Is the IBM CEO Overpaid?
On pay-for-performance, IBM scores C (62/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Arvind Krishna earned $38.0M in 2025 while the company posted a 14.0% 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 IBM 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.
IBM Pay-for-Performance Scorecard
- Pay-for-Performance grade
- C (62/100)
- 3-yr shareholder return
- 14.0%
- 3-yr revenue growth
- 4.5%
- Say-on-pay approval
- 95.7%
- CEO total comp
- $38.0M
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 400:1
Source: IBM 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 IBM a C (62/100). It weighs four factors pulled from the company's SEC filings: three-year total shareholder return alignment (64/100), revenue growth versus compensation growth (30/100), say-on-pay vote support (100/100), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus peers (78/100). Arvind Krishna's $37,989,685 package is the number those factors judge.
Over the trailing three years, IBM delivered 14.0% total shareholder return on 4.5% revenue growth, and 95.7% 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 Arvind Krishna'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 | $37,989,685 |
| Base Salary | $NaN |
| Stock Awards | $NaN |
| Option Awards | $NaN |
| Non-Equity Incentive | $NaN |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 400:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | C |
Frequently Asked Questions
On pay-for-performance, IBM scores C (62/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Arvind Krishna earned $38.0M in 2025 while the company posted a 14.0% 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 IBM as C (62/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of 14.0%, revenue growth of 4.5%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, earned $38.0M in total compensation in 2025, including $NaNM in stock awards and $NaN in base salary.
IBM's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 400:1. CEO Arvind Krishna earns approximately 400 times the median worker's pay of $95,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
Arvind Krishna is the chief executive officer of IBM (IBM).
More about IBM
On pay-for-performance, IBM scores C (62/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Arvind Krishna earned $38.0M in 2025 while the company posted a 14.0% 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.