> What is the point of giving stock priced on the vesting day? It has no chance to go up or down between the grant and vesting date when it is sellable. It would be the same as a cash bonus with an X year delay.
An excellent question, somewhat epitomized by the late Mitch Hedberg’s joke: “I think a gift certificate is a bad gift. You take money that is good everywhere…” Same here, it’s no better than cash, only it’s a PITA to convert it to cash if you want cash.
That being said, there are a few scenarios I have seen that fit the pattern:
1. Some companies have an ESPP program where some cash is deducted from each pay and placed in escrow. At regular intervals, the accumulated money is turned into shares at market value, and the employee receives the shares. There is usually a modest discount involved, e.g. 15%. If the employee sells the day the shares vest, they harvest 15% of the value less taxes. Or the employee can HODL, as they see fit.
Even without a discount, some employees may prefer an ESPP to making their own investments in the company stock. There is the convenience of having the money deducted at source, many people find that an easier way to save than relying on discipline.
2. The company is cash-poor and pays some comp in stock because they have shares in their treasury. One can understand why some companies would want to do this, without agreeing that employees would prefer this to cash.