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SM Energy Executive Compensation (FY25)

SM · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025

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Data as of September 7, 2026Latest filing (DEF 14A): April 8, 2026
14 filings cited on this page
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Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
SM Energy brief$1,500Get the executive brief
286 figures on this page: 276 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Elizabeth McDonald
Latest say-on-pay support
=
May 22, 2025
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Elizabeth McDonald: $3,559,794 → $4,475,172 (25.7% higher)
CEO pay ratio: 64:1 → 39:1 (39.1% lower)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is SM Energy's chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Elizabeth McDonald, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, came to $4,475,172 in fiscal 2025. McDonald's total was 25.7% higher than the $3,559,794 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was SM Energy's say-on-pay result?
Shareholders recorded 93.3% support for the say-on-pay proposal at the meeting held May 22, 2025 for fiscal 2024.
Which companies are in SM Energy's peer group?
Companies named in the disclosed peer group include Antero Resources Corporation, California Resources Corporation, Chord Energy Corporation, Civitas Resources, Inc. and CNX Resources Corporation, among others.
What is SM Energy's chief executive pay ratio?
The company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 39:1 for fiscal 2025, against median employee compensation of $202,421.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Herbert Vogel
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
A. Wade Pursell
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Mary Ellen Lutey
Senior Vice President—Exploration, Development and EHS
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kenneth Knott
Senior Vice President - Business Development and Land
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Herbert Vogel
Former President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
A. Wade Pursell
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
James Lebeck
Executive Vice President - Chief Corporate Development Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kenneth Knott
Advisor, Former Senior Vice President - Business Development and Land
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Mary Ellen Lutey
Senior Vice President—Exploration, Development and EHS
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Herbert Vogel
Former President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
A. Wade Pursell
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Elizabeth McDonald
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
James Lebeck
Executive Vice President - Chief Corporate Development Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kenneth Knott
Advisor, Former Senior Vice President - Business Development and Land
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Herbert Vogel
Former President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
Elizabeth McDonald
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
A. Wade Pursell
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
James Lebeck
Executive Vice President - Chief Corporate Development Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kenneth Knott
Advisor, Former Senior Vice President - Business Development and Land
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇◇◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
A. Wade PursellPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
A. Wade PursellRSU◇——◇——◇
Elizabeth A. McDonaldPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Elizabeth A. McDonaldRSU◇——◇——◇
Herbert S. VogelRSU◇——◇——◇
Herbert S. VogelPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
James B. LebeckPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
James B. LebeckRSU◇——◇——◇
Kenneth J. KnottPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Kenneth J. KnottRSU◇——◇——◇
Fiscal 2023, 2024 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
A. PursellPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Elizabeth McDonaldPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
James LebeckPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Kenneth KnottPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Herbert VogelPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Julio M. Quintana
◇◇———◇◇
Ramiro G. Peru
◇◇———◇◇
Rose M. Robeson
◇◇————◇
Carla J. Bailo
◇◇————◇
William D. Sullivan
—◇———◇◇
Barton R. Brookman
—◇———◇◇
Anita M. Powers
—◇————◇
Ashwin Venkatraman
◇◇————◇
Elizabeth A. McDonald, Morris R. Clark, Carrie M. Fox, Lloyd W. Helms Jr and Stephen R. Brand served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Lead independent director premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Board meeting fee◇
Committee meeting fee◇
Equity is delivered as restricted stock units.
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer ($475,000)

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Antero Resources Corporation AR
  • California Resources Corporation CRC
  • Chord Energy Corporation CHRD
  • Civitas Resources, Inc. CIVI
  • CNX Resources Corporation CNX
  • Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK
  • Gulfport Energy Corporation GPOR
  • Kosmos Energy Ltd. KOS
  • Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation MGY
  • Matador Resources Company MTDR
  • Murphy Oil Corporation MUR
  • Northern Oil & Gas, Inc. NOG
  • Ovintiv Inc. OVV
  • Permian Resources Corporation PR
  • Range Resources Corporation RRC
  • Talos Energy Inc. TALO
  • Vital Energy, Inc. VTLE

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2024May 22, 2025=◇◇◇
2023May 23, 2024=◇◇◇
2022May 25, 2023=◇◇◇
2021May 26, 2022=◇◇◇
2020May 27, 2021=◇◇◇
2019May 27, 2020=◇◇◇
2018May 29, 2019=◇◇◇
2017May 22, 2018=◇◇◇
2016May 23, 2017=◇◇◇
2015May 24, 2016=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact SM Energy disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where SM Energy sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $1,200
Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
Velarion Intelligence
Adviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
286 figures on this page: 276 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints.
276 cited to the filing
10 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0000893538-26-000048
    2025 Non-Employee Director Compensation* · CEO Pay Ratio · DIRECTOR COMPENSATION · Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 202 · and 2 more sections
  2. 0000893538-25-000044
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  3. 0000893538-25-000032
    Summary Compensation Table
  4. 0000893538-24-000039
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  5. 0000893538-24-000022
    EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES · Summary Compensation Table
  6. 0000893538-23-000040
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  7. 0000893538-23-000027
    Summary Compensation Table
  8. 0000893538-22-000051
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  9. 0000893538-21-000032
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0000893538-20-000068
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  11. 0000893538-19-000039
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  12. 0001104659-18-036115
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  13. 0000893538-17-000057
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  14. 0000893538-16-000139
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
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Velarion, “SM Energy executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/SM (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

The SM Energy brief, $1,500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $1,200 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
14 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
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Peers SM Energy discloses

The companies named in SM's own disclosed peer group.

Antero Resources CorporationChord Energy CorporationCivitas Resources, Inc.CNX Resources CorporationComstock Resources, Inc.Gulfport Energy CorporationKosmos Energy Ltd.Matador Resources CompanyMurphy Oil CorporationNorthern Oil & Gas, Inc.Ovintiv Inc.Permian Resources CorporationRange Resources CorporationTalos Energy Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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