Executive Compensation API

To retrieve every compensation record for a company when you only have its stock ticker, use the by-ticker form of the /compensation endpoint, supplying the ticker directly in the path (for example MSFT or TSLA). It returns all historical and current executive compensation records for that company across every reporting year covered.

Each record identifies the company by ticker (ticker) and CIK (cik), names the individual and their role (name, position), gives the reporting year (year), and breaks the pay package into salary (salary), cash bonus (bonus), stock awards (stockAwards), option awards (optionAwards), non-equity incentive compensation (nonEquityIncentiveCompensation), change in pension value and deferred earnings (changeInPensionValueAndDeferredEarnings), all other compensation (otherCompensation), and the total package (total).

To pull every executive compensation record for a company by its SEC Central Index Key, use the by-CIK form of the /compensation endpoint, placing the numeric CIK directly in the path (for example 1652044 for Alphabet). It returns all reported compensation records for that company across the years covered.

The CIK is a stable identifier that does not change when a company is renamed or changes its ticker, so it is the most reliable way to address a specific company. Each returned record carries the company CIK (cik) and ticker (ticker), the executive's name and role (name, position), the reporting year (year), and the individual pay components such as salary (salary) and total compensation (total).

To find what a company's chief executive earned in a specific year, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and combine three filters: the company ticker (ticker set to the company's symbol), the reporting year (year set to the year of interest), and the executive's role (position containing a term such as Chief Executive Officer or CEO).

Position titles are not standardized across companies, so the role for the same job can appear as Chief Executive Officer, CEO, or even a company-specific phrasing such as Technoking of Tesla. A broad position term picks up these variants. The matching record reports the pay components for that year, including salary (salary), bonus (bonus), stock awards (stockAwards), option awards (optionAwards), and total compensation (total).

To retrieve compensation records spanning several reporting years, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and apply a range filter on the year field, where the value of year falls between a start year and an end year (for example any year from 2018 through 2022 inclusive).

This range covers every executive compensation record whose reporting year (year) is within those bounds. You can combine the year range with other filters, such as a company ticker (ticker) or executive name (name), to narrow the result set. Records are returned 50 at a time, so for a wide year range you page through results by advancing the starting offset (from).

To find every compensation record for one named executive regardless of employer, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and filter on the executive name field (name) set to the person's name. The result includes records from every company that disclosed pay for that individual.

Because each record carries both the company ticker (ticker) and CIK (cik) alongside the reporting year (year), you can see which firm reported the pay and when. Names may be recorded with varying capitalization or spelling across filings, so a broad name term gives the most complete coverage.

To pull compensation data for several companies in one request, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and filter on the ticker field (ticker) so that it matches any one of a list of symbols, for example MSFT, AAPL, or TSLA. A single query then returns records for all of the named companies together.

The same approach works with CIKs by filtering the CIK field (cik) against a list of identifiers. You can combine the multi-company filter with a reporting year filter (year) to limit the result to specific years. Results come back 50 records per page, so advance the starting offset (from) to page through a large set.

To find executives whose base salary fell within a dollar band, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and apply a range filter on the salary field, where the value of salary falls between a lower and an upper dollar amount (for example between 100,000 and 200,000).

The salary field holds the executive's base annual salary for the reporting year, separate from bonus, equity, and other components. You can leave one end of the range open to capture all salaries above or below a threshold. Combining the salary range with a year filter (year) or a position filter (position) narrows the result to a particular period or role.

To list executives whose total pay package exceeded a threshold, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and apply an open-ended range filter on the total compensation field, where the value of total is at least the threshold amount and has no upper bound (for example 1,000,000 and above).

The total field is the sum of all reported pay components for the reporting year, so this filter captures executives whose entire package crossed the threshold regardless of how it was split between salary, bonus, and equity. Sorting the result by total in descending order brings the largest packages to the top.

To rank executives so the highest base salaries appear first, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and set the sort definition to order results by the salary field (salary) in descending order. The records with the largest reported salary values are then returned at the top.

You pair the sort with whatever query selects the population you want to rank, such as a reporting year filter (year) or a company ticker filter (ticker). To rank by the full package instead of just base pay, sort on the total compensation field (total) rather than salary.

To find the largest stock award grants for a particular year, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint with a filter on the reporting year field (year) set to the year of interest, and sort the results by the stock awards field (stockAwards) in descending order.

The stockAwards field holds the grant-date value of stock-based awards disclosed for that executive and year, separate from option awards (optionAwards). Sorting it descending brings the most valuable stock grants to the top of the result, each record naming the recipient (name), their role (position), and the company (ticker).

