Why We Think Xenetic Biosciences, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:XBIO) CEO Compensation Is Not Excessive At All

Shareholders may be wondering what CEO Jeff Eisenberg plans to do to improve the less than great performance at Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO) recently. They will get a chance to exercise their voting power to influence the future direction of the company in the next AGM on 07 December 2022. Setting appropriate executive remuneration to align with the interests of shareholders may also be a way to influence the company performance in the long run. We think CEO compensation looks appropriate given the data we have put together.

Check out our latest analysis for Xenetic Biosciences

How Does Total Compensation For Jeff Eisenberg Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$6.7m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$750k over the year to December 2021. That's a notable increase of 68% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$368k.

On comparing similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations below US$200m, we found that the median total CEO compensation was US$1.8m. This suggests that Jeff Eisenberg is paid below the industry median.

Component	2021	2020	Proportion (2021)
Salary	US$368k	US$350k	49%
Other	US$383k	US$96k	51%
Total Compensation	US$750k	US$446k	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 15% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 85% of the pie. Xenetic Biosciences is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Xenetic Biosciences, Inc.'s Growth

Over the past three years, Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 100% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 59% over the last year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term EPS improvement certainly points to the kind of growth we like to see. 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 Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of -66% over three years, Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. shareholders would by and large be disappointed. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss is certainly disheartening. 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. In the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss these concerns with the board and assess if the board's plan is likely to improve company performance.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We did our research and identified 5 warning signs (and 2 which don't sit too well with us) in Xenetic Biosciences we think you should know about.

Switching gears from Xenetic Biosciences, 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.