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To compare executive compensation at public companies, start with each company’s annual proxy statement. Use the Summary Compensation Table (SCT) for a consistent reported-pay baseline, then read the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A), award details and pay-versus-performance disclosure to understand how the figures were set and what they represent. The headline total alone does not show cash received, the value ultimately realized from equity, or whether pay caused business results.
Where to find executive compensation in a proxy statement
The annual proxy statement is usually the most direct place to find executive-pay disclosures. The SEC describes it as the easiest place to look up this information; a Form 10-K or registration statement may also include or refer to the relevant material. See the SEC’s Executive Compensation guide.
In the proxy, search for these section names:
- Compensation Discussion and Analysis
- Summary Compensation Table
- Grants of Plan-Based Awards
- Outstanding Equity Awards
- Option Exercises and Stock Vested
- Pension Benefits and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- Potential Payments Upon Termination
- Pay Versus Performance
The SCT is the required-disclosure cornerstone, but it is not a complete account of how compensation is designed or earned. The CD&A explains material elements of the company’s program; the detailed tables and footnotes help explain the reported numbers.
Choose comparable companies and years
Before comparing figures, select companies with reasonably similar industries, scale, workforce and business models. Align the fiscal years rather than assuming that filings cover identical periods. Also note whether either company is a smaller reporting company (SRC): some pay-versus-performance disclosure requirements are scaled for SRCs.
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Use the proxy actually filed by each issuer. Companies may have different fiscal calendars, named officers, peer groups and disclosure periods, so matching table labels alone does not guarantee an apples-to-apples comparison.
Build a reported-pay baseline from the SCT
The SCT generally covers the CEO, CFO and three other most highly compensated executive officers for each of the past three fiscal years. Record the CEO’s figures separately, then capture the other named executive officers (NEOs) individually rather than relying on a single company-wide total.
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For each officer and year, note the total and its components where shown:
- Salary and bonus
- Stock awards and option awards
- Non-equity incentive plan compensation
- Changes in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings
- All other compensation
Do not treat the SCT total as cash paid that year. Stock and option award amounts generally use grant-date fair values, and the timing of that accounting value can differ from vesting, sale or cash payment. Check footnotes and the award, vesting, pension and deferred-compensation tables to understand the components.
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Read the CD&A to understand how pay is designed
Use the CD&A to identify what the company says it is trying to reward and how it makes compensation decisions. Extract the following before drawing conclusions:
- The compensation philosophy and decision-making process
- How target pay is set, including the peer group, why it was chosen and any changes
- Whether the company uses compensation consultants
- Annual and long-term incentive measures, their weights and performance periods
- Targets, payout ranges, discretion and how awards are measured
- The distinction between target opportunity and actual payout
For example, ADP’s 2026 proxy describes annual cash-bonus measures separately from multi-year performance-stock-unit measures, and explains that its peer group is used to benchmark pay and performance. That illustrates why two similar SCT totals can reflect different incentive designs; ADP’s choices are not a universal benchmark. Read ADP’s 2026 proxy statement.
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Use pay-versus-performance as a second view
The proxy’s Pay Versus Performance table, required under Item 402(v), places SCT total alongside a rule-defined measure called “compensation actually paid.” It also presents performance information, including company cumulative total shareholder return (TSR) based on a fixed $100 investment, net income and, for registrants other than SRCs, peer-group TSR and a company-selected measure. Non-SRCs also provide a tabular list of three to seven financial performance measures. SRCs have scaled requirements.
The SEC staff’s small-entity compliance guide, dated October 11, 2022, describes a five-fiscal-year presentation for registrants other than SRCs and a three-year presentation for SRCs once phased in. The first required non-SRC filings presented three years and added a year in each of the next two filings; SRCs initially presented two years and add a year in the next filing. The guide also describes a delayed Inline XBRL tagging transition for SRCs. Because the guide is dated 2022, check current SEC rules and the issuer’s filing when applying requirements to a particular company. The guide summarizes the rules and is not a substitute for the rule text.
What “compensation actually paid” means
Do not read “compensation actually paid” as cash received, or as a simple total of amounts realized by the executive. It starts with SCT total and applies prescribed adjustments, including adjustments to pension and equity values. Those calculations can make the figure differ substantially from SCT total without showing the precise amount earned or paid during that year. ServiceNow’s 2026 proxy makes this limitation explicit, noting that the formula reflects changes in fair value of equity awards and does not show precise amounts earned or paid in the displayed years. Read ServiceNow’s 2026 proxy statement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Compare the disclosures on consistent axes
| Comparison axis | What to record |
|---|---|
| Role and population | CEO or principal executive officer (PEO) separately from average non-CEO NEOs; note which officers appear in each year. |
| Time period | Fiscal years covered and whether an award is annual or multi-year. |
| Pay concept | SCT grant-date accounting values versus SEC-defined compensation actually paid; use award and vesting disclosures to examine other measures. |
| Pay mix | Salary, annual cash incentives, equity, pension or deferred benefits, and other pay. |
| Incentive design | Metrics, weights, goals, payout range, performance period and discretion. |
| Outcomes | Company and peer TSR, net income, company-selected measures and disclosed award outcomes. |
| Benchmarking | Peer-group membership, selection rationale and changes; a company’s chosen group may differ from one an outside investor would select. |
| Definitions | Whether measures are GAAP or company-adjusted/non-GAAP, and the company’s stated definition of each. |
Compare performance results with the award outcomes and metrics that the company disclosed, not only with narrative claims about alignment. A company’s compensation philosophy is evidence of program design, not independent proof that pay caused a share-price or earnings outcome. The required pay-versus-performance table shows relationships among measures; it does not establish causation or settle whether a compensation level was appropriate.
Limits of a company-to-company comparison
Proxy disclosures support a structured comparison, not a definitive pay-for-performance score or ranking. Role scope, company size, industry economics, fiscal-year timing, metric definitions and peer-group choices can all affect interpretation, and there is no universally valid adjustment that makes every company directly comparable. For investment, legal or governance decisions, review the actual filings, footnotes, applicable rule text and company-specific context.
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