Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings management check
NCLH · Consumer Discretionary · Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines · CEO John Chidsey (since the last proxy; previously Harry Sommer)
Filings as of
2 good · 2 to watch · 3 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 $88, against $145 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 0.42 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
3.2% of net income$13.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $423.2m of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
New CEO since the proxyJohn Chidsey filed as President and CEO after the last proxy (which named Harry Sommer) and holds 1,139,940 shares, about $18.7m. Their pay will be in the next proxy. 7 insiders bought $29.2m on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +5.7% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
New CEO: John ChidseyJohn Chidsey has filed as CEO since the last proxy. CEO in the pay table: Harry Sommer. 11 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 Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 1 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 71 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 7 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 36 |
| Dilution | 0 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 70 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines, by management score. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is 46th of 47 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 30, 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 | Harry Sommer | $13.8m | $15.5m | $4.5m | $88 | $145 | $423.2m |
| 2024 | — | $12.8m | $24.2m | $5.2m | $101 | $136 | $910.3m |
| 2023 | — | $12.4m | $38.9m | $4.6m | $79 | $118 | $166.2m |
| 2022 | — | $21.2m | $8.7m | $5.7m | $48 | $87 | −$2.3bn |
| 2021 | — | $19.7m | $14.2m | $3.6m | $82 | $111 | −$4.5bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted EPS. Its other key measures: Adjusted Operational EBITDA Margin, Adjusted ROIC, Net Leverage.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
John Chidsey (President and CEO) held 1,139,940 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 22, 2026, roughly $18.7m at that filing's price.
7 insiders bought $29.2m on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows.
- BoughtStephen G PagliucaDirector$25.0mJun 2, 2026
- BoughtJohn ChidseyPresident and CEO$2.5mMay 22, 2026
- BoughtZillah Byng-ThorneDirector$521kMay 7, 2026
- BoughtJonathan Z CohenDirector$475kMay 20, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 16, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 12, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 12, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 15, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 14, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 20, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Aug 12, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $0 returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, and $536.8m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $648.0m | $4.8bn | $8.5bn | $9.5bn | $9.8bn |
| Net income | −$4.5bn | −$2.3bn | $166.2m | $910.3m | $423.2m |
| Stock-based pay | $124.1m | $113.6m | $118.9m | $91.8m | $88.4m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 365m | 420m | 427m | 515m | 478m |
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.