Yahoo Finance What Did Experian plc's (LON:EXPN) CEO Take Home Last Year?
Brian Cassin has been the CEO of Experian plc (LON:EXPN) since 2014. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other large companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for Experian
How Does Brian Cassin's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Experian plc has a market cap of UK£21b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£10m for the year to March 2019. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK£944k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. When we examined a group of companies with market caps over UK£6.5b, we found that their median CEO total compensation was UK£3.9m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.
Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 61% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 39% of the pie. It's interesting to note that Experian allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry.
It would therefore appear that Experian plc pays Brian Cassin more than the median CEO remuneration at large companies, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Experian has changed over time.
Is Experian plc Growing?
On average over the last three years, Experian plc has shrunk earnings per share by 3.0% each year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 5.3% over last year.
Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn't enough to make me overlook the disappointing change in earnings per share. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Experian plc Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Experian plc for providing a total return of 44% over three years. 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.
In Summary...
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Experian plc, and compared it to remuneration at a group of other large companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.
Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us. On the other hand, returns have been good, so the company is doing something right. Given this situation we doubt shareholders are particularly concerned about the CEO compensation. Looking into other areas, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Experian that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.
Important note: Experian may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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