BALL M LEROY 4

What Happened

• M. LeRoy Ball, CEO and Director of Koppers Holdings (KOP), exercised stock options on Feb 18, 2026 to acquire 30,728 shares at an exercise price of $18.11 per share (total cash exercise price shown as $556,484).
• To satisfy tax withholding/obligations, 22,282 of the resulting shares were surrendered/disposed at a reported value of $35.06 per share (value reported $781,207). The derivative/options record shows conversion of 30,728 option units into common stock.
• Net result: Ball received 30,728 shares and had 22,282 shares withheld — a net increase of 8,446 shares. This was an option exercise with share withholding (a routine, cashless-like transaction), not an open-market sale.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-18; filing date: 2026-02-19 (timely).
• Exercise: 30,728 shares @ $18.11 = $556,484 (code M — option exercise/conversion).
• Withholding/disposition: 22,282 shares @ $35.06 = $781,207 (code F — payment of exercise price or tax liability).
• Net shares added to Ball’s holding: 8,446 (30,728 acquired − 22,282 withheld).
• Footnote: F1 — these stock options vest in annual installments of 25% over four years.
• Shares owned following the transaction are not stated in the provided filing excerpt.

Context

• This is an options exercise where shares were converted and a portion was surrendered to cover taxes/obligations — common executive practice and different from an open-market sale (less of a direct market sentiment signal).
• For retail investors: option exercises increase insider stock exposure when shares remain after withholding (here a modest net increase). The withholding sale primarily satisfies tax rules and does not necessarily reflect a sale for cash.