Some Shareholders May Object To A Pay Rise For First Bancorp's (NASDAQ:FBNC) CEO This Year

Key Insights

• First Bancorp's Annual General Meeting to take place on 2nd of May
• Total pay for CEO Richard Moore includes US$525.0k salary
• The total compensation is 59% less than the average for the industry
• Over the past three years, First Bancorp's EPS fell by 4.6% and over the past three years, the total loss to shareholders 21%

The disappointing performance at First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) will make some shareholders rather disheartened. At the upcoming AGM on 2nd of May, shareholders may have the opportunity to influence management to turn the performance around by voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters. We think most shareholders will probably pass the CEO compensation, based on what we gathered.

See our latest analysis for First Bancorp

How Does Total Compensation For Richard Moore Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, First Bancorp has a market capitalization of US$1.3b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.2m over the year to December 2023. Notably, that's a decrease of 14% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$525k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the American Banks industry with market capitalizations between US$1.0b and US$3.2b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$3.0m. That is to say, Richard Moore is paid under the industry median. Moreover, Richard Moore also holds US$5.5m worth of First Bancorp 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	US$525k	US$519k	42%
Other	US$718k	US$928k	58%
Total Compensation	US$1.2m	US$1.4m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 45% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 55% of the pie. First Bancorp is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

First Bancorp's Growth

Over the last three years, First Bancorp has shrunk its earnings per share by 4.6% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 2.6% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced EPS. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. 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 First Bancorp Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 21% over three years, some First Bancorp investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

Given that shareholders haven't seen any positive returns on their investment, not to mention the lack of earnings growth, this may suggest that few of them would be willing to award the CEO with a pay rise. At the upcoming AGM, the board will get the chance to explain the steps it plans to take to improve business performance.

CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling First Bancorp (free visualization of insider trades).

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.