We Think Shareholders Are Less Likely To Approve A Large Pay Rise For Quantum Corporation's (NASDAQ:QMCO) CEO For Now

CEO Jamie Lerner has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Quantum Corporation (NASDAQ:QMCO) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 21 September 2021. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Quantum

Comparing Quantum Corporation's CEO Compensation With the industry

According to our data, Quantum Corporation has a market capitalization of US$295m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$3.0m over the year to March 2021. That's a notable increase of 44% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$534k.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$100m to US$400m, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$1.2m. Hence, we can conclude that Jamie Lerner is remunerated higher than the industry median. What's more, Jamie Lerner holds US$6.1m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2021	2020	Proportion (2021)
Salary	US$534k	US$475k	18%
Other	US$2.5m	US$1.6m	82%
Total Compensation	US$3.0m	US$2.1m	100%

On an industry level, around 25% of total compensation represents salary and 75% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Quantum allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Quantum Corporation's Growth

Over the past three years, Quantum Corporation has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 48% per year. It saw its revenue drop 1.4% over the last year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. 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 Quantum Corporation Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 110%, over three years, would leave most Quantum Corporation 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...

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. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

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. That's why we did our research, and identified 5 warning signs for Quantum (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) 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.

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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.
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