Wednesday May 16th, 2012

Stock Option Calculator

Receiving options for your company's stock can be an incredible benefit. Even after a few years of moderate growth, stock options can produce a handsome return. Use this calculator to determine the value of your stock options for the next one to twenty-five years.

After YEARS_TO_CALCULATE MSG_YEAR_LBL your options could be worth ENDING_VALUE1.

**GRAPH**

If your stock price increases STOCK_APPRECIATES1 per year, your NUMBER_OF_OPTIONS options could be worth ENDING_VALUE1 after YEARS_TO_CALCULATE MSG_YEAR_LBL. This is based on a current stock price of CURRENT_STOCK_PRICE and an option strike price of STRIKE_PRICE.

Results Summary
Current stock price	CURRENT_STOCK_PRICE
Number of options	NUMBER_OF_OPTIONS
Strike price	STRIKE_PRICE
Value after YEARS_TO_CALCULATE MSG_YEAR_LBL at STOCK_APPRECIATES1	ENDING_VALUE1
Value after YEARS_TO_CALCULATE MSG_YEAR_LBL at STOCK_APPRECIATES2	ENDING_VALUE2
Value after YEARS_TO_CALCULATE MSG_YEAR_LBL at STOCK_APPRECIATES3	ENDING_VALUE3

Stock Option Values by Year

**REPEATING GROUP**

This Financial Calculator requires SUN's JavaT Plug-in. If you see this message you will need to download SUN's JavaT Plug-in. This can be done automatically by clicking the yellow bar at the top of your browser and choosing "Install ActiveX Control".

Get the JavaT Plug-in!

Definitions

Current stock price
Current stock price. If this price is above your option strike price, you are already in the money. If it is currently below the option strike price, your options will not have any value until it exceeds the strike price.

Stock appreciation
This is the annual rate of return you expect from the stock underlying your options. Thanks to the leveraged nature of your stock options, once the underlying stock value has exceeded your strike price, the value of your options will increase at an accelerated rate. The actual rate of return is largely dependent on the type of investments you select. From January 1970 to December 2008, the average annual compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 9.7% (source: www.standardandpoors.com). During this period, the highest 12-month return was 61%, from June 1982 through June 1983. The lowest 12-month return was -39%, which happened twice, once from September 1973 to September 1974 and again from November 2007 to November 2008. Savings accounts at a bank may pay as little as 1% or less but carry significantly lower risk of loss of principal balances.

It is important to remember that future rates of return can't be predicted with certainty and that investments that pay higher rates of return are generally subject to higher risk and volatility. The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments. This includes the potential loss of principal on your investment. It is not possible to invest directly in an index and the compounded rate of return noted above does not reflect sales charges and other fees that funds and/or investment companies may charge.

Number of options
This is the number of stock options you were granted.

Strike price
The strike price is the stock price that your options were issued at. The underlying stock price must exceed the strike price for your options to have any value.

Number of years
The number of years you expect to hold these options. This can be any number from one to twenty-five.