Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-06-22

Nkarta (NKTX)

CEO Paul Hastings was paid $2,978,038 in fiscal year 2025, ↓ down 25.3% from fiscal year 2024 (SEC filing 0001140361-26-016403 ↗): 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.

$2,978,038 ↓
Paul Hastings total, FY2025
—
CEO pay percentile vs peers
—
CEO-to-median pay ratio
92.92%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

Track this company's pay every filing: join the Pro seat waitlist

Velarion Pro: every company page, peer tools and exports, one seat — $1,200/year

A confirmation now and one email when Pro opens, and nothing else. Privacy

Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.

Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Paul Hastings (Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $2,978,038 (base salary $674,384) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001140361-26-016403, filed 2026-04-23]

Answered within 24 hours, every figure cited to its SEC filing. If our database cannot answer your question, you are refunded automatically.

NKTX's next annual pay disclosure, estimated April 25, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Paul Hastings$674,384$0$236,250$1,711,957$344,947$0$10,500$2,978,038
Chief Executive Officer
Nadir Mahmood543,2500155,000434,646252,611010,5001,396,007
President
Shawn Rose316,59100709,300189,72009,1621,224,773
Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development

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
Paul Hastings$2,978,038$3,985,445—↓ −1,007,407
Nadir Mahmood1,396,0073,336,117—↓ −1,940,110
Shawn Rose1,224,773———

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

You have just read Nkarta's Summary Compensation Table. The whole free brief as a PDF, emailed now, with every figure cited — then a few short notes on the deeper NKTX reports.

We send the PDF right away, then up to three short notes. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.

How we handle your data → Privacy

Companies that benchmark against NKTX
8 companies name NKTX as a compensation peer

The list of companies that name NKTX as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.

01b

Executives — the named officers

One page per officer: the same table above, read for one person at a time — his own figure and every fiscal year the register holds.

ExecutiveRoleFY2025 total
Paul HastingsCEO$2,978,038
Nadir MahmoodPresident$1,396,007
Shawn RoseExecutive$1,224,773
01c

Board of directors

One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.

DirectorRoleFY2025 total
Ali BehbahaniIndependent Director$154,789
Angela ThedingaIndependent Director$132,789
George VratsanosIndependent Director$119,289
Leone PattersonIndependent Director$122,289
Michael DybbsIndependent Director$130,289
Simeon GeorgeIndependent Director$113,289
Zachary ScheinerIndependent Director$118,289
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
Angela ThedingaDirector2026-06-10A37,000$0$0Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Michael DybbsDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Leone PattersonDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Zachary ScheinerDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
George VratsanosDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Simeon GeorgeDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Ali BehbahaniDirector2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
RA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P.Director2026-06-10A37,00000Derivative, Class A CommonForm 4 ↗
Paul HastingsDirector2026-06-18D1,77634,813CommonForm 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
Nadir MahmoodOPTION2025-06-05——123,500—$182,311
Paul HastingsOPTION2025-06-05——377,000—556,527
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Nadir Mahmood$0$0$182,3110.0%
Paul Hastings00556,5270.0%

% 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
Paul HastingsRSU94,500—$174,825
Nadir MahmoodOption355,2086.69—
Paul HastingsRSU63,750—117,938
Paul HastingsOption435,9062.5—
Nadir MahmoodRSU62,000—114,700
Paul HastingsRSU32,250—59,663
Paul HastingsRSU10,475—19,379
Paul HastingsRSU4,875—9,019
Paul HastingsOption5,23112.14—
Paul HastingsOption15,00012.25—
Paul HastingsOption104,6775.57—
Paul HastingsOption265,3656.01—
Paul HastingsOption377,0001.83—
Nadir MahmoodOption95,1982.5—
Nadir MahmoodOption123,5001.83—
Shawn RoseOption500,0001.75—
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We provide our executives with an annual base salary as a fixed, stable form of compensation that reflects the scope of an executive’s role, responsibilities, experience, and sustained individual performance. We provide cash short-term incentive opportunities to incentivize the achievement of annual performance goals. In addition, we grant our executives long-term incentive compensation in the form of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock options to provide an additional incentive to grow our business and further link the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantAon Consulting, Inc.
Clawback policy—
Anti-hedging—
Anti-pledging—
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-06-1043,493,0653,313,42438,72292.92%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
20262026-06-1092.92%a

