The prices might be low at Walmart Inc., but Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer, gets top dollar for running the world’s biggest retailer.
McMillon’s total compensation rose 6.6 percent to $27 million last year from $25.3 million the year before, according to the company’s proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
As is typical for retail bigwigs, the bulk of the CEO’s pay came from stock awards, which for McMillon were valued at $19.6 million last year. The full value of those awards will depend on how Walmart’s shares perform in the future and when McMillon actually gets access to the stock.
The second-biggest portion of the CEO’s pay came from $4.5 million in incentive pay — the maximum McMillon was eligible for last year.
His take also included a salary of $1.5 million, a $1.1 million change in the value of his pension and deferred earnings and other pay and perks of $221,294. That last category included $192,848 in personal use of company aircraft.
It is the stock that McMillon has picked up over his long career at Walmart that really adds up.
The SEC filing noted that he “is significantly invested in Walmart common stock, owning shares valued at more than 100 times his annual base salary. We believe that Mr. McMillon’s significant interest in Walmart stock serves to align his interests with those of our shareholders.”
McMillon is routinely among the highest paid CEOs in retail, but he is also running a company that is orders of magnitude bigger than most of the other players in the industry.
Walmart’s annual report, released separately from the proxy, noted the retailer drove revenues up 6 percent to $648 billion last year, with $100 billion in e-commerce sales and net income of $16.3 billion.
During his 10 years as CEO, McMillon has remade the business, pivoting away from a retail-heavy approach and diversifying strongly into e-commerce, online advertising and other areas.
“At Walmart, we’re a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer dedicated to helping people save money and live better,” McMillon said in his letter with the annual report. “Last year’s results were strong, and we finished the year with momentum. Our people-first approach using the best technology to power what we do means we’re able to deliver on our purpose and grow our business. We’re innovating and changing as our associates and customers change, while staying true to who we are.”
