Shareholders May Be More Conservative With Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) CEO Compensation For Now

Key Insights

• Exxon Mobil will host its Annual General Meeting on 29th of May
• Salary of US$1.88m is part of CEO Darren Woods's total remuneration
• The overall pay is 154% above the industry average
• Exxon Mobil's total shareholder return over the past three years was 121% while its EPS grew by 59% over the past three years

Performance at Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has been reasonably good and CEO Darren Woods has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 29th of May, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

See our latest analysis for Exxon Mobil

Comparing Exxon Mobil Corporation's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Exxon Mobil Corporation has a market capitalization of US$465b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$37m for the year to December 2023. This means that the compensation hasn't changed much from last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.9m.

In comparison with other companies in the American Oil and Gas industry with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$15m. This suggests that Darren Woods is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Darren Woods holds US$30m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	US$1.9m	US$1.7m	5%
Other	US$35m	US$34m	95%
Total Compensation	US$37m	US$36m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 14% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 86% is other remuneration. Exxon Mobil sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall 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 Exxon Mobil Corporation's Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Exxon Mobil Corporation has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 59% per year. It saw its revenue drop 16% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's always a tough situation when revenues are not growing, but ultimately profits are more important. 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 Exxon Mobil Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 121% over three years, Exxon Mobil Corporation has done well by shareholders. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We've identified 1 warning sign for Exxon Mobil that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Switching gears from Exxon Mobil, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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.