Meta Dangles a $9T Carrot for Executives Who Can Actually Deliver

MetaMETA

is dangling a payoff that only hits if everything goes right. For the first time since its 2012 IPO, it granted stock options to top executives tied to aggressive price targets, with the highest requiring a ~529% jump. Even the lowest hurdle needs an ~88% jump — a sign Big Tech is rethinking pay as AI spending surges.

• The top tranche requiresMETA
  to hit $3,727 per share, implying a $9T+ valuation that would dwarf Nvidia’sNVDA
  ~$4.26T market cap.
• Six executives qualify — including Susan Li, Andrew Bosworth, and Chris Cox — while CEO Mark Zuckerberg is notably excluded.

The stakes are real: Meta has to hit its price targets by Feb. 14, 2028, for these options to vest, or the unvested portion rolls out to executives through Aug. 15, 2030, expiring in Mar. 2031 if unused. A spokesperson called the packages “a big bet,” saying they only pay off if Meta delivers massive long-term success. In a world where AI talent is landing nine-figure offers, this is really about retention — because building a $9T company is hard enough without losing the people behind it.