Edwards Lifesciences management check
EW · Health Care · Health Care Equipment · CEO Bernard J Zovighian
Filings as of
4 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 $93, against $127 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 0.77 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.6% of net income$17.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.1bn of net income.
- Flag
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.5 years of payThe CEO holds 110,681.201 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.5 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $11.4m in the last six months and none bought. 12 of 26 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -2.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 2.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
9 leadership filings in 3 years9 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 | 17 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 88 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 32 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 1 | 46 | |
| Dilution | 74 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 80 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Health Care Equipment, by management score. Edwards Lifesciences is 46th 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 March 26, 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 | — | $17.5m | $21.3m | $4.7m | $93 | $127 | $1.1bn |
| 2024 | — | $14.6m | $9.2m | $4.4m | $81 | $117 | $1.4bn |
| 2023 | — | $12.9m | $11.0m | $5.0m | $84 | $106 | $1.4bn |
| 2022 | — | $14.0m | −$10.5m | $4.2m | $82 | $97 | $1.5bn |
| 2021 | — | $13.6m | $31.5m | $3.5m | $142 | $119 | $1.5bn |
The board says pay is tied most to •Underlying Revenue Growth. Its other key measures: Relative TSR, •Adjusted Earnings Per Share, •KOD Measurement.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Bernard J Zovighian (CEO) held 110,681.201 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jul 27, 2026, roughly $9.3m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $11.4m in the last six months and none bought. 12 of 26 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldDonald E Jr BoboCVP,Strategy/Corp Development$3.5mMay 27, 2026
- SoldBernard J ZovighianCEO$3.1mJul 27, 2026
- SoldDaveen ChopraCVP, TMTT, Surgical & IHFM$3.0mAug 26, 2026
- SoldWayne MarkowitzCVP, JAPAC$992kAug 26, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 28, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 30, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 10, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 17, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 15, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 8, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 8, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 53% of net income, and $695.9m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.2bn | $4.5bn | $5.0bn | $5.4bn | $6.1bn |
| Net income | $1.5bn | $1.5bn | $1.4bn | $4.2bn | $1.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $109.3m | $126.8m | $139.4m | $162.3m | $158.1m |
| Buybacks | $512.8m | $1.7bn | $879.6m | $1.2bn | $893.4m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 631m | 624m | 609m | 599m | 586m |
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.