Combined pay for Walmart’s top six execs was $96.724 million last year

The top six executives at Walmart saw higher compensation last year of a combined $96.724 million, or $264,997 per day. Most of the compensation is deferred or in stock options and shares, but salaries and bonus pay among the top six was $12.741 million or $34,906 per day.

According to the company’s proxy statement filed Thursday (April 25) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, CEO Doug McMillon saw his annual salary increase 2.32% to $1.505 million. He also earned a cash bonus of $4.5 million, up from $3 million the prior year. When adding in deferred stock compensation and other benefits, McMillon’s total compensation rose to $29.968 million, up 6.56% from the prior year.

According to the company’s proxy, McMillon’s salary is in line with that of 26 peer companies with more than $100 billion in revenue, including Walt Disney, Target, Amazon and Home Depot.

John David Rainey, Walmart’s chief financial officer, had a base salary of $1.003 million. Rainey joined Walmart in fiscal 2023 with a sign-on bonus of $5 million and a base salary of $700,000. His bonus pay last year totaled $899,181 in fiscal 2024. When adding in deferred stock incentives and other benefits, his total compensation was $13.219 million, down 66% from the prior year, because of the one-time bonus. Included in other benefits was $547,773 from his personal use of corporate airplanes, more than any other executive.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s chief global technology officer, earned a base salary of $1.104 million last year, flat compared to the prior year. His bonus pay was $2.475 million, up from $1.694 million in the previous year. Stock awards and deferred compensation totaled $10.831 million, down from $13.13 million in the year-ago period. Kumar’s total compensation was $14.507 million, down from $16.118 million in the prior year.

Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner saw his base salary increase slightly to $1.254 million last year. His bonus pay was $2.812 million, up from $1.594 million year over year. Stock and deferred compensation added $10.831 million. He also had $464,463 in perks from personal use of the corporate airplane.

Kath McLay, CEO of Walmart International, spent about half of last year as CEO of Sam’s Club before her recent promotion in August. She had a base salary of $973,771, up from $799,575 the prior year. Her bonus pay was $2 million, up from $1.882 million. Stock incentives and deferred compensation added another $8.742 million. She had other income of $337,127 for personal use of the corporate airplanes. McLay’s total compensation for fiscal 2024 was $13.696, up from $11.945 million.

Chris Nicolas was promoted to CEO of Sam’s Club in August. Fiscal 2024 was his first year as a top-earning executive at the company. His 2024 base pay was $805,471, and his bonus pay was $1.317 million. Stock awards and deferred compensation added another $10.405 million, bringing his total compensation to $12.712 million.

Each of the executive officers has non-compete clauses in their contracts. If Walmart should terminate their contract for any reason other than his or her violation of Walmart policy, the company would pay McMillon $3 million, Rainey would receive $2 million, Kumar would get $2.2 million, Furner would be paid $2.5 million, McLay would receive $2 million and Niclolas would get $1.7 million, according to the proxy.

Walmart had a profitable year in fiscal 2024, growing net sales by 6.1% and operating income faster, generating $36 billion in operating cash flow and improved returns, which helped to fund a 9% increase in the share dividend. Walmart’s share price rose to $177.36 ahead of the 3-for-1 stock split on Feb. 26. The share price rose 16.6% during the last fiscal year.