It's Unlikely That CleanSpark, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CLSK) CEO Will See A Huge Pay Rise This Year

Key Insights

• CleanSpark's Annual General Meeting to take place on 8th of March
• Salary of US$500.0k is part of CEO Zach Bradford's total remuneration
• The overall pay is 1,906% above the industry average
• Over the past three years, CleanSpark's EPS grew by 84% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 1.2%

CEO Zach Bradford has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 8th of March. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

Check out our latest analysis for CleanSpark

How Does Total Compensation For Zach Bradford Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, CleanSpark, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$201m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$27m over the year to September 2022. Notably, that's an increase of 79% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$500k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the American Software industry with market capitalizations between US$100m and US$400m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.3m. This suggests that Zach Bradford is paid more than the median for the industry. Moreover, Zach Bradford also holds US$2.7m worth of CleanSpark stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component	2022	2021	Proportion (2022)
Salary	US$500k	US$500k	2%
Other	US$27m	US$15m	98%
Total Compensation	US$27m	US$15m	100%

On an industry level, around 9% of total compensation represents salary and 91% is other remuneration. Interestingly, the company has chosen to go down an unconventional route in that it pays a smaller salary to Zach Bradford as compared to non-salary compensation over the one-year period examined. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at CleanSpark, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, CleanSpark, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 84% per year. Its revenue is up 65% over the last year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Most shareholders would be pleased to see strong revenue growth combined with EPS growth. This combo suggests a fast 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 CleanSpark, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

CleanSpark, Inc. has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 1.2%, over three years. It would be nice to see that metric improve in the future. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

To Conclude...

CleanSpark prefers rewarding its CEO through non-salary benefits. Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

It is always advisable to analyse CEO pay, along with performing a thorough analysis of the company's key performance areas. That's why we did our research, and identified 4 warning signs for CleanSpark (of which 2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.