Equilar 100: A Snapshot of the Highest-Paid CEOs in America
April 23 2024 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
The rise in CEO compensation persisted in 2023, according to a
new Equilar study. The 2024 edition of the Equilar 100—an annual
early look at CEO compensation among the largest U.S. companies by
revenue to file a proxy statement by March 31—shows that median CEO
pay jumped to $23.7 million in 2023, marking an increase of 11.4%
for the same set of companies from a year ago. The highest-paid CEO
on this year’s list is Broadcom’s Hock E. Tan, who was awarded a
pay package of nearly $162 million in 2023.
The acceleration in CEO compensation was largely driven by the
rise in stock award values. In 2023, median stock awards surged by
20.9% from $12.6 million to $15.3 million. Among Equilar 100 CEOs
in 2023, stock awards made up nearly 65% of median total
compensation. Additionally, total cash compensation increased by
roughly 4% to $6.1 million, with cash bonuses increasing by 2.4% to
$3.9 million. The steady uptick in cash compensation could be
attributed to the 13.8% increase in median total return for Equilar
100 companies in 2023, propelling companies to reward their CEOs
for strong financial and market gains during the year.
Overall, Tan was one of three CEOs with a nine-figure pay
package in 2023. Nikesh Arora, CEO at Palo Alto Networks, was
awarded a pay package of $151.4 million. Meanwhile, Coty CEO Sue Y.
Nabi earned a pay package of $149.4 million in 2023. The
compensation packages of all three CEOs primarily consisted of
long-term equity awards.
For all companies featured in this year’s Equilar 100 list, the
median fiscal year-end revenue was $25.1 billion in 2023. Apple
topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, achieving a revenue
of over $383 billion in 2023.
Read the full study for more findings.
About the Report
The Equilar 100 includes the largest U.S.-listed companies with
revenues of at least $1 billion to file annual proxy statements by
March 31 to provide an early look at the highest-paid CEOs in 2023.
While many of the companies in the Equilar 100 are consistent from
year to year, due to changes in revenue and floating filing dates
the list is not the same every year. The findings in this study are
a snapshot of CEO pay trends, and with thousands of more companies
filing annual proxy statements in April, a more comprehensive look
will be forthcoming in several weeks after all the data is
processed.
About Equilar
Equilar is the leading provider of executive intelligence
solutions. The company's expertise in relationship intelligence
drives state-of-the-art business development and CRM applications,
board and executive recruitment, and compensation and governance
strategies. Equilar integrates its extensive database of executive
profiles with natural language processing and machine learning AI
to enable real-time relationship analytics and targeted outreach
for its global clients. Equilar's commitment to excellence has made
it the go-to solution for over 1,000 companies, including 75% of
the Fortune 500, top PE/VC firms and leading professional services
entities. Learn more at www.equilar.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240423792613/en/
Amit Batish Sr. Director, Content & Communications
Equilar 650-241-6697 abatish@equilar.com