Shareholders Will Likely Find United Parks & Resorts Inc.'s (NYSE:PRKS) CEO Compensation Acceptable

Key Insights

• United Parks & Resorts' Annual General Meeting to take place on 13th of June
• CEO Marc Swanson's total compensation includes salary of US$450.0k
• The overall pay is 88% below the industry average
• Over the past three years, United Parks & Resorts' EPS grew by 50% and over the past three years, the total loss to shareholders 5.8%

Performance at United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) has been rather uninspiring recently and shareholders may be wondering how CEO Marc Swanson plans to fix this. At the next AGM coming up on 13th of June, they can influence managerial decision making through voting on resolutions, including executive remuneration. Voting on executive pay could be a powerful way to influence management, as studies have shown that the right compensation incentives impact company performance. We have prepared some analysis below to show that CEO compensation looks to be reasonable.

Check out our latest analysis for United Parks & Resorts

How Does Total Compensation For Marc Swanson Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that United Parks & Resorts Inc. has a market capitalization of US$3.3b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$1.1m for the year to December 2023. That's mostly flat as compared to the prior year's compensation. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$450k.

On comparing similar companies from the American Hospitality industry with market caps ranging from US$2.0b to US$6.4b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$8.9m. Accordingly, United Parks & Resorts pays its CEO under the industry median. Moreover, Marc Swanson also holds US$8.7m worth of United Parks & Resorts 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$450k	US$450k	41%
Other	US$657k	US$687k	59%
Total Compensation	US$1.1m	US$1.1m	100%

On an industry level, around 18% of total compensation represents salary and 82% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that United Parks & Resorts pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

United Parks & Resorts Inc.'s Growth

Over the past three years, United Parks & Resorts Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 50% per year. It saw its revenue drop 1.3% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. 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 United Parks & Resorts Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Given the total shareholder loss of 5.8% over three years, many shareholders in United Parks & Resorts Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

The lacklustre share price returns is rather divergent to the robust growth in EPS, suggesting that there may be other factors weighing on it apart from fundamentals. Shareholders will get the chance to question the board on key concerns and revisit their investment thesis with regards to the company.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. We did our research and spotted 2 warning signs for United Parks & Resorts 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.