Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-07-02

A. O. Smith (AOS)

Fiscal year 2025 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$8,495,829
Kevin Wheeler total, FY2025
Executive Chairmanhighest-paid officer; CEO Stephen Shafer: $4,960,450
CEO (Stephen Shafer) pay percentile vs peers
110.3:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
96.95%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against AOS
17 companies name AOS as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses AOS 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 AOS in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Kevin Wheeler$1,079,500$0$3,682,036$0$3,396,000$0$338,293$8,495,829
Executive Chairman
Stephen Shafer965,75002,678,04401,068,0000248,6564,960,450
President and Chief Executive Officer
James Stern668,6000698,6110855,000523,471119,1792,864,861
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Strategy, and Secretary
Charles Lauber673,8000942,61701,073,0000137,9242,827,341
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Ming Cheng230,307100,0001,762,5110136,0000255,7732,484,591
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Christopher Howe109,75401,587,287065,000011,4991,773,540
Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Information Officer

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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY20242025
Kevin Wheeler$8,495,829
Stephen Shafer4,960,450
James Stern2,864,861
Charles Lauber2,827,341
Ming Cheng2,484,591
Christopher Howe1,773,540

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

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.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Darrell W. SchuhSVP; President & GM Lochinvar2026-03-04D1,104$74$82,126CommonForm 4 ↗
Mark D. SmithDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016CommonForm 4 ↗
Lois M. MartinDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016CommonForm 4 ↗
Victoria M. HoltDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Aaron W. SaakDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Todd W. FisterDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016CommonForm 4 ↗
Dr. Ilham KadriDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016CommonForm 4 ↗
Christopher L. MapesDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016CommonForm 4 ↗
Michael M. LarsenDirector2026-04-13A2,26266150,016Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Aaron W. SaakDirector2026-04-23A2,29665150,021Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Carrie L. AndersonEVP & CFO2026-07-01A32,060621,999,903Derivative, Class A CommonForm 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.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Charles LauberPSU2025-02-103,3204,980$217,477
Ming ChengRSU2025-07-0725,3751,725,119
Stephen ShaferRSU2025-07-017,450500,007
James SternPSU2025-02-102,4603,690161,142
Stephen ShaferPSU2025-02-107,14510,718468,033
Charles LauberRSU2025-02-1011,070725,140
Ming ChengPSU2025-07-0755082537,392
Kevin WheelerPSU2025-02-1012,97019,455849,600
Kevin WheelerRSU2025-02-1043,2402,832,436
Stephen ShaferPSU2025-07-012,2353,353150,002
James SternRSU2025-02-108,205537,469
Christopher HowePSU2025-10-0828542820,268
Stephen ShaferRSU2025-02-1023,8151,560,002
Christopher HoweRSU2025-10-0822,0351,567,019
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Charles Lauber$725,140$217,477$023.1%
Ming Cheng1,725,11937,39202.1%
Stephen Shafer2,060,009618,035023.1%
James Stern537,469161,142023.1%
Kevin Wheeler2,832,436849,600023.1%
Christopher Howe1,567,01920,26801.3%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Kevin WheelerRSU43,240$2,891,891
Ming ChengRSU25,3751,697,080
Stephen ShaferRSU7,145477,858
Stephen ShaferRSU2,235149,477
James SternRSU6,295421,010
Kevin WheelerPSU12,970867,434
James SternPSU2,055137,438
Christopher HowePSU28519,061
Kevin WheelerRSU36,0452,410,690
Charles LauberRSU11,070740,362
Charles LauberPSU2,545170,210
James SternPSU2,460164,525
Charles LauberRSU9,460632,685
James SternRSU6,850458,128
James SternPSU1,890126,403
Ming ChengPSU55036,784
James SternRSU8,205548,750
Charles LauberPSU3,320222,042
Charles LauberRSU8,485567,477
Stephen ShaferPSU7,450498,256
Stephen ShaferPSU23,8151,592,747
Stephen ShaferRSU5,200347,776
Kevin WheelerPSU9,905662,446
Kevin WheelerPSU10,815723,307
Christopher HoweRSU22,0351,473,701
Kevin WheelerRSU33,0152,208,043
Stephen ShaferPSU40,4252,703,624
Charles LauberPSU2,835189,605
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We believe that effective executive compensation programs are critical to our long-term success. We have developed compensation programs with the following objectives: attracting and retaining world-class executives through a total compensation opportunity that is competitive within the various markets in which we compete for talent; encouraging a pay-for-performance mentality by directly relating variable compensation elements to the achievement of financial and strategic objectives without encouraging undue risk-taking; and promoting a direct relationship between executive compensation and our stockholder interests.

