Investors in tech stocks know Amazon.com Chief Executive Andrew Jassy is among the best-paid executives in the game.
But they might not know that seven other CEOs — including five at companies that went public within the last two years — pulled in significantly more in 2021. According to a recent analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the top 10 highest paid chief executives at U.S. tech companies raked in a total $3.36 billion in compensation. The majority of their pay came from tech stocks or options.
Leading the list at a whopping $835 million is The Trade Desk's Jeffrey Green. Last year, the digital ad-buying company awarded its top exec a long-term option for 16 million shares of the tech stock valued at more than $828 million. Green also pulled in $3.9 million in cash and $2.7 million in non-equity incentives.
The eye-popping compensation came during a year of sideways trading for the tech stock. It also put Green ahead of big-name CEOs like Jassy who earned almost $213 million and Intel's Patrick Gelsinger at nearly $178 million. Jassy saw a pay increase of more than 493% year over year.
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Despite the ho-hum trading action, The Trade Desk generated roughly $1.2 billion in sales last year. Others on the list include CEOs for five tech stocks that completed their initial public offerings in 2021.
That includes Zig Serafin at the No. 2 company, Qualtrics International, and Max Levchin at third-ranked Affirm Holdings. The two CEOs received a respective $540.5 million and $451.2 million in compensation at companies that both debuted on the stock market in January 2021.
Qualtrics makes software that tracks customer satisfaction and feedback and Affirm provides loans for consumers, promising "no fees, no gotchas, no surprises."
Qualtrics stock, though, has largely trended down since its IPO and now has a Relative Strength Rating of just 7, according to IBD Digital. That puts the tech stock in the lowest 7% of all stocks in terms of 12-month performance. Affirm is slightly ahead of that with an RS Rating of 24.
Others on the list include Rathna Mathrubootham, David Baszucki and David Steinberg, who head up tech stocks Freshworks Inc., Roblox Corp. and Zeta Group Holdings, respectively. All have been on the market less than 18 months.
Of the tech stocks with the best-paid CEOs, only Amazon stock ranks in the top half of all stocks in terms of RS Rating. The rest all have ratings of 50 or lower. And Amazon's isn't that much better at 71.
Best-Paid CEOs At Tech Companies
| Chief Executive | Company | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Green | The Trade Desk | $835 million |
| Zig Serafin | Qualtrics International | $540.5 million |
| Max Levchin | Affirm Holdings | $451.2 million |
| Peter Kern | Expedia Group | $296.2 million |
| Rathna Mathrubootham | Freshworks Inc. | $234 million |
| David Baszucki | Roblox Corp. | $232.8 million |
| David Steinberg | Zeta Global Holdings | $216.5 million |
| Andrew Jassy | Amazon.com | $212.7 million |
| Patrick Gelsinger | Intel Corp. | $177.9 million |
| William McDermott | ServiceNow Inc. | $165.8 million |
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
