Despite the abundance of research on the relationship between financial performance and sustainable development, a consensus on their correlation has yet to be reached. This study utilizes data from U.S. companies between 2017 and 2022 as the sample, with ESG ratings from two major institutions, MSCI and Refinitiv, serving as indicators of sustainability performance. By incorporating various types of executive compensation as a mediating factor, the study examines the relationship between financial performance and sustainable development performance. The results indicate that when the proportion of stock, option, or equity-based compensation in executive compensation exceeds the median, an improvement in financial performance leads to a greater enhancement in corporate sustainability performance compared to companies with proportions below the median.