Meta’s new pay plan could hand top executives billions — but there’s a catch
Meta’s top executives could see a sharp increase in their salaries if the tech giant manages to dramatically increase its stock prices, according to filings the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Tuesday.
The company, which has a market value of $1.5 trillion, outlined a new performance-based pay structure that more closely ties executive rewards to the company’s long-term stock performance.
The forms detail a two-part incentive system for the tech firm’s six executives, including CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li, chief operating officer Javier Olivan and chief product officer Chris Cox.
“This is a big bet. These payout packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves major future success that benefits all our shareholders. As with all stock options, there is value only if the share price meaningfully exceeds the strike price, in which case it should be on an extremely aggressive 5-year timeline,” a Meta spokesperson said. Business Content.
Share-based compensation for executives
Meta managers will receive performance-based stock options expiring in March 2031, as well as a larger group of restricted stock units (RSUs) worth approximately $170 million that vest quarterly for long-term holding.
The options’ conversion prices range from $1,116.08 to $3,727.12 per share. If Meta’s shares peak, its market cap could exceed $8 trillion.
As of Wednesday’s close, Meta shares were trading at about $595, down about 3% from last year.
Is Mark Zuckerberg part of the compensation plan?
Bosworth, Cox, Li and Olivan will receive the most options, setting them up for paydays of up to $2.7 billion; But that largely depends on how Meta’s shares rise and how much exercise these managers choose to exercise. Business Content report.
This latest offer also comes at a time when Meta is weighing major layoffs as it pours billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI), according to multiple reports.
The deal is structured similarly to the blockbuster pay package given to Elon Musk, which gave the Tesla CEO up to $1 trillion in stock over a decade if he manages to increase the automaker’s market value sixfold.
However, unlike this arrangement, Meta Platforms’ new compensation plan does not include CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but instead focuses on other senior executives.
Who else will be rewarded by Meta?
Other Meta executives who are part of the proposed compensation plan are chief legal officer CJ Mahoney and president Dina Powell McCormick. Accounting chief Aaron Anderson will receive about $3 million from the RSUs but will not be granted any stock options, the report said.
Meta has been aggressively stepping up its efforts to bring in more AI talent since last summer, when it announced a ‘superintelligence’ team led by Scale AI’s former CEO Alexandr Wang. He joined the company after Meta acquired a 50% stake in the startup worth $14 billion.
According to media reports, the tech giant has acquired several AI-focused startups as part of its effort to enter the space, including AI agent startup Manus and viral social network Moltbook.
(with cable entry)
