Meta Launches Stock Option Plan with $9 Trillion Valuation Target for Executives, First Time Since IPO

Gate News, March 25 — Meta recently announced a new stock option incentive plan. Executives can only realize the full value if the company’s market capitalization surpasses $9 trillion before 2031, representing a 500% increase from the current approximately $1.5 trillion. This is the first time Meta has granted stock options to executives since its IPO in 2012. The plan covers six core executives: CTO Andrew Bosworth, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, COO Javier Olivan, CFO Susan Li, Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney, and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not included. The options have multiple exercise tiers: the lowest tier requires the stock price to reach $1,116.08 (an 88% increase from current levels, corresponding to a market cap of about $2.82 trillion), while the highest tier is $3,727.12 (corresponding to a market cap exceeding $9 trillion). Meta has also increased RSU grants for some executives. A Meta spokesperson described this as a “big gamble,” stating, “These compensations will only be realized if Meta achieves enormous success and all shareholders benefit.” In comparison, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk’s compensation plan approved last fall has a maximum value of $1 trillion, contingent on increasing the market cap from $1.2 trillion to $8.5 trillion within 10 years. Meta’s plan requires a nearly equivalent increase but within half the time. The competition for AI talent is driving up Meta’s stock compensation costs: by 2025, cash expenses related to employee stock awards will consume 96% of the company’s free cash flow, totaling $42 billion; of the 40 million shares repurchased annually, 90% are to offset dilution caused by employee stock awards.