The margins between CEO pay have long been the point of conflict between workers and progressive cries.
The US top CEO’s central wages rose 7.5% to a record $16.8 million in 2024. This was discovered in a new survey as large equity grants boosted reported revenues well beyond wages received by US workers.
Axon and Union Pacific CEOs were among those who were pushing big wages from stock awards, according to a wage review at ISS-CORPORATE, the corporate advisory division of ISSOTIONAL shareholder services.
Other CEOs also did well as they set goals for relatively stable days in 2023, said Roy Saliba, managing director of ISS Corporate. That was before President Donald Trump launched a trade war that has caused chaos in the global market in recent weeks.
“One thing that pops out is that these numbers are not in line with the stock performance since the start of the year and the company’s current performance and looming uncertainty. The time gap explains that the 2024 salary decision was made at least a year ago,” Saliba says.
He said his forces are advised to wait before changing plans to adjust payroll in light of market uncertainty. The board could use different performance measures that compare executive work with peers, he said.
In a Saliba study, 320 S&P 500 companies looked at wage data submitted so far this year. The executives did relatively well. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that average hourly earnings for U.S. workers rose 4% last year, while Commerce data shows inflation rates were just under 3% in 2024.
The company’s shares were carried out beyond these fees, facilitating the profits of the CEO. Of the 320 companies reviewed by Saliba, the median shareholder gross profit was 15.1% in 2024.
At Axon, the maker of Taser Stun Gun, CEO Patrick Smith became an extreme one extreme, officially receiving $164.5 million last year. That year, other compensation salaries, including civil aviation, were received in the range of $31,201 and $8,857.
The equity unit, which accounted for the majority of Smith’s 2024 salary, is “an incentive for future performance in the form of a high-risk, high-remuneration compensation plan, and value is only feasible if each set of stock prices and investment targets is achieved,” according to Axon’s submission country.
Axon declined to comment.
At Union Pacific, James Bena’s CEO was paid $17.6 million against $20.24 million in service in 2024 after being hired in August of that year. A large portion of his salary last year reflects the large stock and options awards that the Railway spokesman said were performance-based.
“If the company doesn’t work well, his actual bonuses and equity will reflect that and be less,” the spokesman said.
Under a progressive microscope
High CEO pay has long been a cry for progressive Democrats in Washington, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders has introduced several times to raise taxes on businesses, which are one of the average pay for workers.
The law has not become law yet. On social media, senators have long pointed out that the gap between CEO pay and average worker has become significantly widespread over the past decades.