Our Take On TELUS' (TSE:T) CEO Salary

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Darren Entwistle who has served as CEO of TELUS Corporation (TSE:T) since 2000. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for TELUS.

View our latest analysis for TELUS

How Does Total Compensation For Darren Entwistle Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, TELUS Corporation has a market capitalization of CA$33b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$13m over the year to December 2019. That's mostly flat as compared to the prior year's compensation. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at CA$1.4m.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations over CA$10b , the reported median total CEO compensation was CA$22m. Accordingly, TELUS pays its CEO under the industry median. Furthermore, Darren Entwistle directly owns CA$9.7m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

On an industry level, around 28% of total compensation represents salary and 72% is other remuneration. TELUS sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

TELUS Corporation's Growth

TELUS Corporation has reduced its earnings per share by 1.3% a year over the last three years. Its revenue is up 4.2% over the last year.

Its a bit disappointing to see that the company has failed to grow its EPS. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the EPS is down. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has TELUS Corporation Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 22% over three years, TELUS Corporation shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

As previously discussed, Darren is compensated less than what is normal for CEOs of companies of similar size, and which belong to the same industry. While we have not been overly impressed by shareholder returns, EPS growth has been negative over the last three years, a real headache for the company. It's tough for us to say that Darren is earning a high compensation, but any bump in pay is unlikely at this stage since shareholders will likely hold off support until performance improves.

We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. In our study, we found 3 warning signs for TELUS you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

Important note: TELUS is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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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.
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