CEO Salary & Executive Compensation
Eli Lilly LLY
CEO: David Ricks · Pharmaceuticals · 43,000 employees
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly (LLY), earned $15.0M in total compensation in 2025. Eli Lilly receives a Pay-for-Performance grade of A (94/100), with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 150:1 and a say-on-pay shareholder approval of 87.9%. The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +66.7%.
How Eli Lilly CEO Pay Compares
David Ricks's $15.0M total compensation is 25% above the Pharmaceuticals industry median of $12.0M. The 150:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 20% higher than the industry average of 125:1.
David Ricks's total compensation at Eli Lilly (LLY) ran $15.0M — comfortably in the upper bracket of U.S. public-company CEO pay. The package combines $1.5M in base salary with $7.5M in stock awards and $1.8M in option grants, plus performance-tied incentives.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio is 150x, meaning David Ricks's $15.0M total comp is roughly that many times the median $100,000 earned by Eli Lilly workers. The ratio is in the mid-range of S&P 500 disclosures and reflects the standard public-company compensation structure. Performance over the same three-year window has been strong: Eli Lilly delivered a 3-year total shareholder return of 66.7% on top of 38.2% revenue growth. Pay packages of this size are easier to defend when the underlying performance is delivering.
Shareholders supported the compensation package at 88% 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. Eli Lilly operates in Pharmaceuticals with 43,000 employees and $41.3B in annual revenue, and currently carries a market capitalization of $800.0B. 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 Eli Lilly (LLY).
Compensation Breakdown
David Ricks's $15.0M total compensation package for fiscal year 2025 includes $1.5M in base salary, $7.5M in stock awards, $1.8M 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 | $1.5M | - | $7.5M | $1.8M | $2.3M | $1.6M | $15.0M |
| 2024 | $1.5M | - | $7.5M | $1.8M | $2.3M | $1.6M | $15.0M |
| 2023 | $1.5M | - | $7.5M | $1.8M | $2.3M | $1.6M | $15.0M |
| 2022 | $1.5M | - | $7.5M | $1.8M | $2.3M | $1.6M | $15.0M |
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
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly (LLY), earns $15.0M 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
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly (LLY), earns $15.0M 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.
Eli Lilly has a Pay-for-Performance Score of A (94/100). The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +66.7%, and the say-on-pay shareholder vote passed with 87.9% approval.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio at Eli Lilly is 150:1. The median worker at Eli Lilly earns $100K per year, while CEO David Ricks earns $15.0M in total compensation.
Eli Lilly employs approximately 43,000 people. The company operates in the Pharmaceuticals industry within the Healthcare sector, generating $41.3B in annual revenue.