Updated April 2026 · SEC DEF 14A data
Semiconductor Equipment, CEO Pay Comparison
CEOs in the Semiconductor Equipment sector earn an average of $12.0M per year across 3 tracked public companies. The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 92:1, and the average say-on-pay shareholder vote approval is 93.3%.
3 companies tracked · sector rank #27 of 99 for average compensation
Semiconductor Equipment covers 3 U.S. public companies in our SEC proxy-statement dataset. Average CEO compensation in the industry runs $12.0M, with a median of $12.0M — the spread between mean and median is wide because a handful of mega-cap firms pull the average well above the median. Average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in Semiconductor Equipment is 92x, with average say-on-pay approval of 93%. The highest-paid CEO in the industry is at Applied Materials, with total compensation of $12.0M.
Industry-level CEO pay analysis is most useful for peer-group comparisons. Compensation committees explicitly select peer groups when setting CEO pay, so cross-industry comparisons need to control for the peer-group structure that drives the underlying decisions.
What Semiconductor Equipment Pay Looks Like
$12.0M is roughly mid-pack across U.S. industries — rank 26 of 99. Pay structures here lean more toward cash and time-vested equity rather than the mega performance-share grants that define the highest-paid sectors.
A 92:1 average ratio is unusually compressed — typical of small-headcount, high-skill industries where the median worker earns six figures and CEO compensation, while still high in absolute dollars, is small compared to the typical employee.
An average say-on-pay approval of 93.3% is healthy. ISS and Glass Lewis routinely recommend "for" at companies in this band, and outright pushback is uncommon. Pay-for-Performance grades are mixed in Semiconductor Equipment: roughly 33% A, 0% F, with the remainder split between B, C, and D. Outcomes vary by individual company governance rather than a sector-wide pattern.
Highest Paid CEOs in Semiconductor Equipment
Applied Materials
CEO: Gary Dickerson
Lam Research
CEO: Tim Archer
KLA Corporation
CEO: Rick Wallace
How Semiconductor Equipment Stacks Up Against Other Sectors
Across the 99 sectors tracked by CEOPayWatch, Semiconductor Equipment ranks #27 in average CEO compensation and #88 in average CEO-to-worker pay ratio. Sector-level rankings are computed from the same SEC-disclosed Summary Compensation Table figures used on individual company profiles, so the rank reflects where this industry's median pay package sits in the live distribution rather than a stale annual snapshot. The cross-sector average compensation is $12.2M, which puts Semiconductor Equipment $207K below the typical industry baseline.
The dispersion within an industry frequently matters more than the cross-sector ranking. A sector can have a high average compensation driven by two or three mega-pay outliers while the median company is paid modestly. The companies listed above show the top of the pay distribution for Semiconductor Equipment; the full company list further down shows the broader distribution. Both lists link to individual company profiles where the source DEF 14A on SEC EDGAR is one click away.
All Semiconductor Equipment Companies
How These Sector Numbers Are Calculated
The Semiconductor Equipment averages and medians on this page are simple unweighted statistics across the 3 companies CEOPayWatch tracks in the sector. Average and median compensation come from each company's most recent reported total comp in its DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. Average pay ratio comes from each company's Item 402(u) disclosure. Average say-on-pay approval is the most recent vote share reported in each company's 8-K following its annual meeting. The Pay-for-Performance Grade distribution is computed at the company level from the four-factor composite documented on the methodology page. Authoritative governance context for shareholder votes comes from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis frameworks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Semiconductor Equipment CEOs earn?
Average CEO total compensation in Semiconductor Equipment is $12.0M, with a median of $12.0M across 3 tracked public companies. $12.0M is roughly mid-pack across U.S. industries — rank 26 of 99. Pay structures here lean more toward cash and time-vested equity rather than the mega performance-share grants that define the highest-paid sectors.
What is the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in Semiconductor Equipment?
Semiconductor Equipment reports an average CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 92:1. A 92:1 average ratio is unusually compressed — typical of small-headcount, high-skill industries where the median worker earns six figures and CEO compensation, while still high in absolute dollars, is small compared to the typical employee. The pay-ratio number is required disclosure under SEC Regulation S-K Item 402(u).
Do shareholders approve of Semiconductor Equipment CEO pay packages?
Average say-on-pay shareholder approval in Semiconductor Equipment is 93.3%. An average say-on-pay approval of 93.3% is healthy. ISS and Glass Lewis routinely recommend "for" at companies in this band, and outright pushback is uncommon.
Where does the Semiconductor Equipment pay data come from?
Every figure on this page is sourced from public SEC DEF 14A proxy statements filed annually with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Summary Compensation Table inside each filing is the authoritative document, available on the SEC EDGAR system at https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Pay-ratio disclosure follows Regulation S-K Item 402(u). Say-on-pay vote totals come from each company's 8-K filed within four business days of the annual meeting.
How does Semiconductor Equipment compare to other sectors?
Among the 99 sectors CEOPayWatch tracks, Semiconductor Equipment ranks #27 in average CEO compensation and #88 in average pay ratio. Compensation in the sector runs $207K below the cross-sector average of $12.2M.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, DEF 14A proxy filings via EDGAR. Public domain.
Last updated 2026-04-06 · 3 companies in the Semiconductor Equipment sector.