Companies Essential Utilities, Inc.
Essential Utilities (WTRG): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $7,749,950FY2023
- $6,222,992FY2024
- $9,212,815FY2025
CEO total pay was $9,212,815 in fiscal 2025, up from $6,222,992 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $1,103,931 · bonus $0 · stock awards $3,366,470 · option awards $652,838
Executives and directors
Frequently asked questions
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.
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Luning | 490,954 | 0 | 589,089 | 114,234 | 540,346 | 1,219,415 | 16,315 | 2,970,353 |
| Executive Vice President and General Counsel | ||||||||
| Daniel Schuller | 582,978 | 0 | 851,687 | 165,161 | 751,146 | 0 | 68,516 | 2,419,488 |
| Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Colleen Arnold | 426,958 | 0 | 355,463 | 68,934 | 341,691 | 0 | 35,519 | 1,228,564 |
| President, Aqua | ||||||||
| Michael Huwar | 391,320 | 0 | 338,560 | 65,651 | 372,480 | — | 37,472 | 1,205,483 |
| 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 officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Franklin | $9,212,815 | $6,222,992 | $7,749,950 | ↑ +2,989,823 |
| Christopher Luning | 2,970,353 | 1,780,959 | 1,755,310 | ↑ +1,189,394 |
| Daniel Schuller | 2,419,488 | 1,973,906 | 1,731,383 | ↑ +445,582 |
| Colleen Arnold | 1,228,564 | 994,234 | 881,563 | ↑ +234,330 |
| Michael Huwar | 1,205,483 | 976,259 | — | ↑ +229,224 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis
Essential Utilities' compensation program is designed to be competitive with industry peers and to align the long-term interests of executives, shareholders, and customers by ensuring pay appropriately reflects performance in achieving financial and non-financial operating objectives. The company emphasizes that a significant portion of executive pay should be at risk, tied to performance-based incentive awards and time-based equity grants to motivate long-term success and shareholder value growth.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | 110% |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | FW Cook |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Schuller | RSU | 2025-02-05 | — | — | 10,083 | — | $358,350 |
| Colleen Arnold | PSU | 2025-02-05 | 3,006 | 6,012 | — | 12,024 | 205,911 |
| Christopher Franklin | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 82,118 | — | — | 652,838 |
| Christopher Franklin | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 39,855 | — | — | 1,416,447 |
| Daniel Schuller | PSU | 2025-02-05 | 7,202 | 14,404 | — | 28,808 | 493,337 |
| Michael Huwar | RSU | 2025-02-05 | — | — | 4,008 | — | 142,444 |
| Christopher Franklin | PSU | 2025-02-05 | 28,468 | 56,935 | — | 113,870 | 1,950,024 |
| Daniel Schuller | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 20,775 | — | — | 165,161 |
| Colleen Arnold | RSU | 2025-02-05 | — | — | 4,208 | — | 149,552 |
| Colleen Arnold | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 8,671 | — | — | 68,934 |
| Michael Huwar | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 8,258 | — | — | 65,651 |
| Christopher Luning | PSU | 2025-02-05 | — | 14,369 | — | — | 114,234 |
| Michael Huwar | PSU | 2025-02-05 | 2,863 | 5,726 | — | 11,452 | 196,116 |
| Christopher Luning | RSU | 2025-02-05 | — | — | 6,974 | — | 247,856 |
| Christopher Luning | PSU | 2025-02-05 | 4,982 | 9,963 | — | 19,926 | 341,233 |
Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Schuller | $358,350 | $658,498 | $0 | 64.8% |
| Colleen Arnold | 149,552 | 274,845 | 0 | 64.8% |
| Christopher Franklin | 0 | 4,019,309 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Michael Huwar | 142,444 | 261,767 | 0 | 64.8% |
| Christopher Luning | 247,856 | 455,467 | 0 | 64.8% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Huwar | Option | 899 | 45.39 | — |
| Colleen Arnold | Option | 950 | 45.39 | — |
| Christopher Luning | Option | 1,662 | 45.39 | — |
| Daniel Schuller | Option | 2,312 | 45.39 | — |
| Michael Huwar | Option | 2,885 | 35.78 | — |
| Colleen Arnold | Option | 3,044 | 35.78 | — |
| Christopher Luning | Option | 5,537 | 35.78 | — |
| Michael Huwar | RSU | 7,962 | — | 305,422 |
| Daniel Schuller | Option | 8,023 | 35.78 | — |
| Michael Huwar | Option | 8,258 | 35.33 | — |
| Colleen Arnold | RSU | 8,383 | — | 339,616 |
| Colleen Arnold | Option | 8,671 | 35.33 | — |
| Christopher Franklin | Option | 8,764 | 45.39 | — |
| Christopher Luning | Option | 14,369 | 35.33 | — |
| Christopher Luning | RSU | 14,447 | — | 585,676 |
| Michael Huwar | PSU | 15,589 | — | 634,986 |
| Colleen Arnold | PSU | 16,427 | — | 669,161 |
| Daniel Schuller | RSU | 20,735 | — | 840,374 |
| Daniel Schuller | Option | 20,775 | 35.33 | — |
| Christopher Luning | PSU | 28,604 | — | 1,165,864 |
| Christopher Franklin | Option | 28,732 | 35.78 | — |
| Daniel Schuller | PSU | 40,975 | — | 1,669,641 |
| Christopher Franklin | RSU | 78,886 | — | 3,195,251 |
| Christopher Franklin | Option | 82,118 | 35.33 | — |
| Christopher Franklin | PSU | 154,294 | — | 6,283,971 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel J. HilfertyIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Executive Compensation (Chair) | $155,000 | $135,011 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $290,111 |
| Christopher L. BrunerIndependent · Audit (Chair) | 130,000 | 135,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 265,111 |
| David A. CiesinskiIndependent · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy (Chair) | 125,000 | 135,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 260,111 |
| Elizabeth B. AmatoIndependent · Corporate Governance · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy | 125,000 | 135,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 260,111 |
| Tamara L. LindeIndependent · Executive Compensation · Risk Mitigation and Investment Policy | 110,000 | 135,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 245,111 |
| W. Bryan LewisIndependent · Corporate Governance (Chair) | 110,000 | 135,011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 245,111 |
| Christopher H. FranklinEmployee director · Board Chair · Executive (Chair) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WestIndependent · Not standing for re-election | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 guideline | $5 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $755,000 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $810,066 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $1,565,066 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Essential Utilities as a peer
Companies that benchmark against WTRG
5 companies name WTRG as a compensation peer
