First off, it’s not always 15%. My current employer only gives a 5% discount. Second, the “look back” feature where you get the best of the starting and endi

First off, it’s not always 15%. My current employer only gives a 5% discount. Second, the “look back” feature where you get the best of the starting and ending prices is also far from universal. My current employer also just gives you the closing price, reduced by the 5% discount. So there are ESPP programs that aren’t such a slam dunk and actually just slightly edge out current money market rates. Add to this that they also cap the amount you can put into it fairly low and it looks even more underwhelming. Will you take a 5% bump on 6% of your income? Well, sure, I’m not going to turn it down but I’m also not throwing a party over it.