Both types of stock awards vest over time and are tied to company performance. The company said that paying a significant portion of compensation in equity, the majority of which is performance-based equity, helps to align executives' interests with those of shareholders.

Additionally, the company contributed $17,150 to Nelms' 401(k) retirement plan.

Nelms received a total of $8.5 million in all compensation in 2010, and $4.3 million in 2009.

In the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said "Nelms led the Company to significantly exceed goals for the year, including record profits and credit risk management results, despite the continued challenging economic and regulatory environment."

For the 2011 fiscal year, Discover reported a profit of $2.2 billion, or $4.06 per share, up 44 percent from $1.53 billion, or $2.84 per share, in 2010. The gains reflected increased card usage and reduced defaults on card balances, along with expansion of its student lending business and its direct banking business. The results enabled the company to raise its dividend by 67 percent.

Discover shares rose 30 percent during the fiscal year, to $23.82. The stock has continued to gain in value since that time, trading Friday at $30.24.

The AP's formula for calculating executive compensation is designed to isolate the value that the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to the SEC.