v3.26.1
Stock-based compensation
 7 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock-based compensation Stock-based compensation
The Company provides stock-based compensation to its employees under two plans:
•The 2019 Stock Incentive Plan became effective upon stockholder approval at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting held on October 16, 2019. This plan provides for the grant of stock options, stock grants, stock units and stock appreciation rights to employees, consultants and directors. Under the plan, no recipient may receive awards during any fiscal year that exceed 500,000 stock options, 250,000 stock grants or stock units, or 500,000 stock appreciation rights, nor may any non-employee director be granted awards in excess of $120. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had 1,798,895 common shares reserved for new awards under the 2019 Stock Incentive Plan.
•The Equity Inducement Plan became effective on March 20, 2024. This plan provides for the grant of equity awards to individuals that were not previously employees or directors of the Company as an inducement material to the individual’s entry into employment with the Company. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had 167,474 common shares reserved for new awards under the Equity Inducement Plan.
The following table presents information about stock options:
 May 26, 2025 throughYear endedYear ended
 December 31, 2025May 25, 2025May 26, 2024
Information about stock options granted:
Weighted-average grant date fair value per share$4.56 $4.32 $3.91 
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine grant-date fair value:
Expected life4.4 years4.4 years4.4 years
Risk-free interest rate3.6 %4.0 %4.3 %
Volatility88 %84 %58 %
Dividend yield— %— %— %
Intrinsic value of stock options exercised$34 $— $115 
Tax benefit of options exercised
$7 $— $35 
The following table presents information about other stock-based awards:
 May 26, 2025 throughYear endedYear ended
 December 31, 2025May 25, 2025May 26, 2024
Information about awards granted:
Weighted-average grant date fair value per share
RSUs granted$7.37 $5.50 $7.48 
PSUs granted— 3.85 4.66 
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine grant-date fair value of PSUs:
Expected life— 5.0 years5.0 years
Risk-free interest rate— 3.7 %4.4 %
Volatility— 82 %78 %
Dividend yield— — %— %
RSUs vested5.95 7.93 7.74 
PSUs vested5.24 4.24 — 
The following table presents information about stock option balances and activity:
 SharesWeighted-average exercise price per shareWeighted-average remaining contractual term
Aggregate intrinsic value
Outstanding at May 25, 20251,260,299 $8.57 
Granted376,991 6.81 
Exercised(10,737)4.63 
Forfeited(31,294)7.07 
Expired(218,205)10.62 
Outstanding at December 31, 20251,377,054 7.83 5.3 years$1,424 
Exercisable at December 31, 2025525,196 9.68 3.5 years155 
The following table presents information about recent RSU and PSU activity:
RSUsPSUs
 SharesWeighted-average grant date fair value per shareSharesWeighted-average grant date fair value per share
Outstanding at May 25, 20251,519,287 $6.23 2,545,000 $4.32 
Granted262,511 7.37 — — 
Vested(314,216)5.95 (262,000)5.24 
Forfeited(27,163)8.10 — — 
Outstanding at December 31, 20251,440,419 6.46 2,283,000 4.25 
Stock-based compensation expense
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation by income statement line item:
May 26, 2025 throughYear endedYear ended
December 31, 2025May 25, 2025May 26, 2024
Cost of sales
$402 $856 $582 
Research and development expense267 (122)168 
Selling, general and administrative expense5,002 9,424 5,451 
Stock-based compensation expense$5,671 $10,158 $6,201 
Most of the stock-based compensation expense arises from awards to the Company’s named executive officers under the Equity Inducement Plan and, to a lesser extent, to the Company’s directors. Those awards include (i) RSUs that primarily vest on each of the first five anniversaries of the grant date; and (ii) PSU awards divided into ten equal tranches that will vest, if at all, based upon closing stock price milestones over a five-year performance period, and to the extent a PSU award tranche vests based on performance, 50% of the shares for each tranche will be issued immediately, and 50% of the shares will be issued on the one-year anniversary of the performance vesting date.
As of December 31, 2025, there was $11,572 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested equity compensation awards granted under the Lifecore incentive stock plans. This total expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.9 years.