Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe (ADBE), earned $15.5M in total compensation in 2025. Adobe receives a Pay-for-Performance grade of C (55/100), with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 97:1 and a say-on-pay shareholder approval of 90.7%. The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +8.6%.
How Adobe CEO Pay Compares
Shantanu Narayen's $15.5M total compensation is 1% below the Software industry median of $15.7M. The 97:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 28% lower than the industry average of 134:1.
Shantanu Narayen's total compensation at Adobe (ADBE) ran $15.5M — comfortably in the upper bracket of U.S. public-company CEO pay. The package combines $1.6M in base salary with $7.8M in stock awards and $1.9M in option grants, plus performance-tied incentives.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio runs 97x. Lower ratios typically reflect companies with higher-paid workforces (financial services, technology, professional services) where the median worker pay denominator is itself substantial. Three-year performance has been roughly flat — TSR of 8.6% alongside 10.7% revenue growth. Flat performance over a multi-year window is where pay-versus-performance debates get the most heated: large compensation packages without commensurate shareholder returns are the modal complaint at annual meetings.
Shareholders supported the compensation package at 91% on the most recent say-on-pay vote. Solid support without overwhelming endorsement is the typical pattern for established public companies with conventional compensation programs. Adobe operates in Software with 29,945 employees and $21.5B in annual revenue, and currently carries a market capitalization of $240.0B. Pay comparisons across companies require controlling for these structural factors — a $20M package at a $10B-revenue tech company reads differently than the same package at a $1B-revenue industrial.
Source: SEC EDGAR — DEF 14A proxy statements for Adobe (ADBE).
Compensation Breakdown
Shantanu Narayen's $15.5M total compensation package for fiscal year 2025 includes $1.6M in base salary, $7.8M in stock awards, $1.9M in option awards, and $2.3M in bonus and non-equity incentives.
Compensation History
| Year | Salary | Bonus | Stock Awards | Options | Non-Equity | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.6M | - | $7.8M | $1.9M | $2.3M | $1.7M | $15.5M |
| 2024 | $1.5M | - | $7.3M | $1.8M | $2.2M | $1.6M | $14.7M |
| 2023 | $1.4M | - | $6.9M | $1.6M | $2.1M | $1.5M | $13.7M |
| 2022 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
All compensation data is sourced from SEC DEF 14A proxy filings submitted to EDGAR. The Economic Policy Institute's CEO pay analysis provides additional context on executive compensation trends across industries.
Named Executive Officers
Peer CEO Compensation
Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe (ADBE), earns $15.5M in total compensation. This includes base salary, stock awards, option awards, and other incentives as reported in the company's most recent DEF 14A proxy statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe (ADBE), earns $15.5M in total compensation. This includes base salary, stock awards, option awards, and other incentives as reported in the company's most recent DEF 14A proxy statement.
Adobe has a Pay-for-Performance Score of C (55/100). The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +8.6%, and the say-on-pay shareholder vote passed with 90.7% approval.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio at Adobe is 97:1. The median worker at Adobe earns $160K per year, while CEO Shantanu Narayen earns $15.5M in total compensation.
Adobe employs approximately 29,945 people. The company operates in the Software industry within the Technology sector, generating $21.5B in annual revenue.