. | LBY |
| Linear Technology Corp. | LLTC |
| LTX Corp. | LTXX |
| Lucent Technologies Inc. | LU |
| Magnetek Inc. | MAG |
(Table continues on next page.)
[page break]
Companies that have fast-forwarded stock options (page 4).
| COMPANY NAME | SYMBOL |
| Martek Biosciences Corp. | MATK |
| MasTec Inc. | MTZ |
| McKesson Corp. | MCK |
| Mentor Corp. | MNT |
| Mercury Computer Systems Inc. | MRCY |
| Merit Medical Systems Inc. | MMSI |
| Metro One Telecommunications Inc. | INFO |
| MGI Pharma Inc. | MOGN |
| Microchip Technology Inc. | MCHP |
| Micron Technology Inc. | MU |
| Microsemi Corp. | MSCC |
| Millipore Corp. | MIL |
| MIVA Inc. | MIVA |
| MKS Instrument Inc. | MKSI |
| Mobile Mini Inc. | MINI |
| Monaco Coach Corp. | MNC |
| Monster Worldwide Inc. | MNST |
| MRO Software Inc. | MROI |
| Multimedia Games Inc. | MGAM |
| NCO Group Inc. | NCOG |
| Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. | NBIX |
| New York Community Bancorp Inc. | NYB |
| New York Times Co. (The) | NYT |
| News Corp. | NWS |
| Northrop Grumman Corp. | NOC |
| Novatel Wireless Inc. | NVTL |
| Novellus Systems Inc. | NVLS |
| Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. | NOVN |
| O'Charley's Inc. | CHUX |
| Old National Bancorp | ONB |
| Orbital Sciences Corp. | ORB |
| Osteotech Inc. | OSTE |
| Pactiv Corp. | PTV |
| Palm Inc. | PALM |
| PalmSource Inc. | PSRC |
| Parexel International Corp. | PRXL |
| PC Connection Inc. | PCCC |
| PCTEL Inc. | PCTI |
| Performance Food Group Co. | PFGC |
| Pericom Semiconductor Corp. | PSEM |
| Photon Dynamics Inc. | PHTN |
| Plantronics Inc. | PLT |
| Plexus Corp. | PLXS |
| PMC-Sierra Inc. | PMCS |
| PMI Group Inc. (The) | PMI |
| Power-One Inc. | PWER |
| PRG-Schultz International Inc. | PRGX |
| Provident Bankshares Corp. | PBKS |
| PSS World Medical Inc. | PSSI |
| Quovadx Inc. | QVDX |
| Qwest Communications International Inc. | Q |
| RadiSys Corp. | RSYS |
| Range Resources Corp. | RRC |
| Remington Oil and Gas Corp. | REM |
| RF Micro Devices Inc. | RFMD |
| Rogers Corp. | ROG |
| Rudolph Technologies Inc. | RTEC |
| Russ Berrie and Co. Inc. | RUS |
(Table continues on next page.)
[page break]
Companies that have fast-forwarded stock options (page 5).
| COMPANY NAME | SYMBOL |
| ST Bancorp Inc. | STBA |
| Safeco Corp. | SAFC |
| Sanmina-SCI Corp. | SANM |
| SBS Technologies Inc. | SBSE |
| SFBC International Inc. | SFCC |
| Sharper Image Corp. | SHRP |
| Shuffle Master Inc. | SHFL |
| Silicon Laboratories Inc. | SLAB |
| Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. | SBGI |
| Skyworks Solutions Inc. | SWKS |
| Solectron Corp. | SLR |
| Sports Authority Inc. (The) | TSA |
| SPSS Inc. | SPSS |
| Standard Register Co. (The) | SR |
| StarTek Inc. | SRT |
| Sun Microsystems Inc. | SUNW |
| Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. | SUSQ |
| Swift Transportation Co. Inc. | SWFT |
| Sykes Enterprises Inc. | SYKEE |
| Symbol Technologies Inc. | SBL |
| Tech Data Corp. | TECD |
| Tempur-Pedic International Inc. | TPX |
| Teradyne Inc. | TER |
| Tetra Tech Inc. | TTEK |
| Tibco Software Inc. | TIBX |
| Trans World Entertainment Corp. | TWMC |
| Trex Co. Inc. | TWP |
| Triarc Companies Inc. | TRY |
| Tribune Co. | TRB |
| TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. | TQNT |
| Triumph Group Inc. | TGI |
| Ultratech Inc. | UTEKK |
| Unifi Inc. | UFI |
| Unisys Corp. | UIS |
| United Bankshares Inc. | UBSI |
| Univision Communications Inc. | UVN |
| UST Inc. | UST |
| UTStarcom Inc. | UTSI |
| Veeco Instruments Inc. | VECO |
| VeriSign Inc. | VRSN |
| Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. | VTSS |
| Waddell Reed Financial Inc. | WDR |
| Waste Connections Inc. | WCN |
| Waste Management Inc. | WMI |
| Waters Corp. | WAT |
| Wellman Inc. | WLM |
| Wendy's International Inc. | WEN |
| Whole Foods Market Inc. | WFMI |
| Wild Oats Markets Inc. | OATS |
| Wireless Facilities Inc. | WFII |
| Wisconsin Energy Corp. | WEC |
| Wolverine Tube Inc. | WLV |
| Xerox Corp. | XRX |
| X-Rite Inc. | XRIT |
(End of table.)
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