The SEC has submitted the first 16 comment letters on the new Pay versus Performance disclosure, required under Section 402 of Regulation S-K for the first time for most companies this year.
The comment letters generally identify failures to fully comply with the new disclosure requirements, such as identifying instances where required components have been omitted.
Common areas of issue in this initial batch of comments include:
- Missing required elements of the disclosure, such as a description of the relationships between Compensation Actually Paid (CAP) and the metrics or the list of 3-7 financial performance measures used to link CAP with company performance;
- Including multiple Company-Selected Measures, or not including the Company-Selected Measure in the tabular list of 3-7 most important financial performance measures;
- Failing to provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures selected as the Company-Selected Measure (CSM) against GAAP financial statements;
- Using a TSR peer group that does not match either the industry group used for Regulation S-K in the 10-K performance graph or the compensation peer group disclosed in the CD&A; or
- Incorrect footnote descriptions to the table that suggest misinterpretation of the rules.
Though the letters identify several instances in which companies appeared to have misinterpreted the rules used to calculate CAP, the SEC seems to have accepted the actual fair value calculations of equity awards presented in the new disclosures at face value.
Errors in interpretation of rules on Compensation Actually Paid included:
- Not including or not identifying all NEOs who served in each year in the table;
- Using partial compensation received for the year for individuals in the table (e.g., if an individual is promoted to a Named Executive Officer (NEO) role during the year, only including compensation earned for the period served as an NEO); and
- Footnotes indicating a “year over year” change in fair value for awards that should be valued as of the date of vesting, rather than at year end.
Below is a table summarizing the topic areas and SEC comments provided to date.
Company (n=16) |
Proxy Filing Date |
Date of Comment Letter |
Adjustments to CAP & Related Footnotes |
Description of Relationship between CAP & Financial Performance |
Company-Selected Metric |
Tabular List of Measures |
TSR Comparator Group |
Other |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
3/17/23 |
7/28/23 |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. |
3/21/23 |
7/28/23 |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
Xylem Inc. |
4/3/23 |
7/28/23 |
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
Americold Realty Trust, Inc. |
4/6/23 |
8/4/23 |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
TTEC Holdings, Inc. |
4/11/23 |
8/25/23 |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. |
3/31/23 |
7/27/23 |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Healthcare Services Group, Inc. |
4/28/23 |
8/9/23 |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
|
Equitrans Midstream Corporation |
2/23/23 |
8/4/23 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. |
3/23/23 |
7/27/23 |
|
X |
|
X |
|
X |
Argan, Inc. |
5/1/23 |
8/9/23 |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated |
4/14/23 |
8/7/23 |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
|
Artivion, Inc. |
4/3/23 |
8/4/23 |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
QCR Holdings, Inc. |
4/4/23 |
7/27/23 |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. |
4/11/23 |
7/28/23 |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Harvard Bioscience, Inc. |
4/5/23 |
7/28/23 |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. |
4/28/23 |
8/7/23 |
X |
|
|
|
|
X |
Totals |
– |
– |
11 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
Company (n=16) |
Notes |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
|
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. |
|
Xylem Inc. |
|
Americold Realty Trust, Inc. |
|
TTEC Holdings, Inc. |
|
Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. |
|
Healthcare Services Group, Inc. |
|
Equitrans Midstream Corporation |
|
Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. |
|
Argan, Inc. |
|
Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated |
|
Artivion, Inc. |
|
QCR Holdings, Inc. |
|
NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. |
|
Harvard Bioscience, Inc. |
|
Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. |
|
Acronyms
CAP: Compensation Actually Paid (as defined in Item 402 of Regulation S-K)
PEO: The company's Principal Executive Officer, typically the CEO
NEO: The company's non-PEO Named Executive Officers
CSM: Company-Selected Measure (most important financial performance measure for linking Compensation Actually Paid to company performance)
SCT: Summary Compensation Table (as defined in Item 402(c) of Regulation S-K)
TSR: Total Shareholder Return