To identify executives who received large cash bonuses, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and apply an open-ended range filter on the bonus field, where the value of bonus is at least a chosen amount (for example 1,000,000 and above).

The bonus field captures discretionary cash bonus payments and is distinct from non-equity incentive plan payouts (nonEquityIncentiveCompensation), which cover formula-driven incentive awards. Sorting the result by bonus in descending order ranks the largest cash bonuses first. You can add a year filter (year) to limit the search to a specific reporting period.

To find companies that granted significant option awards in a given year, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint with a filter on the reporting year field (year) and an open-ended range filter on the option awards field, where the value of optionAwards is at least a chosen amount.

The optionAwards field holds the grant-date value of stock option awards for that executive and year, reported separately from stock awards (stockAwards). Each matching record carries the company ticker (ticker) and CIK (cik), so you can see which firms made the grants. Sorting by optionAwards in descending order ranks the largest option grants first.

To compare chief executive pay across a peer group for one year, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and combine three filters: the reporting year (year set to the year of interest), the ticker field (ticker) matching any of the peer companies' symbols, and the role field (position) containing a term such as Chief Executive Officer or CEO.

This returns one record per company's chief executive for that year, each carrying the company ticker (ticker) and the pay components, so you can line them up side by side. Sorting by total compensation (total) in descending order orders the peer group from highest- to lowest-paid. Because position titles are not standardized, a broad role term is needed to catch variants like Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

To find executives in a particular role across all companies, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and filter on the position field (position) with a term describing the role, such as Chief Financial Officer.

Position titles in the data are not standardized and vary between companies, so the same job can appear as Chief Financial Officer, CFO, or a combined title like Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. To capture these variants, search the position field broadly rather than for one exact phrase. Each matching record names the individual (name), the company (ticker, cik), and the reporting year (year).

To identify executives who have left their role, look in the position field (position) for wording that marks them as departed, since the data does not carry a dedicated flag for this. Filings commonly prefix the title with the word Former, as in Former Chief Financial Officer or Former Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and filter the position field for the term Former.

Because this wording is not standardized, the marker can also appear in the name field (name) rather than the position, for example a record grouped under Former Executive Officers. Searching both position and name for the term gives the most complete coverage.

To retrieve compensation records across every company without restricting to one firm, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint with a query that matches all records — a wildcard on the CIK field (cik) matches every company.

Results come back 50 records at a time, so you page through the full set by advancing the starting offset (from) by the page size on each request. A single query returns at most 10,000 records, so for the entire corpus you also need to split the search by reporting year ranges (year) and paginate within each range. A sort definition such as ordering by year descending and ticker ascending gives a deterministic order while paging.

To page through a result set larger than one response, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and advance the starting offset (from) on each successive request. The page size (size) can be at most 50, which is also the default, so you increment from by 50 each time — 0, then 50, then 100, and so on — until no more records are returned.

Keep the same query and the same sort definition across all pages so the ordering stays stable while you iterate. The starting offset can go up to 10,000, which is also the maximum number of records a single query can return in total.

A single search against the /compensation endpoint returns at most 10,000 records. The starting offset (from) can be advanced up to 10,000, and beyond that point no further records are accessible for that query.

When the population you want is larger than 10,000 records, split it into smaller searches that each stay under the cap. The recommended approach is to narrow by reporting year — apply a range filter on the year field (year), for example one or two years at a time, paginate fully through that slice by advancing the starting offset (from) in steps of the page size, then repeat for the next year range. Combining year slicing with pagination lets you cover a corpus of any size.

To reach the oldest compensation records, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and filter on the reporting year field (year) for early years. The data is extracted from DEF 14A proxy statements filed since 2005, so the earliest reporting years available are around that time, and records from years such as 2007 and 2008 are present.

Apply a range filter on year covering the early period and sort ascending by year to bring the oldest records first. The dataset includes companies that have since delisted, so historical records are retained even for firms no longer trading.

To sort by more than one criterion, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and supply a sort definition with multiple keys in priority order. Listing the year field (year) first and the ticker field (ticker) second orders results primarily by reporting year and then, within each year, by ticker symbol.

Each key can independently be ascending or descending — for example year descending to put recent years first, with ticker ascending for an alphabetical secondary order. A multi-key sort produces a deterministic ordering, which matters when paging through results so records do not shift between pages.

To find executives with large non-equity incentive plan payouts, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and apply an open-ended range filter on the non-equity incentive compensation field, where the value of nonEquityIncentiveCompensation is at least a chosen amount.

