FactSet's New CEO Was Paid $62 Million — 3,370 Times The Median Employee, Mostly From One-Time Awards
The proxy says make-whole awards and a two-year option grant inflated year one, and next year's pay figure should be substantially lower.
FactSet's new chief executive, Sanoke Viswanathan, received $62,046,674 in pay for fiscal 2026, according to the company's annual proxy filing, set against a median employee's $18,413. FactSet, which sells financial data, analytics and AI-powered software to finance professionals, says one-time awards covering pay he gave up at JPMorgan and a front-loaded option grant drove the total.
Where the $62 million comes from
The pay ratio is 3,370 to 1. Excluding the make-whole awards and annualizing the long-term incentive, the proxy puts Viswanathan's pay at $15,337,782, a ratio of 833 to 1.
The Summary Compensation Table shows a $13,000,000 bonus, $22,708,861 in stock awards and $22,000,063 in performance stock options. Salary was $980,769, annual incentive pay $3,235,290 and other compensation $121,692. The bonus and stock lines reflect one-time awards for compensation he forfeited at JPMorgan, which the proxy says generally mirror what he gave up, with about three quarters delivered in equity.
He joined on September 8, 2025, succeeding Phil Snow. His employment agreement sets a $1,000,000 base salary and an annual incentive target of 200% of salary.
A hurdle of 150%
The $22 million option grant front-loads two years of his $11 million annual equity awards. The options vest only if FactSet's 30-day trailing average share price reaches at least 150% of its level at grant within five years, which the proxy says would take about 90% appreciation from the October 1, 2026 share price. There is no partial payout.
Under his contract he gets no further annual equity award until fiscal 2028, and the proxy tells holders to expect his table figure next year to be substantially lower.
Perks include $100,000 in attorney-fee reimbursement for negotiating the agreement. The contract allows up to $25,000 a year for tax planning and up to $125,000 for personal travel between New York and London.
A new leadership bench
The board describes fiscal 2026 as the start of an AI-driven transformation. It hired a new chief financial officer, technology chief and people chief, and made Katherine Stepp Chief AI Officer. Former CEO Snow's pay was $337,164, and former CFO Helen Shan's was $3,782,525.
Chief Revenue Officer Goran Skoko and Co-Head of Product John Costigan each received a one-time $1 million equity retention award.
For the year, FactSet reported revenue up 6.7% to $2.48 billion and diluted earnings per share of $14.57.
The December 16 vote
Holders cast an advisory vote on executive pay at the annual meeting on December 16. Last year 95.6% voted in favor, and the company says approval has been about 95% for more than a decade. It offered meetings to holders of about 40% of its shares, and says none raised concerns about CEO pay.
The board's own adjusted figure for Viswanathan is $15,337,782, a quarter of the headline total.
Sources
- FactSet Research — DEF 14A (2026-10-26) — SEC EDGAR
- FactSet Research Systems (FDS) Expands Private Markets Push As Valuation Questions Linger — Yahoo Finance
- FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) Stock Forecasts — Yahoo Finance
- FactSet and Nasdaq Private Market Partner to Bring Greater — globenewswire.com
