Principal Financial Group management check
PFG · Financials · Life & Health Insurance · CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout
Filings as of
3 good · 3 to watch · 1 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 $213, against $203 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Flag
Does pay follow performance?
Pay moved against returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of -0.59 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.1% of net income$13.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.3bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are selling2 insiders sold $2.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -3.9% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Daniel J. Houston, Deanna D. Strable-Soethout. 5 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 | 56 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 21 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 47 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 51 |
| Dilution | 99 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Life & Health Insurance, by management score. Principal Financial Group is 46th of 72 in its sector.
- 5AFLAflac92
- 141METMetLife73
- 261PFGPrincipal Financial Group64
- 265AIZAssurant64
- 313PRUPrudential Financial60
- 381GLGlobe Life56
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 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 | Daniel J. Houston, Deanna D. Strable-Soethout | $13.8m | $15.3m | $5.3m | $213 | $203 | $1.3bn |
| 2024 | — | $16.4m | $14.2m | $4.5m | $171 | $174 | $1.6bn |
| 2023 | — | $15.1m | $12.3m | $5.4m | $167 | $141 | $670.1m |
| 2022 | — | $13.8m | $22.3m | $4.7m | $172 | $129 | $4.9bn |
| 2021 | — | $17.6m | $30.4m | $5.2m | $144 | $136 | $1.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Non-GAAP operating earnings. Its other key measures: Non-GAAP Operating Earnings, Non-GAAP Return on Equity, Operating Margin.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Deanna D Strable-soethout (Chair, President and CEO) held 228,044 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 25, 2026.
2 insiders sold $2.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldWee Yee CheongPresident - Asia & Middle East$2.6mMay 21, 2026
- SoldGeorge DjurasovicInterim General Counsel$259kApr 30, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 19, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 14, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 21, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 11, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 22, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 18, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 24, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 20, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $8.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 84% of net income, and $505.4m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $14.4bn | $17.5bn | $13.7bn | $16.1bn | $15.6bn |
| Net income | $1.8bn | $4.9bn | $670.1m | $1.6bn | $1.3bn |
| Stock-based pay | $96.1m | $91.3m | $99.4m | $108.7m | $109.9m |
| Buybacks | $937.2m | $1.7bn | $740.4m | $1.0bn | $902.7m |
| Dividends | $654.1m | $642.3m | $625.5m | $658.4m | $684.0m |
| Diluted shares | 273m | 255m | 245m | 235m | 226m |
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.