WTF?! Does an $800 million compensation package seem excessive? Yes, obviously, which is why Arm is facing a potential shareholder revolt over a proposal to hand that amount to CEO Rene Haas. Much like Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package, targets must be met for Haas to receive the full amount.
Proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis are urging investors to reject the plan at the September 9 annual meeting, according to Seeking Alpha. ISS says value creation plans remain rare in Britain, can produce enormous rewards, and have unproven benefits. Glass Lewis also called the award excessive.
Arm's regulatory filing says the one-time award comprises 425,000 performance share units divided into three tranches. Haas receives 25% if Arm's market cap hits $1 trillion by March 31, 2029, another 25% if it reaches $1.5 trillion by March 31, 2030, and the remaining 50% if it hits $2 trillion by March 31, 2031. At the final target, the shares would be worth about $1,880 each, taking the total to roughly $800 million.
Arm will measure achievement using its average closing price over any 60-day period before the deadline. Missed interim awards can roll forward. Each tranche vests two years after its milestone, through April 1, 2033, provided Haas remains employed.
Arm is worth around $250 billion after its stock almost halved from a June peak. The first threshold requires a fourfold increase, and the final goal more than eightfold growth.
The company says US-style compensation is appropriate because it is listed on Nasdaq, Haas lives in California, and many rivals are American. The proposal also raises the maximum payout on his regular performance shares from 125% to 200%. He received $60.6 million in total remuneration during fiscal 2026.
It's unlikely that opposition to the package will have an effect. SoftBank owns 86.4% of Arm and can control most shareholder votes. ISS has also recommended voting against the re-election of Haas and chairman Masayoshi Son, citing insufficient board independence. Haas sits on SoftBank's board and became part-time CEO of SoftBank Group International in April, overlapping roles that Arm acknowledges could create the appearance of conflicts.
Credit: App Economy Insights
The size of the pay reflects Arm's transformation from licensing chip designs to selling its own AI-focused silicon. Haas expects the AGI CPU business to generate $15 billion in annual revenue within five years, contributing to a company-wide target of $25 billion.
Tesla shareholders approved Musk's similar plan for his $1 trillion package with about 75% support in November 2025. To collect every tranche over a decade, Tesla must reach an enormous $8.5 trillion market cap and hit some ambitious milestones, including 20 million vehicle deliveries, 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, one million commercial robotaxis, one million Optimus robots, and $400 billion in annual adjusted profit. Haas's potential payday almost looks modest by comparison.