CEO Salary & Executive Compensation
Palo Alto Networks PANW
CEO: Nikesh Arora · Cybersecurity · 15,800 employees
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), earned $12.0M in total compensation in 2025. Palo Alto Networks receives a Pay-for-Performance grade of A (97/100), with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 80:1 and a say-on-pay shareholder approval of 87.2%. The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +51.6%.
How Palo Alto Networks CEO Pay Compares
Nikesh Arora's $12.0M total compensation is 0% below the Cybersecurity industry median of $12.0M. The 80:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 14% lower than the industry average of 93:1.
Total compensation for Nikesh Arora at Palo Alto Networks (PANW) was $12.0M. Mid-cap public-company CEO packages tend to track this pattern — equity-heavy, multi-year vesting, performance-tied.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio runs 80x. Lower ratios typically reflect companies with higher-paid workforces (financial services, technology, professional services) where the median worker pay denominator is itself substantial. Performance over the same three-year window has been strong: Palo Alto Networks delivered a 3-year total shareholder return of 51.6% on top of 28.4% revenue growth. Pay packages of this size are easier to defend when the underlying performance is delivering.
Say-on-pay support was strong at 87%. 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. Palo Alto Networks operates in Cybersecurity with 15,800 employees and $8.0B in annual revenue, and currently carries a market capitalization of $120.0B. 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 Palo Alto Networks (PANW).
Compensation Breakdown
Nikesh Arora'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
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Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), 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
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), 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.
Palo Alto Networks has a Pay-for-Performance Score of A (97/100). The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +51.6%, and the say-on-pay shareholder vote passed with 87.2% approval.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio at Palo Alto Networks is 80:1. The median worker at Palo Alto Networks earns $150K per year, while CEO Nikesh Arora earns $12.0M in total compensation.
Palo Alto Networks employs approximately 15,800 people. The company operates in the Cybersecurity industry within the Technology sector, generating $8.0B in annual revenue.