
Equilar 100: An Early Look at the Highest-Paid CEOs in 2024
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Equilar today announced the release of the 2025 edition of its Equilar 100 study, an early look at the largest CEO pay packages among U.S. companies with revenues of $1 billion or more. The study analyzes proxy filings submitted by March 31, 2025, offering a preview of CEO compensation trends.
This year's study shows that median CEO compensation reached $25.6 million in 2024, marking a 9.5% increase from the prior year. While this is a slight deceleration from the 11.4% growth seen in last year's study, the upward trend in CEO pay continues—driven largely by significant increases in stock award values. Median stock awards surged 40.5% year over year, climbing from $13.2 million in 2023 to $18.6 million in 2024. Stock awards accounted for roughly 73% of total median compensation for CEOs on the list.
Topping this year's rankings is Coherent CEO Jim Anderson, who received a total compensation package of $101.5 million. Close behind is Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, awarded $95.8 million following his appointment in September 2024. In both cases, more than 90% of compensation came in the form of long-term equity awards.
Cash compensation rose more modestly in comparison, with a 2% increase to a median of $5.7 million. Base salary saw a slight decline of 0.5%, while cash bonuses inched up 0.2%. Notably, perquisites rose 16.9% year over year—from a median of $378,390 to $452,730—potentially reflecting enhanced CEO security measures following the tragic death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
In a notable shift, Walmart overtook Apple as the highest-revenue company among the Equilar 100, reporting $648.1 billion in fiscal year-end revenue—outpacing Apple's $391 billion by roughly two-thirds. Overall, the median revenue among companies on the list came in at $24.7 billion.
For more findings, view the full Equilar 100 list, sortable by total compensation, company revenue and more.
About the Report
The Equilar 100 ranks the highest-paid CEOs for the most recent fiscal year at U.S.-listed companies with at least $1 billion in revenue that filed their annual proxy statements by March 31. While many of the companies in the Equilar 100 are consistent from year to year, due to changes in revenue and floating filing dates the list is not the same every year. The findings in this study are a snapshot of CEO pay trends, and with thousands of more companies filing annual proxy statements in April, a more comprehensive look will be forthcoming in several weeks after all the data is processed.
About Equilar
Equilar is the leading provider of executive intelligence solutions. The company's expertise in relationship intelligence drives state-of-the-art business development and CRM applications, board and executive recruitment, and compensation and governance strategies. Equilar integrates its extensive database of executive profiles with natural language processing and machine learning AI to enable real-time relationship analytics and targeted outreach for its global clients. Equilar's commitment to excellence has made it the go-to solution for over 1,000 companies, including 75% of the Fortune 500, top PE/VC firms and leading professional services entities. Learn more at www.equilar.com.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bill Atkinson won the respect of Steve Jobs by creating a high-level programming language in just 6 days
Bill Atkinson died on June 5 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 74. Atkinson was one of the earliest Apple employees, responsible for key Mac software and its graphical user interfaces. But he ultimately won the respect of his boss, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, by creating a version of a high-level programming language for the Apple II computer in just six days. Bill Atkinson, who worked at Apple from 1978—two years after its founding—to 1990, died on June 5 after battling pancreatic cancer, his family wrote on Facebook. He was 74. Atkinson was the 51st employee at Apple, and he was personally recruited by Steve Jobs. According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, Atkinson, a doctoral student in neuroscience at the time, initially declined Apple's request to come work at the company. But Steve Jobs sent Atkinson a nonrefundable plane ticket, and then gave him a three-hour pitch on why he should join the company. 'Think about surfing on the front edge of a wave,' Jobs recalled telling Atkinson in that meeting. 'It's really exhilarating. Now think about dog-paddling at the tail end of that wave. It wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun. Come down here and make a dent in the universe.' Atkinson accepted the job offer—and as a result, he never finished his PhD. Atkinson would go on to develop some of Apple's key software, including Quickdraw, which allowed old Apple computers to draw images and windows on the screen, and HyperCard, an easy-to-use software development kit so creators could build their own applications. He also notably developed the graphical user interface of the Apple Lisa, a precursor to the Macintosh, and later several of the Mac's user interfaces. But his very first job was to develop a program that could track stock portfolios. The software would auto-dial the Dow Jones service to get quotes, and then hang up. His second project at Apple, though, was ultimately how Atkinson won Jobs' respect. Jobs had been resisting using a new programming language for the Apple II, one of Apple's earliest and most popular personal computers that spawned many successors—including the Lisa, the Apple III, the Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus—though most of those computers, save for the Apple IIe, were abject failures. Jobs at the time had resisted giving the Apple II a new programming language, thinking BASIC, the simple programming language that powered the original Apple I, was all the Apple II needed going forward. Atkinson, however, pressed Jobs to build something better. 'Since you're so passionate about it, I'll give you six days to prove me wrong,' Jobs told Atkinson, according to Isaacson's biography of the Apple co-founder. Sure enough, in just six days, Atkinson had created a specialized version of Pascal, a high-level programming language made especially for the Apple II. According to Isaacson, 'Jobs respected him ever after.' Atkinson would later leave Apple in 1990 to co-found his own company called General Magic, which built precursors to USB and small touchscreens. In 2007, he was an outside developer for a small startup called Numenta, which leverages what we know about human neuroscience to develop AI. But Atkinson also spent much of his later years working as a nature photographer, using a digital printing process he helped create, and a mobile app he developed, to let users make postcards out of their digital images to send via postal service or email. Atkinson is succeeded by his wife, two daughters, stepson, stepdaughter, two brothers, four sisters, and his dog, Poppy, according to his family's Facebook message. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New AI-Detection Engineering Assistant from Cymulate Automates SIEM Rule Validation for SecOps and Blue Teams