CEO STI target (% of salary)125%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantWillis Towers Watson (WTW)
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-04-1333,953,726814,753251,88596.95%Passed
20252025-04-0833,247,0461,993,68614,90994.3%Passed
20242024-04-0934,550,6761,202,52916,70996.59%Passed
20232023-04-1133,897,4671,944,26916,11594.53%Passed
20222022-04-1234,492,8861,535,55712,05295.71%Passed
20212021-04-1335,966,0401,129,35593,77096.71%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 yearMeeting dateApproval — company's computation
20262026-04-1396.95%a
20252025-04-0894.3%b
20242024-04-0996.59%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “On all such other matters, an abstention will have the same effect as a vote "against" but, because shares held by brokers will not be considered entitled to vote on matters as to which the beneficial owners withhold authority, a broker non-vote will have no effect on the vote.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “On all such other matters, an abstention will have the same effect as a vote "against" but, because shares held by brokers will not be considered entitled to vote on matters as to which the beneficial owners withhold authority, a brok ommon Stock.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “On all such other matters, an abstention will have the same effect as a vote "against" but, because shares held by brokers will not be considered entitled to vote on matters as to which the beneficial owners withhold authority, a brok ck.”.

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.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)110.3 : 1
CEO total compensation$4,960,450
Median employee compensation$44,976
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Ronald D. BrownIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Personnel and Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and Governance · Not standing for re-election$152,250$150,005$0$0$0$302,255
Michael M. LarsenIndependent · Audit (Chair)127,250150,005000277,255
Victoria M. HoltIndependent · Nominating and Governance (Chair) · Personnel and Compensation122,250150,005000272,255
Dr. Ilham KadriIndependent · Personnel and Compensation · Nominating and Governance103,500150,005000253,505
Todd W. FisterIndependent · Audit103,500150,005000253,505
Lois M. MartinIndependent · Audit103,500150,005000253,505
Mark D. SmithIndependent · Personnel and Compensation · Nominating and Governance103,500150,005000253,505
Christopher L. MapesIndependent · Audit · Personnel and Compensation · Nominating and Governance103,500150,005000253,505
Ajita G. RajendraIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY25,87500025,875
Kevin J. WheelerEmployee director · Board Chair00000
Aaron W. SaakIndependent · Audit · Newly elected000000
Stephen M. ShaferEmployee director00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$103,500
Annual equity retainer$150,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)
Stock ownership guideline
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$945,125
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,200,040
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$2,145,165

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10b

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.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1A. O. Smith2025Stephen Shafer$965,750$2,678,044$0$1,068,000$4,960,450

