The compensation vice president of General Mills was quoted in The Wall Street Journal on January 14, 1997, as saying that option programs are "very attractive for shareholders" because they cut fixed costs and boost profits. So, for General Mill's 1996 year, selling, general, and administrative expenses, which include compensation, dropped by $222 million, or 9 percent, while pretax earnings from continuing operations rose by $194 million, or 34 percent. At the same time, the firm was distributing about 3 percent of its stock to employees annually.
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