In $2006,$ Apple announced that it had discovered $$irregularities$$ in the issuance of stock options and that an internal investigation had been launched. The investigation found that certain options had been purchased to the past date when stock prices were lower, resulting in higher profits for the options$$ recipients. Several top executives, including CEO Steve Jobs, were cleared of any wrongdoing, although the company was forced to restate its financial results for a number of years to reflect the purchasing of stock options.

Which of the following strategies did Apple use to manipulate option$-$based pay?

Stock options

Backdating

Spring$-$loading

Bullet dodging