Growth in compensation for chief executive officers at some of the nation’s largest corporations “slowed considerably” in 2012, a trend that reflects weakened financial performance, according to a new analysis of proxies by Towers Watson. The study also cites the decreasing use of earnings per share as a compensation metric.
Its analysis found that total pay for CEOs increased just 1.2 percent in 2012, down from the 6.7 percent median increase they received in 2011. Total pay, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table in company proxy statements, includes base salary, actual annual and long-term cash bonuses, and the grant-date value of long-term incentives stock options, restricted stock and long-term performance shares.
