Tyson Foods management check
TSN · Consumer Staples · Packaged Foods & Meats · CEO Donnie King
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 $106, against $150 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 0.49 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
6.8% of net income$34.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $507.0m of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are buying1 insider bought $1.0m 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 +12.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Dean Banks, Donnie King. 13 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 | 13 | 31 | |
| Pay for performance | 74 | 84 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | 80 | 65 | |
| Dilution | 0 | 60 | |
| Stable leadership | 20 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Packaged Foods & Meats, by management score. Tyson Foods is 30th of 33 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed December 17, 2025. "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 | Donnie King | $34.5m | $31.9m | $8.4m | $106 | $150 | $507.0m |
| 2024 | Donnie King | $22.8m | $30.6m | $7.7m | $113 | $150 | $822.0m |
| 2023 | Donnie King | $13.2m | $1.2m | $5.8m | $92 | $120 | −$649.0m |
| 2022 | Dean Banks, Donnie King | $12.0m | $10.9m | $5.8m | $116 | $111 | $3.2bn |
| 2021 | — | $14.5m | $26.0m | $7.3m | $135 | $112 | $3.1bn |
The board says pay is tied most to We determined Adjusted Operating Income to be the most important financial performance measure used to link Company performance to Compensation Actually Paid to our PEO and Non-PEO NEOs in fiscal year 2025. “Adjusted Operating Income” for purposes of annual incentive payments is a non-GAAP measure that means Operating Income but takes into account any unusual or unique items, such as one-time gains or losses, as determined by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee.. Its other key measures: Adjusted Operating Income (“AOI”), Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”), Relative Total Shareholder Return (“rTSR”).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
1 insider bought $1.0m on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows.
- BoughtJeffrey K SchomburgerPresident & CEO Elect$1.0mSep 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 18, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 17, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 28, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 5, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 29, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 12, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Feb 9, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $3.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 48% of net income, and $446.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $47.0bn | $53.3bn | $52.9bn | $53.3bn | $54.4bn |
| Net income | $3.0bn | $3.2bn | −$648.0m | $800.0m | $474.0m |
| Stock-based pay | $91.0m | $93.0m | $61.0m | $101.0m | $100.0m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $636.0m | $653.0m | $670.0m | $684.0m | $697.0m |
| Diluted shares | 365m | 363m | 284m | 356m | 357m |
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.