Shareholders May Be More Conservative With Aemetis, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMTX) CEO Compensation For Now

Key Insights

• Aemetis will host its Annual General Meeting on 14th of May
• Total pay for CEO Eric McAfee includes US$360.0k salary
• The total compensation is 197% higher than the average for the industry
• Over the past three years, Aemetis' EPS grew by 4.2% and over the past three years, the total loss to shareholders 84%

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Shareholders of Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTX) will have been dismayed by the negative share price return over the last three years. What is concerning is that despite positive EPS growth, the share price has not tracked the trend in fundamentals. These are some of the concerns that shareholders may want to bring up at the next AGM held on 14th of May. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. Here's our take on why we think shareholders may want to be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

See our latest analysis for Aemetis

Comparing Aemetis, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Aemetis, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$68m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$1.6m for the year to December 2024. That's slightly lower by 7.0% over the previous year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$360k.

For comparison, other companies in the American Oil and Gas industry with market capitalizations below US$200m, reported a median total CEO compensation of US$551k. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Aemetis, Inc. pays Eric McAfee north of the industry median. Furthermore, Eric McAfee directly owns US$4.5m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

On an industry level, roughly 14% of total compensation represents salary and 86% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Aemetis pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the 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 Aemetis, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Aemetis, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 4.2% a year over the past three years. It achieved revenue growth of 43% over the last year.

It's hard to interpret the strong revenue growth as anything other than a positive. With that in mind, the modestly improving EPS seems positive. We wouldn't say this is necessarily top notch growth, but it is certainly promising. 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 Aemetis, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Few Aemetis, Inc. shareholders would feel satisfied with the return of -84% over three years. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. A huge lag in share price growth when earnings have grown may indicate there could be other issues that are affecting the company at the moment that the market is focused on. Shareholders would probably be keen to find out what are the other factors could be weighing down the stock. At the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any issues with the board, including those related to CEO remuneration and assess if the board's plan will likely improve performance in the future.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We identified 5 warning signs for Aemetis (2 are significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.