AIR 8-K
Aar Corp (AIR)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On July 23, 2026, the Human Capital and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors of AAR CORP. (the “Company”) approved a long-term performance incentive grant of 161,500 shares of performance-based restricted stock to John M. Holmes, the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, under the Company’s 2013 Stock Plan, as amended and restated and as amended. The number of shares awarded was based on a targeted grant date fair value of approximately $15 million. The 100% performance-based incentive grant, which is tied to the Company’s stock price performance, is designed to incentivize Mr. Holmes to continue to drive stockholder value through outsized share price appreciation, promote enhanced pay-for-performance alignment with stockholders, provide a strong long-term retention incentive, and support continued progress on the execution of the Company’s long-term strategy over the five-year vesting period.
The performance-based restricted stock cliff vests on July 31, 2031 (the “Vesting Date”), subject to Mr. Holmes’ continued service through such date (other than in certain limited circumstances as described below), and may only be earned based on, and to the extent of, the achievement of stock price vesting conditions that will be met when the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of a share of the Company’s common stock meets or exceeds one or more of the following stock price hurdle thresholds on or prior to July 31, 2031:
| Stock Price | Total Shares of Restricted Stock That Will Vest |
| $175 | One-third (33.33%) |
| $200 | Additional one-third (33.33%) |
| $250 | Additional one-third (33.33%) (100% total) |
These stock price hurdles represent a premium of 35%, 54% and 93%, respectively, of the $129.47 closing price of a share of our common stock on July 23, 2026, the date of grant, creating more than $4.5 billion in stockholder value. For the award to be fully earned, the stock price and value of the Company will need to more than double from May 31, 2026, the end of the Company’s 2026 fiscal year.
In the event of a change in control of the Company or Mr. Holmes’ termination of employment due to death or disability, or termination of employment by the Company that is not for cause, a portion of the award may vest and be earned as of the date of such event only to the extent that the corresponding stock price hurdle has been met or exceeded.
The Committee determined that granting this long-term performance incentive grant is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and that the amount and terms of the award are appropriate based in part on an extensive market analysis and in consultation with the Committee’s independent compensation consultant. Among other things, the Committee considered Mr. Holmes’ proven record of strong performance, strategic leadership, and stockholder value creation. This performance-based restricted stock grant is meant as a special award separate and distinct from Mr. Holmes’ regular annual long-term incentive compensation with the principal objectives to align with AAR’s ambitions to grow stockholder value and to promote Mr. Holmes’ long-term retention.
Marc Walfish, lead independent director on the Company’s Board of Directors, noted: “During John’s tenure as President and CEO, the Company has delivered record financial results and stock price performance and further enhanced its capabilities to serve the needs of its customers. John’s deep knowledge of our business and proven ability to continually execute on strategic priorities has greatly benefited the Company and its stakeholders. The Company has evolved to become a highly-strategic aviation aftermarket platform under his leadership.”
This summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the award agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference herein.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking” statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws, including but not limited to statements regarding the intended effects of the special award, and the potential achievement by the Company of stock price goals or satisfaction by the special award recipient of service-based conditions that are necessary for the special award to vest, and the anticipated impacts thereof. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Further information on these and other factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K is included in the filings the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) from time to time, particularly under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of these documents may be obtained by visiting the Investors section of our website at www.aarcorp.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K. The Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 10.1 | Form of AAR CORP. Fiscal 2027 Special Performance-Based Restricted Stock Agreement | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded in the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: July 24, 2026
| AAR CORP. | ||
| By: | /s/ Jessica A. Garascia | |
| Jessica A. Garascia | ||
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary | ||
Exhibit 10.1
Fiscal 2027 Form
(Special Award)
AAR CORP.
