Is Energous Corporation's (NASDAQ:WATT) CEO Being Overpaid?

Steve Rizzone became the CEO of Energous Corporation (NASDAQ:WATT) in 2013. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. 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 Energous

How Does Steve Rizzone's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Energous Corporation has a market capitalization of US$69m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$652k over the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$365k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below US$200m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is US$510k.

So Steve Rizzone receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Energous has changed over time.

Is Energous Corporation Growing?

Energous Corporation has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 17% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is down 57% over last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. Revenue growth is a real positive for growth, but ultimately profits are more important. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Energous Corporation Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 85%, Energous Corporation would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Steve Rizzone is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

We like that the company is growing EPS, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). Considering the the positives we don't think the CEO pays is too high, but it's certainly hard to argue it is too low. Shareholders may want to check for free if Energous insiders are buying or selling shares.

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

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.