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Board of Directors Compensation Review

Shift4 Payments, Inc.

Fiscal Year 2025 Board Governance Review
Ticker: FOUR
Fiscal Year: FY2025
Filing Date: 2026-04-30
Sector: Payments & Financial Infrastructure
Executive Summary
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
41st
Comp Percentile
Total retainer vs. peers
86%
Independence
6 of 7 directors
79.38%
Say-on-Pay
FY2025 vote; prior: 97.70%
Moderate
Proxy-Advisor Screen
Velarion ISS-aligned directional
Thesis
Total director compensation of $260,000 positions at the 41st percentile of peers, −$25,000 versus the $285,000 peer median. The company maintains 4 of 4 core governance provisions tracked by Velarion. A moderate proxy-advisor screen reading and 79.38% say-on-pay approval reflect aligned negative governance signals warranting committee response ahead of the next proxy cycle.
Calibration anchors as of August 2, 2026 (stock price $53.00; market cap $4.2B).
Recommended Direction
Director compensation sits below the peer median — a cost-disciplined positioning nothing here requires the board to defend; recruitment and retention at this level is the only consideration worth board attention. Engage the top 10 shareholders by vote weight before the next proxy to reinforce program design and surface concerns.
Key Findings
MODERATEPositioning
Total retainer at the 41st of peers
Total director compensation of $260,000 sits −$25,000 versus a peer median of $285,000. Positioning provides cover to strengthen the rationale disclosure in the next proxy.
ELEVATEDProxy Risk
ISS moderate concern with say-on-pay at 79.38%
The vote reflects shareholder support below the level that reads as an endorsement, against moderate proxy-advisor concern. Both signals point the same way, so the next ISS cycle is unlikely to be pre-empted by disclosure alone; the board-pay rationale and the program changes behind it are what the vote is responding to.
Since the Last Disclosure
Activity since the last disclosure — $4.7M of equity awarded across 8 awards to 7 people since Jan 1, 2026. None of it reaches a compensation table until the FY2026 disclosure is published.
Shareholder vote in the current window — 79.38% support on Jun 12, 2026, with 2 awards granted before the vote and 6 after it.
Source: Annual proxy statement · 2026-04-30. Peer fee schedules drawn from 12 disclosed peers with fee schedule coverage. Percentile bands reflect Velarion benchmarking methodology.
Director Equity Awards Since the Last Disclosure
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
8
Awards Granted
since the last disclosure
7
Directors Receiving
distinct recipients
$4.7M
Value of Awards
at each award-date close
Jan 1, 2026
Window Opened
first day after the disclosure period
Not Yet in Any Compensation Table
None of this reaches a compensation table until the FY2026 disclosure is published.
8 awards to 7 directors since Jan 1, 2026
Awards by Recipient
DirectorTitleAward DateSharesValue
Nancy DismanFormer Chief Financial OfficerFeb 27, 202676,015$3.3M
Nancy DismanFormer Chief Financial OfficerJun 15, 20267,343$293k
Sam BakhshandehpourJun 15, 20265,100$204k
Seth DallaireJun 15, 20265,100$204k
Karen Roter DavisJun 15, 20265,100$204k
Sarah Goldsmith-GroverJun 15, 20265,100$204k
Jonathan HalkyardJun 15, 20265,100$204k
Jared IsaacmanFormer Chief Executive Officer; Former Executive Chairman of the BoardFeb 7, 20261,546,605
Awards reported to shareholders by the company's insiders since the close of the fiscal year covered by the most recent compensation disclosure. Each award is valued at the closing share price on its own award date, so there is no single grant price for the year. Award categories are shown only once confirmed. Nancy Disman is disclosed by the company as Former Chief Financial Officer and appears in both its executive and director compensation tables. The award above appears here consistent with how it was reported. Nancy Disman is disclosed by the company as Former Chief Financial Officer and appears in both its executive and director compensation tables. The award above appears here consistent with how it was reported. Jared Isaacman is disclosed by the company as Former Chief Executive Officer; Former Executive Chairman of the Board and appears in both its executive and director compensation tables. The award above appears here consistent with how it was reported.
