stock options

Cultural  

1. The right to purchase a company's shares at a future date at an agreed price. Companies often give stock options to their executives as an incentive to improve the company's performance and boost its share price. If the share price has risen above the agreed price of the option by the time the option is exercised, the executive stands to make a considerable profit.

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Example Sentences

He was nearly wiped out but got back on his financial footing when a venture capitalist asked him in 1986 to be chairman of the board, with stock options, of a new company called Magellan.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

“As with all stock options, there is only value if the share price meaningfully exceeds the exercise price, and in this case, it must be on an exceedingly aggressive 5-year timeline.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

The full value of the stock options, given to six leaders not including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, would only be realized if Meta stock jumps more than 500% to $3,727, according to filings late Tuesday.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

The stock options that the DeepMind scientists had mentally written off might soon be worth a fortune.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

For most of the people involved, the words "stock options" worked their normal, morally debilitating magic.

From The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by Boyle, James