Buckley Drew P 4

What Happened

• Drew P. Buckley, CEO and Director of ESS Tech, received a derivative equity award for 550,000 shares on 2026-01-28. The Form 4 reports an acquisition price of $0.00 (i.e., a granted award rather than a cash purchase or open-market trade).
• This was an equity grant (transaction code A), not an immediate sale or market purchase, so there was no cash exchanged at the time of grant.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-01-28; filing date (Form 4): 2026-01-29 (timely filing).
• Reported acquisition: 550,000 shares at $0.00 per share (derivative award).
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the summary data provided; refer to the full Form 4 for total beneficial ownership.
• Footnote (vesting): 25% of the shares vest on February 20, 2027, and thereafter 1/16th of the shares vest quarterly, subject to continued service as a company service provider.
• No indication of a 10b5-1 plan, tax-withholding sale, or cashless exercise in the provided details.

Context

• This is a time‑based executive compensation grant rather than a market purchase; such awards are common for aligning executive incentives with long-term performance and are subject to future vesting and service conditions.
• Because the award vests over time, it may result in future share issuance/dilution as portions become vested — watch the vesting schedule (starting Feb 20, 2027) for potential future insider sales or increases in outstanding shares.