Cache a check: shareholder return is rising faster than CEO compensation, our list shows. And that's without a nay say-on-pay vote.

• Author: Dunn, Erin
• Position: FEATURE

Collectively, shareholders of North Carolina's largest public companies have something to cheer about as their returns have begun to outpace CEO pay increases, according to BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA'S annual ranking of executive compensation. In fact, the 75 largest companies reported a median three-year total shareholder return of 13.8%, while median total CEO compensation increased just 10.8% in the latest fiscal year. "There seems to be a strong tie between compensation increases and company performance when looking at a company's revenue and earnings per share," says Hunter Guice, senior associate of compensation and benefits consulting in the Charlotte office of Grant Thornton LLP, which compiled this year's list. Median earnings per share more than doubled to $1.22 from $0.53 the year before. Total cash compensation--base salary and bonuses--rose 6.4%, slower than the year before. That's a sign that companies are relying more on incentive compensation to boost CEO pay.

Pressure had been building for years amid public outcry that executive pay was out of whack with shareholder returns and only intensified during the recession, leading Congress to pass the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. The law requires companies to submit executive pay packages to shareholders at least every three years. But these votes, which consider stock performance and other factors, are nonbinding, and disapproval has been the exception, not the rule. Sixty-nine of BNC's Top 75 public companies have had a say-on-pay vote or were in the process of doing so, according to a Grant Thornton analysis of proxy statements. Not one has failed to pass. The average approval rate for those reporting a percentage was 93%; fewer than 10% received less than 90% approval. "A vast majority of North Carolina public-company shareholders approve of executive compensation, even in a still-turbulent market," says Patricia Hale Botoff, director of compensation and benefits consulting in Grant Thornton's Raleigh office.

Even Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. received 92% approval in a say-on-pay vote despite the company coming under fire from federal officials and losing shareholder value last year. Institutional investors hold most of its shares. Though chief executive Brian Moynihan did not get a raise in salary or bonus, his total compensation vaulted him from 48th to 12th in the ranking in his second year at the helm of the nation's second-largest bank by assets. Chiquita Brands International Inc., which is moving its headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte and is not on this year's list, made news when shareholders rejected its compensation plan by a nearly 4-to-1 margin. CEO Fernando Aguirre announced in August that he would step down once a replacement is found.

Greensboro cigarette maker Lorillard Inc.'s CEO took the top spot this year after a transition in leadership, with Murray Kessler ranking No.1 after his first full year at the company. Susan Ivey--last year's highest-paid CEO--retired, and her replacement at Winston-Salem-based Reynolds American Inc., Daniel Delen, was ninth in his first year on the list.

