Title says it all. Admit it, the stock is a few dollars higher than you ever imagined. Are you guys holding or selling to realize profits
11 replies (most recent on top)
You should consider RSUs and stock options (if you still have any options) part of your annual compensation. Sell them as soon as they are vested and in the money. Don't look back.
Times definitely change. Sad to see it has changed. I feel very fortunate to have been around in the good old days. Here's atypical scenario for old-timer (joined 2000) individual contributor leaving as G10. Many of us out there in RTP (old-school TAC).
Everyone putting in the effort deserves a similar journey. The options were the key for that long term commitment for our family.
Hired on in 2000 as a G9. Old pre-RSU options. Good chunk (think it was 7500 as hire on package). Moved to RTP that year, bought biggest new construction house we could with 20 minute commute to campus.
Worked for two VP/Director manager combinations very generous with options. Once got a Thank You card with a note on an additional 2,500 options (about year 2002). Many smaller impromptu chunks.
Cisco converted the option style to RSUs, I think in 2006 or so. Noticed a big change in amount of RSUs issued versus the older option style.
Survived almost two decades. It changed SO much in teamwork, leadership work ethic, was sad to see. I was eventually asked to go. No hard feelings.
The blessing is I was immediately post LR in a financial position to retire, due to those almost two decades.
Just passing along. If you are mid-level, hard working and contributing truly to Cisco's bottom line, you deserve this also; especially if making family sacrifice time.
I was truly putting the personal effort there for a good decade (type of effort someone starting their own business probably would). It changed significantly starting in 2011-ish.
Not sure history will repeat itself ever for the younger folks in their early 30s as I was. Best of luck. You deserve the above.
Happy New Year
Mate, (or can I call you Jonah?) with your track record of stock options let us know where you go to work next so we can avoid it.
LOL. I'm to the point where if I'm offered stock options at hiring, I'm going to turn down the offer, but I'll be sure to post here if I get stock options somewhere in the future!
Cisco is the first company I haven't sunk. Although, it just might be taking a lot longer with Cisco given its size compared to the other small companies. The first two were both companies that went IPO. I hired into one 6 mo before the IPO and got a bunch of shares and they were kicked off the NASDAC their first year. They were out of business the next year. The other company had just gone IPO 3 months prior, so my options were not as many as the current employees and were at the peak of the IPO surge. They closed all their US offices except for the headquarters site and their UK offices. After about 4 yrs, they quit being publicly traded. It looks like they're still in business, but they've been bought out by a much larger company. It looks like they kept their name/brand, sort of like how Linksys kept it's name after being bought by Cisco and then Belkin.
With my track record of stock options, I don't ever want a company to give me options again. Two of the three companies who did are no longer in business.
Mate, (or can I call you Jonah?) with your track record of stock options let us know where you go to work next so we can avoid it.
There's a difference between stock options and RSU's and ESPP.
You were lucky to be able to sell your vested shares and cash out. Every company I've ever worked for that gave me stock options, the options were under water by the time they vested. One was trading at 25% of the option price when I quit, so those shares were worthless. The next company, I don't recall where their shares were when I was laid off, but with only 2 weeks severance at Christmas, I didn't have the liquid funds to exercise them and hold them to make a profit so there was no point in buying them. Then there was Cisco. My options were at $28, but trading at $15, so again I didn't feel like buying them. And it took nearly 6 yrs to get back up to $28 and a lot longer to get high enough to make a profit after taxes, so there were better things to tie up my money in for six or more years.
With my track record of stock options, I don't ever want a company to give me options again. Two of the three companies who did are no longer in business. I've had much better luck with ESPP purchases.
I'll admit to being naive about company stocks back in the '90's. A company I worked for matched your 401(k) contributions dollar for dollar w/ company stock up to 5%. The company stock was trending up the whole time, so I left it in company stock not knowing I could trade it w/in the 401(k) account's options, so when the company suddenly announced a huge layoff and a site closure to move the work to a different state, the company stock suddenly plummeted and I lost ~ 2/3 of it's value. I ended up only realizing about 33% company match when I rolled that 401(k) over to an IRA and found a new job.
Any company that can't give all of the people designated "critical staff" even a small raise is a company in serious peril.
In all my years with the company not once have I ever held on to a single share of stock. Once I was vested I would cash out immediately and dump all the money into investments that are actually lucrative.
Do any companies still issue stock certificates like the old days? Cisco stock could be useful for lining a birdcage if that were the case.
I have ~1800 shares between $13-15/share from back in the '08-'11 timeframe. I'm still holding them for the dividends because the shares would have to drop a lot before I lose money. I just need to decide when Cisco is peaking and finally dump them for a great profit rather than holding them until it drops back to $20 or $30/share.
Moving forward w/ all the recent ESPP purchases that are over $40, I've been selling them just a few days after the dividend payouts to get as much of the 15% discount plus the trading price increase as I can as profit. And I set aside the purchase amount to fund the next 6 mo period of deductions for the next cycle.
With the price so high, I don't get nearly as many shares as I did back in the $15/share days and it's been a LONG time since Cisco split that I don't see it as an investment to buy fewer shares high and hold them hoping for a split.
Sold a couple thousand shares at 60. Stopped dividend reinvestment on the remaining shares but holding several thousand shares for the yield.
- 2020 ER recipient
Is this a joke? There’s no way this isn’t a bubble.
I sold every bit of my RSUs last night . Now I feel amazing wealthy - can afford a Big Mac dinner 🙄