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.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Kevin WheelerDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 8,495,829. Filing ↗machine: span 658015–658024
2Section 01, Stephen ShaferDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 4,960,450. Filing ↗machine: t139 · r3 · c44 · span 652859–652868
3Section 01, James SternDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 2,864,861. Filing ↗machine: span 668294–668303
4Section 01, Charles LauberDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 2,827,341. Filing ↗machine: span 663395–663404
5Section 01, Ming ChengDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 2,484,591. Filing ↗machine: t139 · r11 · c44 · span 672461–672470
6Section 01, Christopher HoweDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 45. As printed: 1,773,540. Filing ↗machine: t139 · r13 · c44 · span 676621–676630
7Section 03, Charles Lauber PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r30 · c18 · span 751702–751707
8Section 03, Ming Cheng RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t79 · r6 · c15 · span 381531–381537
9Section 03, Stephen Shafer RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r16 · c23 · span 736881–736886
10Section 03, James Stern PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r38 · c18 · span 760175–760180
11Section 03, Stephen Shafer PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r10 · c18 · span 730549–730554
12Section 03, Charles Lauber RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r32 · c23 · span 753938–753944
13Section 03, Ming Cheng PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r46 · c18 · span 768753–768756
14Section 03, Kevin Wheeler PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r22 · c18 · span 743118–743124
15Section 03, Kevin Wheeler RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r24 · c23 · span 745306–745312
16Section 03, Stephen Shafer PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r12 · c18 · span 732603–732608
17Section 03, James Stern RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r40 · c23 · span 762361–762366
18Section 03, Christopher Howe PSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r54 · c18 · span 777252–777255
19Section 03, Stephen Shafer RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t158 · r14 · c23 · span 734839–734845
20Section 03, Christopher Howe RSUDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t79 · r12 · c15 · span 390871–390877
21Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 110.3 : 1. Filing ↗machine: t219 · span 1107856–1107971
22Section 08, Ronald D. BrownDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 302,255. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r4 · c19 · span 336881–336888
23Section 08, Michael M. LarsenDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 277,255. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r12 · c19 · span 348380–348387
24Section 08, Victoria M. HoltDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 272,255. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r8 · c19 · span 342627–342634
25Section 08, Dr. Ilham KadriDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,505. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r10 · c19 · span 345505–345512
26Section 08, Todd W. FisterDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,505. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r6 · c19 · span 339753–339760
27Section 08, Lois M. MartinDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,505. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r16 · c19 · span 354130–354137
28Section 08, Mark D. SmithDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,505. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r20 · c19 · span 359973–359980
29Section 08, Christopher L. MapesDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 253,505. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r14 · c19 · span 351258–351265
30Section 08, Ajita G. RajendraDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 25,875. Filing ↗machine: t72 · r18 · c3 · span 355267–355273
31Section 08, Kevin J. WheelerDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
32Section 08, Aaron W. SaakDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
33Section 08, Stephen M. ShaferDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
34Section 02, Darrell W. Schuh 2026-03-04Form 42026-03-040000091142-26-000066Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
35Section 02, Mark D. Smith 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150000091142-26-000074Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
36Section 02, Lois M. Martin 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150000091142-26-000072Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
37Section 02, Victoria M. Holt 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150001181629-26-000004Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
38Section 02, Aaron W. Saak 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150001930489-26-000002Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
39Section 02, Todd W. Fister 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150001575676-26-000002Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
40Section 02, Dr. Ilham Kadri 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150000091142-26-000068Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
41Section 02, Christopher L. Mapes 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150000091142-26-000070Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
42Section 02, Michael M. Larsen 2026-04-13Form 42026-04-150001503349-26-000003Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
43Section 02, Aaron W. Saak 2026-04-23Form 42026-05-010001930489-26-000004Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
44Section 02, Carrie L. Anderson 2026-07-01Form 42026-07-020001706446-26-000006Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
45Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-04-170000091142-26-000078Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.95% (votes for as printed: 33,953,726). Filing ↗
46Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-04-140000091142-25-000069Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.3% (votes for as printed: 33,247,046). Filing ↗
47Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-04-150000091142-24-000128Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.59% (votes for as printed: 34,550,676). Filing ↗
48Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
49Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 945,125 + equity 1,200,040 + all other 0 = 2,145,165, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,145,165
50A. O. Smith (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-040001193125-26-089938CEO total compensation as printed in A. O. Smith's own proxy. As printed: 4,960,450. Filing ↗machine: t139 · r3 · c44 · span 652859–652868