Increases to Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HA) CEO Compensation Might Cool off for now

Key Insights

• Hawaiian Holdings to hold its Annual General Meeting on 15th of May
• Total pay for CEO Peter Ingram includes US$771.3k salary
• Total compensation is 173% above industry average
• Hawaiian Holdings' three-year loss to shareholders was 43% while its EPS grew by 13% over the past three years

The underwhelming share price performance of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA) in the past three years would have disappointed many shareholders. Despite positive EPS growth in the past few years, the share price hasn't tracked the fundamental performance of the company. Shareholders may want to question the board on the future direction of the company at the upcoming AGM on 15th of May. They could also influence management through voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration. We discuss below why we think shareholders should be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

See our latest analysis for Hawaiian Holdings

Comparing Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$648m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$4.5m over the year to December 2023. That's a notable increase of 51% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$771k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the American Airlines industry with market capitalizations between US$400m and US$1.6b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.7m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. pays Peter Ingram north of the industry median. What's more, Peter Ingram holds US$5.2m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	US$771k	US$736k	17%
Other	US$3.8m	US$2.3m	83%
Total Compensation	US$4.5m	US$3.0m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 11% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 89% of the pie. It's interesting to note that Hawaiian Holdings pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.'s Growth

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 13% per year over the last three years. Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. 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 Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Few Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. shareholders would feel satisfied with the return of -43% over three years. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. The fact that the stock price hasn't grown along with earnings may indicate that other issues may be affecting that stock. Shareholders would probably be keen to find out what are the other factors could be weighing down the stock. The upcoming AGM will be a chance for shareholders to question the board on key matters, such as CEO remuneration or any other issues they might have and revisit their investment thesis with regards to the company.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. We did our research and spotted 2 warning signs for Hawaiian Holdings that investors should look into moving forward.

Switching gears from Hawaiian Holdings, 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. 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.