Shareholders Will Likely Find EQ Inc.'s (CVE:EQ) CEO Compensation Acceptable

Key Insights

• EQ to hold its Annual General Meeting on 21st of May
• Salary of CA$275.0k is part of CEO Geoff Rotstein's total remuneration
• Total compensation is 62% below industry average
• EQ's three-year loss to shareholders was 18% while its EPS grew by 25% over the past three years

Our free stock report includes 3 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in EQ. Read for free now.

The performance at EQ Inc. (CVE:EQ) has been rather lacklustre of late and shareholders may be wondering what CEO Geoff Rotstein is planning to do about this. One way they can exercise their influence on management is through voting on resolutions, such as executive remuneration at the next AGM, coming up on 21st of May. Voting on executive pay could be a powerful way to influence management, as studies have shown that the right compensation incentives impact company performance. We have prepared some analysis below to show that CEO compensation looks to be reasonable.

See our latest analysis for EQ

Comparing EQ Inc.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, EQ Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$70m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$275k over the year to December 2024. We note that's a small decrease of 4.4% on last year. It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists entirely of the salary, worth CA$275k.

For comparison, other companies in the Canada Interactive Media and Services industry with market capitalizations below CA$280m, reported a median total CEO compensation of CA$718k. Accordingly, EQ pays its CEO under the industry median. Furthermore, Geoff Rotstein directly owns CA$4.0m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	CA$275k	CA$275k	100%
Other	-	CA$13k	-
Total Compensation	CA$275k	CA$288k	100%

On an industry level, around 16% of total compensation represents salary and 84% is other remuneration. Speaking on a company level, EQ prefers to tread along a traditional path, disbursing all compensation through a salary. If total compensation veers towards salary, it suggests that the variable portion - which is generally tied to performance, is lower.

EQ Inc.'s Growth

Over the past three years, EQ Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 25% per year. In the last year, its revenue is down 1.1%.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has EQ Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 18% over three years, some EQ Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

EQ rewards its CEO solely through a salary, ignoring non-salary benefits completely. The loss to shareholders over the past three years is certainly concerning. The share price trend has diverged with the robust growth in EPS however, suggesting there may be other factors that could be driving the price performance. A key question may be why the fundamentals have not yet been reflected into the share price. The upcoming AGM will provide shareholders the opportunity to raise their concerns and evaluate if the board’s judgement and decision-making is aligned with their expectations.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We identified 3 warning signs for EQ (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.