How Much Does Wendy's' (NASDAQ:WEN) CEO Make?

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Todd Penegor who has served as CEO of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) since 2016. This analysis will also assess whether Wendy's pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Wendy's

How Does Total Compensation For Todd Penegor Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, The Wendy's Company has a market capitalization of US$4.8b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$6.7m over the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 19% above last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$992k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$4.0b and US$12b had a median total CEO compensation of US$8.6m. So it looks like Wendy's compensates Todd Penegor in line with the median for the industry. Furthermore, Todd Penegor directly owns US$12m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 25% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 75% of the pie. It's interesting to note that Wendy's allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

The Wendy's Company's Growth

Over the past three years, The Wendy's Company has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 2.0% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 6.0% over the last year.

We would argue that the improvement in revenue is good, but isn't particularly impressive, but we're happy with the modest EPS growth. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. 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 The Wendy's Company Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with The Wendy's Company for providing a total return of 47% over three years. 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.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, The Wendy's Company is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. But the business isn't reporting great numbers in terms of earnings growth. Meanwhile, shareholder returns have remained positive over the same time frame. We would like to see EPS growth from the business, although we wouldn't say the CEO compensation is high.

It is always advisable to analyse CEO pay, along with performing a thorough analysis of the company's key performance areas. We did our research and identified 3 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) in Wendy's we think you should know about.

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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