As a publicly traded company, General Motors is required to disclose the pay of its top five executives. GM CEO, Mary Barra, sits at the top of the automaker’s food chain, and brought in a pretty penny for 2015.
The Detroit Free Press reports Barra’s compensation rose 77-percent to $28.6 million for 2015. GM disclosed the information in an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Barra only received $7.3 million of the sum, with the majority of the compensation grounded in stock-based grants and other incentives that vest over time. However, by the rulebooks, GM must assign a value to all of it.
The CEO’s base salary rose from $1.57 million to $1.75 million, and she received $3.1 million under a short-term incentive plan. Additionally, another $2.5 million was valued from incentive-based stock grants.
Overall, Barra has the potential to earn $11.2 million over the next five years when taking her stock options into account. But, the number rests on what GM’s stock price performs at.
In comparison, Ford CEO Mark Fields’ compensation was valued at $18.6 million in quarter four of 2015, and FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne was worth $73.6 million during the same time period.
Comments
More power to her. She deserves every penny.
While I agree she had done a great job as her role of CEO and profits and have been rising, there still is one huge concern that seems to be lingering, GMs stock price. The stock cannot seem to get a break and I can assure you that the stockholders are getting more and more impatient. Even though Mary has brought plenty of good news as of late on the financial front, it has still not been enough to move the needle on the stock price. Which is trading much lower then when she took over.
That dose have to change because no matter how well she is doing or has done with leading GM, the stockholders need to see more of a return on their investment.
I agree that stock prices have been very stagnant of late, although the stock price did edge upwards to a 5 month high on better than expected Q1 results, and have yet to return to the IPO value that is systemic with the auto industry as a whole and not exclusive to GM.
The stock market as a whole is not enamored with traditional brick and mortar businesses. They would rather get behind tech companies.
Having said that I expect an upswing in the stock price when dividends are announced. Also that trend should continue with further positive financial results.
Stock prices are tough in the auto industry as a whole as growth is difficult and development cost are high.
GM will see slow sustained growth with their increases in profits over time. This will make them prized in funds for stable growth. But they need a few more years of that to earn that mark.
Continued investment into new products and EV will help this too.
Fund managers anymore love to find stable income from MFG’s as so many can be in flux anymore.
Mary is controlling cost and improving profitability of the products and that is key. The final peg she needs to calk up is market share. If GM can start to grow global market share and continue the increase profits with decreased cost it should give investors what they want.
So, driving home in my 2014 Chevy Silverado I was listening to Steele and Ungar on the POTUS Channel on XM (by the way, thank you GM) and they were talking about minimum wage and all that other stuff. Ungar (or maybe Steele) noted until companies started going public in a mad dash to tax haven bank accounts in the Bahamas, the primary concern was well-being of the worker, because the worker was what was producing value for the company. Ford, for example, did so well because Henry believed that a well-paid worker was an educated and spending employee.
Post IPOs, the concern for the well-being of the worker has been replaced by concern for the well-being of the shareholder. A caller summarized the issue perfectly,
“The shareholders are the new unions.”
Yes this is true. Before companies only had to answer to a small group of stock holders or a private owner. As companies had to grow to remain competitive they had to go public.
Once a couple companies went public they had more cash to expand and dominate a market. Others had to follow along.
Now to compete for investors companies have to show progress and profits. If not they can lose their investors and the company folds up.
This is the ugly competitive side of capitalism today. While it is far from perfect it is still the best system out there. It is still a system that someone with no help from anyone can start and build a company and become successful.
Even China now realizes this and has expanded to a controlled capitalism. The problem there is it is a very corrupt system and it is being very controlled by the government that is not always sure what to do. They are afraid to let it go on its own as they would lose control over their people but as it is they may lose control over their system.
I wish schools were made to teach true and complete history and complete economics as so many people have no clue how any of this works.
There are still many privately owned companies out there that do treat workers as a priority but even they can be limited to remain competitive. I work for one now.
Other companies are not totally at fault yet. While they can not do what they did in the past most do offer profit sharing and other things they don’t have to do. Things worked out between them.
Also you may want to note too that share holders are mostly like people like you and me that have our 401K’s and other investments in market funds that are made up of these publicly traded companies. I know most have done very well and many have done exceptionally well and we are just average workers. One woman I work with has invested her 401K for 30 plus years and has made over a Million dollars from it.
So while workers often are treated as a number today they also have opportunities to invest like they never could before and make a decent return as one of the investors in these companies. Most unions are invested and most 401K programs have many investment choices.
