How Much Does the IBM CEO Make?
Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, was reported with $38.0M in total compensation in 2025 — the SEC-disclosed headline total ("Total" line) from the company's DEF 14A proxy statement.
This page answers a common executive-compensation question: How Much Does the IBM CEO Make?. The answer draws on SEC DEF 14A proxy statements, the public disclosure mechanism for U.S. public-company executive pay. Every public company must file an annual proxy statement disclosing CEO and named-executive-officer compensation in detail. Why this matters for shareholders: executive compensation is the single most-disclosed governance metric at U.S. public companies, and the Dodd-Frank-mandated say-on-pay vote gives shareholders an explicit channel to express approval or dissent. Reading pay data well — including pay-versus-performance, peer-group selection, and time-vesting structures — is a basic part of stock-by-stock fundamental analysis.
The detailed answer below uses the actual proxy-statement filings, explains how to read them, and translates the executive-compensation accounting into the shareholder-relevant interpretation.
Arvind Krishna leads IBM (IBM), a IT Services company with approximately 282,200 employees. Arvind Krishna's 2025 total compensation of $37,989,685 is the SEC-disclosed headline total. The breakdown of that total into base salary, bonus, stock awards, and option awards is disclosed inside the proxy itself; we report the headline total only and do not reproduce or estimate the line-item split.
Total compensation on the SEC Summary Compensation Table includes base salary, cash bonus, stock and option awards at grant-date fair value, non-equity incentive pay, pension change, and other compensation. At large public companies the equity portion typically dominates the headline figure; the exact split for Arvind Krishna is in IBM's DEF 14A.
Key Data
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Compensation (SEC-disclosed) | $37,989,685 |
| Fiscal Year | 2025 |
We report the SEC-disclosed headline total only. The salary / bonus / stock / option breakdown is disclosed inside IBM’s DEF 14A proxy statement and is not reproduced or estimated here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, was reported with $38.0M in total compensation in 2025 — the SEC-disclosed headline total ("Total" line) from the company's DEF 14A proxy statement.
Arvind Krishna is the chief executive officer of IBM (IBM).
Arvind Krishna's 2025 total compensation was $37,989,685 (SEC-disclosed). Under SEC rules that total is composed of base salary, cash bonus, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentive, pension change, and other compensation; the exact dollar split is disclosed in IBM's DEF 14A proxy statement. We report the headline total only and do not estimate the breakdown.
More about IBM
Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, was reported with $38.0M in total compensation in 2025 — the SEC-disclosed headline total ("Total" line) from the company's DEF 14A proxy statement.
Source: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements, 2026.