The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:32:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.11 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png 2026 U.S. Compensation Post Season Review: Strong Investor Support Despite Resurgence of One-Time Grants – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 2026 U.S. Compensation Post Season Review: Strong Investor Support Despite Resurgence of One-Time Grants https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/09/21/2026-u-s-compensation-post-season-review-strong-investor-support-despite-resurgence-of-one-time-grants-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2026-u-s-compensation-post-season-review-strong-investor-support-despite-resurgence-of-one-time-grants-2 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/09/21/2026-u-s-compensation-post-season-review-strong-investor-support-despite-resurgence-of-one-time-grants-2/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:51:40 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=183942?d=20260921095755EDT Posted by Subodh Mishra, ISS STOXX, on Monday, September 21, 2026
Editor's Note:

Subodh Mishra is the Global Head of Communications at ISS STOXX. This post is based on an ISS STOXX by Pranav Pradeep, Compensation & Governance Advisor; Tim Sessing, Compensation & Governance Advisor; & Chris Sayo, Data Analytics, at ISS-Corporate.

Key Takeaways

  • CEO pay continued to climb to record levels in fiscal 2025, with median S&P 500 CEO compensation reaching $17.5 million, while median pay among Russell 3000 companies (excluding the S&P 500) remained relatively stable;

  • Equity compensation remained the primary driver of CEO pay growth, as companies increased long-term incentive award values and expanded both the prevalence and magnitude of one-time equity grants;

  • The prevalence of CEO security perquisites in the S&P 500 continued to increase sharply, and the Russell 3000 has followed suit;

  • Say-on-Pay (SOP) support climbed to five-year highs across both the S&P 500 and Russell 3000, while SOP failures reached multi-year lows;

  • Potential changes in SEC rulings may fundamentally alter compensation disclosure and voting in years to come.

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