2010 CEO Exchange Base Bonus Salary) /ticker salary (000s) and (000s) bonus (000s) 2010 Company Headquarters Change Change Change 1 Murray S. NYSE/LO $1,200.0 $3,500.0 $4,700.0 Kessler 24 Lorillard Greensboro na na na 2 James E. Rogers NYSE/DUK 0.0 0.0 0.0 2 Duke Energy Charlotte 0.0 0.0 0.0 3 David P. King NYSE/LH 993.8 2,019.5 3,013.3 4 Laboratory Corp. Burlington 12.3 6.1 8.1 of America Holdings 4 Marshall O. NYSE/GR 1,200.0 2,877.3 4,077.3 Larsen 9 Goodrich' Charlotte 9.1 44.8 32.1 5 Robert A. NYSE/LOW 1,155.0 1,494.7 2,649.7 Niblock 3 Lowe's Mooresville 5.0 (32.8) (20.3) 6 Richard A. Noll NYSE/HBI 1,016.0 2,991.0 4,007.0 5 Hanesbrands Winston-Salem 1.6 (0.3) 0.2 7 Eric C. Wiseman NYSE/VFC 1,100.0 2,463.1 3,563.1 7 VF Greensboro 7.3 15.0 12.5 8 Daniel R. NYSE/NUE 880.0 1,502.1 2,382.1 DiMicco 12 Nucor Charlotte 10.0 178.2 77.8 9 Daniel M. Delen NYSE/RAI 1,000.0 1,161.0 2,161.0 (2) - Reynolds Winston-Salem na na na American 10 Christopher J. NYSE/SPW 1,073.6 0.0 1,073.6 Kearney 13 SPX Charlotte 2.3 (100.0) (38.0) 11 James M. NYSE/RHT 764.6 1,423.5 2,188.1 Whitehurst 11 Red Hat Raleigh 1.9 25.5 16.1 12 Brian T. Moynihan NYSE/BAC 950.0 0.0 950.0 48 Bank of America Charlotte 0.0 0.0 0.0 13 David A. Roberts NYSE/CSL 1,037.2 1,957.8 2,995.0 14 Carlisle Charlotte 6.0 47.1 29.7 14 William D. NYSE/PGN 1,019.2 1,223.0 2,242.2 Johnson 16 Progress Energy Raleigh 3.0 71.0 31.5 (3) 15 Kelly S. King NYSE/BBT 960.7 1,787.1 2,747.8 10 BB&T Winston-Salem 1.1 57.0 31.6 16 Steven B. Tanger NYSE/SKT 754.1 1,200.1 1,954.1 8 Tanger Factory Greensboro 9.3 4.6 6.4 Outlet Centers 17 Brandon C. NYSE/BWC 900.0 1,050.0 1,950.0 Bethards 18 Babcock and Charlotte 5.9 24.8 15.3 Wilcox 18 Howard R. Levine NYSE/FDO 1,030.3 982.3 2,012.5 15 Family Dollar Matthews 3.2 (37.0) (21.3) Stores 19 Stephen E. NYSE/NPO 825.0 1,488.3 2,313.3 Macadam 22 EnPro Industries Charlotte 0.0 (9.8) (6.5) 20 Charles M. Nasdaq/CREE 595.2 0.0 595.2 Swoboda 21 Cree Durham 4.0 (100.0) (55.2) 21 Carolyn J. Logan Nasdaq/SLXP 802.0 818.0 1,620.1 28 Salix Raleigh 4.0 36.0 18.0 Pharmaceuticals 22 J. Frank Harrison Nasdaq/COKE 864.4 1,024.3 1,888.8 III 17 Coca-Cola Charlotte (17.0) (8.9! Bottling Consolidated 23 Lawrence J. NYSE/ZZ 745.0 0.0 745.0 Rogers 51 Sealy Trinity 3.7 (100.0) (33.8) 24 Paul H. Sunu (2) Nasdaq/FRP 750.0 157.2 907.2 - FairPoint Charlotte na na na Communications (4) 25 Robert A. Nasdaq/RFMD 622.0 609.9 1,231.9 Bruggeworth 23 RF Micro Devices Greensboro 0.0 0.0 0.0 26 Edward J. NYSE/HIW $542.6 $715.6 $1,258.3 Fritsch 27 Highwoods Raleigh 0.3% 15.8% 8.6% Properties 27 Thomas E. Skains NYSE/PNY 760.9 577.4 1,338.3 33 Piedmont Natural Charlotte (5.1) 13.6 2.1 Gas 28 O. Bruton Smith NYSE/SAH 1,100.0 1,760.0 2,860.0 (5) 30 Sonic Automotive Charlotte 0.0 0.0 0.0 29 John P.D. Cato NYSE/CATO 1,065.4 1,591.9 2,657.3 29 Cato Charlotte 2.5 1.5 1.9 30 Terrance M. Marks Nasdaq/PTRY 765.9 623.1 1,389.0 (6) 45 The Pantry Cary 0.2 9.0 4.0 31 Thomas