Here's What We Think About Empire Company Limited's (TSE:EMP.A) CEO Pay

Mike Medline became the CEO of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) in 2017. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Empire

How Does Mike Medline's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Empire Company Limited has a market cap of CA$8.2b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of CA$5.4m for the year to May 2019. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at CA$1.0m. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from CA$5.6b to CA$17b, we found the median CEO total compensation was CA$4.8m.

Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 20% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 80% of the pie. Our data reveals that Empire allocates salary in line with the wider market.

So Mike Medline receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Empire has changed over time.

Is Empire Company Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Empire Company Limited has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 84% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 4.0% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Empire Company Limited Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 55% over three years, Empire Company Limited has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Mike Medline is paid around what is normal for the leaders of comparable size companies.

Few would be critical of the leadership, since returns have been juicy and earnings per share are moving in the right direction. Indeed, many might consider the pay rather modest, given the solid company performance! Moving away from CEO compensation for the moment, we've identified 1 warning sign for Empire that you should be aware of before investing.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Empire, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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. Thank you for reading.