Netflix Inc.’s (NASDAQ: NFLX) chief executive and board chair, Reed Hastings, did well last year. Very well. He made $31.5 million.
Just $700,000 of that total was base salary, while $30.8 million was stock options. This is on top of the 10.6 million shares he owns.
Netflix released the compensation of its top five executives in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Hastings is not the only one who did well. Chief Financial Officer David Wells made $6.3 million, of which $3.5 million was salary. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos made $31.5 million, of which $18.0 million was salary. Chief Product Officer Greg Peters made $16.8 million, of which $10.0 million was salary. And David Hyman, general counsel and secretary, made $7.3 million, of which $3.5 million was a base salary.
The SEC requires that companies release the pay of their top five executives each year. The agency calls these the “named officers” of the company.
Based on the company’s stock market performance, the executives could say they were fairly compensated. Despite the year-end sell-off that affected all the mega tech stocks, Netflix shares were up 24% to $256. Netflix has a market cap of $111 billion.
Netflix also had a banner year in terms of growth. Revenue in the third quarter was $4 billion, up from $3 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Net income was $403 million, up from $130 million. Even more extraordinary was the pace of subscriber growth. By the end of the third quarter, Netflix had 137 million subscribers, up from 109 million. The company forecast the figure would rise to almost 147 million by the end of this year.
Many investors would say that the five Netflix executives earned every penny, in terms of what they were paid.
Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)
Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?
Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.
Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!
By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.
By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
