Should You Worry About BlackLine, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BL) CEO Salary Level?

In 2001, Therese Tucker was appointed CEO of BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

View our latest analysis for BlackLine

How Does Therese Tucker's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that BlackLine, Inc. is worth US$3.3b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$23m for the year to December 2019. Notably, that's an increase of 375% over the year before. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$380k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$2.0b to US$6.4b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$5.8m.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of BlackLine. On a sector level, around 13% of total compensation represents salary and 87% is other remuneration. Investors will find it intriguing that BlackLine paid a marginal salary to Therese Tucker, over the past year, focusing on non-salary compensation instead.

It would therefore appear that BlackLine, Inc. pays Therese Tucker more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at BlackLine has changed over time.

Is BlackLine, Inc. Growing?

On average over the last three years, BlackLine, Inc. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a favourable direction by 15% each year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 27% over last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term earnings per share improvement certainly points to the kind of growth I like to see. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has BlackLine, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 79% over three years, BlackLine, Inc. has done well by shareholders. 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.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by BlackLine, Inc., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. Moving away from CEO compensation for the moment, we've identified 3 warning signs for BlackLine that you should be aware of before investing.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than BlackLine, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.