Does Matthews International Corporation's (NASDAQ:MATW) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?

Joseph Bartolacci has been the CEO of Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) since 2006. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. 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 method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

See our latest analysis for Matthews International

How Does Joseph Bartolacci's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Matthews International Corporation has a market capitalization of US$977m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$6.6m. (This number is for the twelve months until September 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$874k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$400m to US$1.6b. The median total CEO compensation was US$2.7m.

As you can see, Joseph Bartolacci is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Matthews International Corporation is paying too much. 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 a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Matthews International, below.

Is Matthews International Corporation Growing?

Over the last three years Matthews International Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 7.4% per year (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop -2.4% over the last year.

I would argue that the lack of revenue growth in the last year is less than ideal, but it is good to see EPS growth. These two metric are moving in different directions, so while it's hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching.

Has Matthews International Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 47% over three years, many shareholders in Matthews International Corporation are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Matthews International Corporation, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.

The growth in the business has been uninspiring, but the shareholder returns have arguably been worse, over the last three years. Shareholders may wish to consider further research. Although we don't think the CEO pay is too high, it is probably more on the generous side of things. Shareholders may want to check for free if Matthews International insiders are buying or selling shares.

Important note: Matthews International 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.

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.