Companies Nerdwallet, Inc
Nerdwallet (NRDS): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $6,546,670FY2023
- $1,487,104FY2024
- $1,541,124FY2025
CEO total pay was $1,541,124 in fiscal 2025, up from $1,487,104 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $700,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $0 · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lee | $395,833 | $0 | $2,594,441 | $3,020,131 | $242,737 | $0 | $15,750 | $6,268,892 |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Sam Yount | 423,000 | 1,666,667 | 1,259,636 | 1,468,597 | 146,682 | 0 | 16,100 | 4,980,682 |
| Former Chief Business Officer | ||||||||
| Tim Chen | 700,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 825,024 | 0 | 16,100 | 1,541,124 |
| Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board | ||||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lee | $6,268,892 | — | — | — |
| Sam Yount | 4,980,682 | 2,136,200 | 2,028,439 | ↑ +2,844,482 |
| Tim Chen | 1,541,124 | 1,487,104 | 6,546,670 | ↑ +54,020 |
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
NerdWallet offers market-competitive compensation to attract employees and adheres to a pay-for-performance philosophy that aligns employee rewards with individual and company performance. The company grants equity-based compensation to the majority of full-time employees to align them with the long-term success of the Company.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lee | PRSU | — | — | — | — | — | $2,594,441 |
| Sam Yount | OPTION | — | — | — | — | — | 1,468,597 |
| John Lee | OPTION | — | — | — | — | — | 3,020,131 |
| Sam Yount | PRSU | — | — | — | — | — | 1,259,636 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lee | $0 | $0 | $3,020,131 | 0.0% |
| Sam Yount | 0 | 0 | 1,468,597 | 0.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Yount | RSU | 7,402 | — | $100,297 |
| Tim Chen | Option | 11,990 | 9.17 | — |
| Tim Chen | RSU | 29,938 | — | 405,660 |
| Sam Yount | RSU | 53,874 | — | 729,993 |
| Sam Yount | RSU | 54,942 | — | 744,464 |
| Tim Chen | Option | 75,331 | 8.34 | — |
| Tim Chen | RSU | 76,183 | — | 1,032,280 |
| Sam Yount | Option | 107,748 | 8.77 | — |
| Sam Yount | Option | 109,884 | 10.8 | — |
| John Lee | RSU | 287,632 | — | 3,897,414 |
| John Lee | Option | 575,263 | 9.02 | — |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony LingIndependent · Audit · Partial-year service · Newly elected | $36,593 | $192,737 | — | — | $100,000 | $329,330 |
| Kenneth T. McBrideIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit (Chair) · Compensation | 75,935 | 190,257 | — | — | 0 | 266,192 |
| Jennifer E. CeranIndependent · Not standing for re-election | 70,750 | 190,257 | 0 | — | 0 | 261,007 |
| Lynne M. LaubeIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) | 63,500 | 190,257 | 0 | — | 0 | 253,757 |
| Tim ChenEmployee director · Board Chair | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $185,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 21,500 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $5 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $246,778 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $763,508 |
| All other compensation | $100,000 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,110,286 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Nerdwallet as a peer
Companies that benchmark against NRDS
13 companies name NRDS as a compensation peer
The list of companies that name NRDS as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.
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 | Nerdwallet, Inc | 2025 | Tim Chen | $700,000 | $0 | $0 | $825,024 | $1,541,124 |
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
No say-on-pay vote is on file for this company.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | — |
| Median employee compensation | — |
Insider trades since the proxy
Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2025 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.
