Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-09-25

Shake Shack (SHAK)

CEO Robert Lynch was paid $7,210,818 in fiscal year 2025, ↓ down 45.0% from fiscal year 2024, the 50th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001104659-26-051572 ↗): 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.

$7,210,818 ↓
Robert Lynch total, FY2025
50th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
323:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
93.67%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Robert Lynch (Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $7,210,818 (base salary $1,000,000) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001104659-26-051572, filed 2026-04-29]

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

SHAK's next annual pay disclosure, estimated May 4, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Robert Lynch$1,000,000$0$5,000,161$0$1,011,750$0$198,907$7,210,818
Chief Executive Officer
Katherine Fogertey615,2830900,0770415,008011,2141,941,582
Former Chief Financial Officer
Stephanie Sentell573,3490800,0560290,043054,8981,718,346
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.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Robert Lynch$7,210,818$13,119,865—↓ −5,909,047
Katherine Fogertey1,941,5821,914,3911,438,088↑ +27,191
Stephanie Sentell1,718,3462,057,323—↓ −338,977

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

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Companies that benchmark against SHAK
18 companies name SHAK as a compensation peer

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

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
Anna FielerFormer director (through FY2025)$30,625
Charles Chapman IIIIndependent Director$185,093
Daniel MeyerChair of the Board$185,093
Jeff FlugLead Independent Director$222,565
Jeffrey LawrenceIndependent Director$205,024
Joshua SilvermanIndependent Director$200,718
Lori GeorgeIndependent Director$200,036
Sumaiya BalbaleIndependent Director$217,573
Tristan WalkerIndependent Director$185,671
02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Robert LynchPSU2025-03-01—27,625—55,250$3,000,075
Katherine FogerteyPSU2025-03-01—4,973—9,946540,068
Stephanie SentellPSU2025-03-01—4,420—8,840480,012
Robert LynchRSU2025-03-01——18,417—2,000,086
Katherine FogerteyRSU2025-03-01——3,315—360,009
Stephanie SentellRSU2025-03-01——2,947—320,044
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Robert Lynch$2,000,086$3,000,075$060.0%
Katherine Fogertey360,009540,068060.0%
Stephanie Sentell320,044480,012060.0%

% 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
Robert LynchPSU98,998—$8,035,668
Stephanie SentellPSU4,420—358,771
Stephanie SentellRSU9,474—769,005
Katherine FogerteyPSU7,596—616,567
Katherine FogerteyRSU17,771—1,442,472
Robert LynchRSU41,216—3,345,503
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

Our executive talent and executive compensation philosophy enables us to attract well-qualified executives and to motivate and reward them for business results and leadership behaviors that drive our business strategy. We are committed to a pay-for-performance culture that includes high standards of ethical behavior and corporate governance.

CEO STI target (% of salary)150%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantPearl Meyer & Partners
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-06-1030,006,3762,026,14950,56493.67%Passed
20252025-06-0431,508,1361,494,774138,79095.47%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
20262026-06-1093.67%a
20252025-06-0495.47%b

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. 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)323 : 1
CEO total compensation$7,210,818
Median employee compensation$22,312
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Jeff FlugIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit · Compensation$80,000$142,565$0—$0$222,565
Sumaiya BalbaleIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair)17,500200,0730—0217,573
Jeffrey LawrenceIndependent · Audit (Chair)0205,0240—0205,024
Joshua SilvermanIndependent · Audit · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Not standing for re-election15,625185,0930—0200,718
Lori GeorgeIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)67,500132,5360—0200,036
Tristan WalkerIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance60,625125,0460—0185,671
Daniel MeyerNot independent · Board Chair0185,0930—0185,093
Charles Chapman IIIIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance0185,0930—0185,093
Anna FielerIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY30,62500—030,625
Robert LynchEmployee director000—00
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$60,000
Annual equity retainer$125,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)10,000 / 7,500 / 7,500
Stock ownership guideline5x annual cash retainer ($300,000)
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$271,875
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,360,523
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,632,398

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 Shake Shack 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 Shake Shack.

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
1Wingstop Inc.2025Michael Skipworth$959,231$32,590,697$0$1,708,800$35,288,595
2First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.2025Chris Tomasso932,7939,576,3650963,61011,523,150
3Texas Roadhouse, Inc.2025Gerald Morgan1,356,5388,410,9280909,41310,822,133
4Brinker International, Inc.2026Kevin Hochman1,061,7317,049,88302,543,61610,679,756
5The Cheesecake Factory Inc.2025David Overton1,030,0005,902,124—1,445,6058,419,852
6Shake Shack2025Robert Lynch1,000,0005,000,16101,011,7507,210,818
7Dutch Bros Inc.2025Christine Barone850,0003,931,22501,870,0006,668,231
8Bloomin Brands, Inc.2025Michael Spanos1,000,0003,333,33701,155,0005,495,861
9Jack in the Box Inc.2025Lance Tucker624,0383,636,0950310,5215,271,591
10CAVA Group, Inc.2025Brett Schulman861,538999,9061,000,040982,1063,859,478
11Sweetgreen, Inc.2025Jonathan Neman550,00002,675,93703,226,081

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
Shake Shack67.5%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoPearl Meyer & Partners
Bloomin Brands, Inc.66%PSU 67 · RSU 33NoFW Cook
Brinker International, Inc.not disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — Relative TSRPearl Meyer & Partners
CAVA Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Dutch Bros Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedSemler Brossy
First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 100not disclosedAon Consulting Inc.
Jack in the Box Inc.47.6%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoMeridian Compensation Partners
Sweetgreen, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedSemler Brossy
Texas Roadhouse, Inc.65%not disclosedNoFW Cook
The Cheesecake Factory Inc.100.25%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoFW Cook
Wingstop Inc.142%PRSU 60 · RSU 40NoFW Cook

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.