Shareholder Vote and Awards Since It
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
79.38% Support, Voted Jun 12, 2026
Most Recent Shareholder Vote on Pay
Shareholders voted during the current window. 2 of the awards on the preceding page were granted before that vote and 6 after it.
2 preceded the vote; 6 followed it.
The Vote
ItemValue
Support recorded79.38%
Vote heldJun 12, 2026
Relative to the current windowInside the window
Awards granted before the vote2
Awards granted after the vote6
Activity Since
Since the DisclosureValue
Awards since the disclosure closed8
Recipients7
Units awarded, all dated awards1,655,463
Value of those awards$4.7M
Vote results as reported by the company. The split of awards around the vote date counts awards resolved for the current window; it is not a statement of the committee's intent.
The Year on One Timeline
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Everything Since the Last Disclosure Closed 12 awards to 11 people across executives and directors, between Feb 7, 2026 and Jun 15, 2026
FY2025 disclosure period closesCurrent-year activity beginsAwards to 1 person1,546,605 sharesAwards to 5 people395,057 sharesShareholder vote on pay79.38% supportAwards to 6 people32,843 sharesTodayAug 2Jan 2026Aug 2026
Disclosure period closesEquity awardsShareholder voteToday
Each marker is a date on which activity was reported. Awards on the same date are shown as one marker.
Board Composition & Committees
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
7
Total Directors
6 independent · 1 non-indep
86%
Independence
ISS threshold: 67%
Avg Tenure
2 of 7 disclosed
Non-independent
Board Chair
Taylor Lauber
This event postdates the FY2025 annual disclosure but directly implicates board oversight credibility ahead of the June 2027 annual meeting. Combined with the combined Chair/CEO structure (a Lead Independent Director is designated), the settlement creates a disclosure environment where the FY2026 CD&A will need to address related-party oversight rigor explicitly to avoid compounding the 79.38% say-on-pay result.
Director Roster — FY2025
DirectorIndependentEmployeeCommitteesTenure
Taylor Lauber (Chair)NoYesJoined 2025
Nancy DismanYesNoCompensation
Sam BakhshandehpourYesNoAudit; Compensation (Chair)
Karen Roter DavisYesNoAudit; Compensation; Nominating and Corporate Governance
Sarah GroverYesNoCompensation; Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)
Jonathan Halkyard (Lead)YesNoAudit (Chair); Nominating and Corporate Governance
Seth DallaireYesNoNominating and Corporate GovernanceJoined 2025
Source: Annual proxy statement · 2026-04-30. Committees as disclosed in the most recent proxy. Employee directors do not serve on standing committees, so the Committees column shows a dash for those rows. Tenure computed from disclosed director-since year. Tenure is computed from the director's disclosed start year and is available for 2 of 7 directors; 5 directors do not have a start year on file. Averages and the tenure distribution below are measured over the 2 directors with a start year, not over the full board.
Director Compensation Summary
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
$288k
Median Indep Comp
Non-chair independent
$1.5M
Non-Chair Indep Comp
5 non-chair independent
41st
Positioning
Total retainer vs. peers
7
Board Size
6 independent
FY2025 Director Compensation (as reported)
DirectorCashStockOptionsOtherTotal
Taylor Lauber (Chair) ‡ †Pending — compensation not yet set
Christopher Cruz * ‡$0$0$0$0$0
Donald Isaacman * ‡$37,500$210,000$0$0$247,500
Jared Isaacman * ‡$0$0$0$0$0
Jonathan Halkyard$84,125$210,000$0$0$294,125
Karen Roter Davis$78,500$210,000$0$0$288,500
Nancy Disman ‡$0$0$0$0$0
Sam Bakhshandehpour$73,125$210,000$0$0$283,125
Sarah Grover$73,375$210,000$0$0$283,375
Seth Dallaire$47,250$271,015$0$0$318,265
Total non-chair independent (5)$356,375$1,111,015$0$0$1,467,390
† Newly elected at the most recent annual meeting — compensation for the upcoming term not yet determined.
