Becton Dickinson management check
BDX · Health Care · Health Care Equipment · CEO Thomas E. Polen
Filings as of
2 good · 4 to watch · 1 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 $89, against $130 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 0.78 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.0% of net income$17.1m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.7bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.7 years of payThe CEO holds 153,441 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.7 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $2.0m sold in six months. 10 of 11 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
13 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Thomas E. Polen. 13 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 Health Care.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 11 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 89 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 49 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 46 | 46 | |
| Dilution | 50 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Health Care Equipment, by management score. Becton Dickinson is 42nd of 60 in its sector.
- 115ABTAbbott Laboratories75
- 149SYKStryker Corporation72
- 156ISRGIntuitive Surgical72
- 188IDXXIdexx Laboratories69
- 192BSXBoston Scientific69
- 246RVTYRevvity64
- 256GEHCGE HealthCare64
- 294RMDResMed62
- 321STESteris60
- 353BDXBecton Dickinson58
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed December 18, 2025. "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 | Thomas E. Polen | $17.1m | $3.5m | $4.3m | $89 | $130 | $1.7bn |
| 2024 | — | $17.3m | $9.5m | $4.0m | $113 | $127 | $1.7bn |
| 2023 | — | $17.3m | $29.8m | $4.5m | $119 | $102 | $1.5bn |
| 2022 | — | $16.7m | $15.0m | $4.2m | $101 | $90 | $1.8bn |
| 2021 | — | $14.2m | $16.7m | $3.7m | $107 | $127 | $2.1bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Revenue. Its other key measures: Revenue*, Adjusted EPS*, Free cash flow*, Operating margin*, ROIC*.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Thomas E Jr Polen (Chairman, CEO and President) held 153,441 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 13, 2026, roughly $28.4m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $2.0m sold in six months. 10 of 11 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldThomas E Jr PolenChairman, CEO and President · 10b5-1 plan$1.2mAug 13, 2026
- SoldRoland GoetteEVP and President, EMEA$441kAug 11, 2026
- SoldMichael David GarrisonEVP & Pres Med.Essntl&BioPharm · 10b5-1 plan$327kJun 24, 2026
- SoldMichael FeldEVP, Chief Revenue Officer · 10b5-1 plan$91kSep 28, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 22, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 7, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Apr 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 30, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 1, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Nov 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 10, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 30, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 27, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jan 30, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $9.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 106% of net income, and $1.2bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $19.1bn | $18.9bn | $19.4bn | $20.2bn | $21.8bn |
| Net income | $2.1bn | $1.8bn | $1.5bn | $1.7bn | $1.7bn |
| Stock-based pay | $229.0m | $233.0m | $259.0m | $247.0m | $258.0m |
| Buybacks | $1.8bn | $500.0m | $0 | $500.0m | $1.0bn |
| Dividends | $1.0bn | $1.1bn | $1.1bn | $1.1bn | $1.2bn |
| Diluted shares | 292m | 287m | 288m | 291m | 289m |
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.