Form 4: Archrock CFO Doug Aron Settles Performance Share Units, Acquires and Disposes of Shares

Archrock's CFO, Doug Aron, settled performance-based restricted stock units, resulting in the acquisition and subsequent disposal of common stock to cover tax obligations.

Summary

• On March 6, 2025, Doug Aron, the Senior Vice President and CFO of Archrock, Inc., settled performance-based restricted stock units (PSUs) awarded on January 27, 2022.
• The PSUs were subject to Archrock's total shareholder return relative to its peers from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024.
• The Compensation Committee determined that the award was achieved at 200% of the target.
• Upon settlement, 71,342 restricted stock units converted into an equal number of common stock shares.
• A portion of the acquired shares, specifically 28,074 shares, were forfeited to cover tax obligations related to the vesting of the PSUs at a price of $29.7.
• Following these transactions, Aron directly owns 589,962 shares of Archrock common stock.

Sentiment

Score: 7

Explanation: The document indicates strong performance leading to a 200% vesting of PSUs, which is a positive signal. However, it's a routine filing related to executive compensation.

Positives

• The performance-based restricted stock units vested at 200% of the target, indicating strong performance relative to peers.

Industry Context

Executive compensation through equity awards is a common practice in publicly traded companies to align management's interests with those of shareholders. Performance-based awards, like the PSUs in this case, are designed to incentivize specific achievements and drive company performance.

Comparison to Industry Standards

• Performance-based equity compensation is a standard practice among publicly traded companies, particularly in the energy sector where Archrock operates.
• Companies like Kinder Morgan, Williams Companies, and Enbridge also utilize similar performance metrics, such as total shareholder return (TSR), to determine vesting of executive equity awards.
• The vesting of PSUs at 200% of target suggests that Archrock's TSR performance exceeded its peer group during the performance period.

Stakeholder Impact

• The vesting of performance-based equity suggests that management has delivered value to shareholders, which is a positive signal.
• The forfeiture of shares to cover tax obligations has no material impact on other stakeholders.

Key Dates