American Electronics Association Study Shows 84% of Tech Workers Get Options

A new study of employees working for publicly traded high-technology companies shows that 84% of employees receive stock options. Officers of the company get 34% of the value of the options granted. The study was performed by the American Electronics Association, and asked just two questions: "Over the past three years, what percentage of your employees were granted stock options," and "What is the percentage of all stock options granted that go to officers of the corporation?"

The study was sent to 525 companies, one-third of whom responded. 60% of the companies grant options to all employees. As with any survey of this kind, caution must be used in interpreting the results. Our experience tells us that different companies will interpret the phrase "your employees" differently, with some just measuring full-time employees meeting basic service requirements, and others taking it more literally. Still, the results confirm the widely held view that technology companies generally make options universal or close to it.