Kimberly-Clark management check
KMB · Consumer Staples · Household Products · CEO Hsu
Filings as of
4 good · 2 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 $90, against $141 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 0.30 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$15.3m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.0bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 2.2 years of payThe CEO holds 341,321 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 2.2 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $690k sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.8% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
8 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Hsu. 8 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 Consumer Staples.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 4 | 31 | |
| Pay for performance | 65 | 84 | |
| CEO cost | 60 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | 52 | 65 | |
| Dilution | 60 | 60 | |
| Stable leadership | 85 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Household Products, by management score. Kimberly-Clark is 20th of 33 in its sector.
- 57CLColgate-Palmolive80
- 239CHDChurch & Dwight65
- 291TGTTarget Corporation62
- 302KMBKimberly-Clark61
- 307GISGeneral Mills61
- 308CLXClorox61
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 23, 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 | Hsu | $15.3m | $9.2m | $5.3m | $90 | $141 | $2.0bn |
| 2024 | — | $16.4m | $23.8m | $5.8m | $113 | $151 | $2.5bn |
| 2023 | — | $16.5m | $20.8m | $5.1m | $101 | $131 | $1.8bn |
| 2022 | — | $14.6m | $23.4m | $5.5m | $109 | $131 | $1.9bn |
| 2021 | — | $12.0m | $3.3m | $4.6m | $111 | $131 | $1.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to annual organic sales growth. Its other key measures: Organic sales growth, Modified free cash flow, Adjusted EPS, Market share, Enabling our purpose.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Michael D. Hsu (Chairman of the Board and CEO) held 341,321 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 1, 2026, roughly $33.3m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $690k sold in six months.
- SoldAndrew ScribnerController, VP & FP&A$401kMay 6, 2026
- SoldKaty ChenPresident, Int'l Personal Care$288kMay 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 1, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 6, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- May 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 30, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 13, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 15, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 22, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 14, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $9.8bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 97% of net income, and $616.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $19.4bn | $17.0bn | $17.1bn | $16.8bn | $16.4bn |
| Net income | $1.8bn | $1.9bn | $1.8bn | $2.5bn | $2.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $26.0m | $150.0m | $169.0m | $131.0m | $140.0m |
| Buybacks | $400.0m | $100.0m | $225.0m | $1.0bn | $141.0m |
| Dividends | $1.5bn | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | $1.7bn |
| Diluted shares | 339m | 338m | 339m | 337m | 333m |
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.