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2026 U.S. Proxy Season Review: Compensation

Below are key takeaways from ISS’ recently released 2026 U.S. Proxy Season Review: Compensation.

The full report is available to institutional subscribers by logging into ProxyExchange then selecting the Knowledge Center and its Library tab and to corporate subscribers by logging into Compass then selecting Governance and the Governance Library or Governance Exchange tab.

  • Strong say-on-pay support. Median say-on-pay support increased from 94.5% in 2025 to 95.4% in 2026. The failure rate was at an all-time low of just 0.8%.
  • CEO pay reached record highs. Median S&P 500 CEO pay was $17.2 million and median Russell 3000 CEO pay was $5.9 million – the highest median pay levels ever observed.
  • Golden parachute failure rates increased. The say-on-golden parachute failure rate rose to 16% in 2026, which was directionally aligned with a significant increase in the CEO median golden parachute value.
  • Equity plan support levels increased. The median support level for equity plans increased slightly over 2025 levels, while the failure rate ticked downwards.
  • Compensation-related shareholder proposals declined dramatically. The number of compensation-related shareholder proposals on ballot declined dramatically from 46 in 2025 to only 8 in 2026.

If you are not a subscriber, please contact sales@iss-stoxx.com (for institutional investors) or contactus@iss-corporate.com (for corporations) to learn more about accessing bespoke governance research.

Authored By

Abby Bucklin, Jolene Dugan, Kevin Kim, David Kokell, Kevan Marvasti, Adam Mazzone, Chris Scoular

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