Rocky Brands, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RCKY) CEO Looks Due For A Compensation Raise

Shareholders will be pleased by the impressive results for Rocky Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKY) recently and CEO Jason Brooks has played a key role. At the upcoming AGM on 26 May 2021, they would be interested to hear about the company strategy going forward and get a chance to cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other company matters. Here we will show why we think CEO compensation is appropriate and discuss the case for a pay rise.

View our latest analysis for Rocky Brands

Comparing Rocky Brands, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that Rocky Brands, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$392m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$697k for the year to December 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 28% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$341k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$200m and US$800m had a median total CEO compensation of US$1.7m. This suggests that Jason Brooks is paid below the industry median. Furthermore, Jason Brooks directly owns US$548k worth of shares in the company.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	US$341k	US$325k	49%
Other	US$356k	US$218k	51%
Total Compensation	US$697k	US$543k	100%

On an industry level, around 23% of total compensation represents salary and 77% is other remuneration. According to our research, Rocky Brands has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider 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 Rocky Brands, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Rocky Brands, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 30% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 19%.

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

Has Rocky Brands, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 112%, over three years, would leave most Rocky Brands, Inc. shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Given the company's decent performance, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the AGM. Instead, investors might be more interested in discussions that would help manage their longer-term growth expectations such as company business strategies and future growth potential.

We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. We identified 3 warning signs for Rocky Brands (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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. 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.
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