Companies and Brands

Reality Bites: Martha Stewart Edition

Blueberry Pie
Thinkstock
Martha Stewart Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) said in a filing today that it has changed its employment agreement between the company and Martha Stewart, the company’s namesake and public persona. We suggested back in April that perhaps she was being overpaid, and it now looks like the company’s board of directors agrees and has worked up the gumption to tell her so.

According to the filing, Stewart’s base salary has been reduced by 10%, from $2 million to $1.8 million. The agreement regarding reimbursement of business and certain other expenses also has been changed, presumably cutting back on some of Stewart’s perks, such as chauffeured limos for personal use on weekends. The effective date of this change was July 1, and the contract runs through June 30, 2017.

Stewart will also take a 15% cut in the annual licensing fee she collects from MSO for the use of her name. The new fee totals $1.7 million, down from $2 million. This change becomes effective in September and expires in September 2017.

The company also will get one-third of any talent fees paid to Stewart by nonaffiliated third parties and that require a “significant on-going commitment” from Stewart.

MSO’s board said the changes to Stewart’s contracts are “consistent with their plan” to return the company to profitability. Shareholders like the deal, pushing the stock price up 1.7% this morning, to $2.38 in a 52-week range of $2.28 to $3.41.

Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good

Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.