Prerequisites
- An SEC API key (set as
SECAPI_API_KEY) - Basic familiarity with REST APIs
- (Optional) Python 3.8+ or Node.js 18+ for SDK examples
Step 1 — Retrieve compensation for a single company
Use/v1/compensation to get the latest executive compensation data for a company.
curl
Python
JavaScript
Expected output
Step 2 — Compare the latest two disclosures
The/v1/compensation/compare endpoint compares the latest two executive compensation disclosures for one issuer.
curl
Python
JavaScript
Expected output
Step 3 — Analyze compensation composition
Break down the mix of salary, equity, and performance-based pay to understand how compensation is structured.Python
Expected output
Next steps
- Track compensation trends: Pull historical data to see how executive pay has changed year over year.
- Screen by pay ratio: Combine compensation data with employee count from 10-K filings to calculate CEO-to-median-worker pay ratios.
- Build peer benchmarks: Group companies by sector and market cap to create meaningful compensation benchmarks.