Innovation streamlines threat detection engineering with automated testing, control integrations and enhanced detections NEW YORK & TEL AVIV, Israel, June 09, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cymulate, the leader in threat exposure validation, today announced the release of its powerful new AI-powered detection engineering assistant for security information and event management (SIEM) rule threat coverage validation. Now, the Cymulate Platform automates and streamlines the detection engineering process for blue teams and SecOps, allowing them to build, test and optimize threat detection with AI-assisted live-data attack simulations and customized threat detection. With this launch, Cymulate eliminates the friction of manual detection validation by automating the correlation and testing process, answering the two most important questions in modern detection engineering: "Does my rule work?" and "What threats does it actually cover?" This enables SecOps and blue teams to identify coverage gaps and tune rules in minutes, whereas previously, mapping detection rules to relevant threats required hours of manual effort, reviewing rule logic, identifying threat coverage and testing scenarios one by one. By automating the correlation between detection rules and Cymulate attack scenarios leveraging advanced AI analysis, organizations can now ensure their SIEM rules are continuously validated against real-world threats and optimized with precision. "Detection engineering doesn't have to be complicated, and Cymulate applies AI to help organizations across the globe drastically simplify their process. What once required lengthy back-and-forth between detection engineers and red teamers can now be done in just minutes," said Avihai Ben-Yossef, co-founder and CTO of Cymulate. "As today's threat actors look to exploit security gaps faster and with more sophisticated methods, it's clear that security teams need a continuous focus on threat detection. Cymulate is proud to set the standard for exposure validation, and our new SIEM solution applies the latest AI-driven automation technology to address some of the most complicated areas in detection engineering." The Cymulate platform now features deeper integrations with SIEMs and AI-powered analysis to map detection rules to its extensive library of more than 100,000 attack scenarios. Cymulate validates SIEM detection rules through live-data attack simulations, which test and validate both detection logic and the collection of logs and events required to support the rule. The Cymulate Exposure Validation Platform helps SecOps and blue teams: Identify gaps in their detection capabilities before adversaries can go unnoticed Operationalize threat intel to build custom threat validation Understand when and why existing threat detection fails to trigger Accelerate detection tuning with relevant indicators of behavior, pre-built Sigma rules and EDR rule Maximize visibility and coverage across the MITRE ATT&CK® framework To learn more about the Cymulate Exposure Validation Platform, visit About Cymulate Cymulate, the leader in security and exposure validation, provides the single source of truth for threat exposure and the actions required to close security gaps before attackers can exploit them. More than 1,000 customers worldwide rely on the Cymulate platform to baseline their security posture and strengthen cyber resilience with continuous discovery, validation, prioritization, and guided remediation of security weaknesses. Cymulate automates advanced offensive security testing to validate controls, threats, and attack paths. As an open platform, Cymulate integrates with existing security and IT infrastructure and drives the workflows of the exposure management process. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Melissa CifarelliAccount Directorprcymulate@


Business Upturn
23 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
iOS to bring major update to Messages app: screen unknown senders, polls, custom backgrounds and more
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on June 9, 2025, 23:00 IST Apple has announced a major update to the Messages app at WWDC 2025, adding a host of features designed to make conversations smarter, more organized, and more expressive. From screening unknown senders to long-awaited group typing indicators, iMessage is becoming more capable than ever. Apple WWDC 2025 live: screen unknown senders without missing key info A new Unknown Senders section will now hold messages from people outside your contacts. These messages are silenced by default but remain accessible in a dedicated space, ensuring you don't miss important notifications like restaurant reservations or delivery updates. You can easily review, approve, or dismiss these conversations based on relevance. Apple WWDC 2025 live: group typing indicators and Apple Cash in chats After years of user requests, Apple is finally adding typing indicators in group chats — allowing users to see who's responding in real time. Apple is also integrating Apple Cash into group messages, enabling easy peer-to-peer payments within chat groups. Apple WWDC 2025 live: customizable backgrounds and intelligent polls Messages now supports custom chat backgrounds, offering: Built-in Apple designs The option to upload your own background Backgrounds generated using Apple Intelligence In addition, a new polls feature allows users to create and share polls directly within chats — from picking lunch spots to coordinating plans. Messages can also use AI to suggest polls when it detects situations where voting might be helpful. These enhancements mark one of the most comprehensive updates to iMessage in years, aimed at improving both privacy and personalization while introducing real utility through AI-driven features. Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.