TERADYNE INC (TER)
Sector: Information Technology
2026 Annual Meeting Analysis
TERADYNE INC · Meeting: May 8, 2026
Directors FOR
9
Directors AGAINST
0
Say on Pay
FOR
Auditor
AGAINST
Director Elections
Election of Directors
Joined the board in July 2025 (less than 24 months ago), so he is exempt from the stock performance trigger; he brings over 30 years of semiconductor and technology industry experience from Arm Holdings, with no overboarding concerns and attendance above the 75% threshold.
Teradyne's 3-year stock return of +178.1% outpaces the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) by +117.7 percentage points, well below the 65-point threshold needed to trigger a concern, so no performance flag applies; Herweck has no other public board seats, met attendance standards, and brings deep industrial automation expertise.
Strong 3-year TSR far exceeds the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) trigger threshold, so no performance concern arises; Johnson holds two outside public board seats (Synopsys and Analog Devices), which is within policy limits, and she is a financial expert with deep semiconductor CFO experience serving as Audit Committee Chair.
No TSR underperformance concern given Teradyne's strong outperformance of the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500); Maddock holds three outside public board seats (Ultra Clean Holdings, Avnet, Ouster), which is within the four-seat policy limit, and he contributes over 35 years of technology and finance experience including a decade as a public company CFO.
Teradyne's 3-year return of +178.1% substantially outperforms the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500), so no performance trigger applies; Matz holds no other public board seats, met attendance requirements, and brings 40-plus years of automation and machine vision leadership including co-founding Cognex Corporation.
Joined the board in July 2025 (less than 24 months ago), so he is exempt from the stock performance trigger; he holds three outside public board seats (Sandisk Technologies, Axcelis Technologies, Rambus), which is within the four-seat policy limit, and he brings over 25 years of semiconductor leadership experience.
As CEO-director, Smith is subject to the same TSR test as other directors; Teradyne's 3-year return of +178.1% outpaces the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) by +117.7 percentage points, well short of the 65-point trigger threshold, so no performance flag applies, and he holds only one outside board seat at Technoprobe S.p.A.
Teradyne's strong 3-year TSR far exceeds the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) trigger threshold, so his long tenure since 2005 does not raise a performance concern; he holds one outside public board seat (EnerSys), met attendance standards, and brings extensive financial reporting and operational expertise as Independent Chair.
Joined in January 2024 (approximately 27 months ago), so she is within the range where the trigger is applied proportionally; however, Teradyne's 3-year TSR of +178.1% vastly outperforms the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) and no underperformance concern exists; she holds three outside public board seats (Travelers Insurance, Discovery Limited, Schrödinger), within the four-seat policy limit.
All nine director nominees pass the policy screens: Teradyne's 3-year stock return of +178.1% outperforms the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500) by +117.7 percentage points, well below the 65-point trigger threshold required for a strong-positive-TSR company, so no director is flagged for underperformance; no director exceeds four public board seats; all directors met the 75% attendance threshold in 2025; and the board discloses a comprehensive skills matrix with full independence on all three committees.
Say on Pay
✓ FORCEO
Gregory S. Smith
Total Comp
$14,107,588
Prior Support
95%%
The CEO's total compensation of approximately $14.1 million is consistent with benchmarks for a large-cap technology company CEO, and no individual executive appears materially above the applicable threshold. Pay mix is heavily weighted toward variable and performance-based pay — the CEO's fixed base salary of $980,000 represents roughly 7% of total compensation, far below the 40% ceiling, with the remainder in annual bonuses, a profit bonus, and equity awards tied to three-year relative TSR versus the NYSE Composite Index and cumulative operating profit targets. Teradyne's 3-year stock return of +178.1% substantially outperforms the S&P 500 (^GSPC — S&P 500), confirming that above-target incentive payouts (variable cash at 136% of target, 2023 performance stock awards earned at 136.71% of target) are aligned with strong shareholder outcomes; prior-year Say on Pay support was 95%, and the company has a meaningful clawback policy compliant with Nasdaq and SEC requirements.
Auditor Ratification
✗ AGAINSTAuditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Tenure
58 yrs
Audit Fees
$3,656,000
Non-Audit Fees
$1,534,345
PwC (or its predecessor Coopers & Lybrand) has served as Teradyne's auditor since 1968 — a tenure of approximately 58 years — which far exceeds the 25-year threshold in the voting policy that triggers a No vote on independence grounds. While the non-audit fee ratio is acceptable (tax fees of $1,529,351 plus other fees of $4,994 equal roughly 42% of audit fees, within the 50% limit), the extraordinary length of the auditor relationship raises serious concerns about whether the auditor can maintain the professional skepticism and independence that shareholders need. The proxy discloses lead partner rotation every five years but does not provide a specific and compelling rationale for retaining the same firm for nearly six decades, so the tenure trigger is not overridden.
Overall Assessment
The 2026 Teradyne annual meeting presents three management proposals: a director election, a Say on Pay vote, and auditor ratification. All nine directors receive a FOR determination given strong stock performance and clean governance records, the Say on Pay vote earns a FOR based on performance-aligned pay structure and exceptional shareholder returns, but PricewaterhouseCoopers receives an AGAINST on ratification solely due to its extraordinary 58-year auditor tenure, which far exceeds the 25-year independence threshold in the voting policy.
Compensation Peer Group
1 companies disclosed in 2026 proxy filing