Ron Vachris, CEO of Costco (COST), earned $12.0M in total compensation in 2025. Costco receives a Pay-for-Performance grade of C (61/100), with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 375:1 and a say-on-pay shareholder approval of 91.0%. The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +10.6%.
How Costco CEO Pay Compares
Ron Vachris's $12.0M total compensation is 0% below the Retail industry median of $12.0M. The 375:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 9% higher than the industry average of 344:1.
Total compensation for Ron Vachris at Costco (COST) was $12.0M. Mid-cap public-company CEO packages tend to track this pattern — equity-heavy, multi-year vesting, performance-tied.
The CEO-to-worker pay ratio at Costco is 375x — Ron Vachris's pay is over 300 times the median worker pay of $32,000. Ratios at this magnitude reflect either very high CEO compensation, a low-wage workforce mix, or both. Performance has been muted across the three-year window: 10.6% TSR, 6.6% revenue change. Stagnant performance combined with substantial CEO pay is the classic setup for proxy-advisor opposition on say-on-pay votes.
Say-on-pay support was strong at 91%. The Dodd-Frank-mandated advisory vote on executive compensation passes at most U.S. public companies with comfortable margins; meaningful dissent typically requires either pay-performance misalignment or specific governance concerns. Costco operates in Retail with 316,000 employees and $254.2B in annual revenue, and currently carries a market capitalization of $400.0B. 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 Costco (COST).
Compensation Breakdown
Ron Vachris's $12.0M total compensation package for fiscal year 2025 includes $1.2M in base salary, $6.0M in stock awards, $1.4M in option awards, and $1.8M in bonus and non-equity incentives.
Compensation History
| Year | Salary | Bonus | Stock Awards | Options | Non-Equity | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 2024 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 2023 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 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
Ron Vachris, CEO of Costco (COST), earns $12.0M 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
Ron Vachris, CEO of Costco (COST), earns $12.0M 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.
Costco has a Pay-for-Performance Score of C (61/100). The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +10.6%, and the say-on-pay shareholder vote passed with 91.0% approval.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio at Costco is 375:1. The median worker at Costco earns $32K per year, while CEO Ron Vachris earns $12.0M in total compensation.
Costco employs approximately 316,000 people. The company operates in the Retail industry within the Consumer Staples sector, generating $254.2B in annual revenue.