Walmart’s top six execs earned a combined $99.95 million last year, up 3.3%

Walmart’s top six executives received recent fiscal year total pay of $99.952 million, up 3.3% from the prior year. The annual salary info was part of a 164-page proxy filing Thursday (April 24) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Compensation includes salary, performance bonus pay, deferred compensation in stock awards as well as pension plan earnings and other perquisites such as 401(k) matching contributions and personal use of the company’s aircraft services.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, 58, has more than three decades at the company with the past 20 years in the top executive circle after being named CEO of Sam’s Club in 2005 at age 38. McMillon also has held a director’s seat since 2013. His total compensation for last year ending Feb. 1, equaled $27.408 million, up 1.63% from the prior year.

McMillon’s base salary totaled $1.505 million, with deferred compensation stock and option awards valued at $20.375 million. His performance cash bonus pay totaled $4.356 million, which was less than the $4.5 million he earned in the prior year.

McMillon’s performance pay is weighted to the company’s total sales and operating income growth targets. Last year, Walmart achieved sales growth of 5.5% on a constant currency basis, with operating income growing faster than sales. His bonus pay was the high end of the target range because of the strong financial performance.

Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner was the second highest earning executive last year at Walmart. His total compensation was $16.273 million, up 4.16% from the prior year. Furner has logged 32 years at the company entering the top executive realm in 2017 as CEO of Sam’s Club, a position he held for two years. His base salary rose to $1.315 million, up 4.86% from fiscal 2024.

Furner earned a performance cash bonus payment totaling $2.82 million, up slightly from the previous year. His bonus pay was tied to the U.S. segment results that achieved comparable sales of 4.9%, better inventory management and healthy in-stock levels, allowing for operating income gains of 7.8%, driven in part by improved e-commerce numbers. Furner’s deferred compensation totaled $11.753 million, up 8.51%, while other compensation was valued at $190,720, down 58.9% from the previous year.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart chief global technology officer, earned total compensation of $15.983 million last year, up 10.17%. His base salary totaled $1.138 million, up fractionally from 2024. He earned deferred compensation in stocks and option awards valued at $12.264 million, up 13.23% from the prior year. Kumar’s cash bonus performance pay is tied to the company’s total operating income and sales performance. His cash bonus totaled $2.475 million, down slightly from 2024. His other compensation was valued at $109,182, up 32% from the prior year.

Kath McLay, CEO of Walmart International, has been in the executive realm since November 2019, when she was named CEO of Sam’s Club. She took over the international business in August 2023 following the retirement of Judith McKenna. McLay first joined Walmart in 2015, logging a decade with the retailer last year. She earned total compensation of $15.349 million, up 12% year over year. Her base salary totaled $1.003 million, up 3% from the prior year. McLay’s deferred compensation was valued at $11.242 million, up 8.73% year over year. Her cash performance bonus pay totaled $2.379 million, up 18.95% from the prior year. Her performance pay was tied to the international business sales performance gains of 9.1% and operating income growth of 17% on a constant currency basis.

John David Rainey has served as the company’s chief financial officer since May 2022, when he joined the retailer from a similar role at PayPal. Rainey’s total compensation last year equaled $13.499 million, up 2.11% year over year. Rainey’s base salary totaled $1.033 million, up 6.25% from the prior year. He received stock awards valued at $11.752 million, up 8.512% from the prior year. Rainey’s cash performance bonus totaled $2.234 million, up 19% year over year. The bonus pay is tied to the total company operating income and sales performance, such as the $36.4 billion in cash flow last year. His other compensation totaled $266,837, down from $1.232 million last year.

Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas received total pay of $11.438 million last year. He opted to defer $100,791 of his base salary last year. The base salary listed on the proxy filing totaled $899,808 after the deferment. He earned a base salary of $805,471 in fiscal 2024. Nicholas received deferred compensation in stock award valued at $8.176 million, and his cash performance bonus totaled $2.009 million, up 52% from the prior year. His performance bonus was tied to total company and segment performance. Sam’s Club achieved comparable store sales growth of 6.2% and membership and other income growth of 13.3%.

VIRTUAL MEETING 
Walmart will hold its virtual shareholder meeting at 8:30 a.m., on June 5. Shareholders of record on April 11 are eligible to vote. Shareholders will be asked to elect 12 directors and ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company’s independent accountants for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2026. Also on the ballot is a non-binding advisory resolution to approve the compensation of Walmart’s top executives and to approve the Walmart Stock Incentive Plan for 2025.

There are seven shareholder proposals also on the ballot that the Walmart board does not support. Those proposals range from a third-party assessment of Walmart’s policies regarding law enforcement requests related to medical use by customers, reduction of plastic in packaging, revisiting plastic packaging policies, a racial equity audit, a report on Walmart’s revision to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, a report on health and safety governance related to human rights risks and workplace safety, and a report of how the company oversees risks related to discrimination against ad buyers and sellers based on political or religious views.

DIRECTOR ELECTION
Marissa Mayer and Tim Flynn agreed to stay on the board for one more year past the 12-year term limit outlined in the corporate governance guidelines. Mayer and Flynn will retire after this year and Randall Stephenson, if elected will replace Tom Horton as the lead independent director for next year. Horton has served as lead independent director for the past six years and will remain on the board if re-elected. Horton said the board will continue to seek out new directors over the next year with the retirements of Mayer and Flynn.

The 12 directors standing for re-election are listed below.
Cesar Conde, 51, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group
Tim Flynn, 68, retired chairman of KPMG International
Sarah Frair, 52, CEO of OpenAI Inc.
Carla Harris, 62, senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley
Tom Horton, 63, partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, former chairman of American Airlines
Marissa Mayer, 49, CEO of Sunshine AI
Doug McMillon, 58, CEO of Walmart Inc.
Bob Moritz, 61, global chairman at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC
Brian Nicol, 51, CEO of Starbucks
Greg Penner, chairman, 55, owner and CEO of Denver Broncos
Randall Stephenson, 65, executive chairman at AT&T
Steuart Walton, 43, founder, chairman of RZC Investments