Executive compensation goals provide a powerful signal to investors regarding the board’s performance expectations. And even though many of these goals are provided at the end of the performance cycle, much too late to influence your analyst’s financial models, they provide powerful information into how the board motivates management and the board’s internal alignment with guidance provided to analysts. In many cases, goal data may also provide signals of a change in strategy, shifts in confidence in the company or executives, and more. This analysis provides a review of goal changes in performance metrics for a broad universe of more than U.S. 2,000 companies and the considerations for investors.