Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-08-11

Essential Utilities (WTRG)

CEO Christopher Franklin was paid $9,212,815 in fiscal year 2025, ↑ up 48.0% from fiscal year 2024, the 1st percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001552781-26-000133 ↗): 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.

$9,212,815 ↑
Christopher Franklin total, FY2025
1st
CEO pay percentile vs peers
80:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
90.19%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

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WTRG's next annual pay disclosure, estimated March 9, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Christopher Franklin$1,103,931$0$3,366,470$652,838$2,218,607$1,841,343$29,626$9,212,815
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Luning490,9540589,089114,234540,3461,219,41516,3152,970,353
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Daniel Schuller582,9780851,687165,161751,146068,5162,419,488
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Colleen Arnold426,9580355,46368,934341,691035,5191,228,564
President, Aqua
Michael Huwar391,3200338,56065,651372,480—37,4721,205,483
President, Peoples Gas

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
Christopher Franklin$9,212,815$6,222,992$7,749,950↑ +2,989,823
Christopher Luning2,970,3531,780,959—↑ +1,189,394
Daniel Schuller2,419,4881,973,9061,731,383↑ +445,582
Colleen Arnold1,228,564994,234881,563↑ +234,330
Michael Huwar1,205,483976,259—↑ +229,224

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 WTRG
4 companies name WTRG as a compensation peer

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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
Christopher FranklinCEO$9,212,815
Christopher LuningGeneral Counsel$2,970,353
Daniel SchullerCFO$2,419,488
Michael HuwarPresident$1,205,483
Colleen ArnoldPresident$1,228,564
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
Christopher L. BrunerIndependent Director$265,111
Daniel J. HilfertyLead Independent Director$290,111
David A. CiesinskiIndependent Director$260,111
Elizabeth B. AmatoIndependent Director$260,111
Tamara L. LindeIndependent Director$245,111
W. Bryan LewisIndependent Director$245,111
WestIndependent Director—
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
David A. CiesinskiDirector2026-06-23A3,666$37$134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
Tamara L. LindeDirector2026-06-23A3,66637134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
W. Bryan LewisDirector2026-06-23A3,66637134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
Elizabeth B. AmatoDirector2026-06-23A3,66637134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
Daniel J. HilfertyDirector2026-06-23A3,66637134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
Christopher L. BrunerDirector2026-06-23A3,66637134,982CommonForm 4 ↗
Colleen ArnoldPresident - Aqua2026-08-07D2,85540112,915CommonForm 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
Christopher FranklinPRSU—————$3,366,470
Michael HuwarPRSU—————338,560
Daniel SchullerOPTION—————165,161
Colleen ArnoldPRSU—————355,463
Christopher LuningPRSU—————589,089
Christopher LuningOPTION—————114,234
Christopher FranklinOPTION—————652,838
Michael HuwarOPTION—————65,651
Colleen ArnoldOPTION—————68,934
Daniel SchullerPRSU—————851,687
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Christopher Franklin$0$0$652,8380.0%
Michael Huwar0065,6510.0%
Daniel Schuller00165,1610.0%
Colleen Arnold0068,9340.0%
Christopher Luning00114,2340.0%

% 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
Christopher FranklinRSU43,701—$1,557,878
Colleen ArnoldRSU4,187—149,261
Daniel SchullerRSU11,790—420,310
Christopher LuningRSU8,529—304,047
Michael HuwarRSU4,107—146,404
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

Our philosophy is that we should structure executive pay to be consistent with our peers and to align the long-term interests of our executives, shareholders, and customers so the pay appropriately reflects performance in achieving financial and non-financial operating objectives. To support our philosophy, we believe that a significant portion of an executive's pay should be at risk as either performance-based incentive awards that are only paid if the individual and Company performance targets are met or time-based equity grants.

CEO STI target (% of salary)110%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantPay Governance (through July 2025); FW Cook (2026 forward)
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-04-29184,594,40620,085,1471,223,83290.19%Passed
20252025-05-07154,232,43856,219,9631,425,09373.29%Passed
20242024-05-01194,712,55113,046,1861,442,47093.72%Passed
20232023-05-03187,215,0927,792,8372,006,09196%Passed
20222022-05-04179,138,4815,406,9931,534,36297.07%Passed
20212021-05-05168,516,2346,162,5281,253,56596.47%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
20262026-04-2990.19%a
20252025-05-0773.29%b
20242024-05-0193.72%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “oting Options Vote Required for Approval Impact of Abstentions Impact of Broker Non-Votes PROPOSAL 1 Election of directors For, Against, or Withhold for each nominee Plurality of the votes cast* No effect on this proposal No effect on this proposal PROPOSAL 2 Advisory vote on executive compensation For, Against, or Abstain Affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by those shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting No effect on this proposal No effect on this proposal PROPOSAL 3 Ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP For, Against, or Abstain Affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by those shareholders this procedure, multiple shareholders who share the same last name and address and do not participate in electronic delivery will receive only one copy of the Proxy Materials or the Notice.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “oting Options Vote Required for Approval Impact of Abstentions Impact of Broker Non-Votes PROPOSAL 1 Election of directors For, Against, or Withhold for each nominee Plurality of the votes cast* No effect on this proposal No effect on this proposal PROPOSAL 2 Advisory vote on executive compensation For, Against, or Abstain Affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by those shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting No effect on this proposal No effect on this proposal PROPOSAL 3 Ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP For, Against, or Abstain Affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by those shareholders tement and the Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2023, including financial statements and other information about the Company and its subsidiaries (the Annual Report), are first being made available to shareholders of record as of March 4, 2024, on or about March 19, 2024.”.

