Paying more than a tenth of revenue in stock
129 companies with revenue above $500m issue stock-based compensation worth more than 10% of revenue.
Stock compensation is an expense on the income statement and an add-back in the cash flow statement, which is correct -- no cash left the company. The cost was paid by existing shareholders through dilution instead, and that cost is real even though it never appears as a payment.
This is why "adjusted" earnings that exclude stock compensation should be treated carefully. Excluding it treats employee pay as though part of it were free. It is free of cash, not free of cost.
The figure to read alongside this one is the diluted share count. A company issuing heavily while holding its share count flat is buying back stock to offset the issuance, which converts the dilution into a cash cost after all -- and one that does not show up in operating expenses.
What this is usually called
Stock-based compensation, share-based payment and equity compensation name the same expense, made up mostly of restricted stock units and options. It is the largest single difference between GAAP earnings and the adjusted or non-GAAP earnings companies prefer to quote, and the reason dilution is described as a hidden cost: it never appears as a cash payment, only as a smaller share of the company for everyone else.
The question, as a query
Below is the query as a reader would type it. Edit the numbers to move the threshold and the answer changes with them.
sbc_ratio > 10% AND revenue > 500m| Company | Revenue | Net income | Gross margin | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| METAMeta Platforms, Inc. | $200.97B | $60.46B | 82.0% | $46.11B |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc. | $63.89B | Unavailable | 67.8% | $26.91B |
| BX Broker-dealerBlackstone Inc. | $14.45B | $3.02B | Unavailable | $4.55B |
| NOWServiceNow, Inc. | $13.28B | $1.75B | 77.5% | $4.58B |
| ABNBAirbnb, Inc. | $12.24B | $2.51B | 83.0% | Unavailable |
| PANWPalo Alto Networks Inc | $11.48B | $307.00M | 70.4% | Unavailable |
| WELLWELLTOWER INC. | $10.84B | Unavailable | 40.1% | Unavailable |
| WDAYWorkday, Inc. | $9.55B | $693.00M | Unavailable | $2.78B |
| ADSKAutodesk, Inc. | $7.21B | $1.12B | 91.0% | $2.41B |
| COIN BankCoinbase Global, Inc. | $7.18B | $1.26B | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| SNPSSYNOPSYS INC | $7.05B | $1.33B | 77.0% | $1.35B |
| TEAMAtlassian Corp | $6.57B | -$53.83M | 84.8% | $1.32B |
| SNAPSnap Inc | $5.93B | -$460.49M | 55.0% | $437.19M |
| RIVNRivian Automotive, Inc. / DE | $5.39B | -$3.65B | 2.7% | -$2.49B |
| CRWVCoreWeave, Inc. | $5.13B | -$1.17B | 71.7% | -$7.25B |
| TWLOTWILIO INC | $5.07B | $33.83M | 48.9% | Unavailable |
| RBLXRoblox Corp | $4.89B | -$1.07B | 78.1% | $1.36B |
| ZMZoom Communications, Inc. | $4.87B | $1.90B | 77.0% | $1.92B |
| CRWDCrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. | $4.81B | -$162.50M | 74.7% | $1.31B |
| SNOWSnowflake Inc. | $4.68B | -$1.33B | 67.2% | $1.12B |
| PLTRPalantir Technologies Inc. | $4.48B | $1.63B | 82.4% | $2.10B |
| PINSPINTEREST, INC. | $4.22B | $416.86M | 80.1% | $1.25B |
| AKAMAKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES INC | $4.21B | $452.03M | 58.9% | $1.01B |
| EVR Broker-dealerEvercore Inc. | $3.88B | $591.92M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| PEverpure, Inc. | $3.66B | $188.18M | 70.4% | $615.74M |
| DDOGDatadog, Inc. | $3.43B | $107.74M | 80.0% | $1.00B |
| ZSZscaler, Inc. | $3.35B | -$63.18M | 76.8% | $852.35M |
| VEEVVEEVA SYSTEMS INC | $3.20B | $908.91M | 75.5% | Unavailable |
| HUBSHUBSPOT INC | $3.13B | $45.91M | 83.8% | $707.55M |
| OKTAOkta, Inc. | $2.92B | $235.00M | 77.4% | $875.00M |
| TTDTrade Desk, Inc. | $2.90B | $443.30M | 78.6% | $795.71M |
| NTNXNutanix, Inc. | $2.85B | $1.51B | 86.8% | $840.68M |
| AXONAXON ENTERPRISE, INC. | $2.78B | $124.66M | 59.7% | $75.08M |
| CRCL BankCircle Internet Group, Inc. | $2.75B | -$69.51M | Unavailable | $529.70M |
| ZGZILLOW GROUP, INC. | $2.58B | $23.00M | 74.1% | $235.00M |
| TLNTalen Energy Corp | $2.58B | -$219.00M | Unavailable | $606.00M |
| DBXDROPBOX, INC. | $2.52B | $508.40M | 80.1% | $930.80M |
| RNGRingCentral, Inc. | $2.52B | $43.39M | 71.2% | $587.32M |
| MDBMongoDB, Inc. | $2.46B | -$71.15M | 71.7% | $500.19M |
| RPRXRoyalty Pharma plc | $2.38B | $770.95M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
Showing the 40 largest by revenue of 129. Open the full list in the screener.
What this does not show
The ratio compares an expense to revenue, so it is naturally higher for early-stage companies with small revenue bases and says less about them than about mature ones.
The measures behind this
Stock-based compensation SBC / revenue Weighted-average diluted shares
Related findings
Citing this
SequelSEC, “Paying more than a tenth of revenue in stock”, 23 October 2026. https://sequelsec.com/findings/stock-compensation-above-a-tenth-of-revenue
Figures are recomputed on every view from SEC filings, so a number quoted from this page should carry the date it was read.