AOL CEO Tim Armstrong's 2012 Compensation Rises to $12.1 Million

AOL chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong's 2012 compensation rose sharply to $12.07 million, up from $3.22 million in 2011.

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It came in below his 2010 compensation of $15.3 million though.

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His latest annual compensation, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, included nearly $2.8 million in stock awards, nearly $5.1 million in option awards and a $500,000 bonus. He hadn't received any such awards or a bonus in 2011. Armstrong's salary stayed unchanged at $1 million.

The bonus "reflects a special individual performance cash award in the amount of $500,000 in recognition of his leadership role in the company’s return to growth, completion of the $1.056 billion patent transaction [that was one of the big deals with other tech giants last year] and the special cash dividend paid to stockholders of the company on December 14," the regulatory filing said.

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AOL's stock has been trending higher after earnings for the last couple of quarters have shown improvement, making Wall Street observers more confident that Armstrong's turnaround strategy is working.

The stock has risen 120 percent over the past year. On Tuesday, it closed at $34.34, giving the company a market value of $2.65 billion. Its 52-week high stands at $39.75.

AOL recently hired former ABC and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia top executive Susan Lyne to run its content assets, which have been a key focus for Armstrong.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai