Most public companies offer employee stock benefits. That matters for short-term stock price, as much as possible. But ultimately the employees are only minority shareholders, so don't have enough to actually increase value. (The main shareholders are institutional investors, who have a lot of clout.) For private companies, of course, it's a different story and the founders/board/investors often have more clout. Private companies are also less likely to grant (non-liquid) equity, but rather offer it as options, which is more like a lotto ticket.