Most Shareholders Will Probably Agree With Rexel S.A.'s (EPA:RXL) CEO Compensation

Key Insights

• Rexel will host its Annual General Meeting on 29th of April
• CEO Guillaume Jean Texier's total compensation includes salary of €800.0k
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• Rexel's total shareholder return over the past three years was 32% while its EPS was down 16% over the past three years

Despite positive share price growth of 32% for Rexel S.A. (EPA:RXL) over the last few years, earnings growth has been disappointing, which suggests something is amiss. Some of these issues will occupy shareholders' minds as the AGM rolls around on 29th of April. It would also be an opportunity for them to influence management through exercising their voting power on company resolutions, including CEO and executive remuneration, which could impact on firm performance in the future. From what we gathered, we think shareholders should be wary of raising CEO compensation until the company shows some marked improvement.

See our latest analysis for Rexel

Comparing Rexel S.A.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Rexel S.A. has a market capitalization of €6.5b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €3.2m over the year to December 2024. We note that's a decrease of 16% compared to last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €800k.

On comparing similar companies from the French Trade Distributors industry with market caps ranging from €3.5b to €10b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was €3.4m. So it looks like Rexel compensates Guillaume Jean Texier in line with the median for the industry. Moreover, Guillaume Jean Texier also holds €221k worth of Rexel stock directly under their own name.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 61% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 39% of the pie. Rexel pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

Rexel S.A.'s Growth

Over the last three years, Rexel S.A. has shrunk its earnings per share by 16% per year. The trailing twelve months of revenue was pretty much the same as the prior period.

Overall this is not a very positive result for shareholders. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Rexel S.A. Been A Good Investment?

Rexel S.A. has generated a total shareholder return of 32% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

Shareholder returns, while positive, should be looked at along with earnings, which have not grown at all recently. This makes us think the share price momentum may slow in the future. In the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the board, including those related to CEO remuneration and assess if the board's plan will likely improve performance in the future.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 4 warning signs for Rexel that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Switching gears from Rexel, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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.