Below are key takeaways from ISS’ recently released 2025 Proxy Season Review: United States – Executive Compensation. The full report is available to institutional subscribers by logging into ProxyExchange then selecting the Knowledge Center and its Library tab and to corporate subscribers by logging into Compass then selecting Governance and the Governance Library or Governance Exchange tab.
- Shareholder support for say-on-pay proposals decreased slightly, while failure rates remained near all-time low. Median say-on-pay support levels decreased from 94.9% in 2024 to 94.5% in 2025. Failure rates remained low at 1.2% in 2025.
- CEO pay reached a record high in the S&P 500 for the second consecutive year. Median S&P 500 CEO pay was $16.9 million, the highest pay level ever observed. Median CEO pay in the Russell 3000 was $5.7 million, tying the historic high in 2021.
- Significant upward trend in the value and prevalence of security perquisites in the S&P 500. Over the past three years, the prevalence of home security perks increased at a much larger rate than other common perks for S&P 500 CEOs. The median value of home security perks increased nearly 50% in the S&P 500.
- Golden parachute support increased. Average shareholder support for say-on-golden parachute proposals increased and the failure rate decreased, which was directionally aligned with a significant decrease in median CEO golden parachute compensation.
- Equity plan support levels declined to the lowest level in over 10 years. The median support level for equity plans decreased to the lowest level since 2014, while the failure rate ticked upwards slightly.
- The number of compensation-related shareholder proposals declined, and none received majority support. The overall number of compensation-related shareholder proposals declined from 50 in 2024 to 46 in 2025. For the second consecutive year, no proposals received majority support.
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By:
Kevin Kim, Kevan Marvasti, Jolene Dugan, Chris Scoular, Abby Bucklin
