Basics › Benefits

Restricted stock and restricted stock units (RSUs) offer more certainty than stock options (though less upside). This article explains why receiving a grant of restricted stock or RSUs is something to celebrate.

Many employees don't take advantage of their companies' employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). This article will show you why ESPPs are a good deal.

You may feel let down by your stock options if your company's stock price has dropped, leaving your options underwater. Getting less than you expected is something that inevitably occurs in a free market, and it is helpful to be prepared for losses as well as gains.

15th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL! Happy birthday to us! In June 2015, we at myStockOptions.com celebrated the 15th anniversary of the website's launch. We have seen a lot of changes in equity compensation since myStockOptions.com went live in June 2000. As part of our 15th-anniversary celebrations, this article reviews some of the major issues and developments in equity compensation that we have witnessed and covered during the 21st century.

Employee stock purchase plans can offer significant financial benefits, particularly with a good discount and a rising company stock price.

For many employees, stock-based compensation represents the biggest realistic chance of an increase in personal wealth, given small rises in average salary.

A happy tale about the difference that stock options can make in the lives of ordinary workers, especially at pre-IPO companies which become successful and then go public.

The compensation philosophies of companies are continually changing under the influence of many factors, from accounting rules to...

You become an owner in your company, with all the financial upside and risks that any investment can bring. By participating in the plan...

Ownership incentives such as stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, and ESPPs help motivate, retain, and recruit employees. Various studies have obtained empirical evidence to support this notion. For example...

Stock options give you the opportunity to buy shares of stock at a price that is fixed on the grant date, regardless of what the market price is when you exercise...

Stock options allow employees and other service-providers to share in the growth of a company's value without risking their money until they exercise the options to buy the shares...

If your company is publicly traded (e.g. listed on a stock exchange such as NYSE or NASDAQ), it is required to file various...

If your employer is a for-profit corporation, it probably can offer stock options, restricted stock, or other types of equity compensation to its employees. There may, however, be many reasons why your employer is not offering stock grants...

You could mistakenly let the options expire without exercising them. You do not have your vested options for life...

The future value and its certainty depend on whether you are at a public or a private company. You determine the practical cash value of options in public companies by noting the...

Reverse stock splits are an effort by a company to reduce the number of shares...