How Much is Cass Information Systems' (NASDAQ:CASS) CEO Getting Paid?

Eric Brunngraber has been the CEO of Cass Information Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASS) since 2008, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Cass Information Systems.

See our latest analysis for Cass Information Systems

How Does Total Compensation For Eric Brunngraber Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Cass Information Systems, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$646m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$3.4m for the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 61% above last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$663k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$400m and US$1.6b had a median total CEO compensation of US$2.9m. This suggests that Cass Information Systems remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Eric Brunngraber holds US$4.7m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

On an industry level, roughly 14% of total compensation represents salary and 86% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Cass Information Systems 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.

Cass Information Systems, Inc.'s Growth

Cass Information Systems, Inc. saw earnings per share stay pretty flat over the last three years. Its revenue is down 7.1% over the previous year.

A lack of EPS improvement is not good to see. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Cass Information Systems, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 9.8% for the shareholders, Cass Information Systems, Inc. would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

As we touched on above, Cass Information Systems, 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. On the other hand, EPS growth and total shareholder return have been negative for the last three years. We'd stop short of saying compensation is inappropriate, but we would understand if shareholders had questions regarding a future raise.

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 1 warning sign for Cass Information Systems 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. 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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