Yahoo Finance Is Standard Chartered PLC's (LON:STAN) CEO Pay Fair?
Bill Winters has been the CEO of Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) since 2015. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. 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 Standard Chartered
How Does Bill Winters's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Standard Chartered PLC has a market capitalization of UK£18b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$6.0m over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.2m. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over UK£6.2b and the median CEO total compensation was UK£3.6m. (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).
As you can see, Bill Winters is paid more than the median CEO pay at large companies, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Standard Chartered PLC is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Standard Chartered, below.
Is Standard Chartered PLC Growing?
Over the last three years Standard Chartered PLC has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 85% per year (using a line of best fit). Revenue was pretty flat on last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Standard Chartered PLC Been A Good Investment?
Given the total loss of 20% over three years, many shareholders in Standard Chartered PLC are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.
In Summary...
We examined the amount Standard Chartered PLC pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by other large companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Having said that, shareholders may be disappointed with the weak returns over the last three years. While EPS is positive, we'd say shareholders would want better returns before the CEO is paid much more. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Standard Chartered shares (free trial).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
