It's Unlikely That The Coca-Cola Company's (NYSE:KO) CEO Will See A Huge Pay Rise This Year

Key Insights

• Coca-Cola will host its Annual General Meeting on 1st of May
• Salary of US$1.60m is part of CEO James Robert Quincey's total remuneration
• The total compensation is 77% higher than the average for the industry
• Coca-Cola's total shareholder return over the past three years was 25% while its EPS grew by 11% over the past three years

CEO James Robert Quincey has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 1st 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 want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

See our latest analysis for Coca-Cola

Comparing The Coca-Cola Company's CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, The Coca-Cola Company has a market capitalization of US$266b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$25m over the year to December 2023. Notably, that's an increase of 8.4% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.6m.

For comparison, other companies in the American Beverage industry with market capitalizations above US$8.0b, reported a median total CEO compensation of US$14m. Hence, we can conclude that James Robert Quincey is remunerated higher than the industry median. What's more, James Robert Quincey holds US$31m 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$1.6m	US$1.6m	6%
Other	US$23m	US$21m	94%
Total Compensation	US$25m	US$23m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 13% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 87% of the pie. In Coca-Cola's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at The Coca-Cola Company's Growth Numbers

The Coca-Cola Company has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 11% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 6.4%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. 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 Coca-Cola Company Been A Good Investment?

The Coca-Cola Company has generated a total shareholder return of 25% 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...

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. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 2 warning signs for Coca-Cola that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Important note: Coca-Cola 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. 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.