Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-05-05

California Resources (CRC)

CEO Francisco Leon was paid $12,076,766 in 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.

$12,076,766
Francisco Leon total, FY2025
50th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
—
CEO-to-median pay ratio
84.82%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

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Companies that benchmark against CRC
6 companies name CRC as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses CRC 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 CRC 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
Francisco Leon$930,769$356,250$9,070,699$0$1,459,200$4,681$255,167$12,076,766
President and Chief Executive Officer
Clio Crespy598,442184,5005,384,1830755,7120294,8037,217,640
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Michael Preston665,385202,5004,461,1020829,44010,017158,1636,326,607
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel
Omar Hayat565,384172,5003,882,5140706,5602,342152,7825,482,082
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Chris Gould615,000159,9003,274,2270755,7121,034161,1214,966,994
Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability 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 FY2024→2025
Francisco Leon$12,076,766$7,985,931$10,185,668+4,090,835
Clio Crespy7,217,640———
Michael Preston6,326,6074,816,9025,757,269+1,509,705
Omar Hayat5,482,082———
Chris Gould4,966,9944,699,7035,493,290+267,291

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

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Francisco LeonRSU51,804—$2,316,157
Omar HayatPSU173—7,735
Clio CrespyRSU20,638—922,725
Chris GouldPSU13,186—589,546
Francisco LeonPSU27,320—1,221,477
Omar HayatPSU7,312—326,920
Chris GouldRSU7,147—319,542
Francisco LeonRSU25,801—1,153,563
Francisco LeonRSU84,710—3,787,384
Michael PrestonRSU47,649—2,130,387
Clio CrespyRSU42,355—1,893,692
Omar HayatRSU42,355—1,893,692
Chris GouldRSU26,472—1,183,563
Clio CrespyRSU26,383—1,179,584
Michael PrestonRSU22,651—1,012,726
Chris GouldRSU20,638—922,725
Omar HayatRSU19,295—862,679
Francisco LeonRSU14,807—662,021
Michael PrestonPSU13,599—608,011
Michael PrestonRSU12,648—565,492
Chris GouldRSU12,445—556,416
Omar HayatRSU10,624—474,999
Michael PrestonRSU7,370—329,513
Omar HayatRSU3,963—177,186
Omar HayatPSU1,744—77,974
Omar HayatRSU945—42,251
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The purpose of the executive compensation program is to attract, retain, motivate, and reward high-performing executives to maximize returns to stockholders. The program is designed to align executive and stockholder interests by providing a high percentage of pay based on performance, with a significant portion of compensation directly linked to the Company's performance through performance-based annual and long-term incentive awards.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantLyons Benenson & Company Inc.
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-04-3068,885,47412,331,300219,35984.82%Passed
20252025-05-0283,816,614309,387152,30599.63%Passed
20242024-05-0359,337,4332,919,166181,38795.31%Passed
20232023-04-2862,001,685254,5226,98099.59%Passed
20222022-05-0463,395,5284,615,5267,24693.21%Passed
20212021-05-1245,126,80920,671,0541,04268.58%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
20262026-04-3084.82%a
20252025-05-0299.63%b
20242024-05-0395.31%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

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.

08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Tiffany (TJ) Thom CepakIndependent · Board Chair · Finance$216,000$335,361——$75,005$626,366
Mark A. (Mac) McFarlandIndependent · Carbon TerraVault (Chair)151,500206,382——96,140454,022
William B. RobyIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Governance · Sustainability (Chair)194,000206,382——51,274451,656
James N. ChapmanIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Finance (Chair)191,500206,382——51,274449,156
Andrew B. BremnerIndependent · Compensation · Finance · Sustainability181,500206,382——0387,882
Christian S. KendallIndependent · Audit · Governance (Chair)176,500206,382——0382,882
Alejandra (Ale) VeltmannIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Governance167,000206,382——0373,382
James R. JacksonIndependent · Sustainability141,000206,382——0347,382
Bobby SaadatiIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY70,500206,382——0276,882
Francisco J. LeonEmployee director—————0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$125,000
Annual equity retainer$200,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)31,000 / 22,000 / 22,000
Stock ownership guideline—
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$1,489,500
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,986,417
All other compensation$273,693
Total cost of the board$3,749,610

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

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies California Resources names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including California Resources.

