Note 10 - Stockholders’ (Deficit)

Capital Stock

The Company has 260,000,000 shares of capital stock authorized, consisting of 250,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001, 10,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share.

Common Stock Options

2008 Equity Incentive Plan

In October 2008, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) adopted, the 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2008 Plan”). Under the 2008 Plan, we may grant options (including incentive stock options) to purchase our common stock or restricted stock awards to our employees, consultants or non-employee directors. The 2008 Plan is administered by the Board. Awards may be granted pursuant to the 2008 Plan for 10 years from the date the Board approved the 2008 Plan. Any grant under the 2008 Plan may be repriced, replaced or regranted at the discretion of the Board. From time to time, we may issue awards pursuant to the 2008 Plan.

The material terms of options granted under the 2008 Plan (all of which have been nonqualified stock options) are consistent with the terms described in the footnotes to the "Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End December 31, 2011”, including five-year graded vesting schedules and exercise prices equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Stock grants made under the 2008 Plan have not been subject to vesting requirements. The 2008 Plan was terminated with respect to the issuance of new awards as of February 3, 2012. There are 2,081,090 options outstanding under this plan as of September 30, 2016.

2010 Incentive Award Plan

The Company has reserved 2,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the terms of the Data Storage Corporation 2010 Incentive Award Plan (the “2010 Plan”). The 2010 Plan is intended to promote the interests of the Company by attracting and retaining exceptional employees, consultants, directors, officers and independent contractors (collectively referred to as the “Participants”), and enabling such Participants to participate in the long-term growth and financial success of the Company. Under the 2010 Plan, the Company may grant stock options, which are intended to qualify as “incentive stock options” under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, non- qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights and restricted stock awards, which are restricted shares of common stock (collectively referred to as “Incentive Awards”). Incentive Awards may be granted pursuant to the 2010 Plan for 10 years from the Effective Date. From time to time, we may issue Incentive Awards pursuant to the 2010 Plan. Each of the awards will be evidenced by and issued under a written agreement.

On April 23, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Company amended and restated the Data Storage Corporation 2010 Plan. The 2010 Plan, as amended and restated, has been renamed the “Amended and Restated Data Storage Corporation Incentive Award Plan”. The new plan provides for flexibility in vesting periods and includes a limit of $100,000 per employee per year for incentive stock options

There are 4,714,373 options outstanding under this plan as of September 30, 2016. There were 36,627 shares available for future grants under the plans.

A summary of the Company's option activity and related information follows:

Share-based compensation expense for options totaling $36,420 and $73,833 was recognized in our results for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively and is based on awards vested.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company granted 250,000 options to an employee (valued on the grant date at $0.04 using the Black Scholes pricing model).

The following weighted-average assumptions were used for grants made under the stock option plans for the nine months ended September 30, 2016:

The valuation methodology used to determine the fair value of the options issued during the year was the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of a number of assumptions including volatility of the stock price, the average risk-free interest rate, and the weighted average expected life of the options.

The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates on zero coupon U.S. Treasury bonds whose maturity period is appropriate for the term of the Warrants and is calculated by using the average daily historical stock prices through the day preceding the grant date.

Estimated volatility is a measure of the amount by which the Company’s stock price is expected to fluctuate each year during the expected life of the award. The Company’s estimated volatility is an average of the historical volatility of peer entities whose stock prices were publicly available. The Company’s calculation of estimated volatility is based on historical stock prices of these peer entities over a period equal to the expected life of the awards. The Company uses the historical volatility of peer entities due to the lack of sufficient historical data of its stock price.

As of September 30, 2016, there was $24,550 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested employee options granted under the Company’s share based compensation plans that is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 1.25 years.

Common Stock Warrants

A summary of the Company's warrant activity and related information follows: