Agilent Technologies management check
A · Health Care · Life Sciences Tools & Services · CEO Padraig Mcdonnell
Filings as of
4 good · 1 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 $148, against $194 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 0.80 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.8% of net income$12.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.6bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.7 years of payThe CEO holds 65,842 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.7 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $313k sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.9% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. McMullen, Mr. McDonnell. 16 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 | 21 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 90 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 58 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 27 | 46 | |
| Dilution | 73 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 5 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Life Sciences Tools & Services, by management score. Agilent Technologies is 48th of 60 in its sector.
- 104WATWaters Corporation76
- 173IQVIQVIA71
- 218MTDMettler Toledo67
- 297DHRDanaher Corporation62
- 301TMOThermo Fisher Scientific61
- 374CRLCharles River Laboratories56
- 397AAgilent Technologies53
- 422TECHBio-Techne50
- 444ILMNIllumina, Inc.47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed February 6, 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 | Mr. McDonnell | $12.8m | $14.6m | $3.8m | $148 | $194 | $1.6bn |
| 2024 | Mr. McDonnell, Mr. McMullen | $16.6m | $21.2m | $5.9m | $131 | $174 | $1.5bn |
| 2023 | Mr. McMullen | $16.0m | $1.0m | $3.7m | $103 | $134 | $1.2bn |
| 2022 | Mr. McMullen | $16.6m | $10.5m | $4.2m | $137 | $130 | $1.3bn |
| 2021 | Mr. McMullen | $16.0m | $31.8m | $3.8m | $155 | $140 | $1.2bn |
The board says pay is tied most to AdjustedEPS. Its other key measures: Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS), Total Shareholder Return (TSR), Adjusted Revenue.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Padraig Mcdonnell (President and CEO) held 65,842 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jun 3, 2026, roughly $9.0m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $313k sold in six months.
- SoldMikael DolstenDirector$313kSep 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 6, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Mar 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 8, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jul 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 21, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 2, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 2, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 24, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Mar 20, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.4bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 86% of net income, and $603.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.3bn | $6.8bn | $6.8bn | $6.5bn | $6.9bn |
| Net income | $1.2bn | $1.3bn | $1.2bn | $1.3bn | $1.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | $110.0m | $125.0m | $111.0m | $129.0m | $128.0m |
| Buybacks | $788.0m | $1.1bn | $575.0m | $1.1bn | $425.0m |
| Dividends | $236.0m | $250.0m | $265.0m | $274.0m | $282.0m |
| Diluted shares | 307m | 300m | 296m | 291m | 285m |
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.