Cincinnati Financial management check
CINF · Financials · Property & Casualty Insurance · CEO Stephen M. Spray
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $211, against $222 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 0.46 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.2% of net income$5.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.4bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are buying1 insider bought $172k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.3m.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.3% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Steven J. Johnston, Stephen M. Spray. 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 Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 44 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 73 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | 80 | 51 | |
| Dilution | 52 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 50 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Property & Casualty Insurance, by management score. Cincinnati Financial is 35th of 72 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 18, 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 | Stephen M. Spray | $5.9m | $7.9m | $3.0m | $211 | $222 | $2.4bn |
| 2024 | Steven J. Johnston | $9.9m | $16.2m | $4.3m | $182 | $203 | $2.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $8.4m | $6.7m | $4.0m | $128 | $152 | $1.8bn |
| 2022 | — | $7.6m | $4.7m | $3.5m | $123 | $137 | −$487.0m |
| 2021 | — | $6.5m | $9.6m | $3.2m | $133 | $120 | $2.9bn |
The board says pay is tied most to VCR. Its other key measures: 3-year TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
1 insider bought $172k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.3m.
- BoughtDirk J DebbinkDirector$172kAug 25, 2026
- SoldCharles Odell SchiffDirector$1.3mAug 3, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 22, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 16, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 30, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 24, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 31, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 15, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 29, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 21, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 6, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $3.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 36% of net income, and $33.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.6bn | $6.6bn | $10.0bn | $11.3bn | $12.6bn |
| Net income | $3.0bn | −$487.0m | $1.8bn | $2.3bn | $2.4bn |
| Stock-based pay | $33.0m | — | — | — | — |
| Buybacks | $144.0m | $410.0m | $67.0m | $126.0m | $205.0m |
| Dividends | $395.0m | $423.0m | $454.0m | $490.0m | $525.0m |
| Diluted shares | 163m | 159m | 158m | 158m | 158m |
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.