Our Take On SilverSun Technologies' (NASDAQ:SSNT) CEO Salary

August 03, 2020

Mark Meller has been the CEO of SilverSun Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNT) since 2004, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

Check out our latest analysis for SilverSun Technologies

How Does Total Compensation For Mark Meller Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that SilverSun Technologies, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$12m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$778k for the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 10% above last year. Notably, the salary of US$778k is the entirety of the CEO compensation.

On comparing similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations below US$200m, we found that the median total CEO compensation was US$519k. This suggests that Mark Meller is paid more than the median for the industry. Furthermore, Mark Meller directly owns US$5.5m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2019	2018	Proportion (2019)
Salary	US$778k	US$705k	100%
Other	-	-	-
Total Compensation	US$778k	US$705k	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 13% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 87% is other remuneration. Speaking on a company level, SilverSun Technologies prefers to tread along a traditional path, disbursing all compensation through a salary. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

ceo-compensation — NasdaqCM:SSNT CEO Compensation August 4th 2020

SilverSun Technologies, Inc.'s Growth

Over the last three years, SilverSun Technologies, Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by 90% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 8.6% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings have declined. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has SilverSun Technologies, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 26% over three years, some SilverSun Technologies, Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

SilverSun Technologies rewards its CEO solely through a salary, ignoring non-salary benefits completely. As previously discussed, Mark is compensated more than what is normal for CEOs of companies of similar size, and which belong to the same industry. Unfortunately, this doesn't look great when you see shareholder returns have been negative over the last three years. To make matters worse, earnings growth has also been negative during this period. Overall, with such poor performance, shareholder's would probably have questions if the company decided to give the CEO a raise.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. In our study, we found 5 warning signs for SilverSun Technologies you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

Switching gears from SilverSun Technologies, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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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