Yahoo Finance Is The Travelers Companies, Inc.'s (NYSE:TRV) CEO Paid At A Competitive Rate?
Alan Schnitzer has been the CEO of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) since 2015. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at other large companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for Travelers Companies
How Does Alan Schnitzer's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that The Travelers Companies, Inc. is worth US$38b, and total annual CEO compensation is US$15m. (This is based on the year to December 2018). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.0m. When we examined a group of companies with market caps over US$8.0b, we found that their median CEO total compensation was US$11m. (We took a wide range because the CEOs of massive companies tend to be paid similar amounts - even though some are quite a bit bigger than others).
It would therefore appear that The Travelers Companies, Inc. pays Alan Schnitzer 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. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Travelers Companies has changed over time.
Is The Travelers Companies, Inc. Growing?
Over the last three years The Travelers Companies, Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 4.0% per year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 5.0% 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. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has The Travelers Companies, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 33% over three years, The Travelers Companies, Inc. has done well by shareholders. 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 total CEO remuneration at The Travelers Companies, Inc. with the amount paid at other large companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.
Neither earnings per share nor revenue have been growing sufficiently fast to impress us, over the last three years.
On the other hand, returns have been good, so the company is doing something right. So on this analysis we'd stop short of criticizing the level of CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Travelers Companies (free visualization of insider trades).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