Too often those who do not have much in investments is mostly due to poor planning for the future. Too many people want it all now. I started investing when I was just a kid with help from a Great Uncle. It paid for my Collage. It also help pay for my first house and today it accumulates for my retirement. Yes i would love to have spent a bunch of it on a Corvette or some other fun thing but in the end I will be better off for investing.
Saving and investing is hard to do as it is not fun now but as time passes you will be able to enjoy many things later.
That should help her get by.
Now send more jobs to China to save some dough.
Job sourcing is a moving needle.
Yes CT6 Hybrid and Envision production will be sourced in China but GM has also moved Camaro production from Canada back to the US and will be closing the Oshawa complex which is a hell of a lot more production volume and jobs gained than was lost to China.
A multinational company such as GM will move production around to manage costs. That is a product of sound business management.
I think not just her but all CEOs getting over 10 mil are getting too much.
Wrong. It should be solely based on how much they make for their company. If that company makes record profits then that CEO should be rewarded for that. If the company makes record loses then no increase or even a decrease is fair.
I suppose you think that professional atheletes shouldn’t make the money they do as well?
Wrong, record profits =’s doing and KEEPING one’s job while record losses =’s employment termination. How is it CEO’s make stupid crazy $$ regardless of either position while employee’s face layoff’s and customer’s face rising prices? The 1% rules again while we 99% struggle to exist at their leisure =’s BS, jammy.
I agree with the plight of the average worker. It is consistent to some extent everywhere in the world. The average worker gets sh*t on. There is not security in being the average worker.
Record profits or higher than expected performance does equal increased income. Executives and athletes work that into their contract. Essentially, ‘If I do better than normal I should get more than my base pay’. GM offered Mary the contract that way. It is a performance based position.
Also big point here is that has not been brought up is that the GM worker is getting more as well. They will be cashing record bonus cheques that they negotiated, through the UAW, in the collective bargaining agreement.
No one is shedding a tear for the 48000 line workers who cashed $9000 bonus cheques for 2014 fiscal year and will or already have gotten their bonus cheques for 2015 fiscal year.
When profits are rolling in everyone benefits.
Why shouldn’t the CEO also benefit.
I both agree and disagree. The figure should be 5 mil.
Why only $5M when the company she runs is likely going to clear $8B this fiscal year?
I bet you could figure out the response if you thought about it.
Thanks but I really do not see how you can justify ‘only’ $5M when the company is earning so much.
Then explaining it to you would be pointless. Since you’re only on one side of the issue.
Like football players and movie stars most get what they get based on the income they bring.
Most people to get to where Mary is have had to give up on spending time with the family and much of their free time. Many are on 2nd and 3rd marriages and many have had to move around the world for work.
If is not all bubble gum and roses.
Generally they have to work longer and harder. Take more job ending risks and generally take the blunt of all the critics and public in turn for doing their job.
Like sports people if you want the best talent you need to spend the money today. Not many would be able or willing to do this job other wise companies would be paying much less.
For anyone jealous of any CEO should go out and do what it takes to become one. I challenge you to even try. It is not a path for the weak. The door is open to anyone willing to get the education and put the time in. Nothing to stop you. Unless you don’t have the work ethic or the will to give up much of your personal life.
Exactly my point.
This is only an argument that hard working executives deserve higher compensation than normal folk. Agreed.
That’s not the topic.
Ahhhh… good ol capitalism.
Yup…100% capitalism.. either you are in or you are out.. If you believe in capitalism then you can not believe in tariffs or on any artificial sanctions. Free market.
Mary is the face of GM . She has worked her whole career at the company from an entry level engineer to the head of the corporation . Having a job like this consumes your every thought , and time spent flying all over the world to keep the company she is in charge of viable .
Not just anyone can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company . With GM in transition to be a more global producer she is compensated for the job she does . And part of her salary is tied to how well the stock does . The stock isn’t moving higher because the rest of the worlds economies are slowing where there is a GM footprint . Even though the company is in good shape right now it still needs to expand its sales / volumn . It’s the TAP’s that are keeping things in the black .
For sure a 70% increase in anyones income would be nice , but would you like to have her job ?
My, my. How does the lady survive with such a pittance of a pensioner’s retirement. The poor, sweet dear.
She is still underpaid compared to men in her similar position.
I might also add that compared to other CEO’s she is down towards the bottom in earnings. Considering what she has done in the turn around of GM and being the corporate “face” more power to her I say.
It’s hard to say without knowing her contract, which we never will.
But unless her stock grants and options are “at retail” vs. an artificially depressed price, there’s less incentive for her to drive stock value.
Having said that, yes, she’s done some good things, and works White House kinds of hours.