IBM CEO pay pack jumps 51% for 2025 in target smash and grab
- Reference: 1773836819
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/18/ibm_ceo_pay_pack_jumps/
- Source link:
As the triple crown holder - Chairman, CEO and President - Krishna hit annual and longer term incentive targets, according to [1]IBM's proxy statement . As such, his award leaped compared to the [2]$25.14 million he received in the prior year .
The $1.5 million salary was unchanged, stock awards went up to almost $24 million, options awards were $6.6 million, and non-equity incentive compensation was $5.25 million. The value of his pension went up $42,970 and all other compensation was $601,817.
[3]
2025 was seen as a successful year for IBM: revenue grew 8 percent to $67.5 billion, as it "shifted to higher growth areas, with over 75 percent of our business mix in Software and Consulting."
[4]
[5]
Software was up 11 percent; hybrid cloud, data and automation grew double digits; and the "cumulative GenAI book of [product] business" reached upwards of $2 billion. The Consulting arm grew only 2 percent but here the GenAI contract pipeline was $10.5 billion, showing customers are on track to spend five times more on IBM advisors to tell them what to do with "AI" than they are on the actual "AI."
Gross margin for the 12 months was 58 percent - reflecting the higher mix of software sales - up 150 basis points or 1.5 percent year-on-year. And in other metrics that govern Krishna's pay, IBM reported $13.2 billion cash from operations and $14.7 billion of free cash flow.
[6]AI bubble inflates Microsoft CEO pay to $96.5M
[7]Nvidia boss gets 45% pay bump, but is the billionaire happy?
[8]Artist formerly known as Indian Business Machines pledges $150B for US ops, R&D
[9]Bezos cost Amazon more than Jassy did in 2024 compensation stakes
[10]HP CEO pay for 2024 = 261,658 toner cartridges
It also returned $6 billion to shareholders, and spent $8 billion on ten acquisitions.
Krishna's C-suite generals did pretty well too. CFO James Kavanaugh received $18.84 million versus $13 million in the prior year, and chief commercial officer (sales bigwig) R.D Thomas was awarded $17.5 million, up from $12.28 million.
[11]
As for the average IBMer? Well, let's say they didn't reap the same sort of rewards. Compensation for the median employee was $49,630 versus $48,582 in 2024. The relatively low pay - for a tech company - indicates that much of IBM's workers are based in lower cost countries.
The Reg reported years ago that IBM said about a [12]third of its workforce were located in India and Bangladesh , leading to the name-tag Indian Business Machines. Nothing suggests that direction of travel has changed.
Shareholders for IBM are convening at the annual meeting on April 28th with eight proposals tabled. One proposal that IBM is asking stock owners to vote against, is that there should be a report on AI bias. With such a big GenAI book of business, this is perhaps not surprising. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.ibm.com/downloads/documents/us-en/15db52348fc2039a
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/14/ibm_arvind_kerching_pay/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2abraNtzKWy4PrwszNzQj8gAAAdA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abraNtzKWy4PrwszNzQj8gAAAdA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abraNtzKWy4PrwszNzQj8gAAAdA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/microsoft_nadella_pay/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/08/big_bucks_huang_gets_fiscal_payday/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/28/ibm/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/11/bezos_cos_amazon_more_than/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/26/hp_ceo_pay_for_2024/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abraNtzKWy4PrwszNzQj8gAAAdA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2017/03/31/one_third_ibm_staff_in_india_bangladesh/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Not all employees are created equally, just ask IBM boss Arvind Krishna, who received a financial package valued at $38 million in calendar 2025 - equivalent to the average collective pay of 765 Big Blue workers.
Ahhh the Gini Coefficent
Why CEOs get paid so much anyway?
Twas ever thus
> ... equivalent to the average collective pay of 765 Big Blue workers.
> As for the average IBMer? Well, let's say they didn't reap the same sort of rewards.
Thats obscene by any measure.
If the shareholders don't kick up a fuss, all I can deduce is that their moral compass is just as fundamentally broken as the IBM Exec's is.
Its about time C-level compensation was linked to the average workers. And not at over 700x! Maybe 200x for the top dog, 175x for the next layer down, etc. That would mean if the C-suite wanted a payrise on top of the already obscene amounts of money they make, then at least everyone else has to get one too. And the more the C-suite wants, the more they have to give everyone else too.
And while we're here, how about when the redundancy axe starts swinging? If a company wants to implement a, for example, 10% headcount reduction then that should also mean 10% of the C-suite and Execs need to feel the blade swinging as well, not just the workers.
But who decides the company policies? And as the saying goes, turkeys don't vote for christmas.
I find it strange that this guy still has a job after the leaked racist sht he said in a internal meeting and then suspending IBM advertising on X when he was exposed. Ai summary for those who missed it back in 2023:
The leaked IBM tapes refer to a series of internal IBM and Red Hat videos and recordings released in December 2023 by journalist James O'Keefe and O'Keefe Media Group. The most prominent video features IBM CEO Arvind Krishna speaking at an internal 2021 meeting, where he discusses tying executive bonuses to progress on diversity hiring goals.
Arvind Krishna's remarks sparked controversy, as he stated executives must "move forward by 1% on both underrepresented minorities" and that this would lead to a "plus on your bonus," while adding, "by the way, if you lose, you lose part of your bonus." He specifically mentioned targets for Black and Hispanic representation, saying, "for blacks we should try to get towards 13 percent," and noted, "Asians are not an underrepresented minority in tech in America."
Paul Cormier, chairman of IBM subsidiary Red Hat, also appeared in the recordings, stating that leaders who failed to comply with diversity goals were "held accountable to the point that they're no longer here," implying terminations occurred.
The leaks triggered significant backlash, with Elon Musk calling the practices "obviously illegal." A federal civil rights complaint was filed by America First Legal Foundation, alleging racial discrimination against white and Asian Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
IBM responded by suspending advertising on X (formerly Twitter), which O'Keefe and others linked to retaliation, though IBM cited concerns over ad placement near objectionable content. In a follow-up all-hands call, Krishna defended the company’s approach, emphasizing inclusion but denying illegal quotas, stating the diversity component was only a 5% factor in executive bonuses and that IBM always hires the best person for the job.
Additional leaks published by The Lunduke Journal revealed internal IBM and Red Hat DEI policies, including anti-White rhetoric, word usage restrictions, and employee pledges, further fueling public debate. Multiple lawsuits followed, including one from the State of Missouri and a former employee alleging wrongful termination based on race.
How does he manage?
Poor sod. Tough at the top.