Yahoo Finance What Did Cooper Companies' (NYSE:COO) CEO Take Home Last Year?
Al White has been the CEO of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO) since 2018, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Cooper Companies.
Check out our latest analysis for Cooper Companies
How Does Total Compensation For Al White Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?
Our data indicates that The Cooper Companies, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$19b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$9.6m for the year to October 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 24% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$925k.
For comparison, other companies in the industry with market capitalizations above US$8.0b, reported a median total CEO compensation of US$10m. This suggests that Cooper Companies remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Al White holds US$16m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.
Component | 2020 | 2019 | Proportion (2020) |
Salary | US$925k | US$925k | 10% |
Other | US$8.7m | US$6.8m | 90% |
Total Compensation | US$9.6m | US$7.7m | 100% |
On an industry level, around 23% of total compensation represents salary and 77% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Cooper Companies allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.
The Cooper Companies, Inc.'s Growth
Over the last three years, The Cooper Companies, Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by 14% per year. Its revenue is down 8.4% over the previous year.
Overall this is not a very positive result for shareholders. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has The Cooper Companies, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
We think that the total shareholder return of 71%, over three years, would leave most The Cooper Companies, Inc. shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
To Conclude...
As we noted earlier, Cooper Companies pays its CEO in line with similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. Some investors may take issue with this, especially considering shrinking EPS for the past three years. On the flip side, shareholder returns have been strong over the same time, which is certainly a positive sign. We wouldn't say CEO compensation is too high, but shrinking EPS is undoubtedly an issue that will have to be addressed.
While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. We've identified 3 warning signs for Cooper Companies that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.
Switching gears from Cooper Companies, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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