Meta is issuing stock options to senior executives for the first time since going public in 2012, a notable shift in the company's compensation structure that reflects growing competition for leadership talent across the technology sector.
The move, reported simultaneously by Bloomberg, Reuters and CNBC, comes as Meta deepens its commitment to artificial intelligence and faces the risk of losing key executives to rivals flush with equity. Stock options, which gain value only if the share price rises beyond a set strike price, align executive incentives more directly with stock performance than the restricted stock units Meta has historically favoured.
Meta's shares have roughly tripled over the past two years, lifted in part by the company's aggressive cost discipline and early AI deployments. Whether that run continues depends heavily on its ability to compete with OpenAI, Google and a fast-moving field of challengers. Retaining the leadership team capable of executing that strategy is the stated rationale for the grants.
The details of the option grants, including strike prices, vesting schedules and the full list of recipients, were not disclosed in the source reporting.
