We Think The Compensation For CDW Corporation's (NASDAQ:CDW) CEO Looks About Right

Key Insights

• CDW's Annual General Meeting to take place on 20th of May
• CEO Chris Leahy's total compensation includes salary of US$1.04m
• The total compensation is similar to the average for the industry
• CDW's total shareholder return over the past three years was 14% while its EPS grew by 3.9% over the past three years

We've discovered 1 warning sign about CDW. View them for free.

Performance at CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDW) has been reasonably good and CEO Chris Leahy has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 20th of May. Based on our analysis of the data below, we think CEO compensation seems reasonable for now.

Check out our latest analysis for CDW

How Does Total Compensation For Chris Leahy Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that CDW Corporation has a market capitalization of US$25b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$10m for the year to December 2024. That's a notable increase of 11% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.0m.

In comparison with other companies in the American Electronic industry with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$14m. From this we gather that Chris Leahy is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. Furthermore, Chris Leahy directly owns US$25m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	US$1.0m	US$1.0m	10%
Other	US$9.0m	US$8.0m	90%
Total Compensation	US$10m	US$9.0m	100%

On an industry level, roughly 23% of total compensation represents salary and 77% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that CDW allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

A Look at CDW Corporation's Growth Numbers

CDW Corporation's earnings per share (EPS) grew 3.9% per year over the last three years. Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

We're not particularly impressed by the revenue growth, but we're happy with the modest EPS growth. Considering these factors we'd say performance has been pretty decent, though not amazing. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has CDW Corporation Been A Good Investment?

CDW Corporation has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 14% over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the upcoming AGM. Despite the pleasing results, we still think that any proposed increases to CEO compensation will be examined based on a case by case basis and linked to performance outcomes.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for CDW 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. 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.