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Hindustan Times
04-08-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
For a Few CEOs, Pay Keeps Growing—by the Billions
It is the latest ultraexclusive achievement for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies: the billion-dollar year. Two bosses made it last year—holding stock-based pay that swelled in value by at least 10 figures in a single year. Alexander Karp clocked more than $6 billion in gains at government intelligence contractor Palantir Technologies. Hock Tan's pay grew by $1.15 billion at chip maker Broadcom. Only two other S&P 500 CEOs have hit that mark in recent years, according to data from public-company data provider MyLogIQ. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global's Brian Armstrong in 2021, at $2.1 billion, and—naturally—Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO can boast billion-dollar gains in three years, including a record of $43 billion in 2020, though all are part of a pay package that a Delaware court declared invalid. The outsize gains, while still rare, show how today's CEO pay packages can swell far beyond their original valuations through a combination of soaring share prices and multipliers tied to company-performance targets. The billion-dollar gains are all the more notable because fewer big-company CEOs have been receiving pay packages initially valued at $100 million or more. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global These gains reflect only changes in the value of stock and option awards the executives received as part of their continuing compensation, and before vesting, when the CEOs can generally sell, hold or exercise as they see fit. Not included: The often sizable stakes that CEOs, especially founders, hold outright in their companies, which can also gain or lose value over time. Palantir, Broadcom and Coinbase declined to comment. Tesla didn't respond to requests for comment. Until 2023, companies weren't obliged to update investors on the value of past equity awards over time. Now, disclosures stretching back five years show the roller-coaster of valuations that can translate to billion-dollar gains. Stock and option grants often vest over years or even a decade, sometimes only if the company meets a combination of financial, operational or stock-market targets along the way. The awards can balloon in value—or shrink to nothing—as share prices and profits fluctuate. A single mega-grant Karp has run Palantir for two decades. Named for magical 'seeing stones' from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels, the company makes just over half of its revenue from government business, such as analyzing intelligence and military data. Karp's multibillion-dollar boost last year came from a single mega-grant of options and restricted stock in 2020, a little of which vests each quarter over a decade. The award's initial $1.1 billion valuation made it one of the biggest ever reported, and Karp hasn't received significant new equity since. The month after Palantir granted the stock and options to Karp, it listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, ensuring that the full equity award vests if Karp stays on the job. The award rapidly jumped in value, to $3.3 billion at the end of 2020, tracking Palantir shares. It shrank by 75% over the next two years before recovering. By the end of 2024, the award was valued about $7.5 billion higher than at the beginning of the year, according to calculations by Terry Adamson, a partner at Infinite Equity, which designs and values equity pay packages. Karp's equity award has likely gained another $6 billion in value so far this year, given Palantir's soaring share price, Adamson said. The company's shares have doubled year to date and are up more than 16-fold from 2020. The multiplier effect Tan has received three infusions of Broadcom restricted stock since 2021. One made him the highest-paid CEO in The Wall Street Journal's 2023 pay ranking, which uses initial values for equity awards without subsequent changes. The chip maker valued those awards at about $2 billion by early November last year, its fiscal-year end, up from almost $269 million initially. Broadcom shares almost quadrupled in the same period, while the S&P 500 gained about 47%. One award more than doubled in value, to $54 million, between the board's mid-December 2020 decision to make it and an early April shareholder vote finalizing it. By late October 2021, Broadcom valued it at $61 million. That fiscal year, Broadcom's shares rose 50%. Under the award's terms, Tan would receive additional shares if Broadcom's stock sufficiently outperformed the S&P 500 over three years. Strong performance led the company to value the award at its maximum potential that October. Tan received no new equity in 2024, but the earlier awards added $1.1 billion in value, or 132%, during the fiscal year. Broadcom shares roughly doubled. Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom Broadcom has said that, under Tan, the company has outperformed competitors. In securities filings, it said his 2023 pay reflected $32 million a year over five years and he won't receive bonuses or additional equity through October 2027. So far, Tan and Karp have vested in only some of their 10-figure gains—and the remainder could shrink if the companies' share prices fall. Karp had vested in about $530 million of just over $7.5 billion in gains through the end of 2024, Adamson estimates. Further vesting this year likely added another $600 million. Tan has vested in about $224 million of the growth in his equity awards, Broadcom's securities filings indicate. If Broadcom's share price stays above about half of its recent level into December, gains on Tan's 2023 award are likely to vest. The company's shares are up about 74% since November. Write to Theo Francis at For a Few CEOs, Pay Keeps Growing—by the Billions
Wall Street Journal
04-08-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
For a Few CEOs, Pay Keeps Growing—by the Billions
It is the latest ultraexclusive achievement for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies: the billion-dollar year. Two bosses made it last year—holding stock-based pay that swelled in value by at least 10 figures in a single year. Alexander Karp clocked more than $6 billion in gains at government intelligence contractor Palantir Technologies PLTR -2.58%decrease; red down pointing triangle. Hock Tan's pay grew by $1.15 billion at chip maker Broadcom AVGO -1.72%decrease; red down pointing triangle.
