Stock-based compensation

Pay given in shares or stock options instead of cash. It's a real cost to shareholders, but it doesn't leave the company as cash; it shows up as more shares.

Simple example

A company can pay an employee $100 in cash, which leaves the company's bank account. Or it can pay them with a $100 share, which keeps the cash but gives every existing shareholder a slightly smaller slice.

Pay $100 in cashPay $100 in shares−$100Cash+1 new shareMoney leaves the companyEveryone's slice gets smaller
Made-up numbers, for illustration only.