Shareholders Will Likely Find ChromaDex Corporation's (NASDAQ:CDXC) CEO Compensation Acceptable

Key Insights

• ChromaDex's Annual General Meeting to take place on 20th of June
• Total pay for CEO Rob Fried includes US$500.0k salary
• The total compensation is 52% less than the average for the industry
• ChromaDex's EPS grew by 54% over the past three years while total shareholder loss over the past three years was 67%

The performance at ChromaDex Corporation (NASDAQ:CDXC) has been rather lacklustre of late and shareholders may be wondering what CEO Rob Fried is planning to do about this. They will get a chance to exercise their voting power to influence the future direction of the company in the next AGM on 20th of June. It has been shown that setting appropriate executive remuneration incentivises the management to act in the interests of shareholders. We think CEO compensation looks appropriate given the data we have put together.

Check out our latest analysis for ChromaDex

How Does Total Compensation For Rob Fried Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, ChromaDex Corporation has a market capitalization of US$242m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.2m over 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$500k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the American Life Sciences industry with market capitalizations between US$100m and US$400m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$2.4m. That is to say, Rob Fried is paid under the industry median. Furthermore, Rob Fried directly owns US$4.7m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	US$500k	US$500k	43%
Other	US$660k	US$659k	57%
Total Compensation	US$1.2m	US$1.2m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 19% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 81% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that ChromaDex 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 ChromaDex Corporation's Growth Numbers

ChromaDex Corporation has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 54% a year over the past three years. It achieved revenue growth of 7.5% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. 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 ChromaDex Corporation Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of -67% over three years, ChromaDex Corporation shareholders would by and large be disappointed. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

The fact that shareholders have earned a negative share price return is certainly disconcerting. This contrasts to the strong EPS growth recently however, and suggests that there may be other factors at play driving down the share price. A key question may be why the fundamentals have not yet been reflected into the share price. The upcoming AGM will provide shareholders the opportunity to raise their concerns and evaluate if the board’s judgement and decision-making is aligned with their expectations.

CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. We've identified 1 warning sign for ChromaDex that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Switching gears from ChromaDex, 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com