Diamondback Energy management check
FANG · Energy · Oil & Gas Exploration & Production · CEO Kaes Van’t Hof
Filings as of
2 good · 5 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $384, against $270 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 0.24 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.3% of net income$20.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.5bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.2 years of payThe CEO holds 116,440 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.2 years of pay. 9 insiders sold $65.1m in the last six months and none bought. 17 of 39 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Stock pay 0.6% of revenueStock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Travis D. Stice, Kaes Van’t Hof. 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 Energy.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 64 | |
| Pay for performance | 62 | 65 | |
| CEO cost | 40 | 66 | |
| Skin in the game | 19 | 49 | |
| Dilution | 96 | 58 | |
| Stable leadership | 55 | 73 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Oil & Gas Exploration & Production, by management score. Diamondback Energy is 11th of 20 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 9, 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 | Kaes Van’t Hof, Travis D. Stice | $20.5m | $16.6m | $5.7m | $384 | $270 | $1.5bn |
| 2024 | Travis D. Stice | $21.3m | $29.1m | $7.5m | $407 | $284 | $3.7bn |
| 2023 | Travis D. Stice | $17.6m | $34.3m | $5.7m | $369 | $313 | $3.3bn |
| 2022 | Travis D. Stice | $17.2m | $17.7m | $4.9m | $308 | $323 | $4.6bn |
| 2021 | Travis D. Stice | $13.5m | $24.0m | $5.1m | $227 | $189 | $2.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to ROACE. Its other key measures: ROACE;, Free Cash Flow (as defined and reconciled in Schedule A to this proxy statement);, PDP F&D Cost (as defined in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Performance-Based Annual Incentive Bonus” above); and, Relative Total Stockholder Return (as modified by an absolute TSR modifier) (as discussed in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-Term Equity Incentive Compensation—2025 Performance-Based and Time-Based Awards”)..
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Hof Matthew Kaes Van't (Chief Executive Officer) held 116,440 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 20, 2026, roughly $25.0m at that filing's price.
9 insiders sold $65.1m in the last six months and none bought. 17 of 39 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldCharles Alvin MeloyDirector · 10b5-1 plan$31.3mOct 5, 2026
- SoldTravis D. SticeDirector$15.3mSep 11, 2026
- SoldHof Matthew Kaes Van'tChief Executive Officer$6.3mAug 20, 2026
- SoldTeresa L. DickEVP Accounting, Assist. Sec.$5.5mSep 15, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 30, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 20, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 21, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 3, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 10, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 30, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 11, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 30, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 20, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $9.4bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 61% of net income, and $225.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.7bn | $9.6bn | $8.4bn | $11.1bn | $15.0bn |
| Net income | $2.3bn | $4.6bn | $3.3bn | $3.7bn | $1.5bn |
| Stock-based pay | $51.0m | $55.0m | $54.0m | $65.0m | — |
| Buybacks | $431.0m | $1.1bn | $840.0m | $959.0m | — |
| Dividends | $312.0m | $1.6bn | $1.4bn | $1.6bn | $1.2bn |
| Diluted shares | 177m | 177m | 180m | 214m | 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.