Cash = fees earned or paid in cash. Stock = grant-date fair value of equity awards. ‡ Not included in the non-chair independent subtotal (the board chair, employee and other non-independent directors, and any director with no board compensation for the year). Aggregate Indep Comp ($1,467,390 across 5 non-chair independent directors) is the company's total seated-director board compensation for the year: no board chair or non-independent director received separately reported board compensation (departed directors, marked *, excluded). Employee directors receive their compensation through the executive program; any board-level Other amount reflects transitional or advisory fees disclosed in the proxy. Median non-chair independent director total comp shown in KPI. * Departed director; compensation shown for partial-year service.
Director Compensation Benchmarking
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
$50K
Cash Retainer
32nd percentile
$210K
Equity Retainer
50th percentile
$260K
Total Retainer
41st percentile
12
Peer Set Size
Disclosed proxy peers with fee data
Total Director Retainer vs. Peers
TRIP
$320K
ACIW
$318K
TYL
$310K
GDDY
$305K
BR
$300K
WEX
$285K
FOUR
$260K
EEFT
$260K
JKHY
$250K
TOST
$250K
AFRM
$245K
YELP
$245K
Total retainer = annual cash retainer + annual equity retainer. FOUR highlighted in gold. Peer set drawn from 12 disclosed peers with fee schedules in the Velarion universe. Peer retainer distribution (subject excluded, of 12 peers): Cash P25 $48K / median $68K / P75 $78K (n=11); Equity P25 $200K / median $212K / P75 $250K (n=12); Total P25 $250K / median $285K / P75 $308K (n=11).
Fee Schedule & Committee Premiums
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Schedule of Director Fees
ElementAmount
Annual Cash Retainer$50,000
Annual Equity Retainer$210,000
Total Annual Retainer$260,000
Board Chair Premium
Lead Director Premium
Audit Chair Premium$30,000
Comp Chair Premium$22,500
Nom/Gov Chair Premium$18,000
Audit Member$15,000
Comp Member$10,000
Nom/Gov Member$5,500
Per-Meeting Fee
Vesting & Equity Vehicle
Vehicle: RSUs
Director SOG: $250,000
Vesting: Per filed disclosure
Stock Ownership Guideline
$250,000
Anti-Pledging / Anti-Hedging
Anti-pledging: In place
Anti-hedging: In place
Source: Annual proxy statement · 2026-04-30 — director fee schedule and corporate governance section.
Compensation Mix & Equity Weighting
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
FOUR Retainer-Only Mix (non-chair independent)
19%/81%
Cash / Equity — Retainer-Only
Cash retainer: $50,000 (19%)
Equity retainer: $210,000 (81%)
+1 ppt vs. peer median (80%)
Aggregate Paid — Context Only
Cash paid (incl. committee premiums and meeting fees): $356,375
Equity awards (grant-date fair value): $1,111,015
Not peer-compared — peer table uses retainer-only basis.
Peer Set — Cash vs Equity Mix
PeerCash RetainerEquity RetainerTotalEquity %
CPAY$0K$300K$300K100%
TOST$30K$220K$250K88%
YELP$40K$205K$245K84%
GDDY$50K$255K$305K84%
AFRM$45K$200K$245K82%
TYL$60K$250K$310K81%
ACIW$68K$250K$318K79%
TRIP$70K$250K$320K78%
JKHY$70K$180K$250K72%
WEX$85K$200K$285K70%
BR$100K$200K$300K67%
EEFT$100K$160K$260K62%
Retainer-only basis (annual cash retainer vs. annual equity retainer) used for the peer comparison — the same basis as the peer table, so the subject KPI and the peer median are directly comparable. Aggregate-paid breakdown shown as context only and is not peer-compared; its cash pool includes committee premiums and meeting fees.
Board Tenure & Refreshment
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Average Tenure (yrs)
Across all directors
Refreshment Grade
Velarion methodology
0
New Indep Dirs (3 yr)
Independent additions
0
Directors 15+ Years
ISS / Glass Lewis watch
Tenure Distribution
0–3 years
2
4–7 years
0
8–12 years
0
13+ years
0
Long-Tenure Directors (ISS / Glass Lewis Watch)
  • No directors at or approaching the 15-year ISS watch threshold.
Tenure measured from disclosed director-since year through fiscal year end. ISS flags average tenure ≥ 9 years and individual director tenure ≥ 15 years as elevated refreshment concerns. Refreshment grade uses Velarion benchmarking thresholds. Tenure is computed from the director's disclosed start year and is available for 2 of 7 directors; 5 directors do not have a start year on file. Averages and the tenure distribution below are measured over the 2 directors with a start year, not over the full board.
