Oracle Raised Legal Officer Pay to $15.5 Million
The firm increased total compensation for its chief legal officer by 5.5% in fiscal year 2026.
Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Public Companies
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Oracle disclosed in a September 25, 2026 proxy filing that chief legal officer Stuart Levey received $15.5 million in total compensation for fiscal year 2026. This package marks a 5.5% increase over the previous year's total for the executive.
Why it matters
The compensation update highlights how large-cap technology firms structure executive pay through equity-heavy packages to retain leadership. Understanding these disclosure shifts helps operators track labor cost trends and benchmarking standards for C-suite roles.
The $15.5 million total compensation for Stuart Levey includes $13.8 million in stock awards and a $950,000 base salary, which remained unchanged from the prior year. This figure represents a 5.5% increase compared to the prior fiscal year.
The players
Oracle
A multinational enterprise technology company that develops database software, cloud-engineered systems, and enterprise software products.
Stuart Levey
The chief legal officer at Oracle who oversees the firm's global legal and regulatory strategy.
The details
Oracle's compensation structure relies heavily on long-term equity, with stock awards accounting for nearly 90% of the total package. These awards are scheduled to vest in future years, serving as a retention mechanism that links executive wealth to the company's long-term market performance. The base salary, however, remained stagnant at $950,000, signaling that the board's primary lever for year-over-year compensation adjustment is equity rather than fixed cash increases.
Timeline
Fiscal Year 2026 was the period covered by the compensation package.
September 25, 2026 was the date Oracle filed its proxy statement.
Market Landscape
This disclosure follows the standard reporting pattern mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission's executive compensation disclosure requirements. The reliance on equity vesting tracks with broader trends among major U.S. technology firms to align leadership interests with shareholder value.
Operators should view the heavy reliance on future-vesting stock awards as a benchmark for long-term retention strategies in competitive talent markets. Finance teams should monitor proxy filings like this to establish market-rate expectations for high-level executive talent.
The takeaway
Large firms increasingly favor multi-year equity vesting over base salary increases to keep executive compensation aligned with long-term performance. Review your own firm's executive compensation benchmarking against similar equity-heavy packages to ensure competitiveness in hiring.
Further reading
For more insight into how corporations manage leadership incentives, see our Public Companies section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Bloomberglaw.
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