No, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick didn't get a $200 million bonus payout

Recent reports say Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick received a huge $200 million performance bonus. This isn't entirely accurate; he received roughly $41 million worth of shares instead.

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A new SEC filing reveals Activision has doled out a substantial performance-based award or 1,335,440 common stock to its CEO, Bobby Kotick. Per Kotick's contract clause, the CEO can receive a significant common stock award if certain metrics are achieved across a four-year period.

During the four-year period from 1/1/17 through 12/31/20, Activision-Blizzard revenues hit their highest point in history, with Calendar 2020 delivering a record all-time high of $8.08 billion. As a result, Kotick received a whopping 1,335,440 common stock (worth over $131 million based on the $98.72 common stock value on March 1, 2021). Kotick didn't keep all of this stock; Activision reserved roughly 65% of the stock, or 878,877 shares, to pay for tax withholdings.

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Over the last 10 years, Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has led the company to new revenue highs.

In total, Kotick received 456,333 common stock as an award bonus. Remember, this isn't a payout of actual money. This is stock with fluctuating value. On March 1, Kotick's award was worth over $45 million. As of today, based on the $90.49 per share value, Kotick's award is worth $41.2 million.

The document also states that Kotick currently has 3,155,773 shares of Activision-Blizzard common stock, and 1,617,794 of performance-vested restricted stock.

At the time of writing, supposing a $90.41 per share price and assuming all of the performance-based stock is converted to common shares, Kotick's entire treasure trove would be worth over $431 million.