This is because the legitimacy of these plans often doesn't stand up to objective scrutiny - when they don't turn into outright spoliation, as we described in our article about Snap published earlier this year.

Is Snap, for example, a company run in the interests of its shareholders or its employees? The question remains unanswered, since over the last five years, it accumulated losses of $5.2 billion, which is almost to the dollar what the members of the management team have distributed to themselves in stock options over the period.

Another illustrative example would be Roblox, whose already abysmal operating loss continues to widen as the group expands its activities. In its three years on the stock market, Roblox has distributed $2 billion in stock options to its employees, i.e. almost a third of its cumulative sales over the period - sales, not profit! - while its share price plummeted. 

When it comes to listed companies, the same rule applies as with anything else: sweeping generalizations often miss the mark. To reach a sound conclusion, one must dive into a meticulous analysis of economic performance. Only then can a balanced perspective be achieved.

Veeva Systems, a software company specializing in the life sciences sector, is a case in point. Listed on the NYSE, it ticks all the boxes of MarketScreener's quantitative selections, and meets all the criteria of what our management team likes to have in its portfolios.

Veeva has proven to be quite the benevolent benefactor when it comes to stock options, having bestowed a whopping $1.5 billion upon its employees over the past decade. This generosity is set against the backdrop of $7.9 billion in cumulative sales during the same period. While this figure might seem hefty, it is a far more sensible ratio compared to some other companies.

This balance is not just a boon for employees; shareholders are also reaping the rewards. Veeva is not just making money—it's making a lot of it. The company continues to chart a course of profitable growth, maintaining a trajectory that keeps both its workforce and investors smiling.

More profitable, in fact, since its expansion, entirely self-financed, has been achieved with very high returns on capital employed. Its business is not capital-intensive, and external growth operations have consumed only $600 million over the last ten years. In the meantime, the Group has multiplied its sales by eleven and its earnings per share by sixteen.

In ten years, shareholders have thus been gratified by a cumulative profit of $2.7 billion, while employees have received $1.5 billion in stock options. Here's a way of sharing wealth that no one will take offence at, and stock option remuneration that's as well-ordered as it is perfectly legitimate and deserved.