Governance & Shareholder Alignment
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Disclosure Quality100/100Strong
STI 25/25 · LTI 25/25 · Gov 20/20 · Phil 15/15 · Design 15/15
Governance Provisions
ProvisionStatus
Director Stock Ownership Guideline
Clawback Policy
Anti-Hedging Policy
Anti-Pledging Policy
Score: 4/4 provisions in place
Anti-Pledging / Anti-Hedging
Anti-pledging: In place
Anti-hedging: In place
Tax gross-ups: None
Independence Profile
Board independence: 86% (6 of 7 directors)
Chair structure: Non-independent chair — Taylor Lauber
ISS independence threshold: 67% · subject clears the threshold.
Stock Ownership Guidelines
Director guideline: $250,000
Scope: Director-specific guideline disclosed in proxy
Peer prevalence: 12 of 12 disclosed-peer companies disclose director stock ownership guidelines
Holding period / compliance window: Per filed disclosure
Governance Narrative
  • Say-on-pay support dropped 18.32 percentage points to 79.38% in FY2025 — the trough across the three-year vote record — while the committee's own CD&A characterized this as indicating 'the substantial majority of stockholders view our executive compensation program as being well aligned.' The committee interpreted the prior vote as validating current practice; the subsequent decline to 79.38% may warrant revisiting this assessment in the FY2026 CD&A ahead of the June 2027 annual meeting.
  • This event postdates the FY2025 annual disclosure but directly implicates board oversight credibility ahead of the June 2027 annual meeting. Combined with the combined Chair/CEO structure (a Lead Independent Director is designated), the settlement creates a disclosure environment where the FY2026 CD&A will need to address related-party oversight rigor explicitly to avoid compounding the 79.38% say-on-pay result.
Source: Annual proxy statement · 2026-04-30 — director fee schedule and CD&A. Anti-pledging policy and SOG compliance window typically disclosed in the corporate governance section of the proxy.
Say-on-Pay History
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
79.38%
Latest SOP Approval
FY2025
C ↓
SOP Grade
Outlook: declining
3
Votes on Record
Disclosed annual votes
SoP Approval Trend
50%70%80%90%100%96.05%97.70%79.38%FY2022FY2023FY2025
SoP Vote Detail
YearApprovalForAgainstResult
FY202579.38%47,733,88612,398,705Pass
FY202397.70%290,943,7796,847,349Pass
FY202296.05%290,539,40611,949,747Pass
Say-on-pay approval stands at 79.38% for FY2025, shareholder support below the level that reads as an endorsement. Vote level warrants targeted shareholder outreach ahead of the next proxy cycle.
Source: 8-K Form 8-K vote results. Latest vote (FY2025) conducted at the annual meeting held after the proxy filing date. Approval percentage measured as votes For ÷ (For + Against). SOP Grade reflects the latest vote level only. The outlook marker (↑ improving / → stable / ↓ declining / · not established) is a separate signal reading the direction of the disclosed series; it never moves the letter. Outlook basis: declining trend.
Say-on-Pay History (continued)
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Full Ballot — FY2025 Annual Meeting (2026-06-12)
#ProposalProponentApprovalOutcome
1Director ElectionCompany
2Auditor RatificationCompany99.80%Approved
3Say-on-Pay (advisory)Company79.38%Approved
4Charter AmendmentCompany99.54%Approved
5Other ProposalCompany81.57%Approved
Say-on-pay approval of 79.38% trailed the rest of the ballot: the median of the 3 other proposals was 99.54% (20.16 pp above the pay vote). The pay vote reads differently when the rest of the ballot runs near-unanimous.
Ballot detail as reported in the company's annual-meeting vote disclosure. Only meetings whose vote detail reconciles with the company's reported say-on-pay figures are shown.
CEO Pay Ratio
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
CEO Pay Ratio
186:1
CEO pay as a multiple of median employee pay — FY2025
Fiscal YearPay RatioCEO Total CompensationMedian Employee Compensation
FY2025186:1$12,211,164$65,478
FY2024160:1$9,473,198$59,200

