Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Spencer Platt
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was offered a massive trove of stock after surpassing performance goals.The stock is worth more than $130 million.He’s ushered in a turnaround at the ride-hailing giant over the past year.
After steering Uber past a $120 billion valuation, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi just unlocked the opportunity to purchase a massive trove of stock in the ride-hailing company.
Khosrowshahi’s offer came after he surpassed goals set by an equity incentive plan in 2017, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from earlier this month.
The filing said Khosrowshahi would be offered to buy the shares if Uber maintained a $120 billion valuation over a 90-day trading period.
That feat was achieved on February 6, and Khosrowshahi was given the option to buy 1.75 million Uber shares at an exercise price of $33.65, according to the filing.
Uber is trading at about $78 now, meaning the stock is worth about $136.5 million.
According to the filing, Khosrowshahi plans to take advantage of the stock offer, but not within the next 90 days.
The targets were set before the company’s IPO in 2019, as the Financial Times noted. And while Uber struggled in the wake of its public debut, Khosrowshahi has helped usher in a turnaround over the past year by cutting costs, abandoning non-core businesses such as self-driving cars, and finding new revenue streams in advertising.
Earlier this month, Khosrowshahi announced Uber’s first annual operating profit of $1.1 billion and unveiled a $7 billion share buyback plan for investors.
In addition to Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, and its chief people officer, Nikki Krishnamurthy, also earned the right to buy 2.25 million shares in Uber under the incentive plan, the Financial Times reported.
The Financial Times noted that Khosrowshahi’s package wasn’t unique among top tech execs. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was paid $226 million in 2022 thanks to major stock rewards, while Amazon CEO Andy Jassy pocketed $200 million worth of stock in the company after succeeding its founder, Jeff Bezos.
Correction: February 29, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the value of the stock Andy Jassy was granted when he became Amazon’s CEO. It was $200 million, not $200.