Essex Property Trust management check
ESS · Real Estate · Multi-Family Residential REITs · CEO Angela L. Kleiman
Filings as of
3 good · 1 to watch · 2 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 $130, against $130 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 0.85 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.4% of net income$10.1m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $702.8m of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $168k sold in six months.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 102.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
3 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Michael J. Schall, Michael J. Schall and Angela L. Kleiman, Angela L. Kleiman. 2 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 Real Estate.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 50 | 45 | |
| Pay for performance | 93 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 37 | 23 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 32 |
| Dilution | 20 | 23 | |
| Stable leadership | 20 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Multi-Family Residential REITs, by management score. Essex Property Trust is 23rd of 29 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 27, 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 | Angela L. Kleiman | $10.1m | $10.3m | $3.6m | $130 | $130 | $702.8m |
| 2024 | Angela L. Kleiman | $8.2m | $11.0m | $2.9m | $137 | $142 | $811.3m |
| 2023 | Michael J. Schall and Angela L. Kleiman | $3.1m | $6.2m | $1.4m | $116 | $118 | $430.7m |
| 2022 | Michael J. Schall | $4.1m | −$4.4m | $3.3m | $95 | $111 | $433.0m |
| 2021 | Michael J. Schall | $7.2m | $8.9m | $3.2m | $152 | $164 | $515.7m |
The board says pay is tied most to Core FFO per diluted share. Its other key measures: 1.Core FFO, 2.Core FFO per diluted share, 3.Same-property NOI.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $168k sold in six months.
- SoldMary KasarisDirector$168kMay 27, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 4, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 11, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 28, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 3, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 14, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $294.6m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, and $39.3m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.1m | $11.1m | $11.1m | $10.3m | $9.4m |
| Net income | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stock-based pay | $7.3m | $7.2m | $8.0m | $7.2m | $9.6m |
| Buybacks | $9.2m | $189.7m | $95.7m | $0 | $0 |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 65m | 65m | 64m | 64m | 64m |
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.