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
1EQT Corporation2025Toby Rice$1$13,552,232$0$2,535,000$16,087,233
2Diamondback Energy, Inc.2025Kaes Van t Hof1,109,50011,101,46202,676,35014,931,423
3Coterra Energy Inc.2024Thomas Jorden1,198,55810,628,85002,500,00014,748,960
4Ovintiv Inc.2025Brendan McCracken1,185,0009,900,00502,136,75013,693,140
5APA Corporation2025John Christmann IV1,300,0006,018,4361,897,9963,454,36013,202,517
6Marathon Oil Corporation2023Lee Tillman1,200,0008,668,144—1,980,00012,830,222
7California Resources2025Francisco Leon930,7699,070,69901,459,20012,076,766
8Permian Resources Corporation2025James Walter011,432,8420011,432,842
9Matador Resources Company2025Joseph Foran1,800,0004,222,40003,726,0009,775,611
10Chord Energy Corporation2025Daniel Brown850,0006,362,91001,275,0008,567,235
11Range Resources Corporation2025Dennis Degner932,5006,143,87701,128,0008,375,421
12Murphy Oil Corporation2025Eric Hambly950,0004,917,31501,324,0637,651,445
13Antero Resources Corporation2025Michael Kennedy655,4704,325,73401,678,3076,687,656
—Southwestern Energy Company——————not in coverage universe

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.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
California Resourcesnot disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40not disclosedLyons Benenson & Company Inc.
Antero Resources Corporation157.2%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Absolute TSRCBIZ Compensation Consulting
APA Corporation189.8%PSU 60 · Options 20 · RSU 20Yes — Relative TSRPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Chord Energy Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Coterra Energy Inc.174%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSRZayla Partners
Diamondback Energy, Inc.161%PSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — Total Stockholder Return (relative to TSR performance peer group)Meridian
EQT Corporation169%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Marathon Oil Corporationnot disclosedRSU 40 · FCF PSU 30 · TSR PSU 30not disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners LLC
Matador Resources Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Murphy Oil Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners LLC
Ovintiv Inc.140%RSU 50 · PSU 50Yes — Relative TSRFW Cook
Permian Resources Corporation150%PSU 100Yes — Relative TSRMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Range Resources Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Southwestern Energy Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed

Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at California Resources in fiscal 2025?
Francisco Leon, President and Chief Executive Officer, was the highest-paid executive at California Resources in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $12,076,766 as disclosed.
How does California Resources's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
The filing shows that the chief executive's pay was at the 50th percentile of the disclosed peer group.
What is California Resources's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
The CEO-to-median employee pay ratio is not disclosed in this filing.
How did shareholders vote on California Resources's executive compensation?
Shareholders voted in support of executive compensation with 84.82% approval, as disclosed in the latest vote.
How much does California Resources spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
The company reported total board compensation of $3,749,610 for fiscal 2025.

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.

