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ISS-Corporate U.S. Compensation Analysis Finds Record CEO Pay and Continued Normalization of Pay Practices Post-Pandemic
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2025 U.S. Compensation Post-Season Review: Strong Investor Support Despite Record CEO Pay

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    ISS-Corporate U.S. Compensation Analysis Finds Record CEO Pay and Continued Normalization of Pay Practices Post-Pandemic

    NEW YORK (October 16, 2025) – ISS-Corporate, a leading provider of robust SaaS and expert advisory services to companies globally, today announced the release of its 2025 U.S. Compensation Post-Season Review report, analyzing trends in CEO pay at U.S. public companies in the 2025 proxy season. The report examines trends in pay-related themes including overall CEO pay increases, perquisites, say-on-pay resolutions and incentive programs.

    Key findings include:

    • Median S&P 500 CEO pay reached an all-time high in fiscal 2024, with a 6 percent increase over the previous year. Russell 3000 (excluding S&P 500) CEOs saw even sharper increases in median pay, at 11 percent growth. Pay growth was largely driven by increases in the value of long-term incentives.
    • Both the value and prevalence of CEO security perquisites increased sharply among S&P 500 companies, underscoring increased safety concerns following the December 2024 tragic event involving the United Healthcare CEO. Since 2020, the number of S&P 500 companies disclosing CEO security benefits has nearly doubled. The median value of security perquisites almost quadrupled over that period, with close to half of that growth occurring in fiscal 2024 alone—to a median value of $28,382 as of June 30, 2025.
    • Despite record levels of CEO pay, median support levels for say-on-pay resolutions remained strong (92.7 percent for S&P 500) during the 2025 meeting season, with the number of failed say-on-pay votes well below levels observed between 2021 and 2023. Fewer instances of discretionary pay adjustments and one-time grants likely contributed to strong shareholder support for compensation packages.
    • Dramatic declines in the usage of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and climate-related metrics after a period of rapid adoption in the past few years suggest a shift in corporate priorities and disclosure practices. The number of Russell 3000 companies implementing DEI metrics in short- or long-term incentive programs saw a drop of nearly 42%.

    Despite record CEO pay, strong support for say-on-pay underscored the investor sentiment that executive pay was generally aligned with strong market performance this proxy season,” said Jun Frank, Head of Compensation & Governance Services at ISS-Corporate. “However, the relative peace many issuers have enjoyed the past couple years may be short-lived, as market volatility increases.

    To read the full report, please click here.

    ISS-Corporate is a leading provider of robust SaaS and expert advisory services to companies, globally. ISS-Corporate’s datadriven, research-backed Compass platform empowers businesses to understand and shape the signals they send to institutional investors, regulators, lenders, and other key stakeholders. By delivering essential data, tools, and advisory services, ISS-Corporate can help businesses around the world to be more resilient, align with market demands, and proactively manage governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk initiatives. ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (“ISSCorporate”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and part of the ISS STOXX GmbH group of companies. ISS-Corporate provides advisory services, analytical tools and publications to companies to enable them to improve shareholder value and reduce risk through the adoption of improved corporate governance practices. The ISS STOXX Governance and ESG research teams, which are separate from ISS-Corporate, will not give preferential treatment to, and are under no obligation to support, any proxy proposal of a corporate issuer nor provide a favorable rating, assessment, and/or any other favorable results to a corporate issuer (whether or not that corporate issuer has purchased products or services from ISS Corporate). No statement from an employee of ISS-Corporate should be construed as a guarantee that ISS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE STOXX will recommend that its clients vote in favor of any particular proxy proposal or provide a favorable rating, assessment or other favorable result. For more information, please visit https://www.iss-corporate.com

    ISS STOXX GmbH, through its group companies, is a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. With roots dating back to 1985, we today deliver world-class benchmark and custom indices across asset classes and geographies and serve as a premier source of independent corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence research, data, and related offerings. Our products and services give clients the scale and leverage they need to grow their business more effectively and efficiently. ISS STOXX, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is comprised of more than 3,800 professionals operating across 30 global locations in 20 countries. Its approximately 5,500 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings, as well as companies focused on ESG, cyber, and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS STOXX’s expertise to help them make informed decisions to benefit their stakeholders.