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Filing index
Plain-English explainers and filing-backed rankings for readers who want to understand the board before they judge the pay.
Research
The SEC buries CEO pay in 200-page filings. We pull the compensation table, the governance context, and the pattern worth arguing about.
- Published briefs
- 11
- Research reports
- 8
- Explainers
- 3
Each guide maps back to SEC-backed compensation records.
Rankings and original research built from the latest filings.
Guides for readers who know the headline but not the filing.
Lead brief
Newest research first
Say-on-Pay TrajectoryData Story
Adobe's 2026 Say-on-Pay Cleared at 50.65%: A Three-Year Collapse in Shareholder Approval
Adobe's 2026 advisory vote on executive pay passed by just 1.31% — down from 84.86% in 2024. The reported pay, realized pay, and stock-return numbers shareholders were responding to.
May 23, 20266 min
Read briefing
Evidence first
Read the board’s pay case before you read the spin.
CEO Pay RatiosData Story
Ranked: How Many Lifetimes to Earn a CEO's Annual Pay
A 4,028:1 CEO pay ratio is abstract. Put into working time, Mattel's FY2024 ratio equals 100.7 full careers at the company's median employee pay.
Apr 26, 20266 min
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Insider Trading LedgerData Story
Officer Buyers vs. Sellers: The 23-to-1 Trading Gap
Named officers sold $46.12B of company stock and bought $2.03B from January 2025 through March 2026. The public Form 4 tape tilted heavily toward selling.
Apr 24, 20267 min
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Grant-to-Sale ChronologyData Story
Fastest Grant-to-Sale Sprints: When Selling Starts After the Award
Some disclosed executive stock sales started one day after the grant date. This filing-backed cut lines up FY2024 grants with the next 90 days of sales.
Apr 24, 20266 min
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Board Pay RankingsData Story
Ranked: The 10 Highest-Paid Corporate Boards
A recurring board-pay ranking built from the latest proxy disclosures in our warehouse. It shows which companies spend the most on director oversight after filtering out one-time payout distortions.
Mar 31, 20266 min
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Pay Up, Stock DownData Story
Stock Grants Drove CEO Raises While Shares Fell
In the biggest verified pay-up, stock-down cases from FY2023 to FY2024, almost all of the extra CEO pay came from stock and option awards rather than cash. Here is how boards used equity to raise pay during negative-return years.
Mar 31, 20267 min
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Plain-English GuideExplainer
How Board Directors Get Paid
Board directors set CEO pay, approve strategy, and collect six-figure fees for part-time work. Here's how their compensation actually works — and why shareholders should pay attention.
Mar 11, 20267 min
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Pay vs. PerformanceData Story
71 Companies Where the Board Raised CEO Pay While the Stock Fell
We tested 487 S&P 500 companies on a simple question: did the board raise CEO pay while shareholders lost money? 71 companies failed the test. 24 of those are wealth transfers — the CEO's realized pay rose too.
Feb 14, 20268 min
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Plain-English Guide
Plain-English GuideExplainer
What Is Proxy Season? A Plain-English Guide (2026)
Proxy season happens every spring when public companies ask shareholders to vote. Here's what actually happens, why it matters to you, and what to watch for in 2026.
Feb 14, 20267 min
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Plain-English GuideExplainer
CEO Pay Ratios Explained: What They Mean and What They Hide
Every public company must disclose how much more their CEO earns than their median employee. The number is revealing — but it doesn't tell the whole story.
Feb 14, 20266 min
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Data StudyData Story
Are CEOs Paid for Performance? What 500 Companies' Data Actually Shows
We applied two tests — the board's scorecard and the market's — to 269 S&P 500 companies. Only 49.8% pass both. The 14-point gap reveals the stock market quietly correcting board decisions.
Feb 12, 202610 min
Read briefing