Is the Deere & Company CEO Overpaid?
On pay-for-performance, Deere & Company scores D (43/100) on the CEOPay rubric: John May earned $12.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -17.6% 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 Deere & Company 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.
Deere & Company Pay-for-Performance Scorecard
- Pay-for-Performance grade
- D (43/100)
- 3-yr shareholder return
- -17.6%
- 3-yr revenue growth
- -13.6%
- Say-on-pay approval
- 86.6%
- CEO total comp
- $12.0M
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 160:1
Source: Deere & Company 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 Deere & Company a D (43/100). It weighs four factors pulled from the company's SEC filings: three-year total shareholder return alignment (32/100), revenue growth versus compensation growth (23/100), say-on-pay vote support (81/100), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus peers (70/100). John May's $12,000,000 package is the number those factors judge.
Over the trailing three years, Deere & Company delivered -17.6% total shareholder return on -13.6% revenue growth, and 86.6% 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: $6,000,000 of John May's 2025 pay came from stock awards versus $1,200,000 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 | $12,000,000 |
| Base Salary | $1,200,000 |
| Stock Awards | $6,000,000 |
| Option Awards | $1,440,000 |
| Non-Equity Incentive | $1,800,000 |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 160:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | D |
Other Machinery CEOs
Frequently Asked Questions
On pay-for-performance, Deere & Company scores D (43/100) on the CEOPay rubric: John May earned $12.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -17.6% 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 Deere & Company as D (43/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of -17.6%, revenue growth of -13.6%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
John May, CEO of Deere & Company, earned $12.0M in total compensation in 2025, including $6.0M in stock awards and $1,200,000 in base salary.
Deere & Company's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 160:1. CEO John May earns approximately 160 times the median worker's pay of $75,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
John May is the chief executive officer of Deere & Company (DE).
More about Deere & Company
On pay-for-performance, Deere & Company scores D (43/100) on the CEOPay rubric: John May earned $12.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -17.6% 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.