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)80 : 1
CEO total compensation$9,212,815
Median employee compensation$115,770
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Daniel J. HilfertyIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Executive Compensation (Chair) · Corporate Governance · Executive$155,000$135,011$0$0$100$290,111
Christopher L. BrunerIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Executive Compensation · Executive130,000135,01100100265,111
David A. CiesinskiIndependent · Audit · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy (Chair) · Executive125,000135,01100100260,111
Elizabeth B. AmatoIndependent · Corporate Governance · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy125,000135,01100100260,111
Tamara L. LindeIndependent · Executive Compensation · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy110,000135,01100100245,111
W. Bryan LewisIndependent · Corporate Governance (Chair) · Audit · Executive110,000135,01100100245,111
Christopher H. FranklinEmployee director · Board Chair · Executive (Chair) · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy000—00
WestIndependent · Not standing for re-election000000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$110,000
Annual equity retainer$135,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 15,000 / 15,000
Stock ownership guideline5x annual base cash retainer (equivalent to 14,334 shares as of December 31, 2025)
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$755,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$810,066
All other compensation$600
Total cost of the board$1,565,666

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
1Essential Utilities2025Christopher Franklin$1,103,931$3,366,470$652,838$2,218,607$9,212,815

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 Essential Utilities in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Christopher Franklin (Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Essential Utilities in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $9,212,815.
How does Essential Utilities's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Christopher Franklin's total compensation ranked at the 1st percentile of Essential Utilities's disclosed peer group.
What is Essential Utilities's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Essential Utilities's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 80:1.
How did shareholders vote on Essential Utilities's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 90.19% of shareholders supported Essential Utilities's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Essential Utilities spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Essential Utilities reported total board compensation of $1,565,666 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, Christopher FranklinDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 9,212,815. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r1 · c9 · span 1342436–1342445
2Section 01, Christopher LuningDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 2,970,353. Filing ↗machine: r7 · c9 · span 1358285–1358294
3Section 01, Daniel SchullerDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 2,419,488. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c9 · span 1350252–1350261
4Section 01, Colleen ArnoldDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 1,228,564. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c9 · span 1366040–1366049
5Section 01, Michael HuwarDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 1,205,483. Filing ↗machine: r13 · c9 · span 1373717–1373726
6Section 03, Christopher Franklin PRSUDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r1 · c4 · span 1341048–1341057
7Section 03, Michael Huwar PRSUDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r13 · c4 · span 1372396–1372403
8Section 03, Daniel Schuller OPTIONDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t520 · r15 · c13 · span 1655699–1655706
9Section 03, Colleen Arnold PRSUDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r10 · c4 · span 1364659–1364666
10Section 03, Christopher Luning PRSUDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r7 · c4 · span 1356901–1356908
11Section 03, Christopher Luning OPTIONDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t520 · r19 · c13 · span 1669674–1669681
12Section 03, Christopher Franklin OPTIONDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t520 · r11 · c13 · span 1641740–1641747
13Section 03, Michael Huwar OPTIONDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t520 · r27 · c13 · span 1697678–1697684
14Section 03, Colleen Arnold OPTIONDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t520 · r23 · c13 · span 1683628–1683634
15Section 03, Daniel Schuller PRSUDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r4 · c4 · span 1348870–1348877
16Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 80 : 1. Filing ↗machine: t546 · r2 · c0 · span 1845781–1845783
17Section 08, Daniel J. HilfertyDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 290,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r5 · c7 · span 705854–705937
18Section 08, Christopher L. BrunerDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 265,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r2 · c7 · span 699932–700015
19Section 08, David A. CiesinskiDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r3 · c7 · span 701902–701985
20Section 08, Elizabeth B. AmatoDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r1 · c7 · span 697965–698048
21Section 08, Tamara L. LindeDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 245,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r7 · c7 · span 709786–709869
22Section 08, W. Bryan LewisDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 245,111. Filing ↗machine: t267 · r6 · c7 · span 707820–707903
23Section 08, Christopher H. FranklinDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
24Section 08, WestDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
25Section 02, David A. Ciesinski 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000073Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
26Section 02, Tamara L. Linde 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000070Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
27Section 02, W. Bryan Lewis 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000071Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
28Section 02, Elizabeth B. Amato 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000075Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
29Section 02, Daniel J. Hilferty 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000074Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
30Section 02, Christopher L. Bruner 2026-06-23Form 42026-06-240000078128-26-000069Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
31Section 02, Colleen Arnold 2026-08-07Form 42026-08-110000078128-26-000078Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
32Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-04-300001552781-26-000288Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 90.19% (votes for as printed: 184,594,406). Filing ↗
33Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-120001552781-25-000177Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 73.29% (votes for as printed: 154,232,438). Filing ↗
34Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-020001552781-24-000269Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.72% (votes for as printed: 194,712,551). Filing ↗
35Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
36Section 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
37Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 755,000 + equity 810,066 + all other 600 = 1,565,666, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,565,666
38Essential Utilities (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-170001552781-26-000133CEO total compensation as printed in Essential Utilities's own proxy. As printed: 9,212,815. Filing ↗machine: t485 · r1 · c9 · span 1342436–1342445

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