Yahoo Finance Should You Worry About artnet AG's (FRA:ART) CEO Salary Level?
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In 2012 Jacob Pabst was appointed CEO of artnet AG (FRA:ART). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for artnet
How Does Jacob Pabst's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that artnet AG is worth €21m, and total annual CEO compensation is €360k. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). That's actually a decrease on the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €318k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below €177m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be €233k.
Thus we can conclude that Jacob Pabst receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to artnet AG. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay 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.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at artnet has changed from year to year.
Is artnet AG Growing?
Over the last three years artnet AG has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 6.3% per year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just -0.6%.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has artnet AG Been A Good Investment?
artnet AG has generated a total shareholder return of 28% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.
In Summary...
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by artnet AG, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized 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.
While shareholder returns are acceptable, they don't delight. So we think more research is needed, but we don't think the CEO underpaid. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling artnet (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.
