What We Learned About Kuros Biosciences' (VTX:KURN) CEO Pay

Joost de Bruijn became the CEO of Kuros Biosciences AG (VTX:KURN) in 2017, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also assess whether Kuros Biosciences pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Kuros Biosciences

How Does Total Compensation For Joost de Bruijn Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Kuros Biosciences AG has a market capitalization of CHF55m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of CHF365k for the year to December 2019. Notably, that's a decrease of 38% over the year before. We note that the salary portion, which stands at CHF293.8k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under CHF182m, the reported median total CEO compensation was CHF357k. This suggests that Kuros Biosciences remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 64% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 36% of the pie. Kuros Biosciences pays out 80% of remuneration in the form of a salary, significantly higher than the industry average. If salary is the major component in total compensation, it suggests that the CEO receives a higher fixed proportion of the total compensation, regardless of performance.

A Look at Kuros Biosciences AG's Growth Numbers

Kuros Biosciences AG has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 48% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 117%.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. 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 Kuros Biosciences AG Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 81% over three years, some Kuros Biosciences AG investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

As previously discussed, Joost is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. Meanwhile, shareholder returns paint a sorry picture for the company, finishing in the red over the last three years. However, EPS growth is positive over the same time frame. Overall, we wouldn't say Joost is paid an unjustified compensation, but shareholders might not favor a raise before shareholder returns show a positive trend.

It is always advisable to analyse CEO pay, along with performing a thorough analysis of the company's key performance areas. We identified 4 warning signs for Kuros Biosciences (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Important note: Kuros Biosciences 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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