REDMOND, Wash. — A strong fiscal year for Microsoft has landed its chief executive a massive compensation increase from a year ago.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will earn $79.1 million in 2024 in total, a 63% increase from his company earnings in 2023. The details come from a regulatory filing with the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
The vast majority of this compensation comes from stock awards, with $71.2 million total being earned by Nadella.
In 2023, Nadella earned $48.5 million, with $39.2 million of that coming from stock.
As of Monday, Microsoft's stock price has risen almost 27% in the last year. The company is set to announce its earnings for the latest quarter ending Sept. 30, and reports indicate Microsoft will "outperform" expectations.
Nadella could have earned even more, as the CEO was eligible for a cash incentive of $10.66 million based on the company's performance in 2024. He asked for this amount to be reduced "to reflect his personal accountability for the focus and speed required for the changes that today’s cybersecurity threat landscape showed were necessary," according to a letter in the filing.
Microsoft ended up allocating less than half of his potential cash incentive, so Nadella ended up with a $5.2 million addition to his total compensation. Nadella's salary remained the same as it has in the previous two years at $2.5 million.
Other earnings included in the filing among named executives were Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood making $25.7 million in 2024, Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff making just over $23 million, Vice Chair and President Bradford Smith making $23.4 million and Executive Vice President Christopher Young making $12 million.