a. 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.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)—
CEO total compensation—
Median employee compensation—
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Ali BehbahaniIndependent · Audit · Nominating/Governance (Chair)$87,500$0$67,289—$0$154,789
Angela ThedingaIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Science & Technology65,500067,289—0132,789
Michael DybbsIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating/Governance · Science & Technology63,000067,289—0130,289
Leone PattersonIndependent · Audit · Compensation55,000067,289—0122,289
George VratsanosIndependent · Audit · Science & Technology52,000067,289—0119,289
Zachary ScheinerIndependent · Audit · Nominating/Governance · Science & Technology51,000067,289—0118,289
Simeon GeorgeIndependent · Audit · Compensation46,000067,289—0113,289
Paul HastingsEmployee director—————0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$40,000
Annual equity retainer$270,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)15,000 / 12,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline—
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$420,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$0
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$420,000

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
1Nkarta2025Paul Hastings$674,384$236,250$1,711,957$344,947$2,978,038

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.

10d

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Nkarta in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Paul Hastings (Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Nkarta in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $2,978,038.
How did shareholders vote on Nkarta's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 92.92% of shareholders supported Nkarta's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Nkarta spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Nkarta reported total board compensation of $420,000 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, Paul HastingsDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Summary Compensation Table - Fiscal Years 2024-2025” · page 25. As printed: 2,978,038. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 344226–344235
2Section 01, Nadir MahmoodDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Summary Compensation Table - Fiscal Years 2024-2025” · page 25. As printed: 1,396,007. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c27 · span 352528–352537
3Section 01, Shawn RoseDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Summary Compensation Table - Fiscal Years 2024-2025” · page 25. As printed: 1,224,773. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c27 · span 360832–360841
4Section 03, Nadir Mahmood OPTIONDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “NKARTA, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t86 · r3 · c12 · span 479444–479451
5Section 03, Paul Hastings OPTIONDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “NKARTA, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t86 · r2 · c12 · span 476102–476109
6Section 07, pay ratio10-K2026-03-250001787400-26-000006Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: —. Filing ↗
7Section 08, Ali BehbahaniDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 154,789. Filing ↗machine: span 616445–616620
8Section 08, Angela ThedingaDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 132,789. Filing ↗machine: span 629658–629840
9Section 08, Michael DybbsDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 130,289. Filing ↗machine: span 619060–619242
10Section 08, Leone PattersonDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 122,289. Filing ↗machine: span 624357–624539
11Section 08, George VratsanosDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 119,289. Filing ↗
12Section 08, Zachary ScheinerDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 118,289. Filing ↗machine: span 626982–627207
13Section 08, Simeon GeorgeDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 113,289. Filing ↗machine: span 621689–621914
14Section 08, Paul HastingsDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
15Section 02, Angela Thedinga 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267517Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
16Section 02, Michael Dybbs 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267519Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
17Section 02, Leone Patterson 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267521Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
18Section 02, Zachary Scheiner 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267524Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
19Section 02, George Vratsanos 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267538Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
20Section 02, Simeon George 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267601Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
21Section 02, Ali Behbahani 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001193125-26-267632Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
22Section 02, RA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. 2026-06-10Form 42026-06-110001231919-26-000621Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
23Section 02, Paul Hastings 2026-06-18Form 42026-06-220001193125-26-277507Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
24Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-06-110001193125-26-267830Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92.92% (votes for as printed: 43,493,065). Filing ↗
25Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
26Section 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).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
27Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 420,000 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 420,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 420,000
28Nkarta (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016403CEO total compensation as printed in Nkarta's own proxy. As printed: 2,978,038. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 344226–344235

The Pay Desk — the free weekly executive pay briefing, one company at a time, every number traceable to a public filing.

You'll confirm on The Pay Desk's sign-up page.