| Insider | Role | Transaction date | Code | Shares | Price | Value | Security | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Ling | Director | 2026-05-20 | A | 17,946 | $0 | $0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Lynne M. Laube | Director | 2026-05-21 | A | 19,494 | 0 | 0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Anthony Ling | Director | 2026-05-21 | A | 19,494 | 0 | 0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Kenneth T. McBride | Director | 2026-05-21 | A | 19,494 | 0 | 0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Teresa Chia | Director | 2026-05-22 | A | 19,710 | 0 | 0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Teresa Chia | Director | 2026-05-22 | A | 19,764 | 0 | 0 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| John Lee | Chief Financial Officer | 2026-06-01 | D | 47,876 | 9 | 418,915 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Nicholas Tatum | Chief Accounting Officer | 2026-06-01 | D | 3,263 | 9 | 28,551 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Sam Brian Mischner | Chief Revenue Officer | 2026-06-01 | D | 1,572 | 9 | 13,755 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Tim Chen | Director | 2026-06-01 | D | 15,309 | 9 | 133,954 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Management, LLC | — | 2026-06-26 | D | 919,153 | 9 | 8,226,419 | Common, indirect | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Partners, LP | Greater-than-10% holder | 2026-06-26 | D | 919,153 | 9 | 8,226,419 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Management, LLC | — | 2026-06-29 | D | 587,835 | 9 | 5,419,839 | Common, indirect | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Partners, LP | Greater-than-10% holder | 2026-06-29 | D | 587,835 | 9 | 5,419,839 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Management, LLC | — | 2026-06-30 | D | 454,872 | 9 | 4,216,663 | Common, indirect | Form 4 ↗ |
| Topline Capital Partners, LP | Greater-than-10% holder | 2026-06-30 | D | 454,872 | 9 | 4,216,663 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Nicholas Tatum | Chief Accounting Officer | 2026-09-01 | D | 2,990 | 10 | 29,242 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Sam Brian Mischner | Chief Revenue Officer | 2026-09-01 | D | 22,643 | 10 | 221,449 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Tim Chen | Director | 2026-09-01 | D | 7,723 | 10 | 75,531 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| John Lee | Chief Financial Officer | 2026-09-01 | D | 13,299 | 10 | 130,064 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.
Sources (37 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, John Lee. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 26. As printed: 6,268,892. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Sam Yount. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 26. As printed: 4,980,682. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Tim Chen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 26. As printed: 1,541,124. View filing ↗
- Section 03, John Lee PRSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “ELECTION OF DIRECTORS” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Sam Yount OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “ELECTION OF DIRECTORS” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, John Lee OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “ELECTION OF DIRECTORS” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Sam Yount PRSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “ELECTION OF DIRECTORS” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. 10-K, filed 2026-02-25. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: —. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Anthony Ling. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 329,330. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Kenneth T. McBride. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 266,192. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Jennifer E. Ceran. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 261,007. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Lynne M. Laube. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,757. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Tim Chen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Anthony Ling 2026-05-20. Form 4, filed 2026-05-21. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Lynne M. Laube 2026-05-21. Form 4, filed 2026-05-26. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Anthony Ling 2026-05-21. Form 4, filed 2026-05-26. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Kenneth T. McBride 2026-05-21. Form 4, filed 2026-05-26. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Teresa Chia 2026-05-22. Form 4, filed 2026-05-26. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Teresa Chia 2026-05-22. Form 4, filed 2026-05-26. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, John Lee 2026-06-01. Form 4, filed 2026-06-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Nicholas Tatum 2026-06-01. Form 4, filed 2026-06-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Sam Brian Mischner 2026-06-01. Form 4, filed 2026-06-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Tim Chen 2026-06-01. Form 4, filed 2026-06-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Management, LLC 2026-06-26. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Partners, LP 2026-06-26. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Management, LLC 2026-06-29. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Partners, LP 2026-06-29. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Management, LLC 2026-06-30. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Topline Capital Partners, LP 2026-06-30. Form 4, filed 2026-06-30. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Nicholas Tatum 2026-09-01. Form 4, filed 2026-09-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Sam Brian Mischner 2026-09-01. Form 4, filed 2026-09-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Tim Chen 2026-09-01. Form 4, filed 2026-09-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, John Lee 2026-09-01. Form 4, filed 2026-09-03. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 246,778 + equity 763,508 + all other 100,000 = 1,110,286, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Nerdwallet, Inc (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Nerdwallet, Inc's own proxy. As printed: 1,541,124. View filing ↗