Is Intershop Holding AG's (VTX:ISN) CEO Paid Enough Relative To Peers?

Cyrill Schneuwly has been the CEO of Intershop Holding AG (VTX:ISN) since 2008. 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. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

See our latest analysis for Intershop Holding

How Does Cyrill Schneuwly's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Intershop Holding AG is worth CHF1.1b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CHF1.4m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at CHF500k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We examined companies with market caps from CHF400m to CHF1.6b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was CHF945k.

As you can see, Cyrill Schneuwly is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Intershop Holding AG is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Intershop Holding, below.

Is Intershop Holding AG Growing?

Over the last three years Intershop Holding AG has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 32% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 45% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. Most shareholders would be pleased to see strong revenue growth combined with EPS growth. This combo suggests a fast growing business.

Has Intershop Holding AG Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 28% over three years, Intershop Holding AG 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.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Intershop Holding AG with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. We also note that, over the same time frame, shareholder returns haven't been bad. While it may be worth researching further, we don't see a problem with the CEO pay, given the good EPS growth. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Intershop Holding shares with their own money (free access).

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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