The ratio increased 16.6% from FY2024 (160:1) to FY2025 (186:1).

Market capitalisation $3.8B as of 2026-08-02. Market capitalisation is a point-in-time figure and is not stated on the same fiscal-year basis as the pay ratio.

Source: Shift4 Payments, Inc. annual proxy statement dated 2026-04-30, CEO pay ratio disclosure (Item 402(u)). Market capitalisation as of 2026-08-02.
Director Election Support
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Director Election Support — FY2025 Annual Meeting
DirectorCommitteesElection Support
Nancy DismanCompensation52,021,699 for / 8,222,028 withheld ¹
Jonathan HalkyardAudit (Chair), Nominating and Corporate Governance54,877,579 for / 5,366,148 withheld ¹
Sam BakhshandehpourAudit, Compensation (Chair)59,496,829 for / 746,898 withheld ¹
¹ Votes for / votes withheld-or-against (voting standard not disclosed). Support percentages are shown only where the company discloses a majority or plurality voting standard for director elections.
Year-over-year support change is not shown: the company's disclosed election-support history does not carry a prior-year percentage for any director on this page to compare against.
Directors are sorted by election support, weakest first. Figures are shown as reported; no threshold or advisory-vote implication is applied.
Vote results as reported in the company's annual-meeting vote disclosure. Committee assignments reflect the most recent disclosure. Only meetings whose vote detail reconciles with the company's reported say-on-pay figures are shown.
VCI Board Intelligence Grade
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Component Grades & Rationale
ComponentGradeWhy This Grade
Compensation PositioningATotal director retainer at the 41st percentile of disclosed peers
IndependenceABoard independence 86% vs ISS 67% threshold (6 of 7 directors)
RefreshmentTenure not disclosed
GovernanceA4 of 4 core governance provisions in place (Director Stock Ownership Guideline, Clawback Policy, Anti-Hedging Policy, Anti-Pledging Policy)
Say-on-PayC Latest SoP approval 79.38% — shareholder support below the level that reads as an endorsement; declining trend — net decline across the most recent 3-year window; outlook declining
Grades reflect canonical board-intelligence metrics — no subjective inputs. Compensation Positioning bands: A = at-market (35th–65th pctile), B = within-norm (20th–34th or 66th–79th), C = outlier (10th–19th or 80th–89th), D = severe outlier. Independence and refreshment thresholds aligned with ISS / Glass Lewis policies. The say-on-pay marker beside the letter is an outlook (↑ improving / → stable / ↓ declining / · not established), read from the direction of the five-year vote series every surface on this deck reads; it is a separate signal and does not affect the letter, which reflects vote level only.
Committee Chair Premium Benchmarking
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Committee Chair Premium — Subject vs Peer Set
PremiumFOURPeer MedianPeer MinPeer Maxn
Board Chair Premium$62,500$45,000$100,0004
Lead Director Premium$40,000$25,000$140,0006
Audit Chair$30,000$25,000$15,000$30,00010
Comp Chair$22,500$19,000$10,000$25,00010
Nom/Gov Chair$18,000$13,500$7,500$20,00010
Premiums reflect annual incremental retainer above the standard independent director retainer. Peer set: 12 disclosed peers with fee schedule data. "—" denotes premium not separately disclosed in the peer proxy. Source: most recent annual proxy statements as of FY2025.
Aggregate Board Compensation
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
$1.5M
Aggregate Indep Comp
5 compensated independent directors (chair not independent, excluded)
$1.5M
Eligible Aggregate
Independent, excluding chair; incl. departed
1st
Aggregate Cost Percentile
vs 12 disclosed peers
$2.6M
Peer Median Aggregate
Independent directors
Aggregate Independent Director Compensation — Subject vs Peers
CPAY
$3.4M
WEX
$3.1M
BR
$3.0M
GDDY
$2.9M
ACIW
$2.8M
YELP
$2.6M
JKHY
$2.6M
TOST
$2.2M
EEFT
$2.2M
AFRM
$2.1M
TRIP
$2.1M
TYL
$2.0M
FOUR
$1.5M
Aggregate = sum of total compensation paid to all independent, non-employee directors. Eligible Aggregate excludes board chair and employee directors. Peer set: 12 disclosed peers with usable director-comp data. FOUR highlighted in gold.
Proxy Advisory Risk Assessment
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Predicted ISS Qualitative Commentary
Velarion simulation
The FY2025 say-on-pay result of 79.4%, trailing the rest of the ballot by 20.2 percentage points, reflects shareholder sensitivity to this gap.
Board-Level Proxy Risk Indicators
Board Tenure Profile
Not measured — start year on file for 2 of 7 directors
low
Independent Director Ratio
86% (6 of 7)
low
Refreshment Cadence
1 new indep (last 3 yrs)
elevated
Recent Say-on-Pay (3 Years)
  • FY2025: 79.38%
  • FY2023: 97.70%
  • FY2022: 96.05%
Director-Specific Refreshment Flags
  • No directors at or beyond the 15-year refreshment trigger.
