Here's Why Shareholders May Want To Be Cautious With Increasing Betsson AB (publ)'s (STO:BETS B) CEO Pay Packet

Key Insights

• Betsson's Annual General Meeting to take place on 8th of May
• CEO Pontus Lindwall's total compensation includes salary of €637.0k
• Total compensation is 30% above industry average
• Betsson's EPS grew by 22% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 203%

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CEO Pontus Lindwall has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Betsson AB (publ) (STO:BETS B) recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 8th 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 be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

See our latest analysis for Betsson

Comparing Betsson AB (publ)'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Betsson AB (publ) has a market capitalization of kr23b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €2.6m over the year to December 2024. That's a notable increase of 19% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €637k.

On comparing similar companies from the Swedish Hospitality industry with market caps ranging from kr9.7b to kr31b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was €2.0m. This suggests that Pontus Lindwall is paid more than the median for the industry. Furthermore, Pontus Lindwall directly owns kr319m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

On an industry level, total compensation is equally proportioned between salary and other compensation, that is, they each represent approximately 50% of the total compensation. Betsson sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Betsson AB (publ)'s Growth Numbers

Betsson AB (publ) has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 22% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 18%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Betsson AB (publ) Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Betsson AB (publ) for providing a total return of 203% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

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, 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.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Betsson that investors should look into moving forward.

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.