It’s no secret that Starbucks Corp.’s Howard Schultz will step down from the top job a wealthy man. What’s surprising is how wealthy.
Schultz, 63, has received compensation worth about $172 million since he began his second stint as the coffee retailer’s chief executive officer in January 2008, according to the company’s regulatory filings.
A closer look, however, reveals an even bigger haul. Schultz, who’s set to step down as CEO in April, received most of his compensation in equity, which varies with Starbucks’ share performance. Since he led the company to a sixfold stock improvement, Schultz’s total payday for the last nine years: $553.3 million.
“Whatever figure you read is highly unlikely to be the value the executive actually receives,” said Peter Lupo, a managing director at executive compensation consulting firm Pearl Meyer in New York. “For a CEO, only about 10 percent of pay is guaranteed. The rest is typically closely tied to performance.”
Companies such as Seattle-based Starbucks don’t have to disclose the higher figure, making comparisons to other CEOs difficult. Companies are only required to reveal the value of an executive’s complete pay package in the year it’s granted. That includes payments such as salary, bonuses and the value of taxable perks. For 2016, Schultz received a combined $4.91 million under those categories.
The remainder came in stock options and restricted shares, valued at $16.9 million on the day they were granted. But Schultz will only receive the options over a number of years by remaining at the company, which he plans to do, as executive chairman. The shares pay out if he achieves certain goals, and he could end up with twice as many shares if those targets are exceeded. What the awards will be worth at that point also depends on the company’s stock price.
Piecing that together to get a full sense of what a CEO ends up earning can be tricky, even for boards of directors. Many don’t do thorough analyses of how pay packages can swell in value if the stock price rises, according to John Trentacoste, a managing director at compensation consultant Farient Advisors.
“At Starbucks, we have a pay-for-performance philosophy, and Howard’s compensation over the past decade is directly reflective of the company’s strong financial performance, under his leadership,” spokeswoman Linda Mills said in an e-mail.