Alphabet Inc. Stock-Based Comp decreased by 4.5% to $6.75B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 22.4%, from $5.52B to $6.75B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Stock-Based Comp shows an upward trend with a 12.9% CAGR.
An increase may signal a strategy to preserve cash or align employee interests with shareholders, but it also results in share dilution.
Stock-based compensation is a non-cash expense where employees and executives are rewarded with equity or stock options...
High-growth technology firms often have higher stock-based compensation as a percentage of revenue compared to mature industrial firms.
stock_based_compensation| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.80B | $3.87B | $3.95B | $4.50B | $4.78B | $4.98B | $5.10B | $5.28B | $5.77B | $5.74B | $5.66B | $5.26B | $5.87B | $5.85B | $5.81B | $5.52B | $6.00B | $6.37B | $7.07B | $6.75B |
| QoQ Change | — | +1.9% | +2.1% | +13.9% | +6.2% | +4.1% | +2.5% | +3.6% | +9.3% | -0.5% | -1.5% | -7.0% | +11.4% | -0.3% | -0.6% | -5.1% | +8.7% | +6.2% | +11.0% | -4.5% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +25.7% | +28.4% | +29.0% | +17.3% | +20.7% | +15.4% | +11.0% | -0.4% | +1.6% | +1.8% | +2.7% | +4.8% | +2.3% | +8.9% | +21.7% | +22.4% |