After UnitedHealth, Wall Street Realizes It Has Surprisingly Little Insight Into Corporate Security Details or Costs
It’s been several days since a mysterious gunman shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — then reportedly fled on a bike, disappearing into Central Park, and has not been seen since. As law enforcement investigates the shocking attack, including the killer’s motives and timeliness, Wall Street has been asking: how does this sort of thing not happen more often?
- Companies provide remarkably little data on how executives and company leaders are protected — just 20% of S&P firms detail security services in their reports.
- Data from Equilar shows that reported spending on executive security doubled from 2021 to 2023 — a testament to the price of protective details and home security services.
There’s always a cheaper alternative: In response to the attack on Thompson, some healthcare companies like CVS Health and Centene have removed bios and images of executives from their websites — looking to make key staffers less of a target. Nearly all these companies have seen declines in their stock prices as they try to reassure investors about possible risks to business operations from public retaliation or attacks.
