Coinbase management check
COIN · Financials · Financial Exchanges & Data · CEO Mr. Armstrong
Filings as of
4 good · 0 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 $69, against $209 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 0.81 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$9.7m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.3bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $30.4m sold in six months. 72 of 72 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +6.3% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 11.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
7 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Armstrong. 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 2022.
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 | 0 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 91 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 61 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 51 |
| Dilution | 0 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 90 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Financial Exchanges & Data, by management score. Coinbase is 60th of 72 in its sector.
- 84SPGIS&P Global78
- 201ICEIntercontinental Exchange68
- 221CMECME Group67
- 222CBOECboe Global Markets67
- 230MCOMoody's Corporation66
- 234NDAQNasdaq, Inc.66
- 241MSCIMSCI65
- 366COINCoinbase57
- 404FDSFactSet53
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 24, 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. Armstrong | $9.7m | $37.2m | $16.7m | $69 | $209 | $1.3bn |
| 2024 | — | $7.2m | $523.6m | $12.0m | $76 | $163 | $2.6bn |
| 2023 | — | $4.7m | $680.9m | $12.4m | $53 | $120 | $100.0m |
| 2022 | — | $7.5m | −$1.4bn | $15.9m | $11 | $74 | −$2.6bn |
| 2021 | — | $3.3m | $2.1bn | $4.8m | $77 | $115 | $3.6bn |
The board says pay is tied most to stock price. Its other key measures: Total Shareholder Return, Net Income (Loss), Stock Price, Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $30.4m sold in six months. 72 of 72 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldFrederick R WilsonDirector · 10b5-1 plan$10.3mSep 1, 2026
- SoldAlesia J HaasChief Financial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$10.0mSep 21, 2026
- SoldMarc L AndreessenDirector · 10b5-1 plan$7.8mOct 2, 2026
- SoldLawrence J BrockChief People Officer · 10b5-1 plan$1.3mMay 22, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 23, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 10, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 25, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 19, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 2, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Nov 2, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 18, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $790.2m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 16% of net income, and $4.9bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.8bn | $3.2bn | $3.1bn | $6.6bn | $7.2bn |
| Net income | $3.6bn | −$2.6bn | $100.0m | $2.6bn | $1.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | $820.7m | $1.6bn | $780.7m | $912.8m | $839.4m |
| Buybacks | — | — | $0 | $0 | $790.2m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 220m | 222m | 254m | 273m | 287m |
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.