Insights from 300K+ equity grants from 100+ technology companies reveals a clear shift toward front-loaded vesting.

Why it matters:

Equity is expensive and under pressure. With rising costs and a shaky market, comp teams are rethinking how they structure equity grants to drive competitive offers.

Key takeaways:

• New hire grant values dropped ~10% YoY across Compa’s top job families: Corporate Functions, Sales and Customer Service, and Technical.
• Three-year vesting is gaining ground. Four-year schedules still dominate, but three-year schedules are rising, while shorter terms have faded since 2023.
• Front-loaded vesting is increasing. Companies are shifting to deliver more value upfront, especially in new hire grants.
• 1 in 4 new hire grants were front-loaded in 2024, up from 7% in 2022.