Veeco Instruments Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VECO) CEO Looks Like They Deserve Their Pay Packet

Key Insights

• Veeco Instruments will host its Annual General Meeting on 9th of May
• Total pay for CEO Bill Miller includes US$633.4k salary
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• Veeco Instruments' total shareholder return over the past three years was 60% while its EPS grew by 51% over the past three years

We have been pretty impressed with the performance at Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) recently and CEO Bill Miller deserves a mention for their role in it. Coming up to the next AGM on 9th of May, shareholders would be keeping this in mind. The focus will probably be on the future company strategy as shareholders cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters. Here is our take on why we think CEO compensation is not extravagant.

View our latest analysis for Veeco Instruments

Comparing Veeco Instruments Inc.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Veeco Instruments Inc. has a market capitalization of US$1.9b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$4.6m for the year to December 2023. We note that's a decrease of 22% compared to last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$633k.

On comparing similar companies from the American Semiconductor industry with market caps ranging from US$1.0b to US$3.2b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$5.4m. This suggests that Veeco Instruments remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Bill Miller holds US$19m 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$633k	US$618k	14%
Other	US$4.0m	US$5.3m	86%
Total Compensation	US$4.6m	US$5.9m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 11% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 89% of the pie. Veeco Instruments pays out 14% 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.

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s Growth

Over the past three years, Veeco Instruments Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 51% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 3.1% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. 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 Veeco Instruments Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Veeco Instruments Inc. for providing a total return of 60% over three years. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

Given the company's decent performance, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the AGM. Instead, investors might be more interested in discussions that would help manage their longer-term growth expectations such as company business strategies and future growth potential.

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. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Veeco Instruments that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity 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.