Performance Restricted Stock Agreement (“Agreement”)
Subject to the provisions of the AAR CORP. 2013 Stock Plan as amended and restated effective July 13, 2020 (reflecting amendments since July 13, 2020) (the “Plan”), the terms of which are hereby incorporated by reference, and in consideration of the agreements of the Grantee herein provided, AAR CORP., a Delaware corporation (“Company”), hereby grants to the Grantee a performance restricted stock award (“Award”), effective July 23, 2026 (“Date of Award”), for 161,500 shares of common stock (“Common Stock”) of the Company, $1.00 par value (“Award Shares”), subject to the forfeiture and nontransferability provisions hereof and the other terms and conditions set forth herein:
| 1. | Acceptance By Grantee. The Award is conditioned upon the acceptance by the Grantee of the terms and conditions of the Award as set forth in this Agreement. The Grantee must confirm acceptance of the Award and this Agreement on Morgan Stanley’s web site (www.stockplanconnect.com). If the Grantee does not accept the Award and this Agreement within 30 days from the date of the notification of the Award, the Award referenced herein shall expire unless the acceptance date is extended in writing signed by the Company. |
| 2. | Performance and Employment Conditions. The Award is conditioned upon (a) the Company achieving the stock price hurdles set forth on Exhibit A (the “Performance Goals”) on or before the end of the Restrictive Period (as defined below) and (b) the Grantee remaining continuously employed by the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company through the end of the Restrictive Period, except as set forth herein. To the extent the Company does not meet a performance goal set forth on Exhibit A, the Grantee shall forfeit to the Company the corresponding portion(s) of the Award Shares. |
| 3. | Restrictions. The Grantee represents that he is accepting the Award Shares without a view toward distribution of said Award Shares and that he will not sell, assign, transfer, pledge or otherwise encumber the Award Shares during the period commencing on the Date of Award and ending on the date the restrictions applicable to such Award Shares are released pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Agreement (“Restrictive Period”). |
| 4. | Release of Restrictions. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 5, the restrictions described in paragraph 3 above shall be released with respect to the applicable portion of the Award Shares on July 31, 2031, except as follows: |
| (a) | In General. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, if the Grantee’s employment with the Company and all Subsidiaries of the Company terminates prior to July 31, 2031 for any reason other than a termination by the Company without Cause, a termination by the Grantee for Good Reason, death or Disability, the Grantee shall forfeit to the Company the Award Shares. |
| (b) | Termination without Cause or Termination for Good Reason. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, if the Grantee’s employment with the Company and all Subsidiaries of the Company is terminated by the Company without Cause or by the Grantee for Good Reason prior to July 31, 2031, the Restrictive Period shall terminate as to the portion of Award Shares for which the Performance Goals have been achieved by the Company on or prior to the date of such termination of employment, using the latest data then available to determine achievement of the Performance Goals. The remaining portion(s) of the Award Shares shall be forfeited and returned to the Company. |
For this purpose, “Cause” and “Good Reason” each have the applicable meaning set forth in that certain employment agreement, by and between the Grantee and the Company, amended and restated as of May 24, 2018 and amended as of July 30, 2020 (the “Employment Agreement”).
| (c) | Death or Disability. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, if the Grantee’s employment with the Company and all Subsidiaries of the Company terminates by reason of death or Disability occurring on or after the Date of Award and on or before July 31, 2031, the Restrictive Period shall terminate as to the portion of Award Shares for which the Performance Goals have been achieved by the Company on or prior to the date of such termination of employment (the “Death or Disability Termination Date”), using the latest data then available to determine achievement of the Performance Goals. If, during the period beginning on the Death or Disability Termination Date and ending twelve (12) months later, the Company achieves an additional Performance Goal, the Restrictive Period shall terminate as to the portion of Award Shares for which the additional Performance Goals have been achieved by the Company. On the first anniversary of the Death or Disability Termination Date, the remaining Award Shares shall be forfeited and returned to the Company. For this purpose, “Disability” means the inability of the Grantee to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. |
| (d) | Restrictive Covenant. If at any time prior to the Award Shares’ release from the restrictions hereunder, the Grantee, without the Company’s express written consent, directly or indirectly, alone or as a member of a partnership, group, or joint venture or as an employee, officer, director, or greater than 1% stockholder of any corporation, or in any capacity engages in any activity which is competitive with any of the businesses conducted by the Company or its affiliated companies at any time during the Grantee’s term of employment, the Grantee shall forfeit to the Company all Award Shares not previously released from the restrictions of paragraph 3 hereof. The foregoing forfeiture obligation shall apply only to the extent permitted and enforceable under applicable law, and shall not apply in any jurisdiction where enforcement of such restriction would be prohibited or unlawful under applicable law. The Grantee agrees that the Grantee has had at least fourteen (14) days to review this Agreement and the restrictive covenant in this paragraph 4(d) before being required to execute it (through online acceptance). The Grantee further acknowledges and understands that the Grantee has the right to seek advice from counsel of the Grantee’s choosing before accepting this Agreement. |
