This distinction seems meaningless. At the end of the day, the stockholders own the business. They are paying the salaries of both the CEO and the pallet worker

This distinction seems meaningless. At the end of the day, the stockholders own the business. They are paying the salaries of both the CEO and the pallet worker, regardless if it comes in the form of cash or stock. Also wages don't always come from cashflow. Amazon lost money for its first X years. Salaries and everything else were covered by investor cash.