Perspectives
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) survey
Annual analysis of firms with an ESOP corporate structure
The Employee Stock Ownership Plan Corporate Finance team at Deloitte Corporate Finance (DCF) is excited to share the findings of its first annual ESOP survey. This ESOP survey provides data-driven insights from company peers that may be useful in enabling your shareholder base to derive meaningful value. Explore our infographic to see the key findings of our client survey to employee stock ownership plan companies in the United States.
Explore content
- Taking stock: The employee stock ownership plan landscape
- Survey findings and trends on employee stock ownership plan
- What are the key themes from our ESOP analysis?
- Tracking trends in employee stock ownership plans
- Endnotes
Taking stock: The employee stock ownership plan landscape
Currently there are almost 7,000 employee stock ownership plans in existence, representing more than 14 million employees and $1.4 trillion in assets.1 The ESOP corporate structure represents an viable strategic alternative for owners looking to diversify their equity in a tax-advantaged way while giving employees greater empowerment through ownership in their respective companies.
In fact, a recent study from the nonprofit National Center for Employee Ownership shows that:
- Productivity improves by four to five percent in just the first year after adoption of an ESOP2
- ESOP companies register 25 percent greater job growth over a 10-year period than similar companies with conventional ownership2
Overall, our ESOP survey indicates that sentiment continues to remain high in 2019, with participants responding quite resoundingly that they would undergo the transaction again today.
What are the key themes from our ESOP analysis?
Through the survey, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC was able to identify several key themes that were prominent for existing ESOP companies in 2019.
Tracking trends in employee stock ownership plans
As a steward of a company’s and its employee-shareholder’s wealth, there are several important considerations that corporate leadership and the board should undertake in reviewing their capital structure and understanding key capital markets trends. DCF is working closely with our clients and other active industry participants to provide benchmarks on existing and emerging trends through a series of thought pieces and surveys.
Endnotes
1 NCEO | Employee Ownership by the Numbers | https://www.nceo.org/articles/employee-ownership-by-the-numbers
2 Harvard Business Review | More Than a Paycheck | https://hbr.org/2018/01/more-than-a-paycheck
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