Meta's New Executive Compensation Plan Raises Concerns Over Potential Multi-Billion Dollar Payouts

Meta Proposes Aggressive Performance-Based Pay Plan for Top Executives

Meta Platforms, a technology giant with a market capitalization of $1.5 trillion, has outlined a new performance-based pay structure that ties executive rewards more closely to the company's long-term stock performance. According to filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), six executives will receive a two-part incentive system that includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance-based stock options.

The proposed pay plan, which does not include CEO Mark Zuckerberg, focuses on senior executives, including CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li, chief operating officer Javier Olivan, and chief product officer Chris Cox. These executives will receive a larger batch of RSUs worth approximately $170 million, vesting quarterly for long-term retention, along with performance-based stock options expiring in March 2031.

The options carry conversion prices ranging from $1,116.08 to $3,727.12 per share. If Meta's stock reaches the top end, its market cap could exceed $8 trillion. As of Wednesday's close, Meta shares traded at approximately $595, down nearly 3% over the last year.

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The deal is structured similarly to the blockbuster pay package awarded to Elon Musk, which granted the Tesla CEO stock worth up to $1 trillion over a decade if he succeeds in increasing the automaker's market capitalization sixfold. The proposed pay plan also comes at a time when Meta is weighing major layoffs as it pours billions into artificial intelligence (AI).

In addition to Bosworth, Cox, Li, and Olivan, the other Meta executives who are part of the proposed pay plan are chief legal officer C J Mahoney and president Dina Powell McCormick. Chief accounting officer Aaron Anderson would receive around $3 million in RSUs, but no stock options will be offered.

Meta has been aggressively ramping up its efforts to bring in more AI talent since last summer, when it announced a 'superintelligence' team led by the former CEO of Scale AI, Alexandr Wang. The company has also snapped up several AI-focused startups as part of its push into the space.