CEO Peter Beck was paid $6,830,680 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.
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Each company listed discloses RKLB 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 RKLB in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Beck | $800,000 | $0 | $6,030,680 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $6,830,680 |
| President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board | ||||||||
| Adam Spice | 443,630 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11,460 | 455,090 |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Arjun Kampani | 436,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11,460 | 447,460 |
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | ||||||||
| Frank Klein | 400,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,025 | 426,025 |
| Chief Operations 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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Beck | $6,830,680 | $20,110,758 | $962,714 | −13,280,078 |
| Adam Spice | 455,090 | 733,040 | 688,322 | −277,950 |
| Arjun Kampani | 447,460 | 1,845,679 | 601,634 | −1,398,219 |
| Frank Klein | 426,025 | 9,578,445 | — | −9,152,420 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Klein | RSU | 893,750 | — | $62,348,000 |
| Arjun Kampani | RSU | 110,298 | — | 7,694,388 |
| Peter Beck | RSU | 315,750 | — | 22,026,720 |
| Adam Spice | RSU | 229,691 | — | 16,023,244 |
| Peter Beck | RSU | 124,150 | — | 8,660,704 |
| Arjun Kampani | RSU | 77,370 | — | 5,397,331 |
Our executive compensation program is guided by our overarching philosophy of paying for demonstrable performance, striving to provide a competitive program that rewards achievement of business objectives and aligns executive officers' interests with those of stockholders. We structure compensation using base salary, discretionary cash bonuses, and long-term equity incentives to link pay with performance and drive long-term shareholder value creation.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Compensia |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 319,120,480 | 33,477,640 | 972,013 | 90.51% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-08-27 | 240,340,772 | 58,526,365 | 2,124,257 | 80.42% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-06-12 | 245,635,450 | 3,098,739 | 928,749 | 98.75% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-06-14 | 231,348,872 | 29,184,869 | 766,595 | 88.8% | 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.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 90.51%a |
| 2025 | 2025-08-27 | 80.42%b |
| 2024 | 2024-06-12 | 98.75%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.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merline SaintilIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) · Compensation | $105,000 | $183,150 | — | — | — | $288,150 |
| Edward FrankIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Audit | 79,999 | 183,150 | — | — | — | 263,149 |
| Jon OlsonIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance | 77,500 | 183,150 | — | — | — | 260,650 |
| Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno (Ret.)Independent · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Government Security | 75,055 | 183,150 | — | — | — | 258,205 |
| Kenneth PossenriedeIndependent · Audit · Compensation | 67,452 | 183,150 | — | — | — | 250,602 |
| Alex SluskyIndependent | 51,049 | 183,150 | — | — | — | 234,199 |
| Matt OckoNot independent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 |
| Peter BeckEmployee director · Board Chair | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $180,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 20,000 / 20,000 / 15,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $456,055 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,098,900 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,554,955 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Rocket Lab 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 Rocket Lab.
