Freedman Paul L 4

What Happened

• Paul L. Freedman, EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AES (AES), received equity awards on February 20, 2026: 25,658 RSUs and 27,978 PSUs (total 53,636 shares reported as awards, transaction code A).
• To cover withholding taxes on the vesting/settlement, 22,037 shares were surrendered/withheld (transaction code F) at $16.51 per share, generating proceeds of $363,831 reported on the Form 4. The awards themselves are reported at $0.00 in the filing (typical for RSU/PSU grants).

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 20, 2026. Filing date: February 24, 2026 (timely within the Form 4 reporting window).
• Awards reported: 25,658 RSUs and 27,978 PSUs (total 53,636 shares; each unit converts to one share).
• Shares withheld for taxes: 12,933 + 3,626 + 5,478 = 22,037 shares at $16.51 each, total $363,831.
• Net shares added to holdings from this event: 53,636 awarded − 22,037 withheld = 31,599 net shares. (The Form 4 does not list total shares owned after the transaction in the summary provided.)
• Footnotes: PSUs were granted Feb 24, 2023 and the board approved performance results on Feb 20, 2026 (F2, F3). RSUs vest in three annual installments (F1); withholdings reflect settlement of one‑third tranches from awards granted Feb 22, 2024 and Feb 21, 2025 (F4, F5). An additional 156 shares were acquired under the company retirement plan since the last Form 4 (F6).
• Transaction codes: A = Award/Grant; F = shares withheld to satisfy tax obligations (not an open-market sale).

Context

• This was an equity award vesting/settlement event, not an open-market sale or purchase by the insider. The withheld shares reflect automatic tax withholding (a common administrative step), not necessarily a decision to sell for investment reasons.
• PSUs became payable after the prescribed performance period when the board approved the performance outcome; RSUs follow scheduled vesting dates per plan terms.
• Such awards increase insider holdings when net shares remain after withholding; purchases are often viewed as stronger bullish signals, while withholding is routine.