Is the Costco CEO Overpaid?
On pay-for-performance, Costco scores C (61/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Ron Vachris earned $13.9M in 2025 while the company posted a 10.6% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay alignment is mixed. "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 Costco 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.
Costco Pay-for-Performance Scorecard
- Pay-for-Performance grade
- C (61/100)
- 3-yr shareholder return
- 10.6%
- 3-yr revenue growth
- 6.6%
- Say-on-pay approval
- 91.0%
- CEO total comp
- $13.9M
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 435:1
Source: Costco 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 Costco a C (61/100). It weighs four factors pulled from the company's SEC filings: three-year total shareholder return alignment (61/100), revenue growth versus compensation growth (63/100), say-on-pay vote support (91/100), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus peers (0/100). Ron Vachris's $13,932,597 package is the number those factors judge.
Over the trailing three years, Costco delivered 10.6% total shareholder return on 6.6% revenue growth, and 91.0% of shareholders approved the pay plan in the most recent say-on-pay vote. That mix is roughly average; the pay neither clearly led nor clearly lagged the results.
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: $NaN of Ron Vachris's 2025 pay came from stock awards versus $NaN 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 | $13,932,597 |
| Base Salary | $NaN |
| Stock Awards | $NaN |
| Option Awards | $NaN |
| Non-Equity Incentive | $NaN |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 435:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | C |
Other Retail CEOs
Frequently Asked Questions
On pay-for-performance, Costco scores C (61/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Ron Vachris earned $13.9M in 2025 while the company posted a 10.6% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay alignment is mixed. "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 Costco as C (61/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of 10.6%, revenue growth of 6.6%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
Ron Vachris, CEO of Costco, earned $13.9M in total compensation in 2025, including $NaNM in stock awards and $NaN in base salary.
Costco's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 435:1. CEO Ron Vachris earns approximately 435 times the median worker's pay of $32,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
Ron Vachris is the chief executive officer of Costco (COST).
More about Costco
On pay-for-performance, Costco scores C (61/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Ron Vachris earned $13.9M in 2025 while the company posted a 10.6% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay alignment is mixed. "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.