Episode Details

Trade Wire - BUY/SELL

Top Stories:

proxy countdown_trade wire_2025 - Google Sheets

Dumb pay

Xmas week pay dump:

CrowdStrike

performance-based equity award granted to CEO George Kurtz with target value of approximately $140M; worth up to $280M with 90th percentile TSR and $70M with 25th percentile TSR

Warner Bros. Discovery

$96M: Make-Whole RSU award to CEO Daivd Zaslav of 1,963,465 shares; after January 2 Follow-On Option award of 3,052,734 options because share price is down

Under a new employment agreement executed on June 12, 2025, Zaslav received a special award of 20,898,776 stock options with an exercise price of $10.16 (~$400M). Additionally, on January 2, 2026, he was granted 3,052,734 follow-on stock options with an exercise price of $28.51 (~$40M). To address the higher exercise price of these options compared to the initial grant, Zaslav received 1,963,465 restricted stock units on January 5, 2026 (~$56M).

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

CEO Greg Abel salary increased to $25M

Aon plc

Gregory C. Case extended contract: $50-100M performance shares; increase salary to $1.75M; capped at 100% target if TSR negative

Duolingo $14M CFO golden hello

Gillian Munson, Director since 2019 & Audit Committee chair 

Executive chair and former CEO junk:

IDEXX LABORATORIES

CEO  and Chair Jonathan (Jay) Mazelsky stepping down as of May 12, 2026 and will transition to the role of Executive Chair

Michael (Mike) Erickson, PhD, will assume the role of CEO and join the Board as a Class II Director

Lawrence D. Kingsley, currently serving as the Board’s independent Non-Executive Chair, will serve as independent Lead Director

Toll Brothers

promoted Karl K. Mistry to CEO effective March 30, 2026; to join board

Douglas C. Yearley, Jr., the Company’s current Chairman and CEO will remain as Executive Chair of the Board, with $6.6M annual pay

CATERPILLAR

former CEO and current Executive Chair D. James Umpleby III resigning

CEO Joseph E. Creed will become Chair

amended bylaws to