How Much is Generac Holdings Inc.'s (NYSE:GNRC) CEO Getting Paid?

December 31, 2019

Aaron Jagdfeld became the CEO of Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) in 2008. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

View our latest analysis for Generac Holdings

How Does Aaron Jagdfeld's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Generac Holdings Inc. has a market capitalization of US$6.3b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$5.9m over the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$863k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$4.0b to US$12b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$6.6m.

So Aaron Jagdfeld is paid around the average of 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 a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Generac Holdings, below.

NYSE:GNRC CEO Compensation, January 1st 2020

Is Generac Holdings Inc. Growing?

On average over the last three years, Generac Holdings Inc. has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 41% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 11% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Generac Holdings Inc. Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 140%, over three years, would leave most Generac Holdings Inc. shareholders smiling. 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...

Aaron Jagdfeld is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

The company is growing earnings per share and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. Although the pay is a normal amount, some shareholders probably consider it fair or modest, given the good performance of the stock. Shareholders may want to check for free if Generac Holdings insiders are buying or selling shares.

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

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.

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