Amid strong equity markets, CEO pay soared to record heights, driven by large one-time awards, according to new research from advisory firm, ISS-Corporate. Shareholders had few objections to the largesse.
Median CEO pay for the companies in the S&P 500 index reached $17.5 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) for fiscal 2025, reflecting a 20% cumulative increase in median pay since 2021, the report on executive compensation trends from the latest proxy season indicated.
The primary source of rising CEO compensation was one-time equity awards, the report found, with the median value of executives’ long-term equity incentives jumping by over $900,000 last year — alongside a $78,000 increase in short-term incentives and a $41,000 rise in base salary.
“Companies commonly use one-time awards to recruit and retain executives, incentivize key strategic initiatives or support leadership transitions. The uptick in [fiscal 2025] may indicate that boards are seeking greater flexibility in compensation design as they respond to heightened market volatility, competitive pressure and changing business conditions,” the report said.
The strong rise in CEO pay also met with little resistance from shareholders, the research found, as support for say-on-pay resolutions reached a five-year high of 93.3% in shareholder votes during the 2026 proxy season.
The number of say-on-pay resolutions that failed also fell to a five-year low, with just 17 rejections during the year, down from 27 in 2025 and 66 in 2022.
“The strong support during the 2026 proxy season despite the increases in CEO pay and resurgence of one-time awards indicates a broad endorsement of boards’ compensation decisions by investors,” the report said.
However, it also cautioned that this harmony may not last, if proposed reforms that would likely reduce compensation disclosure and curb the frequency of votes on executive pay are enacted.
“While companies are enjoying increasing support from shareholders, significant rules changes proposed by the U.S Securities & Exchange Commission could potentially upend this delicate balance,” the paper noted.
“For investors, significantly scaled down disclosures could obscure the alignment between executive incentives and shareholders’ interests, and a lack of [say-on-pay] votes could limit their ability to voice their view on executive pay, potentially forcing them to consider other ways to express,” it said.