The nonEquityIncentiveCompensation field captures formula-driven incentive plan awards paid in cash, which are distinct from discretionary cash bonuses (bonus). Sorting the result by nonEquityIncentiveCompensation in descending order ranks the largest payouts first. You can add a year filter (year) to focus on a particular reporting period.

To see the reported change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings for an executive, look at the change in pension value and deferred earnings field (changeInPensionValueAndDeferredEarnings) on the compensation record. You can retrieve the record through the by-ticker or by-CIK form of the /compensation endpoint, or through the search form filtered by executive name (name) and reporting year (year).

This field is one of the standardized pay components for the reporting year and is reported separately from salary (salary), bonus (bonus), and equity awards. It is frequently zero for executives without a defined-benefit pension or deferred compensation plan.

To break a single executive's total package into its parts, retrieve their compensation record through the /compensation endpoint — by ticker, by CIK, or through the search form filtered by name (name) and year (year) — and read the individual component fields. The package splits into base salary (salary), cash bonus (bonus), stock awards (stockAwards), option awards (optionAwards), non-equity incentive compensation (nonEquityIncentiveCompensation), change in pension value and deferred earnings (changeInPensionValueAndDeferredEarnings), and all other compensation (otherCompensation).

The total compensation field (total) is the sum of these components for the reporting year, so comparing each part against total shows how the package is weighted between cash, equity, and other pay.

The /compensation endpoints support two ways to supply your API key. You can set the key as an Authorization header on the request, or you can attach it as a token query parameter on the endpoint URL.

Either method works for the by-ticker form, the by-CIK form, and the search form of the endpoint. The two are alternatives — you use one or the other, not both — and the key must be present on every request for it to be accepted.

To find executives paid little or no base salary but a large overall package, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and combine two range filters: the salary field (salary) constrained to a low band such as zero up to a small amount, and the total compensation field (total) constrained to be at least a high threshold.

This surfaces records where base pay is minimal but stock awards (stockAwards), option awards (optionAwards), or other components push the total package up. It is common among founder-executives who take a token salary, and the salary field in the data can be as low as 0 or 1 while total runs into the millions.

To find executives with the largest all-other-compensation amounts, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and sort the results by the other compensation field (otherCompensation) in descending order, optionally pairing it with an open-ended range filter so otherCompensation is at least a chosen amount.

The otherCompensation field captures pay that falls outside salary, bonus, equity, and incentive plan categories — items such as perquisites, severance, and benefit contributions. Sorting it descending brings the largest such amounts to the top, each record naming the executive (name), the company (ticker), and the reporting year (year).

To track how one executive's pay changed year over year at a single company, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint and combine a company filter — the ticker field (ticker) or CIK field (cik) — with the executive name field (name) set to the individual's name. This returns one record per reporting year for that person at that company.

Sorting the result by the reporting year field (year) in ascending order arranges the records chronologically, and comparing the total compensation field (total) across them shows the year-over-year trend. The individual component fields, such as salary and stockAwards, reveal which part of the package drove any change.

To build a ranked list of the highest-paid executives for a recent year, use the search form of the /compensation endpoint with a filter on the reporting year field (year) set to that year, and sort the results by the total compensation field (total) in descending order.

The total field is the full package for the year, so sorting it descending puts the biggest earners first regardless of company. Records come back 50 at a time, so page through the ranking by advancing the starting offset (from); each record names the executive (name), their role (position), and the company (ticker).

Historical compensation records for companies that have since delisted remain in the dataset, because the data is survivorship-bias free and retains pay records for firms no longer listed on stock exchanges. You reach these records through the same /compensation endpoint — by ticker, by CIK, or through the search form — with no special filter required.

The most reliable way to address a former company is by its CIK (cik), since that identifier persists after a ticker is retired. Searching the search form for an older reporting year range on the year field (year) surfaces records from many companies that no longer trade, each still carrying its former ticker (ticker) and CIK.

When you only have a company's name, first resolve that name to a ticker or CIK and then query the compensation data with the resolved identifier. The /mapping/name/<NAME> endpoint of the Mapping API takes a company name and returns matching companies with their ticker (ticker) and CIK (cik), covering both currently listed and delisted firms.

Once you have the identifier, retrieve the pay records through the /compensation endpoint — the by-ticker form with the resolved ticker, the by-CIK form with the resolved CIK, or the search form filtering on the ticker field (ticker) or CIK field (cik). Each returned compensation record names the executive (name), their role (position), the reporting year (year), and the pay components such as salary (salary) and total compensation (total). Because company names are not unique and can be spelled differently across filings, the CIK from the mapping step is the most reliable identifier to carry into the compensation query.