Should You Worry About Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.'s (NYSE:FIS) CEO Salary Level?

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Gary Norcross has been the CEO of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) since 2015. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other large companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

See our latest analysis for Fidelity National Information Services

How Does Gary Norcross's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$36b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$29m. (This is based on the year to 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$1.2m. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, and calculated the median CEO compensation to be US$11m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.

Thus we can conclude that Gary Norcross receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of large companies in the same market as Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. 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, below, how CEO compensation at Fidelity National Information Services has changed over time.

Is Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 33% per year (using a line of best fit). Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 97%, over three years, would leave most Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. shareholders smiling. 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 Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., and compared it to remuneration at a group of other large companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. On top of that, in the same period, returns to shareholders have been great. Considering this fine result for shareholders, we daresay the CEO compensation might be apt. Shareholders may want to check for free if Fidelity National Information Services insiders are buying or selling shares.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this freelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.