Globe Life management check
GL · Financials · Life & Health Insurance · CEO J. Matthew Darden
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 $154, against $201 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 0.59 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.8% of net income$9.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.2bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 2.1 years of payThe CEO holds 108,451.46 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 2.1 years of pay. 10 insiders sold $60.8m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -7.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
4 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Gary L. Coleman, Larry M. Hutchinson, Frank M. Svoboda, J. Matthew Darden. 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 Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 21 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 80 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 57 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | 31 | 51 | |
| Dilution | 100 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 0 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Life & Health Insurance, by management score. Globe Life is 62nd of 72 in its sector.
- 5AFLAflac92
- 141METMetLife73
- 261PFGPrincipal Financial Group64
- 313PRUPrudential Financial60
- 376FITBFifth Third Bancorp56
- 381GLGlobe Life56
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 19, 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 | Frank M. Svoboda, J. Matthew Darden | $9.5m | $16.0m | $3.6m | $154 | $201 | $1.2bn |
| 2024 | Frank M. Svoboda, J. Matthew Darden | $8.7m | $8.3m | $3.1m | $121 | $190 | $1.1bn |
| 2023 | Frank M. Svoboda, J. Matthew Darden | $7.2m | $6.0m | $2.9m | $131 | $158 | $970.8m |
| 2022 | Gary L. Coleman, Larry M. Hutchinson | $8.9m | $19.2m | $3.1m | $129 | $151 | $894.4m |
| 2021 | Gary L. Coleman, Larry M. Hutchinson | $8.4m | $6.1m | $2.9m | $100 | $137 | $1.0bn |
Its other key measures: Book Value Per Share, excluding AOCI*, Total Premium, First-Year Collected Premium^, Net Operating Income ROE, Underwriting income, Operating EPS.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
James Matthew Darden (Co-Chairman & CEO) held 108,451.46 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jul 31, 2026, roughly $19.9m at that filing's price.
10 insiders sold $60.8m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldThomas Peter KalmbachEVP & CFO$15.7mJul 30, 2026
- SoldJames Matthew DardenCo-Chairman & CEO$13.2mJul 31, 2026
- SoldMichael Clay MajorsEVP - Chief Strategy Officer$11.8mJul 29, 2026
- SoldFrank M SvobodaCo-Chairman & CEO$10.3mJun 12, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 7, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 29, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 19, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 29, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 9, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 9, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 26, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 4, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $3.8bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 74% of net income, and $190.1m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.1bn | $5.2bn | $5.4bn | $5.8bn | $6.0bn |
| Net income | $1.0bn | $894.4m | $970.8m | $1.1bn | $1.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $30.3m | $35.6m | $30.7m | $40.1m | $53.4m |
| Buybacks | $541.4m | $454.6m | $511.1m | $1.0bn | $881.0m |
| Dividends | $80.0m | $80.5m | $84.1m | $85.5m | $86.1m |
| Diluted shares | 103m | 99m | 96m | 90m | 83m |
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.