American Water Works management check
AWK · Utilities · Water Utilities · CEO Mr. Griffith
Filings as of
3 good · 1 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $94, against $159 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 0.50 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$7.1m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.1bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingNo open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
3 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Walter J. Lynch, Ms. Hardwick, Mr. Griffith. 9 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 | 0 | 53 | |
| Pay for performance | 75 | 81 | |
| CEO cost | 66 | 50 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 45 |
| Dilution | 44 | 37 | |
| Stable leadership | 0 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Nearest in rank in Utilities, by management score. American Water Works is 29th of 30 in its sector.
- 398FEFirstEnergy53
- 432AEPAmerican Electric Power49
- 435SOSouthern Company49
- 441PCGPG&E Corporation48
- 442AWKAmerican Water Works47
- 472AESAES Corporation38
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 24, 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 | Mr. Griffith, Ms. Hardwick | $7.1m | $7.5m | $3.0m | $94 | $159 | $1.1bn |
| 2024 | Ms. Hardwick | $8.6m | $7.8m | $3.0m | $87 | $137 | $1.1bn |
| 2023 | Ms. Hardwick | $7.7m | $6.7m | $3.2m | $91 | $110 | $944.0m |
| 2022 | Ms. Hardwick, Walter J. Lynch | $6.7m | $6.6m | $2.8m | $102 | $118 | $820.0m |
| 2021 | Walter J. Lynch | $7.4m | $8.4m | $1.8m | $125 | $118 | $1.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted EPS. Its other key measures: EPS/Adjusted EPS, DART, EPS CAGR, Drinking Water Quality, Relative TSR, Customer Satisfaction, ROE.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
No open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
Leadership and governance on file
- May 15, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 24, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 30, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 31, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 8, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 25, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 27, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 15, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.6bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 51% of net income, and $138.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.9bn | $3.8bn | $4.2bn | $4.7bn | $5.1bn |
| Net income | $1.3bn | $820.0m | $944.0m | $1.1bn | $1.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $17.0m | $28.0m | $25.0m | $36.0m | $32.0m |
| Buybacks | $0 | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $428.0m | $467.0m | $532.0m | $585.0m | $633.0m |
| Diluted shares | 182m | 182m | 193m | 195m | 195m |
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.