Xcel Energy management check
XEL · Utilities · Multi-Utilities
Filings as of
4 good · 1 to watch · 1 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 $130, against $144 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 0.73 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.8% of net income$16.0m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.0bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingNo open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +3.3% a year over the last three fiscal years.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
6 leadership filings in 3 years6 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 Utilities.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 38 | 53 | |
| Pay for performance | 87 | 81 | |
| CEO cost | 58 | 50 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 45 |
| Dilution | 9 | 37 | |
| Stable leadership | 95 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Multi-Utilities, by management score. Xcel Energy is 13th of 30 in its sector.
- 146NEENextEra Energy72
- 210CMSCMS Energy68
- 226AEEAmeren66
- 227SRESempra66
- 242NINiSource65
- 244CNPCenterPoint Energy65
- 245XELXcel Energy64
- 330DDominion Energy59
- 337PNWPinnacle West Capital59
- 361EDConsolidated Edison57
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 7, 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 | — | $16.0m | $28.4m | $3.3m | $130 | $144 | $2.0bn |
| 2024 | — | $12.9m | $20.7m | $3.6m | $114 | $129 | $1.9bn |
| 2023 | — | $21.4m | $18.1m | $3.8m | $101 | $108 | $1.8bn |
| 2022 | — | $10.3m | $9.9m | $3.3m | $111 | $118 | $1.7bn |
| 2021 | — | $12.8m | $6.4m | $2.5m | $104 | $117 | $1.6bn |
Insiders and the CEO's stake
No open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 29, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 16, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 3, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 23, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 2, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 23, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 22, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 20, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 10, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 22, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 61% of net income, and $155.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net income | $1.6bn | $1.7bn | $1.8bn | $1.9bn | $2.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $31.0m | $20.0m | $25.0m | $33.0m | $46.0m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $935.0m | $1.0bn | $1.1bn | $1.2bn | $1.3bn |
| Diluted shares | 540m | 547m | 552m | 563m | 589m |
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.