I don't think the math works out that way. If I have 10 options in a company that has 100 shares outstanding (including my options for the sake of easy math),

I don't think the math works out that way. If I have 10 options in a company that has 100 shares outstanding (including my options for the sake of easy math), then the reverse-split will take this to 5 options out of 50 total. Now, imagine that the company is valued at $1M. This valuation is independent of the share count. So, in the scenario before the reverse-split, each of my options would be worth $1M / 100, or $10k. And I have 10 of them, so that's $100k. In the post-reverse-split world, the company is still worth $1M, but now there are only 50 shares outstanding, so now each option is worth $1M / 50 each, or $20k. And that comes to the same $100k total. Now, I believe that typically, the option pool is distinct from the issued shares. However, that shouldn't really change the math, unless the reverse split was applied only to issued shares and not to options. If that was the case, then yes, the option holders would be screwed. In any event, it seems like pretty much everyone uses RSUs these days instead of options. Does Hortonworks still use options? With RSUs, the above math definitely works out, as the RSU is backed by an issued share, not a yet-to-be-issued one.