Vendor executive compensation fell 24% in 2023

CEO comparable average pay in 2023 decreased 37 percent to $8,592,511 from $12,989,277, with 12 chief executives breaking into eight figures. COO average pay ticked down 13 percent to $3,272,578 from $4,526,828, though four fewer executives were on this year’s list. CFOs bounced back from a decline on a comparable basis, improving 4 percent to an average of $2,783,553 from $2,627,098.

Our annual survey on the executive compensation of vendors is taken from the proxy statements of public companies, which are required to disclose salary, incentive cash compensation, discretionary cash compensation, equity awards and other compensation, which is generally perquisites such as life insurance, disability payments and personal use of private aircraft. Our survey covered 26 companies, 25 of them North American plus Adidas. European disclosure laws on salaries are somewhat more lenient, perhaps in large measure because salaries of European CEOs are lower than those of American CEOs, and presumably less controversial.

Departed Peloton CEO John Foley topped the list. Generous options of over $35 million made up most of his compensation, which totaled $36,644,877. Nike’s John Donahoe lagged a bit behind but still took the silver medal, recording an impressive $29,184,701 in total compensation. Skechers’ Robert Greenberg and Vista Outdoor’s Eric C. Nyman were next, with third- and fourth-place showings at $18,837,938 and $14,392,171, respectively. Rounding out the top five was Deckers CEO David Powers, with $14,258,412.

Stock awards once again made up the lion’s share for most executives – such as Peloton’s, Vista’s and Nike’s CEOs – and added up to over $37 million. Stock accounted for 51 percent of the total last year, up 8 percent from 2022. Salaries were flat at 18 percent of total compensation, while options ticked down to 12 percent from the 14 percent of 2022. Non-equity compensation was down to 11 percent of total compensation, against the previous year’s 13 percent, and bonuses were still pretty irrelevant, at just 2 percent, against 1 percent the previous year.

About half of vendors saw their comparable exec compensation fall, as aggregate market cap inched down 3 percent to $557,928 million at the end of 2023, from $542,680 million the year before. VSTO comparable executive compensation increased 234 percent, though most of that is attributable to stock awards in advance of the sale of the Kinetic Group ammunition business to Czechoslovak Group. Yeti Holdings’ comparable executive compensation increased 56 percent, as president and CEO Matthew J. Reintjes’ package increased 89 percent. The company’s market cap was up 26 percent last year. American Outdoor Brands’ comparable executive compensation was up 33 percent, with a 19 percent decline in market cap.

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We’ve also examined the peer groups that the companies’ compensation committees determine are comparable for the purpose of setting compensation levels. As in the past, many companies in the industry list one another as peers, though the award for most mentions goes to Deckers, with 13, followed by Wolverine, Under Armour and Lululemon, all tied at 11. Carter’s was mentioned nine times, while Columbia, Tapestry, Levi Strauss, Skechers and Ralph Lauren were listed by eight. As per the norm, Peloton and GoPro listed more tech companies as peers, such as iRobot and Sonos, and Nike included larger consumer brands outside the sporting goods industry, such as American Express, Coca-Cola, Netflix and Walt Disney.