Howmet Aerospace management check
HWM · Industrials · Aerospace & Defense · CEO John C. Plant
Filings as of
5 good · 0 to watch · 1 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 $728, against $230 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 0.96 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
4.7% of net income$70.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.5bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $11.3m sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.2% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
6 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: John C. Plant. 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 Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 98 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 55 |
| Dilution | 65 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 95 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Aerospace & Defense, by management score. Howmet Aerospace is 12th of 81 in its sector.
- 21GEGE Aerospace85
- 44RTXRTX Corporation82
- 98HWMHowmet Aerospace76
- 113NOCNorthrop Grumman75
- 130LMTLockheed Martin73
- 154GDGeneral Dynamics72
- 206TXTTextron68
- 217TDGTransDigm Group67
- 310LHXL3Harris61
- 382HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries55
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 6, 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 | John C. Plant | $70.5m | $134.8m | $2.9m | $728 | $230 | $1.5bn |
| 2024 | — | $22.4m | $46.5m | $4.8m | $387 | $162 | $1.2bn |
| 2023 | — | $7.3m | $25.7m | $3.2m | $191 | $142 | $765.0m |
| 2022 | — | $1.7m | $28.8m | $2.3m | $139 | $133 | $469.0m |
| 2021 | — | $17.2m | $27.7m | $4.7m | $112 | $113 | $258.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items. Its other key measures: Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding special items, Adjusted Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Earnings per Share excluding special items.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $11.3m sold in six months.
- SoldNeil Edward MarchukEVP, CAO$11.3mMay 11, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 22, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 29, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 29, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Sep 29, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 23, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 8, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 26, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 55% of net income, and $280.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.0bn | $5.7bn | $6.6bn | $7.4bn | $8.3bn |
| Net income | $258.0m | $469.0m | $765.0m | $1.2bn | $1.5bn |
| Stock-based pay | $40.0m | $54.0m | $50.0m | $63.0m | $73.0m |
| Buybacks | $430.0m | $400.0m | $250.0m | $500.0m | $700.0m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 435m | 421m | 416m | 410m | 406m |
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.