How Much Is Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKT.A) CEO Getting Paid?

James Lanning became the CEO of Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKT.A) in 2016, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Ingles Markets.

See our latest analysis for Ingles Markets

Comparing Ingles Markets, Incorporated's CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that Ingles Markets, Incorporated has a market capitalization of US$844m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.3m for the year to September 2020. That is, the compensation was roughly the same as last year. In particular, the salary of US$752.9k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$5.5m. That is to say, James Lanning is paid under the industry median. What's more, James Lanning holds US$543k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

On an industry level, around 16% of total compensation represents salary and 84% is other remuneration. Ingles Markets is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

A Look at Ingles Markets, Incorporated's Growth Numbers

Ingles Markets, Incorporated has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 49% a year over the past three years. Its revenue is up 9.7% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's nice to see revenue heading northwards, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Ingles Markets, Incorporated Been A Good Investment?

Ingles Markets, Incorporated has generated a total shareholder return of 31% 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...

As we noted earlier, Ingles Markets pays its CEO lower than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. At the same time, EPS growth has been exceptional over the past three years. However, shareholder returns have failed to show the same level of growth. Shareholder returns could be better but we're pleased with the positive EPS growth. As a result of these considerations, CEO compensation seems quite appropriate.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Ingles Markets that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Important note: Ingles Markets is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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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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