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| 5. | Change in Control. Notwithstanding Section 10(a)(ii)(D)(i) or Section 10(b) of the Employment Agreement, which sections the Grantee expressly agrees will not apply to the Award, if a Change in Control of the Company occurs on or after the Date of Award and on or before July 31, 2031, (i) the Restrictive Period shall terminate as to the portion of Award Shares for which the Performance Goals have been achieved by the Company through the date of such Change in Control, comparing the Change in Control price to the Performance Goal prices to determine achievement of the Performance Goals, (ii) the Restrictive Period shall terminate as to an additional pro-rata portion of Award Shares that would have been earned had the Company achieved the Performance Goal one level higher than the Performance Goal that the Company achieved in (i) above, based on linear interpolation, and (iii) the remaining shares shall be forfeited and returned to the Company. |
| 6. | Change in Outstanding Shares. In the event of any change in the outstanding shares of Common Stock occurring through stock splits, stock dividends, stock consolidations, spin-offs, other distributions of assets to stockholders or assumption or conversion of outstanding Awards due to an acquisition after the Date of Award, the Award Shares shall be treated in the same manner in any such transaction as other shares of Common Stock. Any additional shares of Common Stock received by the Grantee with respect to the Award Shares in any such transaction shall be subject to the same restrictions as are then applicable to those Award Shares for which the additional shares have been issued. |
| 7. | Rights of Grantee. As the holder of the Award Shares, the Grantee is entitled to all of the rights of a stockholder of AAR CORP. with respect to any of the Award Shares, when issued, including, but not limited to, the right to receive dividends declared and payable since the Date of Award; provided, however, that such dividends shall be accumulated and held by the Company until the performance condition described in paragraph 2 is met, or if earlier, as described in paragraph 5, at which time such accumulated dividends shall be paid to the Grantee in cash to the extent the performance condition is met or if applicable, as described in Section 5. Any accumulated or unpaid dividends relating to Award Shares that are forfeited shall also be forfeited. |
| 8. | Shares. In aid of the restrictions set forth in paragraph 3, the Grantee will be required to execute a stock power in favor of the Company which will be cancelled upon release of restrictions with respect to Award Shares released. Award Shares shall be held by the Company in electronic book entry form on the records of the Company’s Transfer Agent, together with the executed stock power, for the account of the Grantee until such restrictions are released pursuant to the terms hereof, or such Award Shares are forfeited to the Company as provided by the Plan or this Agreement. The Grantee shall be entitled to the Award Shares as to which such restrictions have been released, and the Company agrees to issue such Award Shares in electronic form on the records of the Transfer Agent. Upon request by the Grantee, the Transfer Agent will transfer such released Award Shares in electronic form to the Grantee’s broker for the Grantee’s account or issue certificates in the name of the Grantee representing the Award Shares for which restrictions have been released. |
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| 9. | Legend. The Company may, in its discretion, place a legend or legends on any electronic shares or certificates representing Award Shares issued to the Grantee that the Company believes is required to comply with any law or regulation. |
| 10. | Committee Powers. The Committee may subject the Award Shares to such conditions, limitations or restrictions as the Committee determines to be necessary or desirable to comply with any law or regulation or with the requirements of any securities exchange. At any time during the Restrictive Period, the Committee may reduce or terminate the Restrictive Period otherwise applicable to all or any portion of the Award Shares. |
| 11. | Withholding Taxes. Upon and as a condition to the release of the restrictions with respect to the Award Shares (or, if the Grantee makes a timely election under Section 83(b) of the Code, upon the Date of Award), the Grantee shall pay to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy all minimum tax withholding requirements, including those arising under federal, state and local income tax laws. Payment of the minimum withholding requirement may be made by one or more of the following methods: (a) in cash, (b) in cash received from a broker-dealer to whom the Grantee has submitted irrevocable instructions to deliver the amount of withholding tax to the Company from the proceeds of the sale of shares of Common Stock subject to the Award, (c) by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock owned by the Grantee that is acceptable to the Company, valued at its fair market value on the date of payment, (d) by certifying to ownership by attestation of such previously owned Common Stock, or (e) by having shares of Common Stock withheld from the Award Shares otherwise distributable to the Grantee. The Grantee acknowledges that it is the Grantee’s sole responsibility to timely file any election under Section 83(b) of the Code, and the Company makes no representation or undertaking regarding the tax treatment of any aspect of this Award. Payment shall be made pursuant to the online procedures set forth on the Plan online web site through Morgan Stanley (www.stockplanconnect.com). |
