Companies Buckle Inc
Buckle (BKE): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $9,825,399FY2023
- $8,817,953FY2024
- $11,706,282FY2025
CEO total pay was $11,706,282 in fiscal 2025, up from $8,817,953 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $1,300,000 · bonus $4,503,597 · stock awards $5,713,200 · option awards $0
Executives and directors
Frequently asked questions
Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Nelson | $1,300,000 | $4,503,597 | $5,713,200 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $189,485 | $11,706,282 |
| President and CEO | ||||||||
| Kari Smith | 690,000 | 1,156,329 | 942,678 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48,135 | 2,837,142 |
| Executive Vice President of Stores | ||||||||
| Brett Milkie | 670,000 | 1,065,040 | 876,024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46,229 | 2,657,293 |
| Senior Vice President of Leasing | ||||||||
| Thomas Heacock | 635,000 | 1,065,040 | 876,024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66,226 | 2,642,290 |
| Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO | ||||||||
| Michelle Hoffman | 494,000 | 882,462 | 666,540 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38,464 | 2,081,466 |
| Senior Vice President of Sales | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Nelson | $11,706,282 | $8,817,953 | $9,825,399 | ↑ +2,888,329 |
| Kari Smith | 2,837,142 | 2,173,975 | 2,344,260 | ↑ +663,167 |
| Brett Milkie | 2,657,293 | 2,042,399 | 2,185,125 | ↑ +614,894 |
| Thomas Heacock | 2,642,290 | 2,034,829 | 2,181,648 | ↑ +607,461 |
| Michelle Hoffman | 2,081,466 | 1,586,933 | — | ↑ +494,533 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
The Company's compensation philosophy is that each member in a position to make the Company succeed should be rewarded accordingly for success and, as such, the compensation plan is intended to provide a relationship between the compensation earned by executive officers and the creation of value for stockholders.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | — |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | — |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
No plan-based awards are on file for this fiscal year.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle Hoffman | RSU | 26,200 | — | $1,247,382 |
| Thomas Heacock | RSU | 34,480 | — | 1,641,593 |
| Brett Milkie | RSU | 34,480 | — | 1,641,593 |
| Kari Smith | RSU | 37,060 | — | 1,764,427 |
| Dennis Nelson | RSU | 226,000 | — | 10,759,860 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael E. HussIndependent · Audit Committee (Chair) | $76,000 | $85,455 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $161,455 |
| John P. Peetz IIIIndependent · Compensation (Chair) | 72,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157,455 |
| Angie J. KleinIndependent · Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (Chair) | 68,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153,455 |
| James E. ShadaIndependent · Audit Committee · Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Shruti S. JoshiIndependent · Audit Committee · Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Karen B. RhoadsIndependent | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Bruce L. HobermanIndependent · Compensation Committee · Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Hank M. BoundsIndependent · Audit Committee · Compensation Committee | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Bill L. FairfieldIndependent · Audit Committee · Compensation Committee | 60,000 | 85,455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,455 |
| Dennis H. NelsonEmployee director · Executive | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Kari G. SmithEmployee director · Executive | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Thomas B. HeacockEmployee director · Executive | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Daniel J. HirschfeldEmployee director · Board Chair · Executive | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | — |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 16,000 / 12,000 / 8,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $10,000 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $576,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $769,095 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,345,095 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Buckle as a peer
Companies that benchmark against BKE
16 companies name BKE as a compensation peer
- Boot Barn Holdings, Inc.BOOTFY2026
- CALERES INCCALFY2025
- CATO CORPCATOFY2026
- Childrens Place, Inc.PLCEFY2026
- Citi Trends IncCTRNFY2026
- e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.ELFFY2026
- FIGS, Inc.FIGSFY2025
- GENESCO INCGCOFY2026
- LANDS' END, INC.LEFY2026
- LIFETIME BRANDS, INCLCUTFY2025
- OXFORD INDUSTRIES INCOXMFY2026
- PVH CORP. /DE/PVHFY2025
- Revolve Group, Inc.RVLVFY2025
- SHOE STATION GROUP INCSHOEFY2026
- STEVEN MADDEN, LTD.SHOOFY2025
- TILLY'S, INC.TLYSFY2025
- WOLVERINE WORLD WIDE INC /DE/WWWFY2025
- Zumiez IncZUMZFY2026
Each company listed discloses BKE in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named BKE in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
Chief executive pay against the peer group
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckle Inc | 2025 | Dennis Nelson | $1,300,000 | $5,713,200 | $0 | $0 | $11,706,282 |
Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-06-01 | 42,971,864 | 1,516,777 | 116,687 | 96.59% | Passed |
Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.
Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-06-01 | 96.59%a |
a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast in determining the number of votes required for approval.”.
Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (22 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Dennis Nelson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 21. As printed: 11,706,282. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Kari Smith. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,837,142. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Brett Milkie. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,657,293. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Thomas Heacock. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,642,290. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Michelle Hoffman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,081,466. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Michael E. Huss. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 161,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, John P. Peetz III. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 157,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Angie J. Klein. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 153,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, James E. Shada. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Shruti S. Joshi. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Karen B. Rhoads. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Bruce L. Hoberman. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Hank M. Bounds. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Bill L. Fairfield. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 145,455. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Dennis H. Nelson. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Kari G. Smith. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Thomas B. Heacock. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Daniel J. Hirschfeld. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-06-02. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.59% (votes for as printed: 42,971,864). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 576,000 + equity 769,095 + all other 0 = 1,345,095, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Buckle Inc (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Buckle Inc's own proxy. As printed: 11,706,282. View filing ↗