Equity used to be the domain of top brass, early startup hires and coders. That's shifting. Companies tapping new stock offerings and navigating updated international tax regimes are pushing options and stock to a wider slice of U.S. employees. Policy changes in Germany and the UK have also made it simpler to dole out shares there.
Workers are paying attention. As wages lag, the possibility of shares that can climb with a rising stock price is appealing. "I think it is very much becoming an expected part of [workers'] compensation, but it's not the same thing as salary," said Deel economist Lauren Thomas. Even with market swings and vesting schedules that can stretch for years, more people are turning to equity to try to keep up with inflation.
Deel's analysis of 8,000 employee grants across 480 firms shows the biggest momentum outside tech's usual suspects. Since mid-2025, the tally of sales employees getting equity rose by almost 30%, and marketing saw a 24% bump. Gains for software engineers, data specialists and customer support were smaller, and engineers remain the group most likely to receive stock, according to Deel.
Zooming out, ownership via employer stock has broadened over time. A study in the International Review of Applied Economics estimates the U.S. headcount with stock grants was about 10 million in the early 2000s, reaching roughly 14 million by 2025. Looking abroad, Deel reports that from H1 2025 to H1 2026 the count of equity recipients grew by 62% in Germany and by 51% in India, compared with a 29% increase in the U.S.
More companies are extending equity beyond senior roles. In tech, Microsoft, Alphabet's Google, Meta's Facebook, Amazon and Intel are the most active at granting stock to sales, marketing and HR teams, based on Revelio Labs economist Jakob Brounstein's review. For business and finance staff, Apple, Google, Facebook, Intuit and Amazon are the likeliest to award equity, though overall those functions still receive stock less often than others.
Not everyone is leaning in. Autodesk Chief Financial Officer Janesh Moorjani said the company has pulled back on equity as a slice of revenue, noting, "It's an economic cost to shareholders, so we need to manage it like any other cost."
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High pay at the top is still tightly linked to stock. Harvard Law School's CEO Pay Study finds equity makes up almost three-quarters of CEO compensation. Elon Musk's $158 billion Tesla package is entirely stock based, and he can only unlock its full value if performance and share price goals are met. At Microsoft, about 90% of Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella's $96.5 million pay in fiscal 2025 came from company shares.
Equity is not cash. It can take years to vest, it can be tough to liquidate, and it can go to zero if the company stumbles. But when it hits, it can build far more wealth than wages and give regular employees a real stake in how the company grows.
If more roles at more companies come with stock, the mix of your paycheck could tilt toward market outcomes. That means your day job and your portfolio may end up moving together more than they used to.
