Is CyberOptics Corporation's (NASDAQ:CYBE) CEO Pay Justified?

Subodh Kulkarni has been the CEO of CyberOptics Corporation (NASDAQ:CYBE) since 2014. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

Check out our latest analysis for CyberOptics

How Does Subodh Kulkarni's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that CyberOptics Corporation is worth US$130m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.0m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$375k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below US$200m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be US$526k.

As you can see, Subodh Kulkarni is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean CyberOptics 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, below, how CEO compensation at CyberOptics has changed over time.

Is CyberOptics Corporation Growing?

On average over the last three years, CyberOptics Corporation has shrunk earnings per share by 56% each year (measured with a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 1.1% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has CyberOptics Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 30% over three years, many shareholders in CyberOptics Corporation are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

We examined the amount CyberOptics Corporation pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us. Arguably worse, investors are without a positive return for the last three years. Some might well form the view that the CEO is paid too generously! If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at CyberOptics.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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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