American Electric Power management check
AEP · Utilities · Electric Utilities · CEO William Fehrman
Filings as of
2 good · 3 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $166, against $166 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.90 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
990.5% of net income$36.6m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $3.7m of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.5 years of payThe CEO holds 133,539 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.5 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $250k sold in six months. 1 of 1 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +1.6% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
15 leadership filings in 3 years15 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Utilities.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 50 | 53 | |
| Pay for performance | 95 | 81 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 50 | |
| Skin in the game | 18 | 45 | |
| Dilution | 29 | 37 | |
| Stable leadership | 50 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Electric Utilities, by management score. American Electric Power is 26th of 30 in its sector.
- 30CEGConstellation Energy84
- 62VSTVistra Corp.79
- 143EIXEdison International72
- 145PPLPPL Corporation72
- 252EVRGEvergy64
- 254PEGPublic Service Enterprise Group64
- 270ETREntergy63
- 285LNTAlliant Energy62
- 338EXCExelon59
- 354ESEversource Energy58
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 18, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | $36.6m | $44.8m | $6.1m | $166 | $166 | $3.7m |
| 2024 | — | $13.3m | $12.8m | $3.5m | $129 | $141 | $3.0m |
| 2023 | — | $10.6m | $7.5m | $3.2m | $109 | $114 | $2.2m |
| 2022 | — | $16.4m | $21.5m | $3.1m | $122 | $123 | $2.3m |
| 2021 | — | $15.1m | $18.7m | $3.4m | $111 | $120 | $2.5m |
Insiders and the CEO's stake
William Fehrman (CEO and President) held 133,539 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 1, 2026, roughly $17.1m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $250k sold in six months. 1 of 1 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldKate DixonController, CAO · 10b5-1 plan$250kSep 8, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 30, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 21, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 19, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 23, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 19, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 31, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 28, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Apr 29, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.8bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, and $220.3m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.8bn | $19.4bn | $19.5bn | $20.0bn | $21.7bn |
| Net income | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stock-based pay | — | $63.3m | $51.0m | $53.0m | $53.0m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | −$1.5bn | $1.6bn | $1.8bn | $1.9bn | $2.0bn |
| Diluted shares | 502m | 513m | 520m | 531m | 537m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.