Meta Grants Stock Options to Top Executives in AI Race

Meta Platforms granted stock options to its top executives amidst the increasing competition in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. This decision is part of the company's efforts to retain talent and stay competitive in the industry.

META is offering top executives stock options for the first time since its 2012 IPO, in a move designed to retain senior leadership amid an intensifying AI competition . The eligible executives include CFO Susan Li, CTO Andrew Bosworth, Chief Product Officer Christopher Cox, and COO Javier Olivan, among others. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not part of the plan.

The options are structured around ambitious stock price milestones. The first tranche vests if Meta's stock reaches $1,116.08, representing an 88% premium to the March 24 close and a market cap of roughly $2.82 trillion . The highest tranche requires a price of $3,727.12, which would value Meta at over $9 trillion. The structure aligns executive incentives with exceptional shareholder returns over a multi-year horizon.

The retention push comes as Meta plans to spend up to $135 billion in capital expenditures this year on AI infrastructure. In June, the company invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and hired its CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a new unit called Meta Superintelligence Labs. While competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have gained momentum in AI, the stock option grants signal Meta's determination to keep its leadership team intact through what management views as a critical execution period.