Board-governance proxy lens: tenure profile (ISS 9-year flag), independence ratio (ISS ≥67% threshold), and refreshment cadence (new independent directors added in the last 3 years). The ≥9-year count is computed from individual director tenure, not bucket edges shown on the Tenure & Refreshment page. Levels are directional only; formal proxy-advisor determinations are made annually by the relevant advisor.
Proxy Advisory Risk Assessment (continued)
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Independent Alignment Read — 2026 Methodology Crosswalk
DQ: PARTIAL
An independent alignment read that reflects how pay-for-performance frameworks reason — computed transparently from public methodology, and honest about its own completeness. Directional only: not an official ISS or Glass Lewis score, and not a forecast of any advisor’s recommendation or vote. Higher score = more potential concern (below 40 = low, 40–69 = medium, 70+ = high); a “partial” tag means that sub-test used the inputs available, not a complete calculation. See the methodology section for what each score measures.
ISS 2026 methodology crosswalk (directional)
40LOW concern/ 100
5-Year Pay-Performance Lookback · partial55
Pay Multiple (1y & 3y Windows) · partial12
Peer Group Construction70
Qualitative Factors · partial49
Say-on-Pay Responsiveness40
Director Pay Pattern · partial15
Equity Plan Grant Practices · partial25
Glass Lewis 2026 methodology crosswalk (directional)
69MEDIUM concern/ 100
Test 1 — Granted Pay vs TSR100
Test 2 — Granted Pay vs Financials · partial100
Test 3 — STI Payout vs TSR57
Test 4 — NEO Pay vs Financials · partial56
Test 5 — CAP vs TSR · partial38
Test 6 — Qualitative Modifier · partial52
Scorecard Aggregate · partial74
CIC Discretion & Rationale · partial30
Partial inputs — no PTA screen result. Overall scores are computed from available inputs only; unsupported sub-scores are omitted, never estimated.
What Changed Year-over-Year (FY2024 → FY2025) Deterministic diff vs FY2024 — proxy disclosures + peer group
  • Disclosed Peer Group: count 15 → 13; +1 (NVEI); −3 (EVTC, NCNO, QTWO)
  • STI Target % of Salary: Not disclosed → 100.
  • STI Committee Discretion: No → Yes.
  • LTI / PSU Metric Set: +1 (adjusted free cash flow per share)
  • STI Metric Set: +1 (Volume); −1 (End-to-end payment volume)
Board-governance proxy lens: tenure profile (ISS 9-year flag), independence ratio (ISS ≥67% threshold), and refreshment cadence (new independent directors added in the last 3 years). The ≥9-year count is computed from individual director tenure, not bucket edges shown on the Tenure & Refreshment page. Levels are directional only; formal proxy-advisor determinations are made annually by the relevant advisor.
VCI Peer Scorecard
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Disclosed Peer Set — Compensation & Market Snapshot
PeerMarket CapTotal RetainerEquity %1-yr TSRn directors
TRIP$1.6B$320K78%-19.0%14
ACIW$5.8B$318K79%34.7%11
TYL$12.7B$310K81%-47.0%9
GDDY$11.0B$305K84%-48.8%9
BR$17.8B$300K67%-36.5%11
WEX$6.4B$285K70%10.2%12
EEFT$2.7B$260K62%-26.6%9
JKHY$10.9B$250K72%-7.9%11
TOST$18.7B$250K88%-33.9%11
AFRM$23.9B$245K82%4.3%10
YELP$1.5B$245K84%-23.2%10
CPAY$25.0B100%18.3%12
NVEI §$4.8B0.0%
§ NVEI — No longer independently traded (acquired); excluded from benchmarking calculations.
Equity % = director equity retainer ÷ total retainer. 1-year TSR sourced from public market price returns. n directors = count of disclosed directors at most recent fiscal year. Market cap as of most recent close in the Velarion price feed. A dash (—) indicates the element is not yet available in the Velarion dataset for that peer. For peers disclosing equity as a fixed number of shares rather than a dollar target, the retainer shown reflects grant-date fair value per the director compensation table.
Peer Set — Composition & Year-over-Year Changes
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Peer Set Composition
The disclosed peer set is reasonable overall, though several members warrant a closer look on size comparability or business mix.
13 peers analyzed · 2 independently supported · 11 merit review
The members that merit review do so primarily on business mix and size comparability.
Year-over-Year Changes
+1
Added
FY2025
-3
Dropped
from FY2024
12
Retained
carried forward
80%
Retention
of prior-year set
Added (1): Nuvei Corp (NVEI)
Dropped (3): Evertec, Inc. (EVTC), nCino, Inc. (NCNO), Q2 Holdings, Inc. (QTWO)
Interpretation The committee kept most of the prior-year 15-company set and made targeted changes (1 added and 3 dropped), narrowing the comparison set.
Change counts above reflect the disclosed peer rosters compared year over year, which is the authoritative basis for this brief.
Peer-set composition and year-over-year changes based on the company's disclosed peer rosters. Comparability assessment reflects size comparability, business mix, and peer-set overlap.
Peer Say-on-Pay Distribution
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Peer Say-on-Pay Distribution most recent disclosed vote per peer
Below 70%
1
70–80%
0
80–90%
1
90–95%
5
95–100%
5
Peers with a voteMedianLowHighBelow 70%
1293.95%55.72%98.34%1

