CEO Stephen Berman received total compensation of nearly $10 million in 2025, a year in which the company's stock price fell from approximately $28 to $17 — a roughly 40% decline — and significantly underperformed the ^RUT (Russell 2000) benchmark over the trailing 3 years by 38.8 percentage points. While performance-based stock award tranches tied to stock price milestones were added after shareholder feedback (a positive step), the $2.775 million cash bonus awarded for 2025 was entirely discretionary and paid in a year of poor stock performance and declining net income ($9.9 million in 2025 versus $34.2 million in 2024). For a company with a market cap of approximately $258 million, CEO pay of nearly $10 million represents a level that appears materially above what is warranted by title, sector, and market cap band benchmarks, and the above-benchmark variable pay was not earned in a year that rewarded shareholders.

BDO USA has served as JAKKS's auditor since June 2006, giving it approximately 20 years of tenure — just below the 25-year threshold that would trigger a concern. Non-audit fees of $9,000 represent less than 1% of total audit-related fees of $1,761,721, well within the 50% threshold, so there is no independence concern. BDO is a large national firm appropriate for a company of JAKKS's size, and no material financial restatements attributable to audit failure are disclosed.