CFO Compensation Benchmark Report

We analysed compensation data from 135 CFOs operating within the AeroDefense industry across North America.

The data is segmented by company revenue to illustrate how CFO compensation, bonus structures, and equity participation evolve as aerospace and defense businesses scale. All findings are derived directly from the submitted compensation data. Records with missing or undisclosed information were excluded from the applicable calculations.

RESPONDENT BREAKDOWN

• 22.2% from firms with under $50M revenue
• 36.3% from firms with $50M–$150M revenue
• 21.5% from firms with over $150M revenue
• 7.4% from firms with $500M–$1BN revenue

Data Observation: Of the 135 CFOs in the dataset, 118 provided sufficient revenue information to be assigned to one of the requested revenue categories. The remaining 17 records did not include sufficient revenue information and were excluded from the revenue-based analysis.

BASE SALARY

Firms Under $50M Revenue

• Lowest: $100,000
• Median: $210,000
• Highest: $320,000

Firms $50M–$150M Revenue

• Lowest: $150,000
• Median: $257,000
• Highest: $345,000

Firms Over $150M Revenue

• Lowest: $158,000
• Median: $275,000
• Highest: $380,000

Firms $500M–$1BN Revenue

• Lowest: $200,000
• Median: $267,000
• Highest: $380,000

Key Insight

CFO base salaries generally increase as AeroDefense companies grow, reflecting expanding responsibility for financial leadership, government contract oversight, capital allocation, compliance, operational performance, and supporting long-term growth initiatives. The highest reported CFO base salary in this benchmark is $380,000, reported among companies generating over $150M in annual revenue.

BONUS STRUCTURE

• 87.5% of CFOs at firms under $50M receive a bonus of 50% or less
• 90.9% of CFOs at firms $50M–$150M receive a bonus of 50% or less
• 78.3% of CFOs at firms over $150M receive a bonus of 50% or less
• 100.0% of CFOs at firms $500M–$1BN receive a bonus of 50% or less

Key Insight

Performance-based incentive structures remain a consistent feature of CFO compensation across the AeroDefense industry. Most disclosed target bonus plans are set at 50% of base salary or less, reinforcing the emphasis on rewarding financial performance, operational execution, contract profitability, compliance, and long-term strategic objectives.

Data Observation: Bonus calculations are based only on records that disclosed a quantifiable target bonus percentage. Records with unknown, discretionary, narrative-only, or undisclosed bonus information were excluded from this analysis.

EQUITY PARTICIPATION

• 60.0% of CFOs at firms under $50M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 49.0% of CFOs at firms $50M–$150M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 65.5% of CFOs at firms over $150M receive equity or an equity equivalent
• 30.0% of CFOs at firms $500M–$1BN receive equity or an equity equivalent

Key Insight

Long-term incentive programs remain an important component of CFO compensation throughout the AeroDefense industry. Equity, stock options, phantom equity, profit interests, RSUs, LTIPs, and similar incentive structures are commonly used to align finance leaders with long-term enterprise value, operational performance, and sustained shareholder returns. Equity participation is most prevalent among companies generating over $150M in annual revenue.

Data Observation: Equity participation rates are based solely on records that explicitly disclosed whether an executive received an equity or equity-equivalent incentive. Records without sufficient equity information were excluded from the applicable calculations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The largest proportion of benchmarked CFOs (36.3%) work for AeroDefense companies generating $50M–$150M in annual revenue.

Median CFO base salary generally increases with company scale, rising from $210K among firms under $50M to $275K among businesses generating over $150M annually.

The highest reported CFO base salary is $380K, observed among companies with revenues exceeding $150M.

Most disclosed CFO incentive plans provide target bonuses of 50% of base salary or less, regardless of company size.

Equity participation is highest among CFOs at companies generating over $150M in annual revenue, where 65.5% receive an equity or equity-equivalent incentive.

Data Observation: Revenue, bonus, and equity analyses include only records with sufficient disclosed information. No estimates or assumptions were used in producing these benchmark results.

BOTTOM LINE

CFO compensation within the AeroDefense industry reflects the increasingly strategic role finance leaders play as organizations grow and navigate complex operating environments. Beyond traditional financial stewardship, CFOs are responsible for supporting government and commercial contracts, capital-intensive manufacturing, regulatory compliance, supply chain resilience, mergers and acquisitions, working capital optimization, and long-term value creation.

While base salary generally increases alongside company size, performance-based bonuses and long-term incentive programs remain integral components of executive compensation across the sector. As with any compensation benchmark, disclosure levels vary between respondents, particularly for bonus and equity information. Accordingly, all reported statistics are based solely on the available compensation data and do not include estimates or assumptions.

---

Looking to benchmark CFO compensation or hire a CFO for your portfolio company?

Connect with Raw Selection.

Raw Selection | De-Risking Executive Search for Private Equity Firms across Europe & North America

All insights in this salary report are derived from Raw Selection’s proprietary data.