Shift4 Payments, Inc. most recently recorded 79.38% support — the 70–80% band, at the 8th percentile of its disclosed peer group.

1 peer(s) recorded support below 70%, the level at which proxy advisors generally expect a board to disclose its shareholder-responsiveness process.

Each peer contributes its most recently disclosed say-on-pay result. Peers with no captured result are excluded from the distribution and counted above, never imputed.

Source: each peer's most recently disclosed say-on-pay result. Peer group as disclosed in the subject company's annual proxy statement.
Peer Group Reciprocity
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Peer Group Reciprocity who-knows-you reverse lookup
2 of 13
disclosed peers that name Shift4 Payments, Inc. in their own peer group — 15%

Peers naming Shift4 Payments, Inc.: EEFT, TOST.

One-way selections — named by Shift4 Payments, Inc. but not naming it back: ACIW, AFRM, BR, CPAY, GDDY, JKHY, NVEI, TRIP, TYL, WEX, YELP.

Reciprocity is the share of a company's own disclosed peers that select it in return. A high share indicates a peer group the market agrees with; a low share indicates a group selected on criteria the peers themselves do not apply, which proxy advisors scrutinise. One-way selection is not by itself a defect — size, business-mix and talent-market reasons can each justify it — but it is the question a compensation committee should expect to be asked.

Source: peer groups as disclosed in annual proxy statements. Reciprocated count from canonical peer-set-quality components.
Unvested Equity — Value at Risk
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Unvested Equity — Value at Risk FY2025 year-end holdings
$33.9M
unvested equity held by named executives at FY2025 year end — 538,574 shares/units
Named ExecutiveAward TypesUnvested Shares/UnitsUnvested Market ValueShare of Total
Christopher CruzRSU221,346$13.9M41.1%
Taylor LauberRSU190,432$12.0M35.4%
Nancy DismanRSU63,398$4.0M11.8%
Jordan FrankelRSU63,398$4.0M11.8%

The chief executive holds $12.0M of the $33.9M total — 35.4% of unvested value across the named executive group.

By Award Type
Award TypeUnvested Shares/UnitsUnvested Market ValueAward Rows
RSU538,574$33.9M13

Figures are unvested holdings at fiscal year end as disclosed in the Outstanding Equity Awards table. Vesting dates are not part of that table's disclosure, so no vesting schedule or time-based ladder is presented. Market values are as disclosed by the company.