W. NYSE/HTSI 682.0 865.9 1,547.9 Dickson 37 Harris Teeter Matthews 100 30.8 20.7 Supermarkets (7) 32 David S. Congdon Nasdaq/ODFL 509.8 2,288.9 2,798.7 38 Old Dominion Thomasville 2.0 75.1 54.9 Freight Line 33 C. Howard Nye NYSE/MLM 825.0 325.0 1,150.0 34 Martin Marietta Raleigh 3.1 (16.7) (3.4) Materials 34 John R. Nasdaq/POZN 557.9 360.7 918.6 Plachetka 36 Pozen Chapel Hill 2.9 7.9 2.9 35 David V. Singer Nasdaq/LNCE 725.0 414.7 1,139.7 20 Snyder's-Lance Charlotte 3.6 (36.6) (15.8) 36 J. Eric Pike NYSE/PIKE 676.3 516.9 1,193.2 39 Pike Electric Mount Airy (7.2) nm 63.7 37 June S.AImenoff Nasdaq/FURX 373.7 187.8 561.5 54 Furiex Morrisville 6.8 (18.0) (3.0) Pharmaceuticals 38 James H. Morgan NYSE/KKD 700.0 852.6 1,552.6 41 Krispy Kreme Winston-Salem 5.3 14.5 10.1 Doughnuts 39 O. Bruton Smith NYSE/TRK 600.0 1,368.0 1,968.0 (5) 42 Speedway Concord 0.0 16.3 10.8 Motorsports 40 Douglas R. Lebda Nasdaq/TREE 423.1 0.0 423.1 19 Tree.com Charlotte (23.1) (100.0) (57,7) 41 Garland S.Tucker NYSE/TCAP 345.6 555.0 900.6 III 53 Triangle Capital Raleigh 13.6 74.8 44.8 42 Robert B. Toth NYSE/PPO 630.0 950.0 1,580.0 40 Polypore Charlotte 8 6 (18.1) (9,2) International 43 J. Donald Nasdaq/TRGT 485.7 0.0 485.7 deBethizy (8) 50 Tarqacept Winston-Salem 9.8 (100.0) (19.3) 44 James A. Parker Nasdaq/MDTH 357.7 216.0 573.7 (2) - MedCath Charlotte na na na 45 Steven R. Nasdaq/SWSH 192.3 0.0 192.3 Berrard - Swisher Hygiene Charlotte na na na (9) 46 William L. NYSE/UFI 635.0 333.4 968.4 Jasper 44 Unifi Greensboro 0.0 (47.5) (23.8) 47 Michael R. Hough NYSE/HTS 0.0 0.0 0.0 59 Hatteras Winston-Salem 0.0 0.0 0.0 Financial 48 Vipin K. Garg Nasdaq/TZYM 316.5 122.5 438.9 70 Tranzyme (10) Durham 10.0 21.6 13.0 49 Sidney Hinton Nasdaq/POWR 550.0 676.0 1,226.0 52 PowerSecure Wake Forest 0.0 23.5 11.7 International 50 Simon Pedder Nasdaq/CHTP 474.4 207.0 681.4 57 Chelsea Charlotte 3.0 (22.6) (6.4) Therapeutics International 51 Stephen J. Wiehe Nasdaq/SQI $395.0 $237.5 $632.5 31 SciQuest Cary 12.9% (90.1%) (77-1%) 52 R.Eugene Taylor Nasdaq/CBKN 90.3 90.3 180.6 (2), (11) - Capital Bank Raleigh na na na 53 Craig Carlock Nasdaq/TFM 418.5 321.4 739.9 47 The Fresh Market Greensboro 4.0 16.9 9.2 54 Jon P. Stonehouse Nasdaq/BCRX 459.6 219.4 679.0 55 BioCryst Durham 2.5 35.9 11.3 Pharmaceuticals 55 Brian E. Simpson Nasdaq/FNBN 500.0 0.0 500.0 (2) - FNB United (12) Asheboro na na na 56 James C. Cherry Nasdaq/PSTB 400.0 0.0 400.0 66 Park Sterling Charlotte 0.0 (100.0) (15.8) 57 H. O. Woltz III Nasdaq/IIIN 435.4 0.0 435.4 56 Insteel Mount Airy 1.3 0.0 1.3 Industries 58 Craig A. Collard Nasdaq/CRTX 400.0 285.0 685.0 49 Cornerstone Cary 0.0 0.0 0.0 Therapeutics 59 Frank B. Holding Nasdaq/FCNCA 875.8 0.0 875.8 Jr. 58 First Citizens Raleigh 2.3 0.0 2.3 BancShares 60 Randall N. Nasdaq/CTHR 335.0 50.4 385.4 McCullough - Charles & Morrisville 3.1 37.7 6.6 Colvard 61 Robert P. Ingle Nasdaq/IMKTA 500.0 200.0 700.0 II (2), (13) - Ingles Markets...