EARLEY ANTHONY F JR 4

What Happened

• Anthony F. Earley Jr., a director of Southern Company (SO), received director compensation granted as deferred stock/phantom units on 2026-04-01. He was granted 464.205 deferred stock units at $96.94 each (value $45,000) and 297.865 units at $96.94 each (value $28,875), for a combined grant value of $73,875.
• These were awards/deferrals (not open-market purchases or sales) made under Southern’s Deferred Compensation Plan for Outside Directors and reflect routine director retainer deferrals.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-04-01; Filing date (Form 4): 2026-04-02 (timely filing).
• Price used for unit valuation: $96.94 per unit.
• Share/unit counts and values: 464.205 units = $45,000; 297.865 units = $28,875; total = $73,875.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not disclosed in this filing.
• Relevant footnotes:
  • F1: The 464.205 units represent a quarterly equity retainer deferred into deferred stock units (each unit = right to one share).
  • F4: The 297.865 units represent a quarterly cash retainer deferred into phantom stock units (each phantom unit = right to cash value of one share).
  • F2/F5: Deferred stock units settle in shares and phantom units settle in cash on dates following the director’s termination as elected; no exercise/expiration date.
  • F3: The deferred stock units include additional units from dividend reinvestment.
• Transaction type code: A (Award/Grant); treated as derivative awards in the filing.

Context

• Deferred stock units give the reporting person the right to receive actual shares after a specified post-service settlement; phantom units deliver cash based on share value at settlement. These grants are compensatory and routine for non-employee directors and do not represent open-market buying or selling of stock.
• For retail investors, such director deferrals are mainly compensation-related rather than a direct bullish or bearish trading signal.