A Look At Brooks Automation's (NASDAQ:BRKS) CEO Remuneration

Steve Schwartz has been the CEO of Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKS) since 2010, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also assess whether Brooks Automation pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Brooks Automation

How Does Total Compensation For Steve Schwartz Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Brooks Automation, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$6.3b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$3.9m for the year to September 2020. This means that the compensation hasn't changed much from last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$675k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$4.0b and US$12b had a median total CEO compensation of US$5.1m. This suggests that Brooks Automation remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Steve Schwartz holds US$29m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 16% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 84% of the pie. Brooks Automation pays out 17% of remuneration in the form of a salary, significantly higher than the industry average. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

A Look at Brooks Automation, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Brooks Automation, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 20% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 15%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Brooks Automation, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 225%, over three years, would leave most Brooks Automation, Inc. shareholders smiling. 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.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Brooks Automation, Inc. is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Investors would surely be happy to see that returns have been great, and that EPS is up. So one could argue that CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! Stockholders might even be okay with a bump in pay, seeing as how investor returns have been so strong.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Brooks Automation that investors should look into moving forward.

Switching gears from Brooks Automation, 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. 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.
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