Is the Altria Group CEO Overpaid?
On pay-for-performance, Altria Group scores D (46/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Billy Gifford earned $18.0M in 2024 while the company posted a 0.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
This page answers a common executive-compensation question: Is the Altria Group CEO Overpaid?. 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.
Altria Group Pay-for-Performance Scorecard
- Pay-for-Performance grade
- D (46/100)
- 3-yr shareholder return
- 0.0%
- 3-yr revenue growth
- -2.5%
- Say-on-pay approval
- 88.4%
- CEO total comp
- $18.0M
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 257:1
Source: Altria Group SEC DEF 14A proxy statement. Pay-for-Performance grade is CEOPay's proprietary score (TSR alignment 40%, revenue-vs-pay growth 30%, say-on-pay 20%, pay ratio vs peers 10%).
The CEOPay Pay-for-Performance Score grades Altria Group a D (46/100). It weighs four factors pulled from the company's SEC filings: three-year total shareholder return alignment (50/100), revenue growth versus compensation growth (23/100), say-on-pay vote support (85/100), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus peers (21/100). Billy Gifford's $18,000,000 package is the number those factors judge.
Over the trailing three years, Altria Group delivered 0.0% total shareholder return on -2.5% revenue growth, and 88.4% of shareholders approved the pay plan in the most recent say-on-pay vote. When pay holds up or rises faster than the returns it is meant to reward, that is the pattern critics point to when they call a package "overpaid."
There is no single threshold for "overpaid." The package only pays out in full if performance and vesting conditions are met, and equity dominates it: $9,000,000 of Billy Gifford's 2024 pay came from stock awards versus $1,800,000 in base salary. Reasonable shareholders weigh the grade, the say-on-pay vote, and the peer-group context together rather than the headline number alone.
Pay & Performance Data
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Compensation | $18,000,000 |
| Base Salary | $1,800,000 |
| Stock Awards | $9,000,000 |
| Option Awards | $2,160,000 |
| Non-Equity Incentive | $2,700,000 |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 257:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | D |
Other Tobacco CEOs
Frequently Asked Questions
On pay-for-performance, Altria Group scores D (46/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Billy Gifford earned $18.0M in 2024 while the company posted a 0.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
Our Pay-for-Performance Score rates Altria Group as D (46/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of 0.0%, revenue growth of -2.5%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
Billy Gifford, CEO of Altria Group, earned $18.0M in total compensation in 2024, including $9.0M in stock awards and $1,800,000 in base salary.
Altria Group's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 257:1. CEO Billy Gifford earns approximately 257 times the median worker's pay of $70,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
Billy Gifford is the chief executive officer of Altria Group (MO).
More about Altria Group
On pay-for-performance, Altria Group scores D (46/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Billy Gifford earned $18.0M in 2024 while the company posted a 0.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
Source: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements, 2026.