Deutsche Telekom AG's (ETR:DTE) CEO Compensation Is Looking A Bit Stretched At The Moment

Key Insights

• Deutsche Telekom will host its Annual General Meeting on 9th of April
• Salary of €2.13m is part of CEO Tim Hottges's total remuneration
• The overall pay is 342% above the industry average
• Deutsche Telekom's total shareholder return over the past three years was 114% while its EPS grew by 41% over the past three years

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Performance at Deutsche Telekom AG (ETR:DTE) has been reasonably good and CEO Tim Hottges has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 9th of April. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

View our latest analysis for Deutsche Telekom

Comparing Deutsche Telekom AG's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Deutsche Telekom AG has a market capitalization of €166b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €9.1m for the year to December 2024. That's a modest increase of 5.9% on the prior year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at €2.1m.

On comparing similar companies in the German Telecom industry with market capitalizations above €7.4b, we found that the median total CEO compensation was €2.1m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Deutsche Telekom AG pays Tim Hottges north of the industry median.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	€2.1m	€2.1m	23%
Other	€7.0m	€6.5m	77%
Total Compensation	€9.1m	€8.6m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 63% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 37% is other remuneration. In Deutsche Telekom's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Deutsche Telekom AG's Growth

Deutsche Telekom AG's earnings per share (EPS) grew 41% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 3.2%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings. .

Has Deutsche Telekom AG Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Deutsche Telekom AG for providing a total return of 114% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Deutsche Telekom that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

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.