Brad Delco

About Brad Delco

Brad Delco is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (effective September 1, 2025); he is 42 and previously served as Senior Vice President of Finance (since February 2022) and Vice President of Finance (joined J.B. Hunt in 2019) . His background spans 14 years at Stephens Inc. in corporate finance and equity research covering transportation, and at J.B. Hunt he led investor relations, FP&A, corporate development, and ESG initiatives and oversaw the ELEVATION employee ideation program . He regularly hosted J.B. Hunt’s earnings calls as SVP of Finance ahead of his CFO appointment . The company disclosed no written employment agreement for Mr. Delco at appointment .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

Performance Compensation

Annual Cash Bonus – 2025 Design

Equity Awards at Appointment (granted 9/1/2025)

Context: In January 2025, J.B. Hunt shifted its long-term incentive mix to 60% three-year ROIC-based RSUs with an operating income growth modifier (cliff vest) and 40% time-based RSUs vesting 40%/40%/20% over three years; OI/EBITDA were removed as standalone LTI metrics to emphasize long-term returns while preserving annual performance alignment .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Stock ownership guidelines: Executive Vice Presidents are expected to hold J.B. Hunt stock equal to 3.5x base salary; executives have 5–8 years from entering the role to comply .
• Hedging/derivative policy: Directors and officers are prohibited from short sales and derivative transactions (e.g., options, collars); trades and 10b5-1 plans require advance notice to the Office of the CFO .
• Pledging policy: Pledging is prohibited in margin accounts; pledges for loans may be approved if post-pledge holdings still meet ownership guidelines and obligations/amounts are disclosed annually; new pledges require Corporate Governance Committee pre-approval (with limited grandfathering) .
• Beneficial ownership disclosure: As of February 18, 2025, the proxy lists individual beneficial holdings for directors and named executive officers; Mr. Delco was not individually listed at that date (he was not yet CFO/NEO), so his share count was not disclosed in that table .

Employment Terms

• Employment agreement: The company has not entered into any written employment agreement with Mr. Delco .
• Severance/Change in Control: J.B. Hunt generally has no predetermined personal severance agreements; equity under the Management Incentive Plan accelerates only upon a double trigger (change in control plus qualifying termination/retirement/resignation for good reason), with possible Committee acceleration upon death or disability; MIP awards include a two-year post-termination non-compete .
• Clawback: Company maintains a Dodd-Frank/SEC/Nasdaq-compliant policy to recover erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation following required restatements; MIP also allows recoupment for policy breaches or detrimental conduct .

Compensation Structure Analysis

• Pay-for-performance alignment: 2025 design increases long-term performance sensitivity via 60% three-year ROIC-based RSUs with an operating income growth modifier, directly linking vesting to capital efficiency and multi-year profit expansion .
• Annual bonus risk metrics: Safety (preventable collisions) adds a non-financial risk-adjusted component (15%), alongside operating income (70%) and revenue ex-fuel (15%) to balance growth, profitability, and safety culture .
• Retention hooks and selling pressure: Significant unvested equity vests on defined dates: 1/31/2026–1/31/2028 (time-based tranches) and 3/31/2028 (ROIC-based cliff), plus promotional time-based installments in 2031–2033, creating retention incentives and potential selling windows subject to trading policies and possible 10b5-1 plans .

Track Record & Qualifications

• Capital markets and sector expertise: 14-year tenure at Stephens Inc. covering transportation as lead analyst, combined with investor relations leadership at J.B. Hunt .
• Operating exposure: As SVP Finance he oversaw FP&A and corporate development and ESG, and managed ELEVATION, indicating cross-functional execution capability .
• Public-company officer: Signed as Principal Financial Officer on company 8-K in October 2025 .

Say-on-Pay & Governance Context

• Say-on-Pay support: 95.9% approval at the 2024 Annual Meeting, reflecting investor endorsement of executive pay practices .
• Compensation peer group: Committee benchmarks vs a 14-company peer group (e.g., CHRW, CSX, ODFL, UNP, WM, XPO), with 2025 updates (e.g., Stericycle replaced by United Rentals; ROIC peer group updates including RXO and Werner) .

Investment Implications

• Incentive design emphasizes long-term ROIC outperformance with an operating income growth modifier, rewarding superior capital discipline and sustained profit expansion—positive for alignment but potentially increasing variability of realized compensation vs. pure time-based equity .
• Near-to-medium-term insider selling risk is constrained by policy and vesting cadence; major vest events cluster around January 31 (2026–2028) and March 31, 2028, with longer-dated promotional tranches in 2031–2033; monitor 10b5-1 plan filings and Form 4s around these windows for flow signals .
• Retention risk is mitigated by sizable unvested equity and absence of single-trigger acceleration; however, lack of a fixed employment agreement underscores at-will status—equity is the primary retention lever .
• As a former transportation lead analyst and IR head, Delco’s external credibility and capital markets fluency are strengths for investor engagement and capital allocation messaging, particularly given the company’s elevated focus on ROIC and safety-linked pay metrics .

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