CEOs at the largest companies in the US in 2017 received the highest compensation increases since the Great Recession, according to the annual CEO Compensation Study released by Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY). Median total direct compensation for CEOs increased 8.7% to $13.4 million — double last year’s 4.2% increase and the highest percentage increase since 2010.

While base salaries remained relatively flat year over year — up 1.5% to a median of $1.3 million — a large percentage of the total direct compensation increase came from performance-based compensation growth. Annual bonuses rose 4.1% and long-term incentive value (LTI) increased 7.4%.

When considering the mix of LTI, performance awards — equity and cash — comprise the largest percentage at 56%, which is the biggest share of the LTI mix ever recorded in the study. Stock options/stock appreciation rights comprised 20% of LTIs and restricted stock accounted for 24%.

“In years past, we’ve seen LTI increases but not bonus increases. However, this year we are seeing increases in both areas,” said Donald Lowman, Korn Ferry executive pay and governance practice leader for North America. “Even with the anticipation of the CEO pay ratio disclosure mandate, so far we haven’t seen it dampen organizations’ willingness to pay for performance, including strong shareholder value and net income increases.”

During the period studied, total shareholder return increased 17.8%. Net income was up 12.6%, the strongest since 2011.

Looking to next year, Korn Ferry expects changes in the mix of CEO total direct compensation.

“Much will depend on each organization’s financial performance during the coming year, but with the changes in the tax rules governing executive compensation, we expect we will see slightly higher increases in base salaries than in recent years, and that base salary will represent a larger share of the overall mix of [total direct compensation] for the CEO,” Lowman said.

The 11th Annual Korn Ferry CEO Compensation Study examined all forms of pay for CEOs at the 300 largest public companies in the US. The study included companies that filed their proxy statements between May 1, 2017, and April 30, 2018. Median revenue for the sample was $18.7 billion.