Company: GWW
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-015730
Chunk: 92

Company: W.W. GRAINGER, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 92
---
 treatment as if the CIC agreement had been in effect as of December 31, 2024.

| ​ | CORPORATEGOVERNANCE | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 1:ELECTION OFDIRECTORS | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 2:RATIFY THEINDEPENDENTAUDITOR | ​ | ​ | EXECUTIVECOMPENSATION | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 3:SAY ON PAY | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 4: APPROVALAND ADOPTION | ​ | ​ | QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS | ​ | ​ | APPENDICES | ​ |

TABLE OF CONTENTS

| ​ | ● | ​ | ​ | 68 | ​ | ​ | 2025proxy statement | ​ |

CEO Pay Ratio As part of its annual process, the Company calculates the ratio of the annual total compensation of Mr. Macpherson, Chairman and CEO, to the annual total compensation of the Company’s median employee. Further, the median employee should be identified once every three years, unless there has been a change to the Company’s employee population or compensation arrangements that it reasonably believes would result in a significant change in the pay ratio disclosure. The Company last identified the median employee in 2023, and the same median employee has been used for purposes of the 2024 CEO pay ratio disclosure. The 2024 ratio of CEO pay to median employee pay is 163:1. In calculating 2024 total compensation for our median employee and CEO, we included the estimated Company cost of their respective Company-provided health and wellness benefits. The CEO’s total compensation reported in the Summary Compensation Table for 2024 is $10,881,689. The CEO’s total compensation for purposes of our pay ratio disclosure calculation is $10,894,414, which differs from the total compensation described in the Summary Compensation Table on page 55 by the amount of his estimated health and wellness benefits. The median employee’s estimated 2024 total compensation was $67,066 (which includes compensation of $54,341 and estimated benefits of $12,725).

| ​ | Element                                        | ​ | ​ | ​ | Chairman and CEO ($) |   |             |   | ​ | ​ | ​ | Median Employee ($) |   |         |   | ​ |
| ​ | Base Salary                                    | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​                    | ​ |  $1,137,568 | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​                   | ​ | $50,