Cary Dickson
AMRKAbout Cary Dickson
Cary Dickson, 68, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of A‑Mark Precious Metals effective July 1, 2025 (served previously as A‑Mark’s CFO from 2015–2019). He is a CPA with a B.S. in Marketing from Southern Illinois University and a Masters of Taxation from the University of Denver School of Law; prior roles include Partner at Hardesty LLC (2021–2025), CFO of Entrepreneurial Corporate Group (2019–2021), and senior finance, audit, tax and corporate responsibility roles at Mattel, plus earlier roles at Fox Family Worldwide, The Walt Disney Company, and PwC . Company performance context around his return: A‑Mark’s FY2025 saw lower profitability after strong FY2021–2024 results, with the value of an initial $100 investment (TSR proxy) at $300.41 in 2025 vs $468.95 in 2023; FY2025 Net Income was $17.3m and pre‑tax profits $21.3m .
Company performance (context)
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $9,286,561,000 | $9,699,039,000 | $10,978,614,000 |
| EBITDA ($USD) | $209,387,000* | $86,581,000 | $76,589,000* |
| Value of initial $100 investment (end of FY) | $468.95 | $427.09 | $300.41 |
| Net Income attributable to A‑Mark ($000s) | $156,360 | $68,546 | $17,320 |
| Pre‑tax profits ($000s) | $203,170 | $82,778 | $21,270 |
Values with an asterisk (*) retrieved from S&P Global.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact/notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A‑Mark Precious Metals | Chief Financial Officer (current), EVP | 2025–present | Returned as CFO effective July 1, 2025; previously CFO 2015–2019 . |
| Entrepreneurial Corporate Group | Chief Financial Officer | 2019–2021 | Boutique investment group; finance leadership . |
| Hardesty LLC | Partner | 2021–2025 | Provider of CFO/financial services; senior advisory/execution role . |
| Mattel Toys / Mattel Foundation | VP Finance; CFO of Mattel Foundation; VP Corporate Responsibility Audit; VP Internal Audit; VP Tax | 2002–2014 | Led finance, audit, tax, and corporate responsibility oversight; VP Finance (2011–2014) . |
| Fox Family Worldwide | Senior Vice President | — | Senior finance/operations role . |
| The Walt Disney Company | Various positions | — | Finance/operations roles . |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | — | — | Public accounting foundation . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Terms |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $450,000 per year (employment letter) . |
| Term structure | Employment as EVP begins May 2, 2025; CFO effective July 1, 2025; letter agreement term through June 30, 2026, extendable by mutual agreement . |
| Employment status | At‑will; on termination, only accrued compensation under plans/policies is payable (no contractual severance) . |
| Benefits | Participation in company benefit plans; four weeks paid vacation; continued D&O coverage; expense reimbursement per policy; compensation subject to clawback policy . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting/Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 new‑hire RSU grant | Time‑based retention award | N/A | $100,000 grant value (number of RSUs sized by 15‑day average price pre‑Effective Date) | Vests 100% if in service on vest date | Single‑tranche vest on May 1, 2026; RSUs settle in shares within 5 business days; subject to clawback; full acceleration on change‑in‑control per plan . |
| FY2026 annual cash bonus | Discretionary bonus | N/A | Not specified; determined after ~12 months of service | TBD (subject to Compensation Committee discretion) | Paid promptly upon determination; must be employed on last day of fiscal year . |
- Company’s “most important” financial measures used to link executive pay and performance are: GAAP pre‑tax profit and increase in stock price (affecting unvested equity and the CEO’s long‑term cash award) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership | Cary Dickson was not listed with an individual line item in the “Beneficial Ownership of Management” table as of September 18, 2025 (CFO appointment effective July 1, 2025) . |
| Current equity | New‑hire RSU award valued at $100,000; number of RSUs sized off 15‑day average price; vests May 1, 2026 . |
| Vesting/overhang | Single‑date vesting on May 1, 2026 could create focused selling pressure; RSUs accelerate fully on change in control . |
| Clawback policy | Robust clawback applies to cash and equity awards (including vested and unvested) upon restatement under NASDAQ‑compliant policy; RSUs also subject to plan/policy recoupment . |
| Hedging/pledging | Hedging prohibited; pledging/margining generally prohibited for directors/executives, with limited pre‑clearance exceptions and stringent conditions . |
| Ownership guidelines | Director stock ownership guidelines exist; executive officer ownership guidelines are not disclosed in the cited materials . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start dates | EVP from May 2, 2025; CFO effective July 1, 2025 . |
| Term/renewal | Through June 30, 2026; may be extended by mutual agreement . |
| Severance | None specified; at‑will; post‑termination pay limited to accrued amounts under plans/policies . |
| Change‑in‑control | RSUs fully vest upon a change in control under the equity plan/award agreement . |
| Non‑compete / non‑solicit | Company discloses non‑compete and/or non‑solicit provisions in employment/consulting arrangements; applies across key executives including CFO . |
| Clawback | Company‑wide clawback policy applies to cash and equity incentives . |
| Garden leave / consulting | Not disclosed for Dickson in cited materials. |
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance alignment: Initial FY2026 bonus is discretionary (no formulaic KPI grid disclosed), while the FY2025 new‑hire RSU is purely time‑based; alignment therefore relies on Committee discretion and general corporate metrics (pre‑tax profit, stock price) used across NEOs rather than explicit CFO scorecards .
- Retention risk: Short agreement term (through June 30, 2026) and at‑will status with no contractual severance elevate renewal and transition risk into FY2026; however, a single‑tranche RSU vest on May 1, 2026 provides near‑term retention glue .
- Selling pressure signal: A single vest event in May 2026 could concentrate potential insider sales; mitigating factors include anti‑hedging policies and generally prohibited pledging absent pre‑clearance .
- Alignment safeguards: Robust clawback, anti‑hedging, and restrictive pledging enhance shareholder alignment and reduce governance risk; RSU acceleration is single‑trigger on change‑in‑control, which can create a modest bias toward strategic transactions .
- Data gaps: Individual beneficial ownership for Dickson was not itemized in the FY2025 proxy’s management ownership table, limiting direct “skin‑in‑the‑game” assessment at this time .
Summary: Near‑term retention is supported by a one‑year term and a 2026 vest, but lack of formulaic bonus metrics and no severance reduce both pay‑for‑performance precision and downside protection. Watch for the RSU vest date (May 1, 2026) and any subsequent Form 4 activity as trading signals, and monitor FY2026 compensation disclosures for the emergence of explicit CFO performance metrics .