Yahoo Finance We Think Americold Realty Trust's (NYSE:COLD) CEO Compensation Looks Fair
We have been pretty impressed with the performance at Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) recently and CEO Fred Boehler deserves a mention for their role in it. Shareholders will have this at the front of their minds in the upcoming AGM on 19 May 2021. It is likely that the focus will be on company strategy going forward as shareholders hear from the board and cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters. We think the CEO has done a pretty decent job and we discuss why the CEO compensation is appropriate.
View our latest analysis for Americold Realty Trust
Comparing Americold Realty Trust's CEO Compensation With the industry
According to our data, Americold Realty Trust has a market capitalization of US$9.4b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$5.4m over the year to December 2020. That's a notable increase of 22% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$850k.
On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$4.0b and US$12b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$6.2m. So it looks like Americold Realty Trust compensates Fred Boehler in line with the median for the industry. Moreover, Fred Boehler also holds US$12m worth of Americold Realty Trust stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.
Component | 2020 | 2019 | Proportion (2020) |
Salary | US$850k | US$850k | 16% |
Other | US$4.5m | US$3.5m | 84% |
Total Compensation | US$5.4m | US$4.4m | 100% |
On an industry level, around 15% of total compensation represents salary and 85% is other remuneration. Americold Realty Trust is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.
A Look at Americold Realty Trust's Growth Numbers
Americold Realty Trust has seen its funds from operations (FFO) increase by 31% per year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 14%.
Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..
Has Americold Realty Trust Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Americold Realty Trust for providing a total return of 84% 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...
Seeing that the company has put in a relatively good performance, the CEO remuneration policy may not be the focus at the AGM. However, investors will get the chance to engage on key strategic initiatives and future growth opportunities for the company and set their longer-term expectations.
CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We did our research and identified 4 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) in Americold Realty Trust we think you should know about.
Switching gears from Americold Realty Trust, 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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