Biogen management check
BIIB · Health Care · Biotechnology · CEO Mr. Viehbacher
Filings as of
1 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 $72, against $120 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.11 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.8% of net income$23.6m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.3bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $240k sold in six months. 2 of 2 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 2.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Vounatsos, Mr. Viehbacher. 6 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 | 0 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 55 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 28 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 46 |
| Dilution | 44 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 55 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Biotechnology, by management score. Biogen is 56th of 60 in its sector.
- 19VRTXVertex Pharmaceuticals86
- 43GILDGilead Sciences82
- 93REGNRegeneron Pharmaceuticals77
- 136AMGNAmgen73
- 199ABBVAbbVie69
- 298INCYIncyte61
- 401MRNAModerna53
- 447BIIBBiogen47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 28, 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. Viehbacher | $23.6m | $27.7m | $5.9m | $72 | $120 | $1.3bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Viehbacher | $24.2m | $1.3m | $6.4m | $62 | $91 | $1.6bn |
| 2023 | Mr. Viehbacher | $4.1m | −$4.5m | $6.3m | $106 | $92 | $1.2bn |
| 2022 | Mr. Viehbacher, Mr. Vounatsos | $30.5m | $27.6m | $5.9m | $113 | $89 | $3.0bn |
| 2021 | Mr. Vounatsos | $17.7m | $15.2m | $5.8m | $98 | $99 | $1.6bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Revenue. Its other key measures: Growth Product Revenue, Total Revenue, Total Stockholder Return, Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share, Achievement of Pipeline Milestones.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $240k sold in six months. 2 of 2 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldLloyd MinorDirector · 10b5-1 plan$240kAug 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 11, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 11, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 30, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 12, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 9, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 10, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 21, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 3, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 31, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 17, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 10, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 29% of net income, and $1.3bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $11.0bn | $10.2bn | $9.8bn | $9.7bn | $9.9bn |
| Net income | $1.6bn | $3.0bn | $1.2bn | $1.6bn | $1.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | $238.6m | $254.1m | $264.2m | $291.2m | $290.8m |
| Buybacks | $1.8bn | $750.0m | $0 | $0 | — |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 150m | 146m | 146m | 146m | 147m |
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.