Caterpillar CEO cashes out early for $26M

Caterpillar CEO Joseph Creed disclosed his sale of $26.2 million worth of stock on Tuesday, after exercising an options package four and a half years early. 

He sold 32,401 shares on the New York Stock Exchange on August 28, emptying his oldest outstanding tranche of options that had a March 2031 expiration date.

The options had a $219.76 strike price — allowing Creed to exercise 72% below the current stock price that regular investors have to pay today.

Creed’s proceeds of $26.2 million had a weighted average of $808.98 per share, slightly below the filing’s $812.98 valuation for shares surrendered to cover his exercise price or tax liability.

He disposed of 12,002 shares under a filing code for paying an exercise price or tax liability. Their value almost exactly matched the grant’s $9.76 million exercise cost.

Even after the incredible payday, Creed’s August 28 sale only reduced his 2021-vintage options grant to zero. In addition, Caterpillar’s proxy filing lists another 110,651 option grants from years 2022-2025, including vested and unvested compensation.

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