In 2016 Chris Lien was appointed CEO of Marin Software Incorporated (NASDAQ:MRIN). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Marin Software
How Does Chris Lien's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Marin Software Incorporated has a market capitalization of US$9.3m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$721k over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$400k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$521k.
As you can see, Chris Lien is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Marin Software Incorporated is paying too much. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Marin Software, below.
Is Marin Software Incorporated Growing?
Marin Software Incorporated has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 16% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 12%.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Marin Software Incorporated Been A Good Investment?
With a three year total loss of 91%, Marin Software Incorporated would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Marin Software Incorporated with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.
Neither earnings per share nor revenue have been growing sufficiently to impress us, over the last three years. Arguably worse, investors are without a positive return for the last three years. In our opinion the CEO might be paid too generously! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Marin Software (free visualization of insider trades).
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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