Equity grants were once reserved for C-suite executives, early startup hires and software engineers.
Not anymore. New stock sales and international tax regulations are driving US companies to extend options to more rank-and-file workers. The number of sales employees receiving equity grants has grown by almost 30% since mid-2025, according to an analysis of 8,000 employee grants from 480 companies by payroll platform Deel. Marketing teams saw a 24% increase in the same period, while gains among software engineers, data and customer-support workers were more modest.