An analysis of 19 prominent pharma companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Lilly, Roche, Merck & Co. among others, revealed that the average stock return was 3.7% points in 2023. (Lilly was the best performing with a return of 59% while Moderna was the worst in the list with a return of –44%.) By contrast, data from a WSJ analysis of more than 400 CEOs across an array of industries, including pharma, showed an average one-year return of nearly 17%. Most companies in their lineup had a return of at least 13% in 2023.
In the pharma domain, the best performers were David Ricks (Eli Lilly) with a total pay of $26.57 million and a stock return of 61.00% in 2023. Lilly has emerged as the fastest growing pharma in recent memory, thanks in part to a rapidly growing metabolic/obesity segment. Another top performer was Reshma Kewalramani of Vertex Pharmaceuticals whose total annual compensation of $20.59 million. Vertex had a stock return of 40.90% in 2023.
Incidentally, there was no clear connection between pharma CEO salaries and stock performance in 2023. In fact, the correlation coefficient between CEO compensation and stock returns was negative (-0.1345) in a dataset of 14 prominent pharmaceutical CEOs.
On the other hand, there were COVID casualties Albert Bourla (Pfizer) with a total compensation of $21.56 million and a stock return of -41.20% in 2023, and Stéphane Bancel (Moderna) with a total compensation of $17.07 million and a stock return of -44.60% in 2023.
While several pharma CEOs like J&J’s J. Duato ($28M) and Lilly’s David Ricks ($27M) were relatively well-compensated across the CEO universe, their pay packages were dwarfed by CEOs in tech, finance and media. Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai ($281M) topped the list. Other standouts were Broadcom’s Hock Tan ($162M) and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman ($120M). See the interactive graph below the table to explore the pay dynamics in pharma and beyond.
Top paid pharma CEOs in 2023:
- Joaquin Duato (Johnson & Johnson): Total Pay: $28.42 million
- David A. Ricks (Eli Lilly): Total Pay: $26.57 million
- Richard Francis (Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.): Total Pay: $25.71 million
- Richard A. Gonzalez (AbbVie): Total Pay: $25.66 million
- Robert A. Bradway (Amgen): Total Pay: $22.64 million
- Daniel P. O’Day (Gilead Sciences): Total Pay: $22.61 million
- Albert Bourla (Pfizer): Total Pay: $21.56 million
- Reshma Kewalramani (Vertex Pharmaceuticals): Total Pay: $20.59 million
- Robert M. Davis (Merck): Total Pay: $20.27 million
- Giovanni Caforio (Bristol Myers Squibb): Total Pay: $19.66 million
These pay packages are still far less than what David Epstein, former CEO of cancer specialist Seagen (acquired by Pfizer in 2023) for just a short time in 2022. Epstein, hired in November to help execute Seagen’s $43 billion sale to Pfizer, received a $57.46 pay package according to an SEC filing. This equates to over $1 million per day over his brief tenure. Epstein’s predecessor, Clay Siegall, also collected $32.76 million in 2022 despite leaving the company in May.
Those figures still fall short of the best-paid chief executives in other industries. Outside the pharmaceutical industry, the best performers were Jensen Huang (Nvidia) with a total compensation of $34.17 million and a stock return of 215.10% in 2023, Mark Zuckerberg (Meta Platforms) with a total compensation of $24.40 million and a stock return of 194.10% in 2023, and Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber Technologies) with a total compensation of $24.25 million and a stock return of 149.00% in 2023.
| CEO | Company | Total Pay (Millions) | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundar Pichai | Alphabet (GOOGL) | 280.62 | Technology |
| Hock Tan | Broadcom (AVGO) | 161.83 | Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment |
| Stephen Schwarzman | Blackstone (BX) | 119.78 | Financial Services |
| Tim Cook | Apple (AAPL) | 63.21 | Technology Hardware & Equipment |
| Elon Musk | Tesla (TSLA) | 56.00 | Automotive |
| Theodore Sarandos | Netflix (NFLX) | 49.83 | Media & Entertainment |
| David Zaslav | Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) | 49.70 | Media & Entertainment |
| Marc Benioff | Salesforce (CRM) | 39.64 | Software & Services |
| Jamie Dimon | JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | 35.09 | Banks and financial |
| Jensen Huang | NVIDIA (NVDA) | 27.12 | Technology |
| J. Duato | J&J | 28.42 | Pharmaceuticals |
| David A. Ricks | Lilly | 26.57 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Richard A. Gonzalez | Abbvie | 25.66 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Giovanni Caforio | BMS | 25.66 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Richard Francis | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. | 25.71 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Robert A. Bradway | Amgen | 22.64 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Daniel P. O’Day | Gilead | 22.61 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Albert Bourla | Pfizer | 21.56 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Reshma Kewalramani | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 20.59 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Robert M. Davis | Merck | 20.27 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Giovanni Caforio, M.D. | Bristol Myers Squibb | 19.66 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Stéphane Bancel | Moderna | 17.07 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Hervé Hoppenot | Incyte | 16.66 | Pharmaceuticals |
Filed Under: Drug Discovery and Development
