The employees were happy to receive their annual pay-outs.

pay-outs 是名词 payout 的复数形式。payout 由动词 pay（支付）和副词 out（向外）组成，字面意思是"向外支付"，引申为"支付的款项"。 在商业语境中，pay-out 特指"奖金、分红"这类定期发放的报酬。