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 | AeroVironment | 2026 | Wahid Nawabi | $1,118,829 | $13,339,715 | $0 | $767,609 | $15,253,775 |
| 2 | AST SpaceMobile | 2025 | Abel Avellan | 0 | 14,222,500 | 0 | 0 | 14,222,500 |
| 3 | Viasat | 2026 | Mark Dankberg | 1,406,538 | 10,305,390 | 0 | 2,450,000 | 14,208,178 |
| 4 | BlackLine | 2025 | Owen Ryan | 524,231 | 10,603,067 | 0 | 473,378 | 11,614,676 |
| 5 | Mercury Systems | 2026 | William Ballhaus | 1,049,269 | 8,099,087 | 0 | 1,946,160 | 11,131,048 |
| 6 | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | 2025 | Eric DeMarco | 1,000,000 | 8,244,000 | 0 | 1,500,000 | 10,832,739 |
| 7 | MACOM Technology Solutions | 2025 | Stephen Daly | 815,000 | 8,147,392 | 0 | 1,138,165 | 10,102,699 |
| 8 | Lucid Group | 2025 | Marc Winterhoff | 842,000 | 7,720,693 | 0 | 675,000 | 9,708,987 |
| 9 | Iridium Communications | 2025 | Matthew Desch | 1,047,509 | 7,612,082 | 0 | 330,620 | 9,013,522 |
| 10 | QuantumScape | 2025 | Siva Sivaram | 821,538 | 7,547,987 | 0 | 0 | 8,377,033 |
| 11 | Impinj | 2025 | Chris Diorio | 449,770 | 6,643,537 | 0 | 0 | 7,108,558 |
| 12 | Rocket Lab | 2025 | Peter Beck | 800,000 | 6,030,680 | 0 | 0 | 6,830,680 |
| 13 | AppFolio | 2025 | Shane Trigg | 550,000 | 4,000,307 | 0 | 814,000 | 5,438,904 |
| 14 | Loar Holdings | 2025 | Dirkson Charles | 950,000 | 0 | 1,783,047 | 1,147,368 | 3,890,915 |
| 15 | Globalstar | 2025 | Paul Jacobs | 500,000 | 200,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,012,452 |
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.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket Lab | not disclosed | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Compensia |
| AeroVironment | 62% | PSU 65 · RSU 35 | No | Pay Governance |
| AppFolio | 148% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | not disclosed |
| AST SpaceMobile | 95% of target% | RSUs 50 · PSUs 50 | No | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| BlackLine | 90.1% | not disclosed | Yes — Relative TSR | Compensia, Inc. |
| Globalstar | not disclosed | not disclosed | No | Independent compensation consultant (name not disclosed) |
| Impinj | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | Yes — TSR relative to S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index | Compensia |
| Iridium Communications | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PRSU 50 | not disclosed | ClearBridge |
| Kratos Defense & Security Solutions | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | No | Board Advisory, LLC |
| Loar Holdings | not disclosed | Option 100 | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Lucid Group | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Pay Governance |
| MACOM Technology Solutions | 103.5% | PSU 82 · RSU 18 | Yes — Relative TSR | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| Mercury Systems | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| QuantumScape | 100% | PSU 70 · RSU 30 | No | Compensia |
| Viasat | 121% | RSU 50 · PSU 25 · Cash LTI 25 | Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) vs. Russell 3000 Index | Compensia |
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.
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.
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.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Peter Beck | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 6,830,680. Filing ↗machine: span 363336–363345 |
| 2 | Section 01, Adam Spice | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 455,090. Filing ↗machine: span 372022–372029 |
| 3 | Section 01, Arjun Kampani | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 447,460. Filing ↗machine: span 379876–379883 |
| 4 | Section 01, Frank Klein | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “2025 Summary Compensation Table” · page 31. As printed: 426,025. Filing ↗machine: span 388311–388318 |
| 5 | Section 08, Merline Saintil | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 288,150. Filing ↗machine: span 632331–632777 |
| 6 | Section 08, Edward Frank | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 263,149. Filing ↗machine: span 624768–625214 |
| 7 | Section 08, Jon Olson | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,650. Filing ↗machine: span 628528–628974 |
| 8 | Section 08, Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno (Ret.) | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 258,205. Filing ↗machine: span 622720–623256 |
| 9 | Section 08, Kenneth Possenriede | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 250,602. Filing ↗machine: span 630431–630877 |
| 10 | Section 08, Alex Slusky | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 234,199. Filing ↗machine: span 634226–634672 |
| 11 | Section 08, Matt Ocko | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 12 | Section 08, Peter Beck | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 13 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-21 | 0001819994-26-000048 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 90.51% (votes for as printed: 319,120,480). Filing ↗ |
| 14 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-08-29 | 0001628280-25-041402 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 80.42% (votes for as printed: 240,340,772). Filing ↗ |
| 15 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-06-14 | 0000950170-24-073624 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.75% (votes for as printed: 245,635,450). Filing ↗ |
| 16 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | — | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1) |
