Vertex Pharmaceuticals management check
VRTX · Health Care · Biotechnology · CEO Reshma Kewalramani
Filings as of
6 good · 0 to watch · 0 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 $192, against $125 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 0.91 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.5% of net income$21.1m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $4.0bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $11.0m sold in six months. 14 of 14 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 5.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
7 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Reshma Kewalramani. 7 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 Health Care.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 95 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 73 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 46 |
| Dilution | 56 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 90 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Biotechnology, by management score. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is 2nd of 60 in its sector.
- 19VRTXVertex Pharmaceuticals86
- 43GILDGilead Sciences82
- 93REGNRegeneron Pharmaceuticals77
- 136AMGNAmgen73
- 199ABBVAbbVie69
- 298INCYIncyte61
- 401MRNAModerna53
- 447BIIBBiogen47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 2, 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 | Reshma Kewalramani | $21.1m | $38.2m | $7.7m | $192 | $125 | $4.0bn |
| 2024 | Reshma Kewalramani | $21.5m | $43.6m | $8.1m | $170 | $93 | −$500.0m |
| 2023 | Reshma Kewalramani | $20.6m | $44.2m | $7.4m | $172 | $94 | $3.6bn |
| 2022 | Reshma Kewalramani | $15.9m | $29.5m | $9.0m | $122 | $90 | $3.3bn |
| 2021 | Reshma Kewalramani | $15.2m | $18.3m | $7.2m | $93 | $100 | $2.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to net product revenue. Its other key measures: Net Product Revenue, Pipeline Progression(1), Adjusted Non-GAAP EBITDA(2).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $11.0m sold in six months. 14 of 14 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldCarmen BozicEVP and CMO · 10b5-1 plan$8.0mJun 26, 2026
- SoldJoy LiuEVP and Chief Legal Officer · 10b5-1 plan$1.2mJul 1, 2026
- SoldDuncan McKechnieEVP, Chief Commercial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$800kJul 2, 2026
- SoldOurania TatsisEVP, Chief Reg. & Quality Off. · 10b5-1 plan$787kJul 2, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 20, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 1, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 29, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 10, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 5, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 5, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 13, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.0bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 40% of net income, and $2.9bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.6bn | $8.9bn | $9.9bn | $11.0bn | $12.0bn |
| Net income | $2.3bn | $3.3bn | $3.6bn | −$535.6m | $4.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $441.4m | $491.3m | $581.2m | $698.5m | $685.9m |
| Buybacks | $1.4bn | $0 | $427.6m | $1.2bn | $2.0bn |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 260m | 259m | 261m | 258m | 258m |
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.