Source: Shift4 Payments, Inc. annual proxy statement, Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End table (FY2025). Vesting dates are not disclosed in that table; no vesting schedule is derived.
Peer Grant Watch — Large Executive Equity Awards
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Peer Grant Watch — Large Executive Equity Awards (> $10M)
PeerExecutiveTitleFYGrant DateGrant-Date Fair Value
GDDYAman BhutaniCEOFY20252025-02-28$12.1M
GDDYAman BhutaniCEOFY20242024-02-29$10.4M
EEFTMichael J. BrownCEOFY20242024-12-10$10.4M
CPAYRonald F. ClarkeCEOFY20242024-10-23$10.3M
4 individual executive equity awards with a grant-date fair value above $10 million across the disclosed peer set, most recent fiscal years first.
Individual executive equity awards with a grant-date fair value above $10 million, drawn from the Grants of Plan-Based Awards tables of the disclosed peer set's most recent proxy statements (last three fiscal years). Titles reflect each executive's disclosed position; values are grant-date fair value as reported. Grant date shown as 'not disclosed' where the source filing did not specify one.
Key Considerations
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Recommended Considerations — issue · why it matters · proposed calibration
1.MEDIUMDisclosure
Enhance proxy disclosure explaining the rationale for the $260,000 total retainer (41st percentile) by documenting the rationale for the below-median position and evaluating whether a measured retainer increase is supported by committee workload and recruiting context.
2.HIGHSay-on-Pay
Current 79.38% say-on-pay support already signals shareholder concern and crosses the board's own response thresholds — enhanced disclosure (below 93%); shareholder outreach (below 90%); compensation recalibration (below 85%). Formalize and act on explicit say-on-pay triggers now: enhanced disclosure below 93%, shareholder outreach below 90%, and compensation recalibration below 85%.
What to Watch Next Year
  • If say-on-pay support falls below 90% in the upcoming proxy cycle, engage the top 10 shareholders by vote weight to communicate the rationale for current board-pay positioning.
Considerations are framed for board governance review. Severity classifications follow Velarion benchmarking thresholds; ISS / Glass Lewis alignment is directional.
Appendix — Peer Set, Data Sources & Methodology
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
Disclosed Peer Set
TickerNameGroup TypeFY
EEFTEuronet WorldwideCompensation2025
CPAYCorpayCompensation2025
JKHYJack HenryCompensation2025
ACIWACI WorldwideCompensation2025
TRIPTrip AdvisorCompensation2025
WEXWEX, Inc.Compensation2025
AFRMAffirmCompensation2025
GDDYGoDaddyCompensation2025
TOSTToast, Inc.Compensation2025
TYLTyler TechnologiesCompensation2025
BRBroadridge FinancialCompensation2025
YELPYelpCompensation2025
Data Sources
ElementSource
Director compensationAnnual proxy statement
Fee schedule / committee premiumsAnnual proxy statement
Say-on-Pay results8-K
CD&A narratives, governanceAnnual proxy statement
Peer group compositionAnnual proxy statement
Stock returns / TSRPublic market data
Methodology Notes
  • Compensation figures as reported in the Director Compensation Table of the most recent proxy.
  • Percentile calculations use the disclosed peer set with fee schedules available in the Velarion universe.
  • ISS classifications reflect Velarion benchmarking analysis — directional only; formal ISS determinations made annually.
  • Aggregate board cost excludes employee directors and the board chair to isolate the independent-director cost base.
This report is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, tax, accounting, compensation, or other professional advice. Based on public filings and other information believed to be reliable as of the report date. © 2026 Velarion Company Intelligence. All rights reserved.
Alignment-Read Methodology — Reading the Scores
Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) | FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
How to Read the 2026 Alignment-Read Scores
Each policy carries an overall 0-100 concern score plus named sub-scores. Band scale: below 40 = low concern, 40-69 = medium, 70 and above = high. Direction is uniform: higher always means more potential concern — favorable factors (shareholder engagement, disclosed rationale, high performance-share weight, realizable pay below granted) lower a score rather than reversing the scale. “Partial” next to a sub-score means it was computed from the inputs available for that specific test — an underlying data point (e.g., realized pay or GAAP financials) is not in our dataset, so the score is directional on what we hold, not a complete calculation; sub-tests with no usable input are omitted entirely, never shown as zero. This is an independent read of how the frameworks reason from public methodology — not an official ISS or Glass Lewis score or a forecast of any advisor’s recommendation.
ISS 2026 sub-tests
5-Year Pay-Performance Lookback — How CEO pay has tracked shareholder return over a five-year horizon (from the multi-year relative-alignment score plus 3-year pay growth vs. 5-year TSR). Higher when pay growth outruns long-run returns.
Pay Multiple (1y & 3y Windows) — CEO pay as a multiple of the peer median over 1- and 3-year windows; a multiple around 2x or higher is a classic overpay flag. Scored on the worse of the two windows.
Absolute Pay-TSR Alignment (Index Scope) — For index-in-scope issuers, the absolute gap between the multi-year pay trend and 5-year TSR. Shown only when index membership is confirmed.
Peer Group Construction — How sensitive the company's pay ranks are to peer-group construction — driven by peer-set quality and any pay-percentile-above-TSR-percentile misalignment.
Qualitative Factors — Qualitative pay-for-performance factors: realizable-vs-granted pay, performance-share (PSU) weight, and overall alignment signals. Realized pay is not in our dataset, so this test is always partial.
Say-on-Pay Responsiveness — Committee responsiveness in light of the Say-on-Pay vote; approval below 70% is the trigger, declining support raises concern, and disclosed shareholder engagement lowers it.
Director Pay Pattern — Whether non-employee director pay has been elevated (median around $400k or more) across multiple fiscal years.
Equity Plan Grant Practices — Equity-plan grant practices: performance-share weight, vesting length, plan overhang and burn rate; low performance weight, short vesting, or high dilution raise concern.
Glass Lewis 2026 sub-tests
Test 1 — Granted Pay vs TSR — Granted CEO pay percentile vs. TSR percentile; high pay against low TSR signals misalignment.
Test 2 — Granted Pay vs Financials — Granted CEO pay vs. financial performance. GAAP financials are not in our dataset, so this is proxied by the pay-TSR-alignment score and the pay-return gap.
Test 3 — STI Payout vs TSR — Actual annual-incentive (STI) payout as a percent of target vs. TSR; payouts above target alongside weak TSR raise concern.
Test 4 — NEO Pay vs Financials — Total granted pay across all named executives vs. financial performance (average NEO pay against the peer median; financials proxied).
Test 5 — CAP vs TSR — Compensation Actually Paid vs. TSR. The 'CAP' figure is not extracted, so this is proxied by the realizable-to-granted ratio.
Test 6 — Qualitative Modifier — A qualitative modifier drawn from alignment signals, disclosure flags, and the Say-on-Pay outcome.
Scorecard Aggregate — The weighted roll-up of Tests 1-6 into Glass Lewis's 0-100 scorecard band.
CIC Discretion & Rationale — Committee discretion over unvested-award treatment on a change in control; discretion without a disclosed rationale is the 2026 flag, and single-trigger acceleration adds concern.
The 2026 alignment read is an independent, directional computation from published ISS and Glass Lewis methodology; it is not an official score from either firm, nor a forecast of any recommendation or vote.
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Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) · FY2025 Board of Directors Compensation Review
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