McCormick & Company management check
MKC · Consumer Staples · Packaged Foods & Meats · CEO Brendan M. Foley
Filings as of
2 good · 3 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 $80, against $102 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 0.90 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.4% of net income$10.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $789.4m of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.0 years of payThe CEO holds 1,770 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.0 years of pay. Light activity: $100k bought, no sales in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Lawrence E. Kurzius, Brendan M. Foley. 11 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Flag
Are the books clean?
Red flags on file1 auditor change (8-K 4.01) 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 | 22 | 31 | |
| Pay for performance | 95 | 84 | |
| CEO cost | 39 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | 0 | 65 | |
| Dilution | 51 | 60 | |
| Stable leadership | 30 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 30 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Packaged Foods & Meats, by management score. McCormick & Company is 32nd of 33 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed February 18, 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 | Brendan M. Foley | $10.8m | $9.3m | $2.5m | $80 | $102 | $789.4m |
| 2024 | Brendan M. Foley | $10.8m | $14.1m | $4.1m | $90 | $116 | $788.5m |
| 2023 | Lawrence E. Kurzius, Brendan M. Foley | $12.6m | $3.4m | $3.2m | $73 | $111 | $680.6m |
| 2022 | Lawrence E. Kurzius | $10.4m | $12.9m | $2.8m | $94 | $125 | $682.0m |
| 2021 | Lawrence E. Kurzius | $12.7m | $11.2m | $3.7m | $93 | $103 | $755.3m |
Its other key measures: Net Sales, Adjusted Net Sales Growth, Adjusted EPS, Gross Profit, Stock Price, Total Stockholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Brendan M Foley (Chairman, President & CEO) held 1,770 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jul 22, 2026, roughly $94k at that filing's price.
Light activity: $100k bought, no sales in six months.
- BoughtMichael Aaron ConwayDirector$55kJul 23, 2026
- BoughtGavin HattersleyDirector$45kOct 2, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 28, 2026Auditor change8-K 4.01
- Aug 28, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 26, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 18, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 21, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 29, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 25, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 21, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 12, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Apr 3, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 62% of net income, and $283.9m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.3bn | $6.4bn | $6.7bn | $6.7bn | $6.8bn |
| Net income | $755.3m | $682.0m | $680.6m | $788.5m | $789.4m |
| Stock-based pay | $66.6m | $60.3m | $63.4m | $47.4m | $46.2m |
| Buybacks | $8.6m | $38.8m | $35.7m | $53.1m | $34.8m |
| Dividends | $363.3m | $396.7m | $418.5m | $451.0m | $483.0m |
| Diluted shares | 270m | 270m | 270m | 270m | 269m |
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.