Car-Mart execs’ fiscal ’18 compensation rises

Top executives at Bentonville-based America’s CarMart saw their compensation rise as they took on new roles, according to the company’s annual proxy statement filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Longtime executive Jeff Williams, company president and former chief financial officer who took over as CEO on Jan. 1, earned $2,925,908 in total compensation during Car-Mart’s 2018 fiscal year. He earned a base salary of $401,609, all other compensation was valued at $36,399, and the value of exercised stock awards stood at $2,487,900. The Arkansas DemocratGazette follows a formula developed by The Associated Press that reflects amounts identified in proxy statements that are actually paid to executives. The formula does not account for change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings. Car-Mart calculated the chief executive officer’s compensation ratio at 11-to-1, with the median pay for company employees calculated at $43,684 in fiscal 2018, according to its filing. Since Williams was appointed CEO on January 1, the company used an annual salary of $430,000 for the calculation. The disclosure was required under the DoddFrank financial law. Hank Henderson, the company’s former chief executive who retired at the first of the year and is now a company director, saw total compensation of $5,334,518. The amount includes a base salary of $328,274, a bonus of $1,100,000, other compensation of $45,080, and the value of stock awards exercised of $3,861,164. Vickie Judy, Car-Mart’s new chief financial officer, saw total compensation of $664,732. She earned a base salary of $165,577, other compensation valued at $12,155, and stock and option awards worth $487,000. Car-Mart, a buy-here pay here used-car dealer, earned $3.60 per share for the 2018 fiscal year with revenue of $612 million. The company runs 140 dealerships in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Car-Mart’s annual shareholders meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 29 at the company’s Bentonville office.