Lilly shareholders back $36.7 million 2025 pay package for CEO David Ricks

Eli Lilly shareholders gave advisory approval to a $36.7 million 2025 pay package for CEO David Ricks, according to voting results from the company's May 4, 2026 annual meeting ^[4]. The package, disclosed in Lilly's proxy statement, was up from $29.2 million in 2024, an increase of about 26% ^[1].

Most of the pay came as stock. Ricks's 2025 package included $23.3 million in stock awards, up from $19.8 million in 2024; a bonus of $6.8 million, up from $5.7 million; and $1.7 million in base salary, the same as the year before. The change in the value of his pension rose from $1.7 million to $4.5 million ^[1]. His pay was $26.6 million in 2023 and $15.8 million in 2017, the year he became CEO ^[1].

Lilly's proxy statement opened by justifying the number. Since Ricks took over in 2017, the company wrote, Lilly has "experienced revenue growth of approximately 207%" and a "five-year total shareholder return of 571%" ^[1]. Lilly's market value grew from $82 billion when he became CEO to more than $1 trillion last year, when it became the first biopharma company to reach that level ^[1]. Lilly said it raised Ricks's annual cash bonus target from 150% to 175% in 2025 to "maintain market competitiveness," while holding targets at 100% for its other top executives ^[1].

Much of that growth traces to two drugs. Mounjaro and Zepbound, both tirzepatide, recorded $36.5 billion in combined 2025 sales, up from $16.5 billion in 2024. That $20 billion increase accounted for nearly all of Lilly's revenue rise from $45 billion in 2024 to $65.2 billion in 2025, and the company's 45% revenue growth that year was triple that of any other top 25 biopharma company ^[1].

The next-highest-paid Lilly executive was chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky at $17.8 million, up from $12.6 million in 2024. Legal chief Anat Hakim received $9.8 million, first-year chief financial officer Lucas Montarce $8.5 million, and Jake Van Naarden, who leads business development and oncology, $7.6 million ^[1]. Lilly also disclosed that Ricks would receive $93.9 million in severance if he were terminated ^[1]. Ricks ranked second on Fierce Pharma's list of the highest-paid Big Pharma CEOs of 2024, behind BioNTech's Ugur Sahin at $287 million, and his 2025 package will likely make him the highest-paid in the sector for last year ^[1].

At the annual meeting, the say-on-pay measure drew 731,998,717 votes for, 30,467,278 against, and 2,302,686 abstentions, with 82,485,329 broker nonvotes. That is about 96% of votes cast ^[4]. A total of 847,254,010 shares were voted, about 90% of the 944,818,881 shares outstanding on the February 25, 2026 record date ^[4]. Ricks was also elected to a three-year board term with 734,760,028 votes for and 29,119,356 against ^[4].

Shareholders did not approve two governance proposals. Measures to eliminate the company's classified board structure and to remove supermajority voting requirements each needed 80% of outstanding shares and fell short ^[4]. A shareholder proposal requiring an independent board chair failed, 257,292,684 for to 505,068,416 against, and a proposal for an annual lobbying report failed, 113,417,917 for to 645,415,542 against ^[4].

Why it matters for patients

Lilly's financial results, and the pay tied to them, rest heavily on tirzepatide, the molecule in Mounjaro and Zepbound ^[1]. That gives the company's pricing, supply and access decisions unusual weight for people using those drugs. In its proxy letter, Lilly said it reached a "landmark agreement with the U.S. government to broaden availability through government programs," an initiative it said is designed to significantly reduce out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans, and that it announced record manufacturing investments to expand supply ^[3].

Lilly also said it submitted orforglipron, its oral GLP-1 therapy, to regulators in the U.S. and Japan for obesity and in the European Union for obesity and type 2 diabetes ^[3]. Foundayo is orforglipron.

The proxy also disclosed a ratio of Ricks's pay to that of the median Lilly worker of 367 to 1 ^[3]. The say-on-pay vote is advisory, meaning it does not bind the board ^[4].

What happens next

Regulatory decisions on orforglipron are pending, and specific decision dates have not been reported ^[3]. Lilly has said it will mark its 150th anniversary in May 2026 ^[3]. A date for the company's 2027 annual meeting, at which the next advisory pay vote would be held, has not been announced.