Blue Bird Corp 10-K

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities Our common stock is currently quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “BLBD.” At November 20, 2024, there were 66 holders of record of the Company’s common stock. Management of the Company believes that there are in excess of 34,000 beneficial holders of our common stock. Dividends We have not paid any dividends on our common stock to date. It is our present intention to retain any earnings for use in our business operations and, accordingly we do not anticipate that the Board of Directors will declare any dividends in the foreseeable future on our common stock. In addition, certain of our loan agreements restrict the payment of dividends. Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans The following table provides information for all equity compensation plans at September 28, 2024, under which the equity securities of the Company were authorized for issuance: Plan Category (1) (a) Number of Securities to be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants, and Rights (b) Weighted Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights (c) Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (2) Equity compensation plans approved by security holders 278,678 $ 17.58 594,232 (1) There are no equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders. (2) Securities available for future issuance may take the form of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, performance units, incentive bonus awards, other cash-based awards, and/or other stock-based awards. Performance Graph The following performance graph and related information is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such a filing: the SEC requires the Company to include a line graph presentation comparing cumulative five year common stock returns with a broad-based stock index and either a nationally recognized industry index or an index of peer companies selected by the Company. The Company has chosen to use the Russell 3000 Index as the broad-based index. The following stock performance graph compares the total stockholder return of an investment of $100 in cash from September 28, 2019 through September 28, 2024. 28 Cumulative Total Return September 28, 2019 October 3, 2020 October 2, 2021 October 1, 2022 September 30, 2023 September 28, 2024 Blue Bird Corporation 100 63 112 44 112 254 Russell 3000 100 113 149 120 142 189 Peer Group 100 113 162 102 135 153 (1) Peer Group Astec Industries Inc. Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. Douglas Dynamics, Inc. Federal Signal Corp. NFI Group Inc. Rev Group Inc. The Shyft Group, Inc. Thor Industries Inc. Wabash National Corp Other than Lion Electric Company, Blue Bird is the only publicly traded school bus company. As such, our peer group is not constructed on a line-of-business basis. Given our business model and brand recognition, we believe that the specialty vehicle OEMs and branded industrial companies that we have selected represent the most comparable publicly traded companies to Blue Bird. While Lion Electric Company is within Blue Bird's peer group, it is not included in the chart above as it has only been publicly traded since May 2021. Additionally, NFI Group Inc. is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canadian Dollars. The hypothetical investment in NFI Group Inc. assumes investing $100 U.S. Dollars to acquire shares on September 28, 2019. The value of such shares at each of the above dates is then translated from Canadian Dollars to U.S. Dollars for inclusion in the peer group index. Issuer Repurchase of Equity Securities On January 31, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized and approved a share repurchase program for up to $60 million of outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock over a period of 24 months, expiring January 31, 2026. Under the share repurchase program, the Company may repurchase shares through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase transactions, block purchases or otherwise in accordance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 29 The Board of Directors also authorized the Company to enter into written trading plans pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Adopting a trading plan that satisfies the conditions of Rule 10b5-1 allows a company to repurchase its shares at times when it might otherwise be prevented from doing so due to self-imposed trading blackout periods or pursuant to insider trading laws. The Company may from time to time enter into Rule 10b5-1 trading plans to facilitate the repurchase of its common stock pursuant to its share repurchase program. The timing, manner, price, and number of shares to be repurchased will be at the discretion of Company management. The repurchase program does not obligate Blue Bird to acquire any specific amount of securities and can be modified or terminated at any time without notice. Repurchases under this program are expected to be funded from one or a combination of existing cash balances, future free cash flow, or indebtedness. Share repurchase activity under the share repurchase program, on a trade date basis, for each month in the quarter ended September 28, 2024, was as follows: Period by fiscal month Total number of shares repurchased Average price paid per share (in dollars) (1) Total number of shares repurchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs (2) Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs (in millions) June 30 - July 27, 2024 — $ — — $ 60.0 July 28 - August 24, 2024 20,000 48.86 20,000 59.0 August 25 - September 28, 2024 181,818 49.29 181,818 50.1 Total 201,818 201,818 (1) Average price paid per share includes costs associated with the repurchases, except for the cost of any associated excise tax. (2) All share repurchases were made under the $60.0 million repurchase program approved on January 31, 2024 and announced on February 1, 2024 that expires on January 31, 2026 Item 6. [Reserved]