CEO Pay Seesaws Under Pandemic Pressure

…Meanwhile, say-on-pay support has declined somewhat in the first three months of this year so far compared to 2020. According to data from compensation consulting firm Farient Advisors’ say-on-pay tracker and public company intelligence provider MyLogIQ, average say-on-pay support at S&P 500 annual meetings reported through March 23 was 84.6%. Last year through March 23, say-on-pay support for the S&P 500 was 89.3%. Only two S&P 500 companies, The Walt Disney Company and Qualcomm, had received less than 80% support by this time in 2020. By contrast, this year five companies — AmerisourceBergen; Beckton, Dickinson and Company; Disney; D.R. Horton; and Hologic — received less than 80% support on meeting results reported by March 23.

Peek says companies’ proxy disclosures this year are going to be critical, particularly for companies in the group strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that may have used upward discretion on incentives.

“There are companies out there that made discretionary adjustments that went above target and in their proxies. They talk about the things they had to put on hold and the things they did for their communities, and that helps tell the story,” she says.