Entrepreneur
01-08-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
The Exact Salaries Palantir Pays AI Researchers, Engineers
With stock up nearly 500% in a year, Palantir is booming. Here's how that translates into pay for its employees. Palantir stock is up nearly 500% over the past year at the time of writing. As the software and defense technology company's value skyrockets, the question remains: How well does it pay its staff? According to new federal filings, obtained by Business Insider, Palantir pays competitively for top tech talent. Software engineers, for example, can make anywhere from $155,000 to $240,000 in base pay. The range aligns with what other major tech companies offer for the same role, though others have a higher ceiling. Meta pays $120,000 to $480,000, Google pays $109,180 to $340,000 and Microsoft pays $82,971 to $284,000 for software engineering talent. Related: How Much Does Apple Pay Its Employees? Here Are the Exact Salaries of Staff Jobs, Including Developers, Engineers and Consultants. Palantir builds platforms to help analyze and manage data, mainly for large organizations and the U.S. government and its allies. The company helps break down complex data to drive better decision-making, operations and security. Palantir's data analysis software is considered a military intelligence tool. The company operates across the world, in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, but is headquartered in the U.S., in Denver, Colorado. Palantir CEO Alexander Karp. Photo byAccording to its careers page, Palantir is hiring across the board, from engineering roles targeting new college graduates to product designer jobs. The company submitted federal filings showing salary information for the first quarter of the year. The filings are required when companies hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program, which enables highly skilled workers to take on specialty occupations. The documents only show base annual salaries for H-1B workers and do not include signing bonuses, stock options, or other forms of compensation. They only represent one part of the compensation picture, not the entire view. Related: Here's How Much Money Amazon Employees — From Software Engineers to Product Managers — Make in a Year The filings show that Palantir pays other roles as follows: AI Machine Learning Researcher: $210,000 to $250,000 $210,000 to $250,000 Deployment Strategist: $120,000 to $192,000 $120,000 to $192,000 Product Designer: $135,000 $135,000 Quality Engineer: $136,000 $136,000 Technical Program Manager: $165,000 According to Palantir's proxy statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April, CEO Alexander Karp's total compensation in 2024 was $4.63 million, while the median employee's total compensation for the same year was $229,912. Karp made 20 times more than the mid-level worker at the company. Related: Here's How Much a Typical Nvidia Employee Makes in a Year Palantir has nearly 4,000 U.S. employees.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Growth Stocks I'd Buy -- but Only at Much Lower Prices
Despite the market tumbling lower so far in 2025, many growth stocks still seem to have stretched valuations. Two that I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pool at their current prices are cybersecurity specialist CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) and data analytics software company Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). These are two great, well-managed companies. But, in my view, their stock prices simply bake in too much optimism. Or, put it another way, their current valuations demand near-perfect execution for the foreseeable future despite the fact that both face great risks due to the fast-changing and intensely competitive nature of their industries. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » CrowdStrike's results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 showcased impressive growth, with revenue climbing 25% year over year to $1.06 billion. Adjusted earnings per share reached $1.03, up from $0.95 in the same quarter last year. Looking beneath the surface, the company's services are proving to be "sticky." More than two-thirds of its customers are paying for six or more modules. These strong fourth-quarter results echo the company's consistent upward trajectory as CrowdStrike continually capitalizes on the vast opportunities in the fast-growing cybersecurity market. But when CrowdStrike's profits are measured by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) standards, the bull case no longer looks quite as enticing. For its fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2025, the cybersecurity specialist reported net losses of $92 million and $120.4 million, respectively. These losses speak to the intensely competitive nature of the cybersecurity industry. Consider that CrowdStrike had to spend $1.5 billion on sales and marketing in fiscal 2025 to generate about $4.0 billion of revenue. With the remaining operating expenses totaling about $1.6 billion and total cost of revenue coming in at about $1 billion, you can start to see how significant the capital outlay is to fuel strong growth. Sure, over time, these expenses and costs will shrink as a percentage of revenue. However, it's difficult to predict how much operating leverage the company can achieve through scale since technology industries like cybersecurity change so often and so rapidly. In addition to its high costs, a high valuation plagues the stock, too. Shares command a market capitalization of $97 billion despite CrowdStrike still struggling to be profitable. The stock is even expensive on a price-to-sales basis, with shares trading at a price-to-sales ratio of more than 24. This valuation multiple is higher than a lot of companies' price to earnings ratios. Data analytics and artificial intelligence specialist Palantir is growing even faster than CrowdStrike. Its fourth-quarter revenue increased 36% year over year. Palantir CEO Alexander Karp credits the company's "early insights surrounding the commoditization of large language models" as a critical element to the company's recent success. While Palantir is further along than CrowdStrike when it comes to generating GAAP profits, with total net income in 2024 of 468 million (up from $217 million in 2023), the stock's valuation has just soared too far. Shares trade at 517 times earnings. Investors clearly expect explosive earnings growth for the foreseeable future. Obviously, CrowdStrike and Palantir have demonstrated the type of business momentum that suggests earnings will grow at high rates in the years to come. But at these stocks' current prices, investors aren't leaving very much room for error. Investors should carefully consider the fast-changing nature of both of these companies' industries. They should ponder whether the earnings growth required to live up to these valuations is a probable outcome or just one of many possible outcomes. Nothing is wrong with being a fan of these companies, their approach to business, and their growth trajectories while simultaneously exercising discipline regarding valuation when it comes to considering whether or not to invest. Both CrowdStrike and Palantir, as businesses, will likely do well over the long haul. Still, at this price, I do not believe they are good investments. This doesn't mean I don't think that there's a possibility that the stocks will perform well over the long term. I just don't think the odds are high. I'd be more than happy to buy these stocks -- just not at their current prices. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $526,499!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $687,684!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 818% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 156% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025 Daniel Sparks and his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Growth Stocks I'd Buy -- but Only at Much Lower Prices was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