| 12. | Postponement of Distribution. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the distribution of any portion of the Award Shares shall be subject to action by the Board taken at any time in its sole discretion (a) to effect, amend or maintain any necessary registration of the Plan or the Award Shares distributable in satisfaction of this Award under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any applicable jurisdiction, (b) to permit any action to be taken in order to (i) list such Award Shares on a stock exchange if the Common Stock is then listed on such exchange or (ii) comply with restrictions or regulations incident to the maintenance of a public market for its Shares of Common Stock, including any rules or regulations of any stock exchange on which the Award Shares are listed, or (c) to determine that such Award Shares and the Plan are exempt from such registration or that no action of the kind referred to in (b)(ii) above needs to be taken; and the Company shall not be obligated by virtue of any terms and conditions of this Award or any provision of this Agreement or the Plan to issue or release the Award Shares in violation of the Securities Act of 1933 or the law of any government having jurisdiction thereof. Any such postponement shall not shorten the term of any restriction attached to the Award Shares and neither the Company nor its directors or officers shall have any obligation or liability to the Grantee or to any other person as to which issuance under the Award Shares was delayed. |
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| 13. | Recoupment. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, the Company shall have the right to seek recoupment of all or any portion of an Award (including by forfeiture of any outstanding Award Shares or by the Grantee’s remittance to the Company of Award Shares pursuant to which the restrictions previously lapsed or of a cash payment equal to Award Shares pursuant to which the restrictions previously lapsed) in accordance with and pursuant to the Company’s Compensation Recoupment Policy or any other policy as in effect from time to time. The value with respect to which such recoupment is sought shall be determined by the Company. The Company shall be entitled, as permitted by applicable law, to deduct the amount of such payment from any amounts the Company may owe to the Grantee. |
| 14. | Miscellaneous. |
| (a) | The Award and this Agreement shall be construed, administered and governed in all respects under and by the laws of the State of Illinois. |
| (b) | Capitalized terms used herein and not defined herein will have the meanings set forth in the Plan. |
| (c) | Nothing in the Award shall confer on the Grantee any right to be or to continue in the employ of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or shall interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to terminate the employment of the Grantee at any time for any reason or no reason. |
| (d) | This Agreement has been examined by the parties hereto, and accordingly the rule of construction that ambiguities be construed against a party which causes a document to be drafted shall have no application in the construction or interpretation hereof. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid for any reason, the remainder hereof shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. |
| (e) | This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter hereof and any prior understanding or representation of any kind antedating this Agreement concerning such subject matter shall not be binding upon either party except to the extent incorporated herein; provided, however, that this Agreement, including paragraphs 4 and 5, shall be subject to the provisions of any written employment or severance agreement that has been or may be executed by the Grantee and the Company, and the provisions in such employment or severance agreement concerning the Award shall supercede any inconsistent or contrary provision of this Agreement. No consent, waiver, modification or amendment hereof, or additional obligation assumed by either party in connection herewith, shall be binding unless evidenced by a writing signed by both parties and referring specifically hereto. No consent, waiver, modification or amendment with respect hereto shall be construed as applicable to any past or future events other than the one in respect of which it was specifically made. |
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| (f) | This Agreement shall be construed consistent with the provisions of the Plan and in the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of the Plan, the terms of the Plan shall control and any terms of this Agreement which conflict with Plan terms shall be void. |
Questions concerning the provisions of this Agreement should be directed to the Company’s Corporate Secretary: 630/227-2060; fax 630/227-2058.
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Exhibit A
Performance Goals
At the end of Restrictive Period described in the Agreement and if all other requirements therein are met, the restrictions described in paragraph 3 shall be released with respect to the Award Shares as follows:
| Performance Goal* | Total Portion of Award Shares Released at End of Restrictive Period |
| $175 | 33.33% |
| $200 | Additional 33.33% |
| $250 | Additional 33.33% (100% total) |
*A Performance Goal is achieved when the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of Common Stock (or Change in Control Price) meets or exceeds the stock price threshold set forth above.