We Think Shareholders Are Less Likely To Approve A Large Pay Rise For Kimberly-Clark Corporation's (NYSE:KMB) CEO For Now

Key Insights

• Kimberly-Clark's Annual General Meeting to take place on 1st of May
• Total pay for CEO Mike Hsu includes US$1.50m salary
• The overall pay is 114% above the industry average
• Kimberly-Clark's EPS grew by 13% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 3.9%

We've discovered 2 warning signs about Kimberly-Clark. View them for free.

CEO Mike Hsu has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 1st of May. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

See our latest analysis for Kimberly-Clark

Comparing Kimberly-Clark Corporation's CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a market capitalization of US$44b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$16m over the year to December 2024. That is, the compensation was roughly the same as last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.5m.

In comparison with other companies in the American Household Products industry with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$7.7m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Kimberly-Clark Corporation pays Mike Hsu north of the industry median. What's more, Mike Hsu holds US$36m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	US$1.5m	US$1.5m	9%
Other	US$15m	US$15m	91%
Total Compensation	US$16m	US$17m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 13% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 87% is other remuneration. Kimberly-Clark 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 Kimberly-Clark Corporation's Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Kimberly-Clark Corporation has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 13% per year. In the last year, its revenue is down 3.1%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Kimberly-Clark Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Kimberly-Clark Corporation has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 3.9%, over three years. It would be nice to see that metric improve in the future. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

In Summary...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed 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.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Kimberly-Clark that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Important note: Kimberly-Clark 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.