We Think Some Shareholders May Hesitate To Increase Edenred SE's (EPA:EDEN) CEO Compensation

Key Insights

• Edenred will host its Annual General Meeting on 7th of May
• CEO Bertrand Dumazy's total compensation includes salary of €1.03m
• Total compensation is 625% above industry average
• Edenred's EPS grew by 3.3% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 1.6%

CEO Bertrand Dumazy has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Edenred SE (EPA:EDEN) recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 7th of May, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Edenred

How Does Total Compensation For Bertrand Dumazy Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Edenred SE has a market capitalization of €11b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €5.5m over the year to December 2023. That's a notable increase of 11% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €1.0m.

In comparison with other companies in the French Diversified Financial industry with market capitalizations over €7.5b, the reported median total CEO compensation was €755k. Hence, we can conclude that Bertrand Dumazy is remunerated higher than the industry median. Moreover, Bertrand Dumazy also holds €3.8m worth of Edenred stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	€1.0m	€980k	19%
Other	€4.4m	€3.9m	81%
Total Compensation	€5.5m	€4.9m	100%

On an industry level, roughly 31% of total compensation represents salary and 69% is other remuneration. In Edenred's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison 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.

A Look at Edenred SE's Growth Numbers

Edenred SE has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 3.3% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 19%.

We think the revenue growth is good. And the modest growth in EPS isn't bad, either. Although we'll stop short of calling the stock a top performer, we think the company has potential. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Edenred SE Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 1.6% over three years, Edenred SE has done okay by shareholders, but there's always room for improvement. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

To Conclude...

Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. However, if the board proposes to increase the compensation, some shareholders might have questions given that the CEO is already being paid higher than the industry.

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 4 warning signs for Edenred you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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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.