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, Francisco LeonDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 46. As printed: 12,076,766. Filing ↗
2Section 01, Clio CrespyDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 46. As printed: 7,217,640. Filing ↗
3Section 01, Michael PrestonDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 46. As printed: 6,326,607. Filing ↗
4Section 01, Omar HayatDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 46. As printed: 5,482,082. Filing ↗
5Section 01, Chris GouldDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 46. As printed: 4,966,994. Filing ↗
6Section 08, Tiffany (TJ) Thom CepakDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 626,366. Filing ↗machine: span 2859335–2859561
7Section 08, Mark A. (Mac) McFarlandDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 454,022. Filing ↗machine: span 2893676–2893902
8Section 08, William B. RobyDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 451,656. Filing ↗machine: span 2902257–2902483
9Section 08, James N. ChapmanDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 449,156. Filing ↗machine: span 2867917–2868143
10Section 08, Andrew B. BremnerDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 387,882. Filing ↗machine: span 2850746–2850972
11Section 08, Christian S. KendallDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 382,882. Filing ↗machine: span 2885087–2885313
12Section 08, Alejandra (Ale) VeltmannDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 373,382. Filing ↗machine: span 2919431–2919657
13Section 08, James R. JacksonDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 347,382. Filing ↗machine: span 2876500–2876726
14Section 08, Bobby SaadatiDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 276,882. Filing ↗machine: span 2910840–2911066
15Section 08, Francisco J. LeonDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
16Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-05-050001609253-26-000102Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 84.82% (votes for as printed: 68,885,474). Filing ↗
17Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-060001609253-25-000034Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.63% (votes for as printed: 83,816,614). Filing ↗
18Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-070001609253-24-000059Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.31% (votes for as printed: 59,337,433). Filing ↗
19Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
20Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 1,489,500 + equity 1,986,417 + all other 273,693 = 3,749,610, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 3,749,610
21EQT Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-02-260001104659-26-020027CEO total compensation as printed in EQT Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 16,087,233. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c48 · span 1446364–1446374
22Diamondback Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-090001308179-26-000242CEO total compensation as printed in Diamondback Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,931,423. Filing ↗
23Coterra Energy Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-03-200001104659-25-026126CEO total compensation as printed in Coterra Energy Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,748,960. Filing ↗machine: t61 · r1 · c63 · span 936374–936384
24Ovintiv Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-250001193125-26-124351CEO total compensation as printed in Ovintiv Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,693,140. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c31 · span 1274573–1274583
25APA Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-090001193125-26-149453CEO total compensation as printed in APA Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 13,202,517. Filing ↗machine: t67 · r2 · c24 · span 1213765–1213775
26Marathon Oil Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2024-04-100000101778-24-000082CEO total compensation as printed in Marathon Oil Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 12,830,222. Filing ↗
27California Resources (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-180001193125-26-114093CEO total compensation as printed in California Resources's own proxy. As printed: 12,076,766. Filing ↗
28Permian Resources Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-060001658566-26-000062CEO total compensation as printed in Permian Resources Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 11,432,842. Filing ↗machine: t148 · r5 · c4 · span 957173–957183
29Matador Resources Company, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001520006-26-000013CEO total compensation as printed in Matador Resources Company's own proxy. As printed: 9,775,611. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c6 · span 1657541–1657551
30Chord Energy Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-190001486159-26-000010CEO total compensation as printed in Chord Energy Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 8,567,235. Filing ↗machine: span 1305435–1305444
31Range Resources Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-310001193125-26-134699CEO total compensation as printed in Range Resources Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 8,375,421. Filing ↗machine: span 2305762–2305771
32Murphy Oil Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-270001193125-26-127236CEO total compensation as printed in Murphy Oil Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 7,651,445. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c39 · span 786403–786412
33Antero Resources Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-230001308179-26-000330CEO total compensation as printed in Antero Resources Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 6,687,656. Filing ↗machine: t260 · r1 · c27 · span 557200–557209
34Section 10a, EQT Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001104659-26-020027EQT Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
35Section 10a, Chord Energy Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001486159-26-000010Chord Energy Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
36Section 10a, APA Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-149453APA Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
37Section 10a, Permian Resources Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001658566-26-000062Permian Resources Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
38Section 10a, Antero Resources Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001308179-26-000330Antero Resources Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
39Section 10a, Range Resources Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-134699Range Resources Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
40Section 10a, Coterra Energy Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001104659-25-026126Coterra Energy Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
41Section 10a, Diamondback Energy, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001308179-26-000242Diamondback Energy, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
42Section 10a, Murphy Oil Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-127236Murphy Oil Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Marathon Oil Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A—0000101778-24-000082Marathon Oil Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
44Section 10a, Ovintiv Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-124351Ovintiv Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, Matador Resources Company reciprocityDEF 14A—0001520006-26-000013Matador Resources Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include California Resources. Filing ↗

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