Unprofitable Palantir, DoorDash CEO Packages Biggest in 2020; Far Exceed S&P 500 CEO Average: WSJ

Data analysis provider Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR CEO Alexander Karp received compensation valued at $1.1 billion for 2020, including $798 million in options and $296 million in restricted stock, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Meal delivery provider DoorDash Inc DASH CEO Tony Xu received restricted shares initially valued at over $400 million.
The median pay for S&P 500 CEOs in 2020 was $13.4 million, and the highest compensation package was valued at $211 million.
Neither Palantir nor DoorDash is profitable or part of the S&P 500 index.
Both the companies describe the awards as tools to retain and motivate their CEOs to drive the companies’ valuations.
Xu owns a 5% stake in DoorDash but retains 71% of its voting power. Karp holds 5.1% of Palantir’s voting power and also has voting agreements with the co-founders.
Xu founded DoorDash with Stanford University classmates in 2013. The company capitalized on the pandemic-induced restaurant-delivery order boom. It reported a revenue of $2.9 billion and a loss of $461 million in 2020.
Karp assisted Palantir when it was started in 2003 with PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL co-founder Peter Thiel’s financial support. Palantir reported revenue of $1.1 billion and a net loss of $1.2 billion in 2020.
DoorDash’s stock price needs to average at least $501 for six months before late Nov. 2027 for Xu to receive 100% of the award worth $5.2 billion.
Karp’s award of Palantir options and restricted stock is worth $3.9 billion today under standard valuation techniques.
Tesla Inc’s TSLA Elon Musk received a stock option grant valued at $2.28 billion in 2018. The share price rose almost 10-times during the period. Earlier this year, Musk received full title to a tranche of options worth $32 billion.
Price action: PLTR shares traded lower by 1.90% at $23.99, and PLTR shares are lower by 2.17% at $23.92 on the last check Thursday.
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

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