Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000712534-25-000077
Chunk: 36

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 36
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 was earned under the SMICP, and the size of an earned payment, depended on whether FMC achieved operating earnings per share for the year that met or exceeded pre-established targets based on the Company’s annual financial plan. The number of FMC shares the NEOs received under the LTEIP, while subjectively determined by the Compensation and Human Resources Committee and not based directly on performance-related metrics, was heavily influenced by the NEOs’ individual performance and the Company’s performance during 2024. The Company’s performance also impacts these share awards in another way, in that the value of these shares will be affected by their future market price and the total shareholder return (market price appreciation plus dividends paid) on the shares.

30 First Merchants Corporation 2025 Proxy Statement

FMC continued its excellent performance during 2024. The Company reported net income available to common shareholders of $200 million compared to $222 million for the year ended 2023. The dividend paid on a share of FMC common stock increased from $1.34/share in 2023 to $1.39/share, a 4% increase. As of December 31, 2024, FMC’s total assets equaled $18.3 billion.

In 2024, the incentive compensation the NEOs earned under the Company’s executive compensation program generally aligned with Company performance that benefits shareholders. Under the SMICP, the operating earnings per share FMC achieves compared to the Company’s annual financial plan is the sole metric on which the non-equity incentive compensation earned by Mr. Hardwick, Mr. Stewart, Ms. Kawiecki, and Mr. Martin is based, and it is the metric on which 70% of Mr. Peterson's non-equity incentive compensation is based. The Compensation and Human Resources Committee believes that the operating earnings per share the Company achieves is the best measure of the Company’s success and the metric is most directly reflective of the NEOs’ performance; and, therefore, in the long run, it is also the most closely aligned with the shareholders’ interests.

#### PEER GROUP
In its efforts to attract, retain and motivate high-performing executives, FMC competes with other employers, mainly in the financial services industry in the Midwest. Necessarily, this requires the Company to be aware of how peer institutions are compensating their executives, to ascertain how the Company’s executive compensation programs compare - both in their mix and their amounts - with these peers’ programs. The Compensation and Human Resources Committee’s goal is