| 17 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 456,055 + equity 1,098,900 + all other 0 = 1,554,955, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,554,955 |
| 18 | AeroVironment, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-08-14 | 0001104659-26-096689 | CEO total compensation as printed in AeroVironment's own proxy. As printed: 15,253,775. Filing ↗machine: t127 · r1 · c42 · span 1424713–1424723 |
| 19 | AST SpaceMobile, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-28 | 0001493152-26-019384 | CEO total compensation as printed in AST SpaceMobile's own proxy. As printed: 14,222,500. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c25 · span 402866–402876 |
| 20 | Viasat, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-07-27 | 0001193125-26-318060 | CEO total compensation as printed in Viasat's own proxy. As printed: 14,208,178. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c39 · span 764367–764377 |
| 21 | BlackLine, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-03-25 | 0001628280-26-020925 | CEO total compensation as printed in BlackLine's own proxy. As printed: 11,614,676. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c54 · span 948504–948514 |
| 22 | Mercury Systems, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-09-17 | 0001049521-26-000077 | CEO total compensation as printed in Mercury Systems's own proxy. As printed: 11,131,048. Filing ↗machine: span 816583–816593 |
| 23 | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001069258-26-000040 | CEO total compensation as printed in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's own proxy. As printed: 10,832,739. Filing ↗machine: span 783149–783159 |
| 24 | MACOM Technology Solutions, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-01-16 | 0001493594-26-000007 | CEO total compensation as printed in MACOM Technology Solutions's own proxy. As printed: 10,102,699. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c48 · span 359612–359622 |
| 25 | Lucid Group, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-23 | 0001628280-26-026842 | CEO total compensation as printed in Lucid Group's own proxy. As printed: 9,708,987. Filing ↗machine: span 1717048–1717057 |
| 26 | Iridium Communications, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001418819-26-000022 | CEO total compensation as printed in Iridium Communications's own proxy. As printed: 9,013,522. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c39 · span 888227–888236 |
| 27 | QuantumScape, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-23 | 0001193125-26-173828 | CEO total compensation as printed in QuantumScape's own proxy. As printed: 8,377,033. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c6 · span 1137194–1137203 |
| 28 | Impinj, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-16 | 0001193125-26-159032 | CEO total compensation as printed in Impinj's own proxy. As printed: 7,108,558. Filing ↗machine: span 767852–767861 |
| 29 | Rocket Lab (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-06 | 0001628280-26-023922 | CEO total compensation as printed in Rocket Lab's own proxy. As printed: 6,830,680. Filing ↗machine: span 363336–363345 |
| 30 | AppFolio, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-28 | 0001433195-26-000031 | CEO total compensation as printed in AppFolio's own proxy. As printed: 5,438,904. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c51 · span 627702–627711 |
| 31 | Loar Holdings, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-14 | 0001193125-26-153469 | CEO total compensation as printed in Loar Holdings's own proxy. As printed: 3,890,915. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c16 · span 355424–355433 |
| 32 | Globalstar, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-02 | 0001366868-26-000019 | CEO total compensation as printed in Globalstar's own proxy. As printed: 1,012,452. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c21 · span 446734–446743 |
| 33 | Section 10a, MACOM Technology Solutions reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001493594-26-000007 | MACOM Technology Solutions's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 34 | Section 10a, AST SpaceMobile reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001493152-26-019384 | AST SpaceMobile's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 35 | Section 10a, Iridium Communications reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001418819-26-000022 | Iridium Communications's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 36 | Section 10a, Loar Holdings reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-153469 | Loar Holdings's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 37 | Section 10a, BlackLine reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001628280-26-020925 | BlackLine's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 38 | Section 10a, Lucid Group reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-25-038701 | Lucid Group's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 39 | Section 10a, Mercury Systems reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001049521-26-000077 | Mercury Systems's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 40 | Section 10a, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001069258-26-000040 | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 41 | Section 10a, QuantumScape reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-173828 | QuantumScape's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
| 42 | Section 10a, Impinj reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001193125-26-159032 | Impinj's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Rocket Lab. Filing ↗ |
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