Microsoft faces investor criticism over opaque financial reporting across capex, its OpenAI deal, and Azure, which is buried in the Intelligent Cloud segment (Jonathan Weil/Wall Street Journal)
From capex to its flagship cloud platform, Microsoft stands out for lack of transparency — Cloud computing, meet cloudy numbers.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned a record total compensation package of approximately $96.5 million during the fiscal year 2025, marking a 22% increase from the previous year's $79.1 million. This significant jump in pay came as Microsoft announced higher revenue, operating income, and cloud growth, with the company's board crediting "exceptional progress in artificial intelligence" and highlighting Nadella's leadership in positioning Microsoft as a dominant AI player amidst the rapid technological transformation.
The composition of Nadella's package underscores the company's strategic priorities. Over 95% of his annual compensation is performance-based, with at least 70% of that tied to equity-based rewards. The package's structure mirrors Microsoft's emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud growth, linking the CEO's earnings to performance metrics like shareholder returns, revenue, and cloud expansion.
Microsoft's board has structured Nadella's pay to reflect its confidence in AI and cloud services as the key drivers of the company's future success, with his compensation directly tied to these critical performance indicators.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Satya Nadella’s record pay signals Microsoft’s AI, cloud growth bet timesofindia.indiatimes.com
