CEO Bonuses Slide, But December Proxies Show a Rebound

The full Equilar Bonus Plan report is now out, and things have changed significantly with the addition of one week of new proxy data. While companies with fiscal year-ends in June-November had a 29% drop in CEO bonuses, those with FYEs in December had a 46.9% increase in their bonuses year-over-year. Our guess is that a lot of companies are beginning to come out of their recession-induced hiding places, and the overall bonus climate at the end of proxy season is looking increasingly rosy for the execs whose fiscal years ended in the past few months. Well, until the next round of media and politicians calling for their heads on a platter begins, anyway. Add to this the finding that financial-industry bonuses jumped from a median of $0 in \’08 to $576,294 in \’09, and the firestorm is practically visible from here.

That\’s not to say that every CEO is making off with beaucoup bonus bucks– 45.5% of them didn\’t take home a dime in bonuses, and as the report shows, many of those who did get a bonus got it in restricted holdings, equity, a mix of cash and equity, or performance-based awarding, rather than time-based. But with unemployment still high and unlikely to drop before proxy season\’s end, these December numbers seem like a bellwether of anti-bonus vitriol to come.