The list of companies that name WTRG as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.
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.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essential Utilities, Inc. | 2025 | Christopher 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.
Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-29 | 184,594,406 | 20,085,147 | 1,223,832 | 90.19% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-07 | 154,232,438 | 56,219,963 | 1,425,093 | 73.29% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-01 | 194,712,551 | 13,046,186 | 1,442,470 | 93.72% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-03 | 187,215,092 | 7,792,837 | 2,006,091 | 96% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-04 | 179,138,481 | 5,406,993 | 1,534,362 | 97.07% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-05-05 | 168,516,234 | 6,162,528 | 1,253,565 | 96.47% | 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 year | Meeting date | Approval — company’s computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-29 | 90.19%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-07 | 73.29%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-01 | 93.72%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.
CEO pay ratio
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 80 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $9,212,815 |
| Median employee compensation | $115,770 |
Insider trades since the proxy
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.
| Insider | Role | Transaction date | Code | Shares | Price | Value | Security | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David A. Ciesinski | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | $37 | $134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Tamara L. Linde | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | 37 | 134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Christopher L. Bruner | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | 37 | 134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| W. Bryan Lewis | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | 37 | 134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Elizabeth B. Amato | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | 37 | 134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Daniel J. Hilferty | Director | 2026-06-23 | A | 3,666 | 37 | 134,982 | Common | Form 4 ↗ |
| Colleen Arnold | President - Aqua | 2026-08-07 | D | 2,855 | 40 | 112,915 | Common | Form 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.
Sources (43 citations)
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
- Section 01, Christopher Franklin. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 68. As printed: 9,212,815. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Christopher Luning. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 2,970,353. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Daniel Schuller. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 2,419,488. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Colleen Arnold. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,228,564. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Michael Huwar. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 1,205,483. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Daniel Schuller RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Colleen Arnold PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Franklin PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Franklin PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Daniel Schuller PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Huwar RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Franklin PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Daniel Schuller PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Colleen Arnold RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Colleen Arnold PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Huwar PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Luning PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Michael Huwar PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Luning RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 03, Christopher Luning PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
- Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 80 : 1. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Daniel J. Hilferty. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 290,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Christopher L. Bruner. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 265,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, David A. Ciesinski. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Elizabeth B. Amato. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Tamara L. Linde. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 245,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, W. Bryan Lewis. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 245,111. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Christopher H. Franklin. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 08, West. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
- Section 02, David A. Ciesinski 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Tamara L. Linde 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Christopher L. Bruner 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, W. Bryan Lewis 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Elizabeth B. Amato 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Daniel J. Hilferty 2026-06-23. Form 4, filed 2026-06-24. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 02, Colleen Arnold 2026-08-07. Form 4, filed 2026-08-11. Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-04-30. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 90.19% (votes for as printed: 184,594,406). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-05-12. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 73.29% (votes for as printed: 154,232,438). View filing ↗
- Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-05-02. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.72% (votes for as printed: 194,712,551). View filing ↗
- Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
- Section 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).
- Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 755,000 + equity 810,066 + all other 0 = 1,565,066, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Essential Utilities, Inc. (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Essential Utilities, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,212,815. View filing ↗