Wabtec management check
WAB · Industrials · Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment · CEO Rafael Santana
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 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 $300, against $179 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 0.86 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
2.2% of net income$26.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.2bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.3 years of payThe CEO holds 117,200 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.3 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $10.2m in the last six months and none bought. 53 of 65 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -2.4% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
1 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Rafael Santana. 1 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 Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 93 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 21 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | 21 | 55 | |
| Dilution | 80 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment, by management score. Wabtec is 19th of 81 in its sector.
- 12CATCaterpillar Inc.87
- 129WABWabtec74
- 130LMTLockheed Martin73
- 133CMICummins73
- 134PWRQuanta Services73
- 328PCARPaccar59
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 31, 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 | Rafael Santana | $26.2m | $45.5m | $4.7m | $300 | $179 | $1.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $21.0m | $63.0m | $4.7m | $251 | $193 | $1.1bn |
| 2023 | — | $15.5m | $26.7m | $3.5m | $167 | $159 | $815.0m |
| 2022 | — | $11.7m | $15.0m | $2.6m | $131 | $135 | $633.0m |
| 2021 | — | $11.0m | $16.0m | $3.8m | $120 | $150 | $558.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to djusted earnings per diluted share. Its other key measures: EPS, EBIT Margin %, Return on Invested Capital, Annual and Cumulative Cash Conversion, Cash from Operating Activities, Relative TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Rafael Santana (President and CEO) held 117,200 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 6, 2026, roughly $34.5m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $10.2m in the last six months and none bought. 53 of 65 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldRafael SantanaPresident and CEO · 10b5-1 plan$3.8mOct 6, 2026
- SoldEric GebhardtChief Technology Officer$2.1mJul 24, 2026
- SoldDavid L DeNinnoExec VP, General Counsel, Sec.$1.6mJul 24, 2026
- SoldMichael FetskoPres., Freight Components Grp.$953kAug 20, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Dec 4, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 7, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 24, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 6, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 15, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $3.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 74% of net income, and $280.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.8bn | $8.4bn | $9.7bn | $10.4bn | $11.2bn |
| Net income | $558.0m | $633.0m | $815.0m | $1.1bn | $1.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $46.0m | $41.0m | $47.0m | $66.0m | $80.0m |
| Buybacks | $300.0m | $473.0m | $409.0m | $1.1bn | $223.0m |
| Dividends | $92.0m | $111.0m | $123.0m | $140.0m | $173.0m |
| Diluted shares | 188m | 183m | 180m | 175m | 171m |
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.