Thought Leadership
A cyberattack carried out by the Scattered Spider group has cost Marks & Spencer (M&S) CEO Stuart Machin his annual bonus for the 2025/26 financial year.
The British retail giant has published its annual report for 2026, confirming that Machin will not receive a performance bonus for the period. The decision follows significant financial and operational disruption caused by a major cyberattack in April 2025.
The incident resulted in direct costs of £131.3 million (approximately US$174.5 million), covering incident response, system recovery, and remediation efforts. At the same time, the company’s annual profit fell from £881.1 million in the previous year to £671.4 million.
According to the remuneration committee, the scale of the disruption meant that an additional bonus payment for the CEO was not justified.
Scattered Spider Cyberattack Disrupted Online and Store Operations
The attack, attributed to the ransomware group Scattered Spider, hit Marks & Spencer in April 2025 and forced the retailer to shut down its online store and mobile app completely. Physical stores were also affected. System outages caused logistical disruptions, leading in some cases to empty shelves and inventory issues.
Full restoration of online operations was only completed on August 12, 2025. However, operational instability and supply chain disruptions continued well into the financial year. Internally, Machin described the incident as a “bump in the road” and assured stakeholders that the company would emerge in a stronger position.
Executive Pay Reduced Despite Multi-Million Compensation Package
Even without the bonus, Stuart Machin’s total compensation for 2025/26 amounted to £3.968 million. In the previous financial year, his total pay reached £7.047 million, including a bonus of £1.635 million. While the remuneration committee praised the efforts of employees during the crisis, it ultimately rejected any special bonus payment for the CEO.
The committee stated:
‘During the cyber incident, colleagues responded with exceptional commitment and resilience, led by an outstanding management team that kept the business running together through the most difficult times.’
Regarding the financial losses, it further said: ‘However, it was concluded that, under the circumstances and with particular consideration for the experience of our shareholders, it would not be appropriate to award a bonus for 2025/26.’”
Marks & Spencer remuneration committee