10d

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Shake Shack in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Robert Lynch (Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Shake Shack in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $7,210,818.
How does Shake Shack's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Robert Lynch's total compensation ranked at the 50th percentile of Shake Shack's disclosed peer group.
What is Shake Shack's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Shake Shack's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 323:1.
How did shareholders vote on Shake Shack's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 93.67% of shareholders supported Shake Shack's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Shake Shack spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Shake Shack reported total board compensation of $1,632,398 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, Robert LynchDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Summary Compensation”. As printed: 7,210,818. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c54 · span 604209–604218
2Section 01, Katherine FogerteyDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Summary Compensation”. As printed: 1,941,582. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c54 · span 615831–615840
3Section 01, Stephanie SentellDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Summary Compensation”. As printed: 1,718,346. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c54 · span 633262–633271
4Section 03, Robert Lynch PSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r5 · c69 · span 683593–683602
5Section 03, Katherine Fogertey PSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r8 · c69 · span 707770–707777
6Section 03, Stephanie Sentell PSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r11 · c69 · span 727896–727903
7Section 03, Robert Lynch RSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r4 · c69 · span 677201–677210
8Section 03, Katherine Fogertey RSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r7 · c69 · span 700033–700040
9Section 03, Stephanie Sentell RSUDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t22 · r10 · c69 · span 721507–721514
10Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 323 : 1. Filing ↗
11Section 08, Jeff FlugDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 222,565. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r5 · c17 · span 268441–268448
12Section 08, Sumaiya BalbaleDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 217,573. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r2 · c17 · span 262433–262440
13Section 08, Jeffrey LawrenceDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 205,024. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r7 · c11 · span 271946–271953
14Section 08, Joshua SilvermanDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 200,718. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r8 · c17 · span 274435–274442
15Section 08, Lori GeorgeDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 200,036. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r6 · c17 · span 270429–270436
16Section 08, Tristan WalkerDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 185,671. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r9 · c17 · span 276451–276458
17Section 08, Daniel MeyerDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 185,093. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r1 · c11 · span 259939–259946
18Section 08, Charles Chapman IIIDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 185,093. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r3 · c11 · span 263953–263960
19Section 08, Anna FielerDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 30,625. Filing ↗machine: t4 · r4 · c5 · span 265441–265447
20Section 08, Robert LynchDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
21Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-06-110001104659-26-072950Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.67% (votes for as printed: 30,006,376). Filing ↗
22Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-06-040001104659-25-056420Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.47% (votes for as printed: 31,508,136). Filing ↗
23Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
24Section 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
25Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 271,875 + equity 1,360,523 + all other 0 = 1,632,398, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,632,398
26Wingstop Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-020001193125-26-140360CEO total compensation as printed in Wingstop Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 35,288,595. Filing ↗
27First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-080001789940-26-000048CEO total compensation as printed in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 11,523,150. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c48 · span 437281–437291
28Texas Roadhouse, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-100001104659-26-041771CEO total compensation as printed in Texas Roadhouse, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,822,133. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c14 · span 1328962–1328972
29Brinker International, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-09-250001193125-26-402857CEO total compensation as printed in Brinker International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,679,756. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c39 · span 615898–615908
30The Cheesecake Factory Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-100001104659-26-042016CEO total compensation as printed in The Cheesecake Factory Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,419,852. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c64 · span 783270–783279
31Shake Shack (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001104659-26-051572CEO total compensation as printed in Shake Shack's own proxy. As printed: 7,210,818. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c54 · span 604209–604218
32Dutch Bros Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-310001866581-26-000055CEO total compensation as printed in Dutch Bros Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,668,231. Filing ↗machine: r7 · c42 · span 634877–634886
33Bloomin Brands, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-030001546417-26-000015CEO total compensation as printed in Bloomin Brands, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,495,861. Filing ↗machine: span 923483–923492
34Jack in the Box Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-01-210000807882-26-000009CEO total compensation as printed in Jack in the Box Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,271,591. Filing ↗machine: span 1019487–1019496
35CAVA Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001628280-26-027224CEO total compensation as printed in CAVA Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,859,478. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c24 · span 549451–549460
36Sweetgreen, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-230001140361-26-016260CEO total compensation as printed in Sweetgreen, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,226,081. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c25 · span 758912–758922
37Section 10a, Dutch Bros Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001866581-26-000055Dutch Bros Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
38Section 10a, First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001789940-26-000048First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
39Section 10a, Bloomin Brands, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001546417-26-000015Bloomin Brands, Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
40Section 10a, Brinker International, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-402857Brinker International, Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
41Section 10a, CAVA Group, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001628280-26-027224CAVA Group, Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
42Section 10a, Sweetgreen, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001140361-26-016260Sweetgreen, Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Texas Roadhouse, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001104659-26-041771Texas Roadhouse, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Shake Shack. Filing ↗
44Section 10a, Wingstop Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-140360Wingstop Inc. names Shake Shack in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗

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