Knowledge Center Reports

Equilar | Associated Press CEO Pay Study 2018

May 24, 2018

Since 2011, Equilar has worked together with the Associated Press on annual CEO pay studies. The most recent edition identified trends in compensation awards for CEOs who served in that role at an S&P 500 company for at least two years as of fiscal year end 2017. Companies must have filed a proxy between January 1 and April 30, 2018 to be included in this study.

Key Findings

Pay Packages Increased 8.5% to $11.7 Million

Median total compensation* for individuals included in the 2018 Equilar | Associated Press CEO Pay Study totaled $11.7 million, an 8.5% increase from the year prior. The CEOs in the 2018 study had the same sized pay increase at the median when compared to 2017. Below are the top 10, highest-paid executives that qualified for inclusion.

Fewer Female CEOs Than Previous Years

Of the 339 executives in the study, 17 were female, four fewer than the number of women in the previous year’s study. Those female executives earned a median $13.5 million, compared to $11.5 million at the median for the 322 male executives. The list of women at the helm of S&P 500 companies in 2016 and 2017—and their reported compensation for the most recent year—is below.

Industry Comparison

The healthcare sector, which includes traditional healthcare, insurance as well as biopharma companies, had the highest median CEO pay package among S&P 500 companies at $14.9 million, followed by industrial goods at $13.9 million. Utilities CEOs were awarded a median $9.3 million, the lowest of the industry sectors in the study.

Geographical Breakdown

CEOs at companies based in the state of New York included in the Equilar | Associated Press study received the highest median pay package (excluding Nevada, where there was only one CEO). There were 38 New York-based CEOs in this year’s study, who were awarded median total compensation of $16.6 million.

Only California boasted more CEOs than New York in the study, with 44. Texas (28), Illinois (24) and Massachusetts (16) rounded out the top five states with the highest representation.

In all, 37 states were represented in the study. Equilar is also conducting a study with the Associated Press on the largest CEO packages awarded to companies in each individual state, regardless of size or index classification, which will publish in the coming days.

*Total compensation includes information disclosed in company proxy statements including salary, bonus, stock and options valued at grant date, any deferred compensation, and other compensation (including benefits and perks).

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For information regarding this study and the underlying datasets, or to learn more about Equilar Research Services, please contact the Equilar research team at researchservices@equilar.com.

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